
Latest
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The one way to crack technical estimations under pressure
Technical estimations require overview of many different moving parts. Why not solicit the help of your team to move things along?
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Yes, the majority of language migrations are driven by hype
AI contributes to the surge, but half still fall short
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In partnership with Coder
How to refactor without killing morale
Refactoring isn’t the problem; it’s how we manage it.
Editor’s picks
Essential reading

How to build an effective technical strategy
Building a tech strategy requires a lot of moving parts. Learn about what routes to take and whether decisions should be top-down.
On our Technical Direction playlist

Modernizing legacy systems: A technical strategy for evolving monoliths into modern architectures at HelloFresh
Gain insights into transforming legacy systems into scalable architectures, with practical strategies for balancing stability, managing technical debt, and enabling growth opportunities at HelloFresh.

Technical Vision vs. Technical Strategy: The difference and why it matters
Jonathan Maltz digs into the nuts and bolts of setting a successful technical strategy. Startin by talking about the difference between technical vision and technical strategy.

How to implement platform engineering at scale
In this webinar, we’ll hear from enterprise engineering leaders who’ve overcome cultural barriers and team silos, and successfully adopted platform engineering practices in their orgs.

Good technical debt
Jon Thornton discusses how this framework was used to rapidly build and ship Squarespace’s Email Campaigns product in less than 15 months. Along the way, you’ll get several practical guidelines for how tech debt can supercharge your technical investments.

Creating, defining, and refining an effective tech strategy
Having a defined tech strategy creates alignment and keeps everyone on the same page. So how can you ensure yours is most effective? Panelists Anna Shipman, Randy Shoup, Papanii Nene Okai, Nimisha Asthagiri and Anand Mariappan share their tips.
More about Technical Direction
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How OpenAI fought off security threats and GPU shortages to scale ChatGPT
The rapid rise of ChatGPT exposed OpenAI to a myriad of scaling issues and security threats, leading to some unique mitigation approaches.
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Balancing build vs buy decisions in a post-boom world
The question of whether to build software in-house or rely on third-party vendors is more fraught than ever, as budgets come under scrutiny and internal teams get stretched after waves of layoffs.
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Building a cloud architecture that can scale to any challenge
By building a cloud architecture that could meet the complex needs of international expansion, Nubank has established a more robust and flexible cloud infrastructure.
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OpenAI explains how they scaled ChatGPT
Ahead of his talk at LeadDev West Coast in October, OpenAI’s Evan Morikawa goes behind-the-scenes on the challenges they faced scaling ChatGPT, the constant need to reset as a leader, and how GPUs don’t in fact grow on trees.
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How AI changes engineering management
The rise of competent AI coding assistants could shift the role of software engineering managers considerably. Are you ready for that change?
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Tech debt for engineering leaders: How a shortcut today impacts tomorrow
Technical debt is a ubiquitous problem for engineering managers, but what does it actually mean and how can you best attack it while balancing the other needs of the business?
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How to get leadership buy-in on your tech strategy
For some Staff+ engineers, technical strategy development is an expectation, and not an easy one to navigate. Ras Kasa Williams is here to help you get buy-in for that strategy.
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Tech debt traps to avoid
Tech debt is a term that often catches people out. Here are some ways to make sure you avoid falling into that trap!
Top Technical Direction videos
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IPv6 – did we just win
Look, ok, I’m burnt out too. After years of pushing IPv6, we are where we are. But – where is that?
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Tactical tech: Short-term solutions for long-term strategy
Waterloo International station was opened in 1994 serving Eurostar trains through the channel tunnel to France. The station cost £130 million to build and won the EU prize for contemporary architecture but closed just 13 years later in 2007.
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Fitness Functions: Creating Consistency across Hundreds of Services
In this talk, I will show the different ways we employ fitness functions at Jimdo to keep track of the state of our over 200 services.
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Have AI Got News for You
This talk ventures beyond the surface to offer you a compelling deep dive into the nuances of working with large language models (LLMs).
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Sunsetting legacy: Navigating the Shop merchant eligibility data pipeline migration
In this talk, I’ll share the strategies used to disassemble our legacy data pipelines responsible for managing merchant eligibility on the Shop apps. Join me on a journey through our successes, challenges, and invaluable learnings in the meticulous orchestration of terminating our legacy data pipelines.
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Architecting for scale: Revisiting fundamentals for sustainable growth
In this talk, Viktor challenges this approach by advocating for adaptability and a return to basics in system design.
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Managing engineering teams in the era of AI
Drawing from my experience as Engineering Manager at incident.io, where I was part of a product team that built the company’s first AI-powered features, this talk combines personal insights and broader leadership strategies.
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Managing the marathon: Leading teams through lengthy migration projects
In this short talk, Lawrence will reflect on his experience leading teams through multi-year migration projects.