Chad Fowler - How Small Can We Make This Problem

Robby has a candid chat with Chad Fowler, the General Partner & CTO at BlueYard Capital. They delve into the nuances of software maintenance, the evolution and challenges of managing software projects, and insights from Chad's tenure as CTO of Wunderlist. They discuss the importance of building software in small, manageable pieces to facilitate easy updates or replacements, the counterintuitive perspective on unit testing's impact on maintainability, and strategies for keeping software up-to-date by redeploying to new platforms.Additionally, Chad shares his thoughts on the current industry layoff trends, emphasizing the value of adaptability and resilience. The conversation also touches on the relevance of mentoring in the tech industry and the potential implications of AI and large language models on software engineering careers. Chad's philosophy on software development, emphasizing pragmatism, adaptability, and the continuous reevaluation of problems to make them smaller and more manageable, permeates the discussion.Book Recommendations:The E-myth Revisited by Michael E. GerberZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. PirsigHelpful Links:WunderlistThe Passionate Programmer by Chad FowlerChad on X/TwitterChad on LinkedInThe Privacy PodcastBlueYard CapitalThanks to Our Sponsor!Turn hours of debugging into just minutes! AppSignal is a performance monitoring and error tracking tool designed for Ruby, Elixir, Python, Node.js, Javascript, and soon, other frameworks. It offers six powerful features with one simple interface, providing developers with real-time insights into the performance and health of web applications. Keep your coding cool and error-free, one line at a time! Check them out! Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Keep up to date with the Maintainable Podcast by joining the newsletter.