Hey, Luca here, welcome to a weekly edition of the💡 Monday Ideas 💡 from Refactoring! To access all our articles, library, and community, subscribe to the full version: Resources: 🏛️ Library • 💬 Community • 🎙️ Podcast • 📣 Advertise
1) 🤖 AI makes good engineering easier + more valuableLately I have been writing a lot about how to work with AI, from managing context, to picking your tech stack, to general workflow advice. However, 90% of it looks like the classic engineering tradeoff: doing a bit more work now (e.g. good code, good testing, good docs) in order to reap the benefits (i.e. higher velocity) later. But the thing is: AI is tipping the scale, on both sides:
In other words, AI skyrockets the ROI of good engineering by simultaneously 1) reducing the effort, and 2) increasing the benefits. We explored what this means (plus we took stock of where we are right now) in this recent article 👇  2) 📡 Finding communication cadenceLast week we published an article by Anna Shipman about communicating well with executives. The piece did a great job at covering the what and the how, so I am here to add a small bit about the when. There’s a saying that goes: there is no such thing as over-communicating — well, there definitely is. Managers are busy, so there’s a fine line between being informative and creating noise. So just like you have a tech stack, I find it useful to define an update stack — a combination of tools and cadences that work well together. For example:
Match information to the right format: blockers need immediate attention, status updates can be periodic, and 1:1s should focus on personal growth rather than status. And as Anna said, to make sure your manager keeps caring, only say stuff that matters. Whenever you’re communicating something, ask yourself:
If you don’t have good answers, consider not saying anything at all. Finally, updates shouldn’t just flow upward — they should create discussion. Ask feedback about how you are doing: what’s working? What feels like noise? What’s missing? You can find Anna’s piece here, and you may also enjoy the one below about managing up 👇 3) 🧠 Dangerous biasesExactly one year ago we reviewed Thinking, Fast and Slow, the seminal work by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman, on behavioral science. One of the parts that stuck the most with me is about cognitive biases and heuristics: shortcuts that often serve us well, but can also lead us astray. When it comes to bad biases, three resonated the most with my experience: 1️⃣ Anchoring biasOur tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered. In an experiment, participants spun a random wheel that landed on either 10 or 65, then were asked to estimate the percentage of African countries in the UN. Those who saw 10 guessed 25% on average, while those who saw 65 guessed 45%. Even though the wheel was random and participants knew it, the anchor significantly influenced their estimates. 2️⃣ Availability biasWe overestimate the probability of events that are easily remembered. E.g. people overestimate plane crash likelihood compared to car accidents because plane crashes are more dramatic and widely reported. In tech, this leads us to overemphasize recent failures when making strategic decisions. 3️⃣ Confirmation biasOur inclination to interpret information in ways that confirm preexisting beliefs. In studies about capital punishment effectiveness, supporters found pro-deterrence data more convincing while opponents found anti-deterrence data more persuasive—both groups became more entrenched despite seeing the same information. So, how do you fight biases? Kahneman says you can’t fight them in the moment: you need to fight them upfront. For scenarios requiring accurate judgment, you must design systems and procedures that counteract biases and ensure good decision-making. When left to ourselves, improvement is possible but limited. If we want to enforce quality judgment, it’s all about process. You can find our full review below! 👇 And that’s it for today! If you are finding this newsletter valuable, consider doing any of these: 1) 🔒 Subscribe to the full version — if you aren’t already, consider becoming a paid subscriber. 1700+ engineers and managers have joined already! Learn more about the benefits of the paid plan here. 2) 📣 Advertise with us — we are always looking for great products that we can recommend to our readers. If you are interested in reaching an audience of tech executives, decision-makers, and engineers, you may want to advertise with us 👇 If you have any comments or feedback, just respond to this email! I wish you a great week! ☀️ Luca
|
Good engineering, communication cadence, and cognitive biases 💡
Monday, 24 November 2025
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment