About:

Doug Slater is a software engineering leader and mentor with a passion for improving software engineering practices.

Website:

Specializations:

Interests:

Software engineering Mentoring

Outgoing Links:

Subscribe to RSS:
The post examines how hardware and software fail differently, stressing the importance of understanding these distinctions for maintaining aging software systems.
The belief that 'software never fails' is dangerous, as it can lead to catastrophic failures and a lack of accountability in software development.
The article argues for the licensure of software engineers, drawing parallels with traditional engineering fields that require certification to ensure public safety and quality. It highlights the dangers of unregulated software de...
The article argues for the licensure of software engineers, drawing parallels with traditional engineering fields that require certification to ensure public safety and quality. It highlights the dangers of unregulated software de...
The article discusses the concept of tech debt, originally coined by Ward Cunningham, and argues that it is more accurately described as tech risk. It compares tech debt to financial debt, highlighting the unpredictability of tech...
Modular thinking alleviates context anxiety in LLMs by promoting better organization and understanding of complex software systems.
The blog post discusses the impact of AI on software development, highlighting how non-technical individuals can now create software using AI tools. However, it emphasizes the limitations of AI-generated code, such as context wind...
The post discusses the inherent complexities of programming, emphasizing that it transcends mere coding and computer usage. It highlights profound philosophical questions that underlie common programming challenges, such as unders...
The article compares Nike's Vaporfly 4% shoes, which initially provided a competitive edge in road running, to Large Language Models (LLMs) in the business world. It argues that while the shoes were initially a significant advanta...
The essay discusses the negative impacts of over-reliance on Large Language Models (LLMs) in software engineering, arguing that they can lead to incompetence by undermining critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The author ...
The blog post discusses the impact of AI on software development, highlighting how non-technical individuals can now create software using AI tools. However, it emphasizes the limitations of AI-generated code, such as context wind...
The article discusses the importance of framing tech risks, often referred to as tech debt, in terms that resonate with business metrics. It emphasizes that while tech debt is a real concern, its value is often overlooked by leade...
The article discusses how to effectively say 'no' in a workplace setting, particularly when lacking positional authority. It emphasizes the importance of earning relational authority through understanding and empathy. The author o...
The author discusses essential skills software engineers can develop to remain relevant in the age of large language models (LLMs). Emphasizing the importance of people skills, emotional intelligence, and effective communication, ...
The post discusses the debate on whether to teach beginners functional programming (FP) or imperative programming (IP) first, emphasizing that the choice depends on the learner's background. It highlights the importance of connect...
The author compares Large Language Models (LLMs) to e-bikes, arguing that while they can enhance productivity, over-reliance on them can diminish cognitive engagement and alienate colleagues. The text reflects on personal experien...
The author compares Large Language Models (LLMs) to e-bikes, arguing that while they can enhance productivity, over-reliance on them can diminish cognitive engagement and alienate colleagues. The text discusses personal experience...
The article compares LLM-generated code to an oil spill, suggesting that while it creates job opportunities for software engineers to fix the resulting issues, it ultimately degrades the quality of information on the internet. The...
The article compares LLM-generated code to an oil spill, suggesting that while it creates job opportunities for software engineers to fix the resulting issues, it ultimately degrades the quality of information on the internet. It ...
The text discusses the skills that software engineers can develop to stay relevant in the age of LLMs, focusing on people skills, managerial and communication skills, advanced software engineering skills, and business skills. The ...
The text discusses the risks and limitations of over-reliance on large language models (LLMs) in software engineering, emphasizing that LLMs cannot replace human critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It highlights the pote...
The text discusses the importance of addressing tech risk as a business concern, mapping tech risks onto business metrics, and convincing companies to prioritize addressing tech debt.
The text discusses the concept of tech debt and tech risk, arguing that tech debt is not like financial debt and that it is better to use the term tech risk. It uses the example of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster to illustra...
The text discusses the difficulty of programming, attributing it to profound questions about causality, correctness, memory, cognition, and language. It emphasizes that even mundane programming issues are rooted in these complex q...