Ian Huston
@ianhuston.dev
Developer/Data Scientist/ex-academic in Dublin. Now trying my hand at being a SW VP.
https://ianhuston.net
https://ianhuston.net
So many great things in this piece by @codefrenzy.bsky.social about how AI coding assistants could lead to a change in identity for software engineers.
As a leader I appreciate the highlighting of paths people might follow if their core identity is challenged by these changes.
As a leader I appreciate the highlighting of paths people might follow if their core identity is challenged by these changes.
What an honour to be quoted by @charity.wtf!
This was a heartfelt piece that I’d been meaning to write for a while. I’m grateful it resonates with so many.
annievella.com/posts/the-so...
This was a heartfelt piece that I’d been meaning to write for a while. I’m grateful it resonates with so many.
annievella.com/posts/the-so...
March 28, 2025 at 11:12 AM
So many great things in this piece by @codefrenzy.bsky.social about how AI coding assistants could lead to a change in identity for software engineers.
As a leader I appreciate the highlighting of paths people might follow if their core identity is challenged by these changes.
As a leader I appreciate the highlighting of paths people might follow if their core identity is challenged by these changes.
Reposted by Ian Huston
I suspect 2 elements of measurement strategy would significantly help here:
- a deeper specification than "cycle time." Incorporating even a rough taxonomy of categories of work tasks into our measures could be really helpful
- testing for *within-group* changes relative to a specific intervention
- a deeper specification than "cycle time." Incorporating even a rough taxonomy of categories of work tasks into our measures could be really helpful
- testing for *within-group* changes relative to a specific intervention
March 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
I suspect 2 elements of measurement strategy would significantly help here:
- a deeper specification than "cycle time." Incorporating even a rough taxonomy of categories of work tasks into our measures could be really helpful
- testing for *within-group* changes relative to a specific intervention
- a deeper specification than "cycle time." Incorporating even a rough taxonomy of categories of work tasks into our measures could be really helpful
- testing for *within-group* changes relative to a specific intervention
Really interesting data here on how cycle time varies over different periods within companies, teams, or for individuals. Makes impact of any action to change cycle time very hard to measure.
🚨 new preprint paper alert 🚨 - led by @johnflournoy.science !!
In "No Silver Bullets," we take a big, mathy swing at a complex topic: measuring cycle time in software development and why we think it's messy, not magic
arxiv.org/abs/2503.05040
In "No Silver Bullets," we take a big, mathy swing at a complex topic: measuring cycle time in software development and why we think it's messy, not magic
arxiv.org/abs/2503.05040
No Silver Bullets: Why Understanding Software Cycle Time is Messy, Not Magic
Understanding factors that influence software development velocity is crucial for engineering teams and organizations, yet empirical evidence at scale remains limited. A more robust understanding of t...
arxiv.org
March 21, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Really interesting data here on how cycle time varies over different periods within companies, teams, or for individuals. Makes impact of any action to change cycle time very hard to measure.
Reposted by Ian Huston
🚨 new preprint paper alert 🚨 - led by @johnflournoy.science !!
In "No Silver Bullets," we take a big, mathy swing at a complex topic: measuring cycle time in software development and why we think it's messy, not magic
arxiv.org/abs/2503.05040
In "No Silver Bullets," we take a big, mathy swing at a complex topic: measuring cycle time in software development and why we think it's messy, not magic
arxiv.org/abs/2503.05040
No Silver Bullets: Why Understanding Software Cycle Time is Messy, Not Magic
Understanding factors that influence software development velocity is crucial for engineering teams and organizations, yet empirical evidence at scale remains limited. A more robust understanding of t...
arxiv.org
March 10, 2025 at 8:08 PM
🚨 new preprint paper alert 🚨 - led by @johnflournoy.science !!
In "No Silver Bullets," we take a big, mathy swing at a complex topic: measuring cycle time in software development and why we think it's messy, not magic
arxiv.org/abs/2503.05040
In "No Silver Bullets," we take a big, mathy swing at a complex topic: measuring cycle time in software development and why we think it's messy, not magic
arxiv.org/abs/2503.05040
Reposted by Ian Huston
Reposted by Ian Huston
Inspired by the AI hostility on this platform, I decided to share how I use AI.
“I treat AI as I would a collaborator or a pretty good intern but I remain responsible for the final outcome.”
lucumr.pocoo.org/2025/1/30/ho...
“I treat AI as I would a collaborator or a pretty good intern but I remain responsible for the final outcome.”
lucumr.pocoo.org/2025/1/30/ho...
lucumr.pocoo.org
January 30, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Inspired by the AI hostility on this platform, I decided to share how I use AI.
“I treat AI as I would a collaborator or a pretty good intern but I remain responsible for the final outcome.”
lucumr.pocoo.org/2025/1/30/ho...
“I treat AI as I would a collaborator or a pretty good intern but I remain responsible for the final outcome.”
lucumr.pocoo.org/2025/1/30/ho...
Reposted by Ian Huston
I've been hearing a lot about different programming workflows to make full use of LLMs, but I want in-depth accounts of how it works. This blog by Harper Reed is exactly what I've been looking for.
harper.blog/2025/02/16/m...
harper.blog/2025/02/16/m...
My LLM codegen workflow atm
A detailed walkthrough of my current workflow for using LLms to build software, from brainstorming through planning and execution.
harper.blog
February 20, 2025 at 4:02 AM
I've been hearing a lot about different programming workflows to make full use of LLMs, but I want in-depth accounts of how it works. This blog by Harper Reed is exactly what I've been looking for.
harper.blog/2025/02/16/m...
harper.blog/2025/02/16/m...
Reposted by Ian Huston
If you read nothing else about AI this week, read this - absolutely fascinating, ties together a whole bunch of recent developments in the field
Wrote my own notes here but really this piece defies summarization, you should absorb the whole thing simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/19/...
Wrote my own notes here but really this piece defies summarization, you should absorb the whole thing simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/19/...
New AI Snake Oil essay: Last month the AI industry's narrative suddenly flipped — model scaling is dead, but "inference scaling" is taking over. This has left people outside AI confused. What changed? Is AI capability progress slowing? We look at the evidence. 🧵 www.aisnakeoil.com/p/is-ai-prog...
December 19, 2024 at 6:13 PM
If you read nothing else about AI this week, read this - absolutely fascinating, ties together a whole bunch of recent developments in the field
Wrote my own notes here but really this piece defies summarization, you should absorb the whole thing simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/19/...
Wrote my own notes here but really this piece defies summarization, you should absorb the whole thing simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/19/...
Reposted by Ian Huston
Google recently released the 2024 Accelerate State of DevOps (DORA) report, and there were some holy shit moments in those 120 pages. Or–to phrase it more professionally–this year’s report has some very interesting and counterintuitive findings.
redmonk.com/rstephens/20...
redmonk.com/rstephens/20...
DORA Report 2024 – A Look at Throughput and Stability
Google recently released the 2024 Accelerate State of DevOps (DORA) report, and there were some holy shit moments in those 120 pages. Or–to phrase it more professionally–this year’s report has some…
redmonk.com
November 26, 2024 at 4:29 PM
Google recently released the 2024 Accelerate State of DevOps (DORA) report, and there were some holy shit moments in those 120 pages. Or–to phrase it more professionally–this year’s report has some very interesting and counterintuitive findings.
redmonk.com/rstephens/20...
redmonk.com/rstephens/20...
Reposted by Ian Huston
The original #ForestAndDesert talk is now available on YouTube!
@kentbeck.bsky.social and I compared our experiences and found a common technique: developers gathering with other developers. Together, we can figure out how to improve whatever is making our work hard.
youtu.be/nt6m8qtRbz0
@kentbeck.bsky.social and I compared our experiences and found a common technique: developers gathering with other developers. Together, we can figure out how to improve whatever is making our work hard.
youtu.be/nt6m8qtRbz0
Kent Beck & Beth Andres-Beck - We're Good At Writing Software [Keynote]
YouTube video by Øredev Conference
youtu.be
November 25, 2024 at 5:08 PM
The original #ForestAndDesert talk is now available on YouTube!
@kentbeck.bsky.social and I compared our experiences and found a common technique: developers gathering with other developers. Together, we can figure out how to improve whatever is making our work hard.
youtu.be/nt6m8qtRbz0
@kentbeck.bsky.social and I compared our experiences and found a common technique: developers gathering with other developers. Together, we can figure out how to improve whatever is making our work hard.
youtu.be/nt6m8qtRbz0
Don't think a personalised cold marketing email with the subject "Urgent Fire Drill" is really going to get the reaction you want from your audience.
November 12, 2024 at 1:56 PM
Don't think a personalised cold marketing email with the subject "Urgent Fire Drill" is really going to get the reaction you want from your audience.
Reposted by Ian Huston
Starter packs are a great way to find people. But I followed a few tech/AI starter packs, and now have a sizeable gender skew in who I'm following.
To counteract, I started collecting this list. Who else should I be following & add? 👇 go.bsky.app/LaGDpqg
To counteract, I started collecting this list. Who else should I be following & add? 👇 go.bsky.app/LaGDpqg
November 8, 2024 at 12:04 PM
Starter packs are a great way to find people. But I followed a few tech/AI starter packs, and now have a sizeable gender skew in who I'm following.
To counteract, I started collecting this list. Who else should I be following & add? 👇 go.bsky.app/LaGDpqg
To counteract, I started collecting this list. Who else should I be following & add? 👇 go.bsky.app/LaGDpqg
Definitely some good announcements coming out of #githubuniverse about Copilot. I wonder if the IntelliJ plugin is going to keep up or there will be more pressure to move to VScode to take advantage of latest features.
November 1, 2024 at 1:39 PM
Definitely some good announcements coming out of #githubuniverse about Copilot. I wonder if the IntelliJ plugin is going to keep up or there will be more pressure to move to VScode to take advantage of latest features.
That was relatively simple to set up if you've ever edited dns records before.
PSA: If you're new to BlueSky and want your username to be a fancy custom domain rather than something dot bsky dot app, it's just a few non-scary, non-destructive steps away (basically just add a DNS record): bsky.social/about/blog/4...
How to set your domain as your handle - Bluesky
Using a domain as your handle helps with account identity, verification, and portability. Here's how to set your domain as your handle.
bsky.social
November 1, 2024 at 11:21 AM
That was relatively simple to set up if you've ever edited dns records before.
Reposted by Ian Huston
I really like Drew's framework here dividing current AI use-cases into Gods (human replacement, which I think of as still mostly science fiction), Interns (assistants you delegate closely-reviewed tasks to, which is most of how I use LLMs today) and Cogs (smaller tools that can more reliably […]
Original post on fedi.simonwillison.net
fedi.simonwillison.net
October 20, 2024 at 10:16 PM
I really like Drew's framework here dividing current AI use-cases into Gods (human replacement, which I think of as still mostly science fiction), Interns (assistants you delegate closely-reviewed tasks to, which is most of how I use LLMs today) and Cogs (smaller tools that can more reliably […]
I stopped posting long ago on twitter but kept reading just to stay up to date on tech topics. Looks like there's enough critical mass over here now to make the move.
October 22, 2024 at 8:35 PM
I stopped posting long ago on twitter but kept reading just to stay up to date on tech topics. Looks like there's enough critical mass over here now to make the move.