Project (un)Predicability; Hiring in the AI Era; Bad Code or Bad Leaders; Breaking Silos
Issue #54 Bytes
🌱 Dive into Learning-Rich Sundays Monday with groCTO ⤵️
📺 The Hows & Whats of DORA Ep #06
Want more predictability in your projects?
In the latest episode of the 'Hows and Whats of DORA', speakers Mario Viktorov Mechoulam (Director of Engineering at Contentsquare) and Joan Díaz Capell (Engineering Manager at New Relic) uncover how the Monte Carlo method can help you forecast delivery timelines and reduce uncertainty.
You'll also learn:
Which engineering metrics truly matter and how to interpret them for better planning.
How transparent data can reduce team friction and improve collaboration.
Why overestimating team capacity is detrimental and how data can help you avoid this common pitfall.
Real-world applications and challenges of implementing these metrics from leaders at New Relic and ContentSquare.
Here is a sneak peek from the session.
Want to watch the full episode? 👇
Article of the Week ⭐
“A case in point is AI-assisted software development. There are changes across the entire SDLC that shift the software workflow to the point where it's almost unrecognisable from how software development occurred before.”
Should CTOs stop hiring and focus on AI?
More CEOs are asking this. Some cut headcount last year and are cautious about hiring again. Others have new funding and want to know where to invest. The question: Should we grow through people, or through AI?
Daniel Walters argues that AI-assisted development is already shifting the way software gets built, despite the hesitancy. And that shift has real implications for how leaders think about hiring and the SDLC.
What’s behind the shift?
AI-assisted development is already reshaping how teams write, test, and ship code. Practices like unit testing and TDD are being applied in new ways. Tests now guide assistants. Feedback loops are tighter. The coding process is more iterative and interactive, although somewhat non-deterministic.
Generative AI is part of this change, but it’s not the only force at play. Many companies are finding ways to integrate smaller, local models into their workflows. Productivity and code quality are improving without major increases in team size.
Key advice for CTOs:
Most teams are already bigger than they need to be
AI tools can increase developer output
Hiring plans should adjust to reflect new leverage, not legacy assumptions
What’s actually changing?
Even if there is a bubble around generative AI, that doesn’t mean it’s all smoke. Local models are good enough. Tooling is improving weekly. And for software development, the impact is already real.
So should you stop hiring?
No—but you should stop overhiring.
Other highlights 👇
Bad code doesn't kill projects, poor leadership does
When tech teams miss dates, platform dependencies stall, or louder voices dominate meetings, it’s often a leadership gap rather than an issue of technical skill alone.
1. Bring estimates into focus
Use a shared estimation framework across teams and train everyone to communicate using the same language. Calibrate against actual delivery, as to avoid issues with indiscriminate padding, guesswork or safety nets that are not visible to other stakeholders. Set expectations for forecast accuracy. Track variance and adjust planning accordingly. Consistent transparency builds predictability and accountability. Be open to honest mistakes and learn from it rather than seeking punishments or financial levers.
2. Build partnership with platform teams
“How do you motivate platform teams who are critical to your product but have little skin in the game?”
GIVE them skin in the game.
Involve platform teams early and share ownership of goals and roadmaps. Align on mutual outcomes, batch cross-team needs, and recognize their contributions visibly and with earnest support and appreciation.
Platform teams detach from the reality of the business when they are treated as “infrastructure contractors.” Counteract this stigma early by elevating their contributions transparently.
3. Respond quickly to critical failures
Have a playbook in place. Assign an incident lead, create focused response pods, and communicate clearly to all stakeholders. Triage within minutes, rehearse recovery steps regularly, and follow up with structured reviews.
4. Support quieter leaders doing high-leverage work
Preparation, clarity, and data make their work visible. Share impact early in meetings. Use targeted questions to guide decisions. Keep key stakeholders close so they advocate when needed. Influence grows from substance and consistency.
Leadership practices like these reduce delivery risk and help teams stay aligned, especially under pressure.
Never the expert: breaking knowledge silos and bottlenecks in technical teams
When one person knows too much, the whole team slows down
Teams move faster when knowledge is shared. Emmanuel Valverde Ramos outlines how the principle of “never the expert” helps reduce risk, speed up delivery, and prevent burnout. Especially valuable in systems where one person holds critical context.
Why it matters
When a single engineer becomes the go-to for a domain, they also become a delivery bottleneck. A low Bus Factor is a structural limitation that creates fragility under pressure, increasing delays, onboarding pressure, and weakening resilience.
What to change
The fix isn’t to make expertise transferable through a series of collaboration activities intertwined into daily work habits. Teams that apply “never the expert” rotate ownership, pair frequently, and treat documentation as a shared habit. When knowledge is portable, delivery becomes less dependent on individual availability.
Key practices
Shadowing and pairing across system areas
Rotating ownership regularly
Cross-team reviews to surface gaps
Lightweight documentation tied to real design decisions
Explicit mapping of who-knows-what and where it needs to spread
Knowledge silos limit your ability to adapt. Technical training improves individual skill, but breaking the silos takes leadership, perseverance and transparent intentions.
Find Yourself 🌻
That’s it for Today!
Whether you’re innovating on new projects, staying ahead of tech trends, or taking a strategic pause to recharge, may your day be as impactful and inspiring as your leadership.
See you next week(end), Ciao 👋
Credits 🙏
Curators - Diligently curated by our community members Denis & Kovid
Featured Authors - Daniel Walters, Level Up, Emmanuel Valverde Ramos
Sponsors - This newsletter is sponsored by Typo AI - Ship reliable software faster.
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