Emily Bache on software quality, technical excellence, and driving change

In this episode of Distributed, host Jack Hannah speaks with Emily Bache, a technical coach and the creator of Samman Coaching, about her work helping teams improve their development practices. Emily shares her experiences with test-driven development and refactoring, and explains how these practices can transform both code quality and team dynamics.Highlights:The impact of test-driven development on software qualityHow to introduce new practices in a resistant environmentWhy collaborative coding, like ensemble programming, accelerates team growthThe role of leadership in creating a culture of continuous learning and qualityIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) – Kicking things off with Emily Bache(01:25) – First experience with extreme programming in 2000(02:28) – Struggling to get a new team on board with XP(04:03) – Why TDD transformed Emily’s coding approach(05:22) – Becoming a full-time technical coach and YouTuber(06:48) – Defining what a technical coach actually does(07:21) – Inside a high-performing architecture team’s microservices shift(09:04) – Can siloed experts still outperform collaborative teams?(14:42) – Simple tactics to nudge your team toward better practices(20:57) – Ensemble programming explained: many minds, one keyboard(24:45) – Why refactoring skills matter in the age of AI assistantsReferencesApproval Tests and the weekly Approval Tests EnsembleChatGPT & Copilot are NOT Refactoring ToolsWhere to connect further:Connect with Emily Bache on LinkedIn and Samman Technical Coaching SocietyFollow TupleWant to hear more? Check out distributed.fmConnect with Jack Hannah