https://www.fredpope.com/blog Builder and investor in Colorado. Exploring the connections between software, business, and economics. Writing to think. en-us fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://www.fredpope.com/blog/automation/developing-your-models https://www.fredpope.com/blog/automation/developing-your-models Understanding how to develop and prompt your models is the challenge. Where do you start? The old process was to create a flow, but with models it's a bit different, it's about goals and guardrails. Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) AIdevelopmentautomation https://www.fredpope.com/blog/automation/taw-expansion https://www.fredpope.com/blog/automation/taw-expansion Exploring the expansion of Tool-Augmented Workflows (TAW) and how they are revolutionizing the way we build software. Thu, 03 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) automationaidevelopmentproductivity https://www.fredpope.com/blog/automation/tool-call-revolution https://www.fredpope.com/blog/automation/tool-call-revolution Examining the revolutionary impact of AI tool calling capabilities on modern software development practices. Fri, 03 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) automationaitoolsdevelopmentproductivity https://www.fredpope.com/blog/documentation/art-of-efficient-documentation https://www.fredpope.com/blog/documentation/art-of-efficient-documentation Documentation is a double-edged sword. While it provides essential guidance and clarity, it's also a costly endeavor that can drain resources if not managed wisely. Learn what to document, what to skip, and how to make strategic documentation decisions. Tue, 06 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) documentationbest-practicesdevelopmentteam-culture https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/agentic-coding-future https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/agentic-coding-future Research suggests microservices may be more suitable than monorepos for AI coding tools, especially with large projects, due to LLM context window limitations. Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentproductivityaiautomation https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/beyond-the-code-senior-developer-skills https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/beyond-the-code-senior-developer-skills Essential skills that distinguish senior developers beyond just writing code Mon, 15 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentcareerskills https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/beyond-the-code-unsung-skills https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/beyond-the-code-unsung-skills Writing code is just one piece of the puzzle. The true craft of software engineering lies in change logs, ADRs, post-deployment cleanup, test maintenance, and disaster recovery strategies that distinguish senior developers. Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentsenior-developerbest-practicesarchitecturetestingdeployment https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/change-management-that-sticks https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/change-management-that-sticks Fixing these broken systems requires significant remediation.. Most change initiatives fail—not because of technical challenges, but because of how we manage the human side of change. Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentproductivityaiautomation https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/clean-code-is-the-best-context https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/clean-code-is-the-best-context When code explains itself, you dont need sprawling docs. This shrinks prompt/context size for AI agents, boosts retrieval precision, and reduces hallucinations. Fri, 08 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentproductivityaiautomationclean-codedocumentation https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/coding-without-if https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/coding-without-if Explore how eliminating conditional statements can lead to cleaner, more maintainable code through polymorphism, functional programming, and data-driven approaches. Fri, 23 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentproductivityaiautomation https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/context-window-development-considerations https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/context-window-development-considerations Research suggests microservices may be more suitable than monorepos for AI coding tools, especially with large projects, due to LLM context window limitations. Sun, 02 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentproductivityaiautomation https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/development-non-negotiables https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/development-non-negotiables Explore the four non-negotiable principles that enable shipping 10,000 lines of code daily: rapid deployment, intense observability, rigorous testing, and living documentation. Thu, 30 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentproductivityaiautomationdocumentation https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/mcp-reality-check-implementers-perspective https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/mcp-reality-check-implementers-perspective Model Context Protocol promises seamless AI tool integration, but the reality of shipping it reveals quality issues, configuration hell, and premature standardization that creates more problems than it solves. Sun, 09 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentapiprotocolsmcpsoftware-architecture https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/parable-of-the-mislabeled-granary https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/parable-of-the-mislabeled-granary A parable about the true cost of naming things incorrectly. When you name something 'Stripe Payment Intent Id,' you create a contract. Break that contract, and you break trust with every system and developer who relies on that name meaning what it says. Sat, 08 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentarchitecturenamingtechnical-debtclean-code https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/the-90-percent-mindset https://www.fredpope.com/blog/development/the-90-percent-mindset Building software is maybe 10% of the job. The other 90% is living with what you built. Senior developers understand this—and it changes how they write every line of code. Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) developmentcareersoftware-engineeringbest-practices https://www.fredpope.com/blog/lean-strategy/ditch-perfection-embrace-iteration https://www.fredpope.com/blog/lean-strategy/ditch-perfection-embrace-iteration Are you meticulously crafting a product, spending months, even years, perfecting every detail before launch? It's a common approach, but it can be risky, leading to wasted resources and missed opportunities. Mon, 05 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT fred@fredpope.com (Fred Pope) innovationdevelopmentagilelean-startup