Customer Obsessed Engineering

Customer Obsessed Engineering

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February 2025

Model collapse might break the internet
What happens when AI models cannibalize their own data? You get "model collapse."
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Zac Beckman
3.2 Security & governance
You don't have to be a security genius to deliver secure, compliant applications. You just need a roadmap to follow, a clear strategy and a tactical…
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Zac Beckman
Knowing your coworkers, your boss, your friends requires a seldom used hidden skill: conversation.
Conversations are much more complex than most of us realize. It's a skill you'll use to understand what other's want and need, and to start making more…
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Zac Beckman

January 2025

What is a target state architecture?
Your "target state architecture" is exactly what your project needs in order to adequately describe current state, its problems, and desired solutions.
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Zac Beckman
Why we shouldn’t hide complexity
We work really hard to hide complexity behind beautiful abstractions, but that creates a problem with "invisible complexity." Here's how to save your…
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Zac Beckman
Breathing life into your writing
A great dictionary can fuel your creativity. Inspire your prose, express your thoughts. Well chosen words bring spirit and faculty to thoughts, and the…
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Zac Beckman
2
Why you need a second brain
A second brain gives you superpowers, makes mental leaps that others can't fathom and finds information nobody else knows exists. Best of all, having…
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Zac Beckman
Change the way you think about programming for the better
Challenging ourselves is transformative. Changing the way you look at programming will introduce paradigm-shifts... even when going back to old…
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Zac Beckman
2
Value stream engineering in a nutshell
Here's a concrete blueprint to absolutely ensure successful delivery of your project. “VSE in a nutshell” is the key.
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Zac Beckman

December 2024

Happy new year (and a quick 2024 retrospective)
Here’s to 365 new chances. Make them count. Happy New Year! + A quick look back at the most popular posts of 2024! 😁
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Zac Beckman
16 valuable career & life lessons
These life lessons have been invaluable to me over the years.
 • 
Zac Beckman
1
A "Definition of Done" is only half the story
Senior devs also use a “DoR.” A Definition of Ready makes sure you start only when you have everything you need.
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Zac Beckman
3.1 Value mapping
Properly understanding feature value, risks and rewards informs prioritization. It gives you the means to take control of your work and deliver fast…
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Zac Beckman
Leadership to “teamship:” becoming a high-functioning team
Transforming into a high-functioning team means empowering and trusting your team to self-enable: “teamship” is the way to do it.
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Zac Beckman
How to deliver more customer value than your competitors
Value stream engineering uses simple, day-to-day actions to create the success story you’re looking for.
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Zac Beckman

November 2024

2.9 Functional architecture
Your functional architecture assembles a finished design. It answers the question, “exactly how will we build our product?”
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Zac Beckman
3.0 Delivery (phase 3)
Phase 3: Creating detailed technical specifications, engineering work, and building a product increment that is ready for production.
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Zac Beckman
Ephemeral environments are the best way to fight “‘waste gremlins”
Save yourself from hundreds of hours of unnecessary work and headaches. Ephemeral environments are the key.
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Zac Beckman
Why you need a personal “technology radar”
Here’s a fun technique for tracking everything you want to research, without losing track of one thing.
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Zac Beckman
The 2024 most awesome geek gift guide
Here’s your definitive 2024 obsessive, compulsive, tweakable, awesome gift guide. A compilation gathered from a few of my own favorite toys.
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Zac Beckman
Professional pricing
Customer Obsessed Engineering will be adopting a professional journal price as of December 1. Lock in a phenomenal, low rate before the increase!
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Zac Beckman
Planning ahead with an AI readiness plan: How AI will impact software development and security
The upsurge in AI tools is changing software development. But is it for the better, or the worse? This detailed plan makes sure your team, your Delivery…
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Zac Beckman

October 2024

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