This is the study ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/811...

If you’re confused by the growing number of context configuration options for coding agents (commands, skills, rules, …), then my write up might be helpful to you martinfowler.com/articles/exp...

This guide is absolute gold from @mitchellh.com (creator of Terraform) on how he started to use AI agents, step-by-step. It's practical, step by step & how he changed how he works (without getting overloaded or anxious.) mitchellh.com/writing/my-a...

The Kind of Training That ACTUALLY WORKS For Agentic AI | @emilybache.com 📽️ AVAILABLE NOW Watch HERE ➡️ youtu.be/nnjzPJ2ZI6E

As a technical coach I've been teaching TDD for years. How do you teach AI tools for software development? My current thinking is outlined in my new video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnjz... For those who prefer to read: coding-is-like-cooking.info/2026/02/the-...

New blog post: AI’s Opportunity: Pacing Control Loops with Development hanlho.com/p/ais-opport...

Two kinds of #AI #users are emerging. The gap between them is astonishing. https://martinalderson.c...

The Kind of Training That ACTUALLY WORKS For Agentic AI | @emilybache.com 📅 TONIGHT @ 7PM (UK) Subscribe & hit the notification bell 🔔 so you NEVER miss an upload ➡️ youtube.com/@ModernSoftw...

Next month I'm speaking at Agile meets Architecture in Berlin: Being the Human in the Loop www.agile-meets-architecture.com/2026/home @amaconf.bsky.social Join me there with a 10% discounted ticket using the code AMA_SPEAKER_10 pretix.eu/AmA/2026/red...

"Clean Code" — a timeless truth or a myth we keep telling ourselves? @tastapod.com and me in conversation on the @modernswe.bsky.social channel discussing the origins, limitations and implications of clean code www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjW_...

New post: Code quality feedback loops in AI dev workflows Nothing exciting, just some basic ideas I've been applying, but it helps me to understand where AI-assisted development is likely heading. nick-tune.me/blog/2026-02...

💌 This Valentine’s, Europe is getting mail. A lot of it. Hundreds of Valentine’s cards are on their way to the European Commission, all carrying the same message: Break up with Big Tech, stop cheating on EU citizens.

This is SUCH a good video from @emilybache.com It's so dense with information: ✂️ Great advice for making your tests more maintainable; 🔥 A cool new (to me!) library (approvaltests); 🛠️ and just the way Emily knows her IDE (PyCharm of course 😁) www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y6_...

Approval testing is often confused with Acceptance testing. Approval testing is a much narrower technique, described in some detail in this article by my husband Geoff: www.methodsandtools.com/archive/appr.... Acceptance testing is broadly any testing from the customer perspective.

I've been at a conference this week - not unusual, except it wasn't a software conference! Very interesting to learn more about entrepreneurship and startup culture. I wrote a blog about my experiences: coding-is-like-cooking.info/2026/01/gowe...

Interesting video on the @modernswe.bsky.social channel about a study on the impact of "AI" on dev productivity & cost of change. I'd tend to agree that the sample (channel viewers) might fall more into DORA's "high-performing" category, thus we see some +ve impact. www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Eb...

Wrote a short post on using LLMs in relation to general software engineering best practices. Working with LLMs requires more discipline and attention to fundamentals, not less. hanlho.com/p/on-buildin...

If you want IT to become more diverse, start with what you promote. The content you read, share, and recommend shapes representation. When we only amplify voices that sound like us, we signal who belongs in this field. ...

Having in mind that incremental development - to the size of steps present in XP - never became mainstream in our industry, it's not really surprising that not many folks see the problem with the level of waterfall-ing involved in Spec-Driven development.

By lack of a better word but it's the first word that comes to mind: brilliant article by Chad Fowler on relocating rigor when using LLM agents. aicoding.leaflet.pub/3mbrvhyye4k2...

This week, I used @emilybache.com 's "Pipeline Card Game" again to discuss trade-offs and other aspects of CI/CD pipelines. Highly recommended!

I need some help on a video for the Modern Software Engineering YouTube channel | AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR ON THE CHANNEL (250,000+ subs) & DISCUSS YOUR WORK! (find out more below 👇)

The best part about this is that with time when I look around the project, I see things thought through and working. I see care and thought put into every decision and that amounts to a place where I want to spend my time. Because nobody wants to work in a messy house.

Lots of people have opinions about what good tests look like - I've taken inspiration from many and condensed it all down to some useful insights. And I talk about shoes! youtu.be/IFrmfN1fxLg?... If you prefer to read, this blog is on the same topic: coding-is-like-cooking.info/2025/12/test...

The BEST Programmers Use Tests For Engineering Like THIS... | @emilybache.com 📽️ AVAILABLE NOW Watch HERE ➡️ youtu.be/IFrmfN1fxLg

1) Software engineering is not about building features 2) Refactoring is a business problem 3) Software engineering is not an engineering practice 4) LLMs will not replace software engineers 5) Architects don't make decisions by @swardley.bsky.social & @tudorgirba.com medium.com/feenk/rewild...

For technical leaders who want to upskill their teams - upcoming training in February sammancoaching.org/training/del...

I write books because I'm curious and I want to understand. If people read them, then all the better.

wrote some things I've been thinking about ai ... and it ended up feeling very personal roe.dev/blog/the-go...

Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot is a more secure method for tying your shoes, and the site responsible for it has been alive for literally decades. aftermath.site/ians-shoelace-...

Confused about all the names test objects can have? Here is a clear explanation of existing terms and some history. With a useful recommendation: "start talking about what these [test] objects do for you instead of what they are called. Use verbs."

A systems-thinking approach tends to require a focus on interactions over components. Here I try to bring a temporal dimension to these interactions. Drift accumulates across loops and creates inconsistencies as mental models lag when trying to keep up with acceleration. ferd.ca/software-acc...

Have you ever looked at the impressive results that LLMs get on benchmarks and wondered if these results are everything they seem? If you'd like to learn about how data leakage calls the results we see on LLM performance into question, check out my latest blog post. t-redactyl.io/posts/2025-1...

As everyone knows, there's nothing in software that can't be made better by putting the word "clean" in front of it. Here's some early morning scribblings from me. Behold, I bring you Clean Contexts! codemanship.wordpress.com/2026/01/13/c...

My answer was: 1. Software Engineering and software Architecture will be key (more than in the past maybe) 2. Communication What would answer?

Every time we use our local library, we are supporting access to free resources for everyone. Sign-up for a library card and see what your branch has to offer. 📚 Learn more though @amlibraryassoc  #LibraryCardSignUpMonth #library

Are you writing tests for complex logic the hard way? New demo video on my channel showing an easier way to write tests: youtu.be/7y6_mnniVkU

Published: What is Continuous Delivery? It takes nine principles, one heuristic, three foundations, one pattern and three practices to practice truly Continuous Delivery. thinkinglabs.io/articles/202...

🙌 Great Write-up. I‘ve recently switched to „tidy code“ to avoid any dogma, alas that did not work either. Outside of teams with a coding standard, the term is not helpful in discussions. Might switch back now and point to your article.

Yes! In almost any context, verbs are more meaningful than nouns.

Somewhere along the way, our industry started calling everything a mock. @emilybache.com explores why the language of mocking in software testing has drifted so far from its original meaning. Watch on @modernswe.bsky.social NOW ➡️ youtu.be/RvKPOjlQKyM Good one, Emily 👏

I hope you all like my proposal for fixing the language around mocks and fakes - new video youtu.be/RvKPOjlQKyM with companion blog post coding-is-like-cooking.info/2026/01/we-n...

It's a nice remote event happening in May! Got things you'd like to share about working with legacy code? Submit your talk proposals in the CFP and you may become part of the lineup 😉

Looking forward to Emily's video tonight on mock language confusion... time we all agreed what the term "mock" actually means to software engineers. First video of 2026, after a break on @modernswe.bsky.social over the holidays. Tune in for more excellent stuff from @emilybache.com!

Smart architects don't just design systems - they help developers build better code. Emily Bache's session: "Technical Coaching: a Side-Quest for Architects." www.agile-meets-architecture.com/sessions/tec...

Even in the punchcard and batch era, coding was not the main bottleneck with software delivery. You may have read 1st version of this already - I've significantly updated/re-written, going back to the 1940s. Full timeline below 👇 blog.robbowley.net/2026/01/05/c...

We Need to Stop Calling Everything a Mock | @emilybache.com 📅 TOMORROW NIGHT 7pm (UK) Subscribe & hit the notifications bell 🔔 so you NEVER miss an upload! ➡️ youtube.com/@ModernSoftw...

New on the blog: Code Cleanliness On the origins of 'clean code' kevlinhenney.medium.com/code-cleanli...

I've been thinking about this like a math "sampler" we're creating. First in the series sets you up to get more out of the one we're editing now: www.changetechnically.fyi/2396236/epis...

Agentic coding won't work with your PR workflow. It will incentivize larger, crappier, unreviewable, LGTM batches to hit the complexity wall fast. We need is a workflow that enables MMMSSMF (Many More, Much Smaller Steps, More Frequently), so that we can speed up while still being able to review it.