Off Script

In this conversation, James and Josh discuss the transition from prototype apps to production-ready products, emphasising the challenges and opportunities presented by vibe coding. They explore the implications of new coding tools, the importance of version control, and the need for security measures. The discussion highlights the evolving landscape of software engineering and the potential for new developers to emerge from this environment, while also addressing the responsibilities that come with creating applications. Vibe coding allows for rapid prototyping but can mislead about readiness for production. The barrier to entry for coding has significantly lowered, enabling more people to create apps. Version control is essential for managing app development and preventing data loss. The evolution of tools has made coding more accessible but also introduces new risks. Security measures must be prioritized as apps transition from prototype to production. AI tools can assist in app development but require careful handling of data. The gap between prototype and production needs clear communication to avoid pitfalls. New developers may emerge from the vibe coding trend, bringing fresh perspectives. Ethical considerations in AI and app development will become increasingly important.

In this episode, James and Josh discuss the troubling nature of paid awards in the tech industry. They explore how these awards often prioritize profit over genuine recognition, leading to feelings of exploitation among nominees. Thier conversation delves into the implications of such practices on community inclusivity and the need for a reevaluation of how recognition is given in the industry. Paid awards often exploit nominees for profit. The pricing of awards can feel unfair and exploitative. Awards should recognize hard work, not just financial investment. Community representation is often overshadowed by profit motives. Transparency in award processes is crucial for credibility. The perception of value in awards is warped by corporate interests. Decision-makers should reconsider their spending on awards. Alternative recognition methods could be more beneficial. Awards can create a false sense of achievement. The community should benefit from the funds spent on awards.

In this episode, James and Josh discuss the significance of pen and paper in an increasingly digital world. They explore various note-taking techniques, the benefits of physical writing for memory retention, and the importance of managing mental load through effective organization. Their conversation highlights the balance between urgency and importance in task management, emphasizing the need for reflection and prioritization in both personal and professional contexts. Pen and paper are essential for focused thinking. The physical act of writing aids memory retention. Different note-taking methods can enhance comprehension. Digital tools can complement traditional note-taking. Urgent tasks can overshadow important ones. Reflection on notes helps prioritize tasks effectively. AI tools can assist but should not replace personal notes. Concise note-taking is a valuable skill. Managing mental load is crucial for productivity. Taking a step back to write thoughts down can alleviate stress.

In this episode, Josh and James discuss the concept of user manuals for humans, exploring how individuals can communicate their preferences, boundaries, and working styles to foster better collaboration in teams. They emphasize the importance of psychological safety, effective communication, and the role of writing in self-reflection and team dynamics. The conversation also touches on managing expectations, delegation, and creating a safe space for open dialogue within teams. User manuals help communicate personal working styles. Psychological safety is crucial for honest communication. Feedback should be given early and often. Writing down thoughts aids in self-reflection. Effective communication requires understanding different styles. Delegation should come with clear information. Creating a safe space encourages team collaboration. Writing is a powerful tool for clarity and thinking. Sharing user manuals can align team expectations. Openness in communication fosters trust and understanding.

Josh and James discuss the implications of Test-Driven Development (TDD) in the context of the rapid advancements in AI technology. They explore how AI tools are changing the landscape of software development, the challenges of maintaining quality in fast-paced environments, and the importance of balancing speed with safety. Their conversation also touches on the future of coding, the training of new developers, and the evolving role of testing in ensuring robust software solutions. TDD is gaining renewed importance with the rise of AI. AI tools can enhance rapid prototyping but come with risks. Maintaining quality in software is crucial as teams move quickly. The balance between speed and safety is essential in development. Understanding system design and good architecture is foundational for developers. AI can assist in writing tests and fixing bugs effectively. The complexity of production apps increases with user volume. New tools are emerging to support error tracking and testing. Training the next generation of developers is vital in an AI-driven landscape. Investing in TDD and BDD can set teams apart in software development.

In this weeks episode, Josh and James discuss the challenges of securing a job in the tech industry, particularly focusing on the impact of ageism, evolving expectations for tech roles, and the influence of AI on the interview process. They cover the importance of communication skills, personal branding, and the need for candidates to be honest about their abilities. The discussion also highlights the necessity of adapting to the changing landscape of tech jobs and the skills required to succeed in interviews. The tech job market is becoming increasingly competitive. Ageism affects both junior and senior developers. Keeping up with new technologies is challenging as one ages. Expectations for tech roles have broadened significantly. Candidates are often expected to wear multiple hats in smaller teams. AI is influencing how candidates prepare for interviews. Honesty about skills can lead to better job fits. Good communication is essential in tech roles. Building a personal brand can enhance job prospects. Networking and personal connections are crucial for job opportunities.

In this weeks episode, Josh and James delve into the complexities of the discourse surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), exploring the polarising perspectives that dominate discussions. In a balanced debate, they emphasise the importance of understanding AI as a tool rather than a stand-alone entity, highlighting the need for responsible usage and ethical considerations in its development and implementation. They cover the reality of AI's impact on engineering and the necessity of maintaining a human element in the design process. This episode is a call to action for technologists to navigate the AI hype responsibly and to create strong governance around its use. The original article that Josh wrote (https://joshnesbitt.dev/thoughts/the-real-threat-isnt-ai-its-the-discourse-surrounding-it) that prompted the chat. The discourse around AI is often polarising and broken. AI is frequently misrepresented in sensational headlines. Understanding AI as a tool is crucial for productive discussions. The reality of AI's impact on engineering is often overstated. Human involvement is essential in the design and implementation of AI. Ethical considerations are paramount in AI development. AI can improve accessibility and inclusivity in products. Navigating the AI hype requires careful evaluation and governance. The importance of productive friction in learning and development. AI's role in software development is evolving and requires adaptation.

In this conversation, Josh and James discuss AI interoperability and the concept of MCP (Model Context Protocol). They explore the initial skepticism surrounding MCP, the process of building custom MCP servers, and the importance of permissions and security in AI integrations. The discussion also touches on the future of AI integration in various applications, particularly in shopping experiences, and the potential for these technologies to revolutionise how we interact with digital tools. MCP is a new way to integrate AI with existing tools. Initial skepticism can lead to valuable discoveries in technology. Building custom MCP servers can enhance personal productivity. Permissions and security are crucial when using AI tools. MCP has the potential to go mainstream with the right ecosystem. AI can act on behalf of users, changing the way we interact with technology. Real-world applications of MCP can simplify everyday tasks. The future of shopping may involve AI-driven experiences. AI tools need to be intuitive for non-developers to adopt them. The evolution of technology often leads to a blend of old and new experiences.

How do you structure and run the perfect tech conference? What things are involved behind the scenes that attendees don’t see? What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own event? We’re glad you asked! This episode is an All Day Hey! Special where hosts, Josh and James spill the beans on what goes on behind the All Day Hey! conference curtain, how we can collectively safeguard the future of events and what makes running a tech conference like this so special. Join us in Leeds on Thursday, 1st May for this year’s All Day Hey! Tickets and schedule at https://heypresents.com/conferences/2025 00:00 How to run a conference 01:00 Why start a conference? - The aim behind All Day Hey! 02:00 What do you want to provide for the audience? 03:00 Avoiding trends and providing backed knowledge 04:00 How to plan the day of talks to keep people engaged? 05:00 Dealing with technical blunders 07:00 Process of picking speakers and who to contact 08:00 Avoiding talks being sponsored ads 11:00 Getting diversity of topic and idea 12:00 All Day Hey! is community focussed - how to create this? 13:00 How to open up the networking and make it welcoming 14:00 How to close a conference to provoke questions 15:00 Tips for other organisers 16:00 Investing in production quality 17:00 Setting up a conference in 2025 19:00 Keeping the indie conference alive Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

What is a discovery workshop and how can they be used to work through problems in your business? In this episode, James and Josh discuss how they've run them in the past and offer some tips and tricks to getting the most out of these sessions. Listen now for a brand new instalment of Off Script! 00:00 Introduction 01:00 What is a discovery workshop 02:00 Using Miro 02:30 Slideument - slide deck with a documents worth of content 03:00 Use the right medium to foster discussion 04:00 Break workshop sessions into two 05:00 Use other physical spaces to inspire 06:00 Framing the problem but not steering 07:00 Amazon's idea - Write the Press Release 08:00 What are the challenges, resources, and politics? 09:00 What would the bad press be? 10:00 How to be honest and open? 11:00 Creating a safe environment 14:00 Find out what they want from the session 16:00 90 min cycles of energy 17:00 Risk register 18:00 Walk and talk to reenergise 20:00 Keeping discussions on track 21:00 Capturing and processing the data 22:00 Using AI to digitise and distribute 23:00 The next steps 23:30 One Two Three All 26:00 Handy thing to do to unblock Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

It’s time to reflect and plan ahead! James and Josh look back at a tumultuous 2024 in tech and ask the big questions about where things are heading. What were the highlights? What lessons can we learn? How do we prepare for 2025? Listen now as we kick-off the year with a brand new instalment of Off Script! In praise of indie conferences The struggles of smaller events AWS re:Invent conference Multi Cloud Distributed SQL - DSQL Tough time for tech in 2024 All Day Hey! Publishing platforms Tech Influencers Complete CSS - Any Bell Learn with Jason The state of the tech economy Whisper Flow CrowdStrike outage AI, Automation, valid JSON, OLLAMA , Constrained Sampling AI Agents, Cursor IDE SASS is in danger? Adobe Podcast New Ruby on Rails Laravel 11 Deno BlueSky References * https://piccalil.li/complete-css (https://piccalil.li/complete-css) * https://www.youtube.com/@learnwithjason (https://www.youtube.com/@learnwithjason) Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

Part 2 has landed! For this outing of Off Script, Josh and James explore the ‘Future of engineering leadership’. This is an episode born from Q&A discussions and ideas at the recent Off Script Live event in Leeds. Dive into the modern challenges and the future direction of leadership in software engineering. AI Sustainability Company energy offset Energy demands of AI vs speed of innovation AI on device Apple Siri LLM on device? Loneliness in leadership positions Talk with peers in other companies Lattice HR for feedback Finding your role Event culture Consistency creates community Organiser sets the tone Challenges for future leaders Addressing the gap between vocal and and non vocal team members Communication types Generating positive feedback culture Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

"It's not enough just being right. You've got to actually convince people of your way of thinking and take other people on the journey". Off Script is back with Josh and James hosting the first episode in a massive two-parter! They take lessons and hot topics from the recent Off Script Live event in Leeds. Dive into the modern challenges and the future direction of leadership in software engineering in this episode. Part 2 out soon! Subscribe so you don’t miss it. Recorded: 27th November 2024 Recap re:invent festival AI announcements Event themes Remote & Hybrid working Slack working dynamics Methods of communication Importance of communication Huddle to convey tone of information Reduce crosstalk and chatter Mandating behaviour vs Encouraging participation Sarah Wells Talk - Nudge Theory - LINK Make it easy for people to do the right thing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Hiring policies Soft Skills in hybrid working Empowering vs washing hands of decisions AI Important to understand the black box Using AI for leadership decisions Reference * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxcgywwC4u8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxcgywwC4u8) Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

The historically popular development process of “move fast and break things” has got the biggest companies in the world far. In the age of AI, can we still take these risks in the name of progress or are the potential repercussions too great? Josh and James are joined by guest Jack Sails to discuss. Recorded: 17th July 2024 02 Open AI fearless implementation 03 Is developing in a vacuum worse? 04 Google move fast and break things becomes more dangerous 05 OpenAI haven't lost trust yet 06 How did OpenAI get its data - Mira Murati 09 Scraping the internet for data 10 A open internet vs private companies 10 ARC browser hover LLM description 11 Imperfect innovation, where does it come from? 11 Innovating to solve a problem vs innovation into unknown areas 12 Microsoft Copilot AI 13 ChatGPT taking over Google as the go-to for questions 16 Kodak & digital images 18 Humans bring value and craft 19 The iPhone was a ipod killer 20 Fearing innovation and protectionism 21 Nokia's lack of smartphone innovation 25 Theranos - Fake it till you make it in medicine 28 Now no one will touch the Metaverse 29 Zoe smart patch and gut tracking 35 Lime Scooters late night testing for alcohol 36 Innovation that's not required 37 Coke's new flavour 39 Segway 42 Cars 43 Napster's innovation Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

Jack Sails (IMA) is back with James & Josh to discuss the recent WWDC24 Apple Developer conference. Was AI the word of the conference? Find out as they work through everything revealed this year and how it will affect their products going forward. In this episode: * 00 Intro * 01 Apple Intelligence * 02 AI & Apple’s Privacy first approach * 04 SIRI & Natural language AI integration * 06 Natural language vs pre scripted * 09 Image Playground AI image creator * 10 SIRI x Open AI * 12 Genmoji * 12 IOS 18 * 16 Transcribed calls * 17 New apps * 18 New password app * 21 Sequoia macOS * 23 Does the UK follow the EU restrictions * 24 Supporting old hardware * 29 Vision OS 2 References: * https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/wwdc/ (https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/wwdc/) Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

Inspired by reading ‘Investments Unlimited’ and other books built around the principles of storytelling, James and Josh dive into DevSecOps and the bigger picture of shifting security left in this new episode of Off Script! In this episode: * 00:00 Fictional Bugs - Investments Unlimited * 01:00 DevSecOps * 02:00 Moving security testing to the beginning * 03:00 Reducing the friction of releases * 04:00 Go through pain points early * 05:00 Strict linting, function length, no unused variables * 06:00 Early automated tests to prevent Git leaks * 08:00 Making it easy for the developer * 10:00 Bearer * 11:00 Concise reporting * 12:00 Dependabot * 13:00 Secret Management * 14:00 Making it easy to do the right thing * 16:00 Having pride in your security * 17:00 What if your language doesn’t have much security support? * 19:00 Dynamic & Static languages * 20:00 Language agnostic tools * 21:00 Key takeaways References: * https://itrevolution.com/product/investments-unlimited/ (https://itrevolution.com/product/investments-unlimited/) * https://www.bearer.com/ (https://www.bearer.com/) * https://github.com/dependabot (https://github.com/dependabot) Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

What do fish donuts, a passion for cooking and elaborate recipes have to do with productivity? Are you getting enough of a creative outlet around your busy schedule? Josh and James discuss the importance of side projects and how the variety they add to your week benefits your work-life balance and output! In this episode: * 00:00 Welcome * 01:00 What are our side projects? * 02:00 Coding * 03:00 Cooking * 04:00 Josh’s chef stage experience * 11:00 Service state - Flow state when coding * 12:00 Find your creative outlet * 13:00 Find the time * 16:00 Adding variety to life * 17:00 Book - One Thing * 18:00 Having side projects when being a leader * 19:00 Consistency References: * https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-bestselling/dp/1848549253 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-bestselling/dp/1848549253) Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

What are AI risks? What do we need to consider when looking at our projects? Josh and James are are back for another episode of Off Script to dig deeper into this important topic! 00 - ISO 42001 Regulation 03 - What are the risks 04 - Hallucinations 05 - How do we critically assess the output 06 - Human in the loop 08 - Authorised API integrations 13 - Prompt Injection 14 - Sleeper agent LLM 18 - Denial OF Service models 22 - Exact phrasing on outputs 25 - Rabbit.tech Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

It’s time for our annual review of the year! In this episode, James and Josh discuss the many twists and turns that the last 12 months brought in this 2023 developer round-up. Thank you for listening this year. We’ll be back with more episodes in the New Year! 01 A look back at the year 03 The year AI went mainstream 05 Tech layoffs 07 Open AI x Microsoft partnership 08 M2 Apple Mac chips 09 Google Bard 12 Stephen Wolfram wrote "What is ChatGPT doing.. And why does it work?" 13 Web IOS & Ipad 15 ChatGPT Plus & Whisper API's 15 Parallax hosted "stories on the road" 19 React.dev 21 Apple vs Epic Games 22 Meta fined 1.3B 23 EU Cookie policy 24 Final Cut & Logic Pro on IOS 27 Advent of code 28 Chrome added web GPU support 29 Native to web based apps 30 All Day Hey 2023 31 Fluency Bot 32 SEC sue Coinbase & Binance 33 NASA lost connection to Voyager 2 34 Microsoft Type Chat 36 Meta Launched Threads 38 Temporary disabilities 40 Josh joins Glean as CTO 41 Apple launched Name Drop 42 Air traffic control meltdown 43 Hyperdx 44 Webflow Conf 46 WCAG 2.2 47 M3 Macs 49 re:invent 50 Deno KV 51 StyleX 53 iA writer 54 CloudFlare year in review 55 Spotify Wrapped References: * https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2023/02/what-is-chatgpt-doing-and-why-does-it-work/ ([https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2023/02/what-is-chatgpt-doing-and-why-does-it-work/) * https://openai.com/blog/introducing-chatgpt-and-whisper-apis (https://openai.com/blog/introducing-chatgpt-and-whisper-apis) * https://www.storyblok.com/ev/stories-on-the-road-uk-23 (https://www.storyblok.com/ev/stories-on-the-road-uk-23) * https://heypresents.com/conferences/2023/schedule (https://heypresents.com/conferences/2023/schedule) * https://blog.jim-nielsen.com/2023/temporarily-abled/ (https://blog.jim-nielsen.com/2023/temporarily-abled/) Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)

Are all leaders extroverts? Does agile development mean there is no plan or documentation? Do leaders have to be the best developer? Following on from a recent in-person talk, James and Josh discuss more common tech misconceptions in the area of leadership. 01 Misconception in leadership 01 Leadership is the only way for progression 02 Tech path vs management path 03 Dual track progression 04 Good code is all that matters 05 How teams interact 06 We'll cross the bridge when its comes to it 09 Have to be the best engineer to be a leader 10 It’s not about you 11 Tech skills trump company culture 12 Diversity 14 More developers = more velocity 17 Documentation is less important for agile teams 19 Agile development means no plan 22 All leaders are extroverts 25 Leadership is lonely 27 You don't need a mentor or peers Find out more about Stac and Parallax: * https://stac.works (https://stac.works) * https://parall.ax (https://parall.ax)