Invisible Algorithms Podcast

In this episode, I talk with Jacopo Romei, an Italian freelance consultant, entrepreneur, and writer, who is the author of the book "Extreme Contracts - Knowledge Work from Negotiation to Collaboration".

We discussed extreme contracts and how they can improve collaboration and trust in knowledge work, the cons of time and materials and fixed-price contracts, and how the wrong form of contract can affect the success of product development.

(01:45) Jacopo Before Extreme Contracts

(04:35) The Trigger for a New Approach to Contracts

(08:32) Real-world Struggles Leading to Extreme Contracts

(09:01) First Steps Towards Implementing Extreme Contracts

(12:50) The Relationship Between Contracts and Trust

(21:43) Core Principles of Extreme Contracts

(26:46) Eight Principles of Extreme Contracts in Brief

(33:51) Applying Extreme Contracts: A Practical Example

(39:36) Understanding 'Skin in the Game' in Extreme Contracts

(42:33) Addressing Client Concerns in Extreme Contracts

(45:41) Implementing Extreme Contracts as an Individual Contributor

(49:15) Summarizing Extreme Contracts and Future Discussions

(50:00) Actionable Tip for Consultants Using Extreme Contracts

(53:46) Where to Find Jacopo Romei and Learn More

A DISCOUNT TO BUY THE EXTREME CONTRACTS INTERNATIONAL EDITION BOOK

https://jacoporomei.gumroad.com/l/extremecontracts/7f8bn3y

RESOURCES

Book in English: https://jacoporomei.gumroad.com/l/extremecontracts

Book in Italian: https://www.amazon.it/Extreme-Contracts-knowledge-negoziazione-collaborazione/dp/1973312522/ref=sr_1_1

Follow Jacopo

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacoporomei

Instagram - - https://www.instagram.com/jacoporomei

Website - https://jacoporomei.com

Follow Peppe

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

X - https://x.com/peppesilletti

Invisible Algorithms Newsletter: https://invisiblealgorithms.com

This episode is all about teamwork through the lens of mob programming. Who better to talk about it than the mob programming masters from @mobmentalityshow ? Chris and Austin have been practising mob programming for years and have explored it from multiple angles, either from their day-to-day jobs or through their podcast.

We discussed the 101 of mob programming, how to get started with it, its benefits on the team and company level, job satisfaction and much more!

(03:15) Why mob programming?

(08:47) How to get started with mob programming

(13:35) In-person vs. remote mobbing

(16:54) Basics of mob programming roles

(20:37) Integrating different roles in mob programming

(25:27) Personal satisfaction in mob programming

(29:55) Addressing resistance to mob programming

(34:33) Success stories of mob programming adoption

(37:44) Mob programming's impact on company culture

(43:09) Recruiting for mob programming teams

(44:44) Future plans for Chris and Austin

RESOURCES

Mob Mentality Show - youtube.com/@mobmentalityshow

Mob Programming RPG - https://github.com/willemlarsen/mobprogrammingrpg

Amy Edmondson - https://amycedmondson.com/

Follow Chris & Austin

Austin's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-chadwick-3a58151a4

Chris' X - https://x.com/ChristophLucian

Mob Programming Show' X - https://x.com/mob__mentality

Follow Peppe

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

X - https://x.com/peppesilletti

Invisible Algorithms Newsletter: https://invisiblealgorithms.com

Related article: https://open.substack.com/pub/invisiblealgorithms/p/mob-programming-is-teamwork

In this episode, I dive deep into the world of early-stage startups with Apurva, CTO of Kodoos Labs and founder of Sidetrack. With a background that spans software engineering, product management, and entrepreneurship, Apurva brings a wealth of experience and insights from the startup world.

We discussed the role of founding engineers, the challenges of maintaining collaboration as a company scales, the changing role of leadership in different startup stages, the hiring process for early-stage startups, and much more.

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a tech professional looking to understand the startup landscape, or simply curious about the inner workings of innovative companies, you don't want to miss out on this episode!

(01:52) Apu successful career

(04:28) The role of curiosity in startups

(07:33) Startup stages

(13:56) Transition from software engineering to business roles

(17:47) Main characteristics of founding engineers

(21:59) Collaboration and Communication in Early-Stage Startups

(28:37) Engineers talking with customers

(32:47) Startup culture to scale up culture

(42:29) How leadership evolves in startups

(46:05) Building a Culture of Trust and Ownership

(50:45) Hiring

RESOURCES

Kodoos Labs - https://koodos.com

Thriving as a Founding Engineer: Lessons from the Trenches - https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/thriving-as-a-founding-engineer

JOIN KOODOS LABS

Send an email to [email protected]

Follow Apurva

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/apuchitnis

X - https://x.com/apuchitnis

Follow Peppe

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

X - https://x.com/peppesilletti

Invisible Algorithms Newsletter: https://invisiblealgorithms.com

Christian Varisco is a fractional CTO with a decade of experience in the startup ecosystem who helped more than 10 startups build their tech products and teams.

In this episode, we discussed the essential skills to become a Fractional CTO, the challenges involved, why startups succeed, and some handy tips to kickstart your own product business.

Follow Christian

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianvarisco/

Follow Peppe

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

X - https://x.com/peppesilletti

Invisible Algorithms Newsletter: https://invisiblealgorithms.com

Related article:

Luca Rossi is an entrepreneur, founder of Refactoring.fm, and former CTO at Wanderio. Refactoring is one of the biggest newsletters dedicated to engineering managers and software developers on the web, with 75K+ readers at the time you're reading this.

In this episode, we discuss Luca's journey of building Refactoring, the importance of writing to clarify thoughts and improve one's job performance, how writing can drive change in the industry, and much more.

(02:01) Building a successful newsletter

(04:34) Writing to get better at your job

(06:22) Writing to organize your thoughts

(12:32) The challenges of building a newsletter

(15:13) Personal branding

(18:41) 2 best insights from the tech industry

(25:18) Fostering change in an organization

(34:53) Startups in Italy

(38:40) Tips to get started with writing online

Thanks for watching this podcast! Subscribe for free to get notified about new episodes and support my work.

RESOURCES

Refactoring Newsletter: https://refactoring.fm

Follow Luca

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucaronin

X - https://x.com/lucaronin

Follow Peppe

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

X - https://x.com/peppesilletti

Dr. Else Van Der Berg is an interim product lead and a product validation and discovery enthusiast. She works with B2B SaaS product teams to move from a feature-driven to an outcome-driven way of working.

In this episode, we discuss the challenges of hiring and fostering a culture of experimentation, the importance of a strong partnership between product managers and engineers, leadership buy-in, and employee motivation in driving a shift toward outcome-driven product development.

02:45 Else's transition to an outcome-driven mindset

11:31 Why leaders should be involved in the details

15:10 How to foster a culture of experimentation

19:05 When experimentation is not needed

22:06 Most engineers appreciate understanding the Why

25:39 The one thing to bring a culture of experimentation within a company

31:22 How to "convert" engineers to an outcome-driven mindset

35:00 Most companies don't check for impact after delivery

38:20 The importance of breaking the silos

41:00 Tips for leaders to get started with a culture of experimentation

44:00 Else's next steps and closing thoughts

RESOURCES

Else's newsletter: https://elsevanderberg.substack.com

Follow Else

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-else-van-der-berg-42b8b6a2

Follow Peppe

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

X - https://x.com/peppesilletti

Guido Penta is a tech recruiter and he loves talking with developers. He started La Locanda Del Tech, one of the biggest Italian communities for developers, and founded forloop.tech, a subscription-based recruiting service.

In this episode, we discuss how important it is for recruiters to speak the language of developers, the power of communities, and personal branding.

01:04 A story of burnout
08:19 Talking the language of developers
14:56 The economic situation also affected Italy
18:59 The journey of Guido in the tech world
25:57 Involve other recruiters in communities
32:36 The incentives of recruiters
42:03 Guido's approach to finding good candidates
48:50 Personal Branding For Developers
52:06 How recruiters can get closer to developers

La Locanda Del Tech (Italian Dev Community)
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGdg0EuNNB8-skVHe1NNB3A
Telegram: https://t.me/+mqQJQ9BqKOViMmVk

Follow Guido
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guido-penta

Follow Peppe:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti
X - https://twitter.com/peppesilletti

Gordon Evans is a real architect - the ones who design buildings. He founded Yoop Knows, a cloud-based management system for architects that helps them in their day-to-day business.

01:50 The Need for Technology in Architecture

04:46 Building a Proof of Concept for Yoop Knows

09:59 Focusing on the Key Problem to Solve

16:08 Building for the Market, Not Just Ourselves

17:37 Starting Small and Building a Community

27:44 Restructuring Software for Different User Roles

41:01 The Desire for a Highly Desirable Demo

42:13 The Similarities and Differences Between Software and Building Architecture

43:56 The Importance of Collaboration and Feedback in Architecture

46:59 Adopting Agile Methodology in Architecture

51:09 Adapting to New Technologies and Processes in Architecture

Want to know more about Yoop Knows?

Visit: https://yoopknows.com

Follow Gordon

LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/4deV3xf

Instagram - https://bit.ly/3wfmxSC

Follow me:

LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3JFMaz6

“If you only have the product managers and UX in the teams speaking with customers and hearing the customers, you will have, two people with this part of the picture. And only two people would come with ideas of how could we solve or how could we tackle some opportunities or how could we solve certain problems. If you have the full team understanding this, your ideation power is way higher." - Carlos Rosão

Hey everybody! This is Peppe, welcome back to the Invisible Algorithms Podcast!

In today’s episode, I go pay a visit to Newstore once more, this time speaking with Carlos Rosao, who works there as a director of engineering.

Carlos and I will talk about the engineering culture at the company. We’ll go through the development process they implement, their culture of experimentation, the importance of cross-functional teams, but also hiring, and remote working.

Listen out for:

00:00 Introduction

05:25 Engineering culture at Newstore

14:06 Collaboration between different roles in a team

15:02 Practicing Continuous Discovery

16:38 The development process at Newstore

21:12 Engineers talking with customers

32:15 Coaching for a culture of experimentation

39:38 The interview process at Newstore

42:20 Newstore is hiring!

45:21 The Minimum Standard Of Product Development

45:49 Communication and Collaboration Among Teams

52:23 Remote Work at NewStore

01:00:18 Impact of the Market on NewStore

01:03:41 The Value of Product Engineering Mindset

01:06:45 The Temptation of Complexity

References:

- (Book) Continuous Discovery Habits - Teressa Torres: https://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Discovery-Habits-Discover-Products/dp/1736633309

Carlos’ Bio:

As an Engineer Leader, Carlos has a proven track record of scaling companies, teams, and software across diverse countries and industries. With a steadfast commitment to continuous improvement, he champions an iterative approach to crafting customer-focused products.

Follow Carlos:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-rosao/

- Substack: https://substack.com/@talesofengleadership

Like this episode?

Remember to share it with your network, like it on YT, and review it on Spotify.

This podcast is hosted by Peppe Silletti:

- LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

- Twitter – https://twitter.com/peppesilletti

- Website: https://peppesilletti.io

"Most places are still very project and deadline focused. And most places see software developers as a liability and the software is the asset. But if there's one thing we've learned in the last 70 years of developing software, it's usually the other way round. The team is the asset and the software itself is a liability, particularly the code, it's going to cost you a lot of money." - Jason Gorman

Hey everybody! Welcome back to the Invisible Algorithms Podcast.

Today’s episode is with Jason Gorman.

Jason is the founder of Codemanship, where he trains and mentors software developers to learn how to evolve production-ready software rapidly and sustainably and ship it at any time. He’s also the founder of the original international Software Craftsmanship conference, an activist for proper long-term software developer apprenticeships, a one-time West End producer, and a world-famous guitarist in his own living room.

In this episode, Jason and I talk about:

- Jason's career shift and founding of Codemanship, focusing on mentoring and training in software development

- The evolution of the software industry, including growth trends, hiring practices, and the impact of economic cycles

- The importance of foundational skills and practical experience for software developers

- The concept of “Team as a product”

- Strategies for new and senior developers to navigate the industry, highlighting continuous learning, networking, and the value of diverse experiences

Grab a coffee, relax, and enjoy.

Listen out for:

00:00 Story of Codemanship
06:24 Status of the industry: tech bubbles, web, LLMs
11:12 Are companies hiring mainly ex-FAANG developers?
16:51 The 3 foundational skills for software developers
18:28 Software developers not focusing on the big picture
23:59 The “Team as a product”
29:42 Training VS Coaching
36:00 Why the industry doesn’t agree on best practices
42:55 Tips for new developers coming in the industry
51:00 Tips for companies related to new developers

References:

- “Team as a product” talk: https://youtu.be/izAcAOHsI-4?si=jTyOrXVbDfMYzDpD

Jason’s Bio:

Software developer, trainer and mentor based in London.

An Agile Software Development practitioner since before it had a name, he helped thousands of devs learn the essential technical disciplines needed to rapidly and sustainably evolve production-ready software that can be shipped at any time through his company Codemanship.

(Yes, *that* version of "agile". Not the version with the stand-up meetings and the burn-down charts and the Jira.)

Founder of the original international Software Craftsmanship conference, an activist for proper long-term software developer apprenticeships, a one-time West End producer, and a world-famous guitarist in his own living room.

Follow Jason:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasongorman/

- X: https://x.com/jasongorman

Codemanship:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/codemanship-ltd/

- Website: https://codemanship.co.uk/

Like this episode?

Remember to share it with your network, like it on YT, and review it on Spotify.

This podcast is hosted by Peppe Silletti:

- LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

- Twitter – https://twitter.com/peppesilletti