One of the constants in software engineering is that everyone has an opinion about architecture. New graduate or seasoned CTO, it doesn’t matter; people love to debate how systems should connect, scale, and fail. The trap is treating architecture as a gap-filler. Too often, architects are pulled into whatever’s missing: technical design, product strategy, engineering…

Leaders are often expected to be the loudest voice in the room. The bigger the team, the bigger the persona, or so the stereotype goes. I have never really fit that mould. I am an introvert, I like one-to-ones, and I feel more comfortable when I get the opportunity to think before I speak. That…

What the world needs, I thought, is for someone who hasn’t been a professional coder for several years to write their thoughts about coding with an AI assistant. I realise that is a silly concept, but… as a senior manager what I can say is that I am increasingly being challenged to say “why aren’t…

When I was growing up, my parents were always involved in school life, constantly helping to run some event or other. So when my own kids started school, I just sort of assumed that I should “do” something too. Then the opportunity to become a school governor came up, and it seemed like a good…

Depending on the role I’m in, the volume of mail and messages coming at me can vary massively. In the last few years I’ve averaged around 500 emails a day, plus innumerable instant messages. Over time I’ve developed a way of working where I aim for “Inbox Zero” whenever I can.