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David Janke posted thiseven though I'm not a gamer... I've been reading The Digital Antiquarian regularly for almost a decade. The philosophical insights per article ratio is very high. Interesting mix of tech history, business case studies, and exploration of art and artists (and not as pretentious as I make it sound). consistently it's very much describing classic video games, but then you get something like this: "There’s the guilt that comes with the knowledge that your loved ones are suffering in their own right every day as well from your illness, and the sneaking, dangerous suspicion that knowledge carries with it that everyone would be better off if you would just die already. And accompanying the guilt is the shame. Why can’t you just get better, like everyone wants you to?" https://www.filfre.net/
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David Janke shared thisJust posted another article to the Stratus Softworks blog. Everyone’s got a story about a migration that “launched”—and then quietly bled momentum for another year. But it’s not just about the pain of transitions. It’s about the pattern underneath: architecture change is actually organizational change, and most teams aren’t set up to carry it. That’s what makes the Bridge Team model click for me. It doesn’t solve the problem with more hands. It brings capability—the kind that actually transfers, so the team that ends up owning the system is ready to own it. The work isn’t done when the code ships. It’s done when the system, and the people around it, can keep evolving without help. https://lnkd.in/emHRGatWStratus Softworks - Building the Bridge: Capability (Not Capacity) Is What Carries You ThroughStratus Softworks - Building the Bridge: Capability (Not Capacity) Is What Carries You Through
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David Janke posted thisBeen thinking about how reporting fails in early-stage companies. Not in big, obvious ways—but in slow, compounding friction. You give business teams dashboards, but they’re too rigid. You give them raw data, and it’s too open-ended. So you end up with this vague dissatisfaction on both sides. Data people feel like they’ve built the thing. Business folks feel like they’re still flying blind. I keep circling this idea of “structured flexibility”... but it’s a slippery target. Every company says they want it. Nobody agrees on what it means. For one team, it’s an ad hoc dashboard (that takes 5 min to run a query). For another, it’s a Notion doc of SQL snippets. There’s no universal midpoint. There’s just this repeated, quiet question: Can the people using this make a better decision, faster? It’s hard because the right answer keeps shifting with the org. What worked last quarter might be noise now.
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David Janke shared thisEarly in my career, I built a quick dashboard for one meeting. It was never supposed to last—but it did. People found it useful. Then they started depending on it. And just like that, a prototype became a production system. No monitoring. No rollback. No plan to scale. Just a growing pile of hacks holding up business decisions. This happens all the time. Not because teams move too fast—but because they don’t plan for what happens if it works. For engineering leaders, that’s the real risk: shipping something fast that quietly becomes critical—without the stability or structure to support it. I just published a new piece on the Stratus Softworks site about how to build MVPs that move fast but still earn trust. It's for anyone who's tired of rebuilding "temporary" systems from scratch. https://lnkd.in/exywUhBNStratus Softworks - Fast, Not Fragile: Scoping MVPs for Real SystemsStratus Softworks - Fast, Not Fragile: Scoping MVPs for Real Systems
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David Janke shared thisThis is exactly the kind of thing that LLMs are best at: - Automating a tedious task that does not involve many design choices - All the information & context is provided (the existing code structure and design choices) - Humans reviewing and adjusting the resultsDavid Janke shared thisCould LLMs handle large-scale code migrations at Google? Yep, Google actually did this, at massive scale, over real production code, no simulation or academic experiment, it was a live, enterprise-grade system. This represents the most comprehensive real-world code migration using LLMs publicly documented so far, and was largely successful with Developers estimating a 50% reduction in total migration time compared to previous manual-only efforts. LLMs successfully automated the majority of code edits and changes and were used to modify production code and tests, handle edits across multiple programming languages (Java, C++, etc.), and apply domain-specific transformations (e.g., in SQL strings). LLM generated changes were passed through six validation stages, including parsing, compilation, and test pass checks. Developers loved it, and expressed high satisfaction with the LLM edits, and found it especially helpful for repetitive or tedious edits. They reported a strong sense of progress due to nightly automation updates. Obviously there were still significant challenges: - LLM hallucinations (reformatting instead of migrating). - Context window limitations - large files sometimes couldn’t be processed. - Language support gaps - Dart had lower LLM success than Java/C++. - Pre-existing test failures or golden files blocked some automated rollouts. - LLMs required retries in some cases. Still, quite astonishing when you consider where we were just a couple of years ago.
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David Janke shared thisThis is amazing. I've never seen this approach (as an approach, not counting a few ad hoc questions), but it also seems so obvious once you hear it.David Janke shared thisInstead of asking your dev team “how long will this take?”, try asking, “What could we deliver in a week? A month? Three months?” It changes the conversation. It forces focus on what’s actually important. It shifts thinking from scope to outcomes. It surfaces risks and trade-offs early. And it helps you learn what really matters.
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David Janke shared this#3 hit hard. Holding a high bar doesn't mean creating fear. Great teams rip apart designs/code/docs—not each other. I've definitely been the asshole in the room. It came from frustration, not strength. But creativity dies in hostile environments. If people don't feel safe sharing bold ideas, you won't build bold systems.David Janke shared thisI’m a Software Engineer at Amazon with 14+ years of experience. If I could sit down with every Junior Engineer just starting out, these are the 6 things I’d tell them to help them grow faster, stay sane, and build a career they’re proud of: 1. You’re not expected to know everything. But you are expected to care. Ask questions. Be curious. Own your learning. Nobody minds that you’re new, they mind when you stop trying. 2. Set your boundaries early. Protect your evenings. Respect your weekends. There will always be more work. You don't earn respect by burning out you earn it by delivering consistently. 3. Smart matters. But kindness matters more. Avoid people who belittle others just because they’re brilliant. You grow faster around people who uplift, not those who intimidate. Culture > cleverness. 4. A mentor should guide you, not do it for you. If your mentor grabs your keyboard every time you’re stuck, you’re not learning. Ask for hints, get direction but do the hard part yourself. 5. Clarify what success looks like in your role from Day 1. Don’t wait till performance review season to find out what was expected of you. Have that conversation early. Revisit it often. 6. Don’t suffer in silence. If you’ve been stuck on the same bug for 3 days, ask for help. Nobody’s keeping score. Your team wants you to succeed and no one wins when you’re blocked. You don’t have to be a genius to thrive in this industry. You just need to be someone others love working with, and someone who keeps showing up with a willingness to learn.
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David Janke posted thisThe dashboard isn’t broken. But the trust is. You see it when teams stop using the reports and start building their own. When two departments argue over whose numbers are “more correct.” When every audit feels like an excavation. This kind of drift doesn’t show up in error logs—it shows up in behavior. And it rarely gets fixed from the inside. Not because your team isn’t smart, but because they’re too deep in it. Too close to the logic that’s been layered, patched, and defended for years. Sometimes, the real fix isn’t rebuilding the pipeline. It’s rebuilding alignment—starting with how decisions *should* be made. If your reporting stack is full of duct tape, take the signal seriously. You don’t need more dashboards. You need to re-earn trust in the numbers.
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David Janke posted thisUser-focused culture isn’t a grassroots movement. It starts at the top. If leadership isn’t obsessed with the user, no amount of design thinking workshops or customer journey maps will fix it. Engineers take their cues from what leadership prioritizes: • Reward speed over solving the right problem? You’ll get misaligned execution. • Celebrate features over impact? Teams will chase launches instead of outcomes. • Rarely talk to customers? Don’t expect the rest of the org to. User focus isn’t something you ask for. It’s something you demonstrate every day.
David Janke replied to a comment
1y
Oleksandr Bardanov training on literature would only give you more emdashes!
David Janke commented on a post
1y
"other days you’re just keeping it in play" is so important to recognize. We don't really talk about this enough (as an industry) because it's not the exciting/fun part.
It's about keeping yourself in a good position (including not falling too far behind), so you *can* take advantage of opportunities when they come up, I guess.
David Janke commented on a post
1y
It sounds obvious/trivial when you say it out loud, but it's so helpful to take a little time and think about what you're about to do before you do it. You don't even have to draw it out on a whiteboard... just think about what you expect things to look like.
Extra powerful if you pause and reflect when the actual code deviates from what you expected. Continuous improvement and all that.
Like the post says, this is even MORE important if you're using LLMs, because you're not just blindly accepting whatever it spits out.
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David Janke liked thisDavid Janke liked thisIf you want to see this awesome minirack in action, come to the Maker Fair Ruhr at the DASA in Dortmund! I have a booth there on the 14. and 15. of March: https://lnkd.in/edvab23E Park your kids at my casual gaming station, and we can talk about: - The mini rack and 3D printing - Home Assistant - Home Assistant Dashboard - How I control the Gaming PC with my PokyPow via Home Assistant - Zigbee, Matter, a recipe printer, etc. If you want to move on, just hit that button, and the PC turns off, and you can have your kids back 😉 https://pokypow.com/
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David Janke liked thisDavid Janke liked thisEmotional Awareness for Men Book launch party at The Pink Cow in Akasaka! 5pm - 6pm Saturday February 28th! Enjoy connection with heart, great people, and The Pink Cow's yummy California Mexican cuisine!
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David Janke liked thisDavid Janke liked thisDo you love The Pink Cow? Have you been to their new 3F location in Akasaka? I'm looking forward to doing a book launch workshop + party there on Saturday February 28th! That's still over a month away so I'm letting you know now since Tokyo life can be busy! To help Traci and Naoya know how many to expect, please RSVP me on LINE.
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David Janke liked thisDavid Janke liked thisGreat first chat with Leviリーバイ Pells today, encouraging me to continue stepping through my fear of posting online. 😶🌫️ When I was growing up, the prevailing mindset was "boys don't cry." Since 1997, being steeped in the men's work with Mankind Project and others, I realized all that has changed! Recently, looking outside my men's group I see maybe the "boys don't cry" mindset still persists. What's your take? Do we still largely live in a world where boys and men cannot show emotions openly?
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David Janke reacted on thisDavid Janke reacted on thisAfter 8 incredible years at Amazon and AWS, I'm thrilled to announce that I've decided to move on to new challenges! My time at AWS was truly transformative, and I'm grateful for the opportunities I had to grow, learn, and contribute to one of the world's most innovative companies. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout my journey here. From my amazing colleagues, mentors, and friends, to our customers and partners - your trust and encouragement have meant the world to me. I've had the privilege of working on some truly groundbreaking projects that pushed the boundaries of what's possible with cloud computing. It's been an honor to be part of such a talented and dedicated team, and I'll always value the memories, lessons, and friendships forged during my time here. As I embark on this new chapter in my career, I'm filled with excitement and anticipation for what's to come. I'm looking forward to the fresh challenges learning new things!
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Arun Seetharaman
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗩𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀: 𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 Engineers are paid to find what’s broken. That instinct builds reliable systems. But unchecked, it can quietly slow teams to a crawl. From code reviews to RCAs, we’re trained to spot edge cases, vulnerabilities, and failure modes. That skepticism-first mindset is a feature in engineering, but it becomes a liability in leadership. That’s negativity bias at work: our brains overweight negative signals and underweight positive ones. How it shows up in real teams? • The “fix-it only” feedback loop: When a deploy goes smoothly, silence. • Risk aversion disguised as rigor: The pain of a potential failure feels far bigger than the upside of improvement. • Hiring blind spots: We zoom in on red flags and gloss over green ones. Why the 3:1 ratio matters? Research from Dr. Barbara Fredrickson shows high-performing teams need roughly 3 positive interactions for every negative one to truly flourish. That doesn’t mean fake cheerleading. It means being intentional. If feedback only shows up when something breaks, the ratio is already upside down. That’s not rigor; it’s erosion of psychological safety. Ways to counteract negativity bias (without lowering the bar) • Celebrate non-events: Call out a clean migration, a solid PR, or a quiet week with zero P0s. • Use pre-mortems, not just post-mortems: Channel skepticism early, during design. • Balance PR feedback: Encourage reviewers to note what worked, not just what needs fixing. The real takeaway? Engineering excellence isn’t just about reducing failures. It’s about increasing wins. And making them visible. When leaders balance problem-spotting with recognition, teams become more resilient, more creative, and faster over time. So here’s the question worth asking: How do you keep your team sharp without training them to expect punishment for visibility?
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Behnam Hajian
As AI systems grow more complex, knowledge graphs and ontologies become essential for giving models structured understanding connecting facts, entities, and relationships beyond what fits inside a model’s context window. By combining symbolic knowledge with neural reasoning, we enable more efficient, explainable, and truly intelligent AI that can reason over context rather than just recall tokens.
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