An Interview with Ignition Works
Hey there. You're reading Simpler Machines, a weekly newsletter about the human side of software development. I'm Nat Bennett, a
An office with a door that closes
I don't need to win an argument with anyone, even with myself, about whether the thing that makes me happy and comfortable also makes me more productive.
Why Does Pivotal Tracker Have a Priority Field?
Does the Tracker team even use Tracker itself anymore?
An Interview with Josh Aresty, Tech Lead at Braintree
We talked about pairing, story acceptance, process change, adapting to remote work, and a neat technique I’d never heard of before for weekly planning.
Newsletter Recommendations
Here's the neighborhood you're in right now. These aren't the only newsletters I read, but they're the ones that have most influenced this one, or that I find the most consistently interesting.
Code is a load-bearing poem (and a pop-up newsletter)
A program is a poem that you write for two audiences: The computer, and every programmer who comes after you.
Why you need a "WTF Notebook"
There's a very specific reputation I want to have on a team: "Nat helps me solve my problems. Nat get things I care about done."
Some light Kubernetes skepticism
I'm pleased to see VMware "succeeding with success" and sticking with Cloud Foundry on BOSH for what that system is really good at: Mission critical apps.
Six key skills for pair programming
This article describes the key skills required to be a good pair, a pair who is productive and rewarding to pair with for most people.
Lessons Learned from 5 years using Pivotal Tracker
Everything is made up, and the points don't matter
