#11 | Sunday reads for EMs
My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.
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The Hidden Cost of Slow Feedback Loops
tl;dr: Teams gradually lose the ability to test code locally as they add dependencies, forcing them to deploy to staging environments just to verify simple changes. An extra 10 minutes per verification attempt across 8 engineers costs the equivalent of one full-time engineer's productivity. Most teams don't track feedback loop speed the way they track code coverage, so this debt accumulates invisibly.
How to Vibe Code as a Senior Engineer
tl;dr: AI-assisted coding works best for senior engineers who can set up proper project scaffolding, write detailed prompts, and manage context effectively. The key is giving AI clear instructions and constraints. With the right setup, experienced engineers can now build complex features in hours instead of weeks, but it requires specific tooling and prompting skills.
Stop trying to change your manager
tl;dr: You can't change your manager because you lack the leverage in the relationship structure. When there's a deadlock between you and your manager, their preferences will always take precedence. The most productive approach is accepting this reality and redirecting your energy toward areas where you actually have influence rather than fighting an unwinnable battle.
Common problems managing senior engineers
tl;dr: The hardest senior engineers to manage fall into four types: over-engineers who build complex solutions for simple problems, builder-firsts who code before planning, ambiguity-freezers who struggle with unclear requirements, and soloists who won't delegate work. These issues stem from their strengths turned into blind spots, so managers need coaching approaches rather than micromanagement.
How do experienced engineers actually review code?
tl;dr: Code review is a strategic process where experienced engineers build three mental models and scope their attention based on risk rather than trying to understand everything. Research shows they focus on high-impact discrepancies between what code does, what it should do, and how it should be implemented. Teams should design review processes around this selective attention rather than expecting comprehensive analysis of every detail.
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Your Engineering Estimates Are Setting You Up To Fail
What did you read recently that you would like to share?