Dev Interrupted

Latest Episodes:

How Microsoft Integrates AI into Security | Binil Pillai Apr 02, 2024

Show notes

In the past year, ransomware attacks have been up almost 300%, with over 50% targeting small businesses. To help mitigate this increase, Microsoft is launching their new Security Copilot, and we sat down with their SMB Security Strategy Head, Binil Pillai, to learn more.

We dive into the importance of SMBs assessing their security posture, how to leverage AI for efficient threat detection and response, and the role of Microsoft's partner ecosystem in providing comprehensive security solutions. The episode concludes with advice for SMB leaders on starting their security assessments and the benefits of integrating AI into their cybersecurity strategies.

Episode Highlights:
01:39 Why is SMB security a priority for Microsoft?
07:34 Key security challenges for SMBs
09:26 How can SMBs leverage AI within security?
16:28 How VPs of Engineering can use new tech to deal with threats
20:25 Microsoft Security Copilot
24:30 Where is the best place to learn about Microsoft's security strategy?
Show Notes:

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

How to Leverage a Non-Technical Background in Engineering Leadership | Melissa DePuydt Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, host Conor Bronsdon talks with Melissa DePuydt, Sr. Director of Engineering at Upstatement. Melissa discusses how her background in journalism has uniquely positioned her to excel in engineering leadership roles. She highlights how thinking like a journalist has enhanced her ability to lead engineering teams effectively, particularly in planning, risk management, and decision-making.

The conversation covers the importance of preparing for disruptions, conducting pre-mortems to anticipate challenges, and incorporating broad perspectives for effective problem solving. Melissa also shares insights on continuously learning and adapting by embracing one's unique background and experiences.
Episode Highlights:
00:20 Why do engineering leaders need to think like journalists?
04:46 Preparing for disruptions as an engineering leader
08:44 How pre-mortems work in practice: an example from the Atlantic
12:47 How to get buy in from other leaders when changing processes
17:59 Eliciting buy-in from team members on pre-mortems
22:15 How do we train engineers to think in a team sport mentality?
26:51 Why is career switching a superpower?
Show Notes:

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

Preparing for Your First VP of Engineering Role | Honeycomb VPE, Emily Nakashima Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Emily Nakashima, VP of Engineering at Honeycomb.io, to discuss how you can prepare to be a VP of Engineering, and how the role differs among companies. Being a VPE varies based on company size, culture, and the existing team's makeup, and Emily provides valuable advice for engineers aspiring to leadership positions.
Emily also discusses using personality tests for better team dynamics and the need for regular self-evaluation as an integral part of career advancement. The conversation closes by talking about the impact of AI on the workforce, the importance of aligning engineering and business goals, and the potential of AI to enhance rather than replace human skills.
Episode Highlights:
01:27 Why does Emily think there isn't a standard VP of Engineering role?
06:29 The archetypes of the VPE role
10:15 How does the VPE role change as an organization grows?
14:46 Preparing to become a VP of Engineering before you get the role
20:11 How you can use personality tests in organizational design
26:00 How is the VP of Engineering role changing in 2024?
30:53 Teams are having to accept realities about production software with regards to AI
Show Notes:

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

How to Build Influence as an Engineering Leader | Kelly Vaughn Mar 12, 2024

Show notes

This week, host Conor Bronsdon welcomes back Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, to talk about building influence as an engineering leader. Kelly shares insights on the importance of leadership skills for both individual contributor and managerial roles and outlines her three pillars of trust, communication, and empowerment.
Conor and Kelly discuss strategies for staying technically fresh despite moving up in management, exploring the balance between staying close to product development and avoiding micromanagement. Lastly, they touch on the potential of AR/VR technology, with a focus on the business implications of Apple's Vision Pro and the future of immersive experiences.
Episode Highlights:
01:09 How should engineering leaders think about building influence?
03:53 The impact of changing roles or companies on your performance
08:07 Why you lose important context when making assumptions
09:32 How ICs can help manage their team
10:49 Key ways to build influence and trust
16:00 How important is trust when giving or recieving feedback?
22:27 How do leaders stay close to their product as their org grows?
28:58 Our thoughts on Apple Vision Pro and AR VR in general
Show Notes:

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

How to Achieve Predictable Software Delivery at Scale | Syngenta’s Jason Krohn Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon is joined by Jason Krohn, Global Head of Delivery at Syngenta. Jason delves into how his teams at Syngenta leverage software engineering intelligence to achieve predictable delivery at scale.
Jason also explores how aligning work with employees' passions contributes to success and retention at Syngenta. He discusses the challenges and solutions in implementing efficient DevOps processes and ensuring organizational buy-in for the vision. Additionally, Jason highlights the importance of empowering teams with autonomy and providing the necessary tools for proactive decision-making.
Whether you're leading a small team or managing an enterprise, Jason's insights offer valuable lessons on driving efficiency, scaling effectively, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Episode Highlights:
1:46 Scaling teams that are empowered and autonomous
4:01: The four pillars for retaining talent in tech teams.
12:51 Tackling organizational change
18:41 Using metrics to achieve predictable delivery
21:45 Why your engineering teams' need to care about metrics, not just be compliant
26:20 Addressing production delays and DevOps integration
28:55 Leadership's role in communicating the 'why’
33:05 The Importance of Coaching When Mentoring
Show Notes:

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

The Startup CTO's Handbook | Zach Goldberg Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

This week, host Dan Lines welcomes back Zach Goldberg, CTO and author of the book 'The Startup CTO's Handbook: Essential Skills and Best Practices for High Performing Engineering Teams.’ Zach shares insights from his extensive career as a CTO and his journey in writing a book that condenses the wisdom of numerous other influential works into a single, comprehensive guide.

We explore the three core sections of his book:

Management Fundamentals: Interviewing, Hiring, Performance Management, Budgeting, etc.
Technical Leadership Concepts: Developer Experience, Tech Debt, etc.
Hard Technology Decisions: Pragmatism, Tech Stack, etc.

Zach provides advice for not only CTOs but anyone in a technical leadership position, offering strategies to develop empathy and understanding within technical organizations.
Episode Highlights:

1:59 From Startup CTO to Author and Executive Coach
3:41 The Origin of Best Practices and Genesis of the Handbook
10:25 Why the Startup CTO’s Handbook isn’t just for CTOs
13:02 Part 1: Management Fundamentals Beyond Coding
24:50 Part 2: Technical Leadership Concepts & Developer Experience
30:57 Part 3: Technology Decisions from a Pragmatic Perspective

Show Notes:

The Startup CTO's Handbook: Essential skills and best practices for high performing engineering teams

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

How to Build a Technical Strategy That Solves Business Problems | CircleCI CTO, Rob Zuber Feb 13, 2024

Show notes

It doesn’t matter if you have an innovative technical strategy if you’re not solving problems the business cares about…
This week, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Rob Zuber, CTO at CircleCI. They delve into the evolving role of engineering leaders, and the importance of building a technical strategy that aligns with overarching business goals.
Throughout the conversation, Rob emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer needs, gathering direct feedback and maintaining strategic flexibility. If you’re interested in understanding the balance between technical strategy and business leadership, this episode provides a wealth of knowledge, strategies, and real-world examples.

Episode Highlights:
01:38 Crafting technical strategy for teams at CircleCI
07:26 How engineering leaders can make the most informed choices about their business
17:47 Using postmortems to fuel a growth mindset
22:39 Applying hypotheses to be prepared for worst-case scenarios
27:43 Why CTOs need to focus on solving business problems first, then technical strategy
30:30 Why engineering leaders need to form a close relationship with finance
33:17 Advice for ICs or Directors on becoming a business leader
39:17 Rob's approach to building trust and organizational design
44:36 How can I prepare for being a technical founder?
55:12 What is CircleCI doing in ML?
Show Notes:

Modern Software Engineering

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

The 12 Scenarios of Failure: Applying Chaos Engineering to SAP at AWS Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon sit down with Guilherme Sesterheim, SAP DevOps SRE Engineer at AWS. Guilherme delves into applying Chaos Engineering and DevOps principles to SAP, a domain traditionally seen as risk-averse and resistant to rapid innovation.

With expertise in both open-source technologies and SAP, Guilherme shares how he’s bringing modern practices to SAP environments at AWS. He explores how Chaos Engineering can be used to test and improve the resilience of SAP systems, focusing on HANA, SAP’s in-memory database. The discussion also touches on the challenges of integrating these practices within the SAP framework and the broader implications for SAP users and the tech industry.

Episode Highlights:

00:20 What does it mean to apply chaos engineering to testing SAP installation
04:05 What does it mean to have DevOps around SAP?
05:58 Guilherme’s approach to DevOps practices around SAP
10:01 The challenge of handling installation and migration
11:50 How to Start Applying Chaos Engineering to Your SAP Instance
16:57 The 12 Scenarios When You Inject Failures on SAP
19:24 How Guilherme ended up at AWS working on SAP
23:14 What’s Next in DevOps Guilherme is Excited About?

Show Notes:

Wiring the Winning Organization - IT Revolution

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

The Build vs. Buy Debate, GenAI and Section 174 | Kelly Vaughn Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s episode, our hosts Dan Lines and Conor Bronsdon are joined by long-time friend of the show, industry expert, and Director of Engineering at Spot AI, Kelly Vaughn. Together they tackle a range of topics, including how tax laws are impacting engineering teams, the evolving role of AI in software development, and the great build vs. buy debate.

The conversation starts with Kelly and Dan’s takes on Section 174, which poses a looming threat to US tech companies. From there, they pivot to GenAI to discuss how you can measure its impact, leadership’s role in the process, and the importance of navigating this implementation wisely. They conclude by talking about Kelly’s recent article on the debate of building software in-house vs. buying third-party solutions, and why the answer isn’t black or white.
Episode Highlights

01:35 Section 174's impact on US tech companies
08:01 Why intention matters for remote vs. in-person work
12:46 Kelly and Dan’s take on what’s causing layoffs in tech
18:21 What should leaders be doing to encourage Gen AI tool knowledge?
24:28 How are we tracking the impact of Gen AI?
31:50 How should organizations set up standardization?
33:55 The great build vs. buy debate
39:47 How the engineering leaders’ role has changed in recent years

Show Notes:

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

Netflix's Blueprint for Building Inspired Engineering Teams | Carol Barrett Jan 23, 2024

Show notes

On this week's episode, we're joined by Carol Barrett, the Engineering Leader in Consumer Identity and Access at Netflix. Host Conor Bronsdon interviews Carol to learn about Netflix’s blueprint for success when building engineering teams, and how they foster a culture where inspiration and purpose are at the forefront.

Carol shares her valuable insights on empowering engineers to make their own decisions, ensuring product management and engineering are perfectly synced, and the importance of flexible structures that cater to team dynamics. She also discusses the unique challenges and opportunities Netflix faces, including their approach to innovative projects and navigating uncharted technological territories.

From quarterly commitments to building impactful partnerships, learn how Netflix maintains its edge by allowing teams the freedom to define their own paths.
Episode Highlights

4:17: Finding Alignment Between Product, Leadership and Engineering
11:21 How to Build Trust in Your Partnerships
16:26 Why Engineers Have to Decide What's Best
22:56 Connecting Your Team’s Purpose to the Company’s Purpose
28:37 Why Netflix Stopped Hiring Only Senior Engineers

Show Notes:

Learn how to measure the impact of your GenAI initiative in LinearB's upcoming workshop

OFFERS

Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free.
Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era.

LEARN ABOUT LINEARB

AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production.
AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance.
AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil.
MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

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