What Type Of Interruptions Impact Developer Productivity Most?
- Lizzie Matusov tl;dr: Research shows that: (1) Self-interruptions i.e. voluntary task switching is more disruptive than external interruptions. (2) Developers self-reported that external interruptions are more disruptive than self-interruptions. (3) Contextual factors such as time of day are a stronger determinant of how disruptive an interruption might be than task-specific factors. (4) Switching between programming and testing tasks, compared to other development tasks, makes developers more vulnerable to interruptions.featured in #487
Why Passkeys Improve User Security & How to Implement Them.
tl;dr: Passwords are a headache for users and a security risk for organizations. Passkeys, a cutting-edge solution rooted in public key cryptography, are poised to revolutionize authentication, improving security and usability for all. This paper talks about how they work and how to implement them into your ecosystem.featured in #487
Should You Stay Technical As An Engineering Manager?
- Nicola Ballotta tl;dr: Dedicating 20% of weekly time to technical activities to stay technical is a good balance. Suggested activities to stay technical are: (1) Joining technical meetings to stay up-to-date and engaged with the team. (2) Contributing to documentation to solidify understanding. (3) Building internal tools to maintain coding skills and create resources. (4) Presenting team projects to understand and simplify technical concepts. (5) Participating in code reviews to stay connected with the codebase. (6) Continuous learning through tech talks, conferences, online courses.featured in #487
The Snow Melts At The Periphery
- James Stanier tl;dr: The initial signs of trouble in an organization are not at the center where engineering or management are situated, but at the edges. This is because people at the edges are the most exposed to the outside world i.e. where bad reviews are posted, where customers ask for help, and where social media complaints about unacceptable bugs are posted. As you become more senior in an organization, it is easy to become isolated from the outside world. James explains how to tackle this.featured in #486
Microsoft's New Future Of Work Report
- Abi Noda tl;dr: The report focusses on LLMs e.g. GitHub Copilot and its impact on software development, suggesting it has the potential to improve productivity and reduce cognitive load. However, its benefits are distributed unevenly across users and it introduces new challenges. Key takeaways: (1) Benefits of LLMs in software engineering depend on the specific task e.g. easier to start a project with an LLM but difficult to change generated code. (2) Issues arise with writing prompts and overreliance e.g. burdensome to inspect code, accepting incorrect code. (3) LLMs help the least experienced the most. (4) Adoption is influenced by how well AI tools fit within workflows. (5) Analyzing and integrating information become more important than generating code.featured in #486
Useful Tradeoffs Are Multi-Dimensional
- Will Larson tl;dr: Tradeoff decisions often result in disappointment e.g. you can’t deploy software quickly and test it thoroughly, you have to sacrifice usability due to safety features. Will believes the key is to introduce a new dimension to the decision making process. His approach: (1) Believe and socialize that there is a new dimension to discover. (2) Get specific on stakeholder requirements. (3) Seeing dimensions is the same as seeing layers of context. Expand your contextual awareness or pull in a team with knowledge. (4) Test new dimensions for usefulness quickly. Don’t go too deep. (5) Ask those who’ve solved similar tradeoffs. (6) Only add a dimension if it provides significantly better outcomes.featured in #485
Becoming an Engineering Manager - Is It For You?
- Anton Zaides tl;dr: Anton provides us with a short quiz where you generate a score to determine if management is a good fit for you, with the following questions: (1) Do you like to code? (2) How do you deal with focus changes? (3) How do you deal with focus changes? (4) How do you deal with focus changes? (5) Can you be decisive and stand your ground?featured in #485
How To Measure The Impact Of Generative AI Code
- Ben Lloyd Pearson tl;dr: What’s the ROI of your GenAI code? By the end of 2024, GenAI is projected to generate 20% of all code – or 1 in every 5 lines. Learn how to use PR labels to get telemetry on GenAI code, allowing metric tracking that compares AI-generated code against unlabeled PRs. With this free automation, you can track the ROI of your GenAI investments and identify potential security and compliance risks.featured in #485
Etsy Engineering Career Ladder
tl;dr: How core competencies map against engineering levels (beginner to expert) within Etsy’s engineering org. Competencies are: (1) Delivery e.g. scoping and prioritization, testing and monitoring, shipping. (2) Domain Expertise e.g. language, tools, business and product sense. (3) Problem Solving e.g. architecture & design patterns, critical thinking. (4) Communication e.g. collaboration, relationship-building. (5) Leadership e.g. accountability, responsibility, mentorship.featured in #485
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