Category: Code & Development
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Building A Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) System To Supplement AI Models
What Is A RAG In AI? Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is an AI architecture that combines the best of two worlds, information retrieval and text generation. Instead of relying only on a language model’s pre-trained knowledge (which have firm cutoff dates in the past), or spending the time and resources to train your own models, RAG…
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My 2025 AI Toolkit & What I’m Actually Using
Now that we’re half way through 2025, I’ve zeroed in on a set of AI tools and platforms that genuinely augment my work and, ones that align with the way I think, learn, and stay in control. Here’s a candid, personal breakdown of what’s working, when I use each tool, and why some just don’t…
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It’s 2025, Will AI Make Developers Obsolete?
Most of the developers I have known use AI. Some of them use it to build entire apps or to quickly build quick proof-of-concepts. Others refuse to even use it. I’m in the middle myself. I use AI to help move things forward especially when I’m stuck or just want a shortcut through boilerplate, but…
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Database Design From The Ground Up
At the heart of every software project lies the database—The database is the foundation that determines how data is stored, accessed, and updated in every software project. Whatever your definition of a database may be (Relational, NoSQL, TimeSeries, etc.). Database theory provides the principles for structuring and organizing this data efficiently with one of the…
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What Does Leading A Development Team Mean To Me
The Head of Engineering (VP of Engineering, Director of Engineering, CTO, etc.) is the person in charge of steering the ship, but with a twist—they allow minor direction changes by the team. These slight deviations are fine and can even be beneficial because they offer opportunities for learning and growth, as long as the overall…
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Efficient Hiring & Prioritizing Candidate Experience
In tech recruitment, it’s common to get tangled in complex and convoluted interview procedures that lean towards complexity rather than efficiency and can be a pretty big rabbit hole. However, as an engineering manager, it’s important for me to acknowledge that a candidate’s time is just as important and valuable as mine or any other…
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Development Boards In Software Development & The Importance Clarity and Progress
There’s no doubt that software development projects can be complex, timelines can be tight, and collaboration is paramount to solving the problems in those projects. Having a clear overview of what everyone is working on becomes paramount when making decisions, determining timelines, and keeping people who depend on milestones up to date. Acting as the…
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Asking the Right Questions in Software Development
When thinking about software improvements and features, success often hinges on the ability to ask the right questions and probe enough to understand the answers you get. As a software developer, asking insightful questions to a product manager or an executive is crucial for creating successful and impactful features. The next time you start on…
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Why Are Development Metrics Important?
I write about this topic a lot, but it’s one that is important to me and the teams that I manage. It helps create a culture of transparency and problem solving. Team velocity, individual velocity, number of tickets completed and bugs fixed are all metrics that serve as the compass guiding teams through the complex…