I’m going to explain to you the concept of a paved path to software delivery.

A paved path will make your engineering job as easy as possible. It will complete every task that wastes your time and effort. It will keep you focused on delivering business value through technology solutions.

Sound good? Excellent. Let’s dive in.

In 2008, I was handed the keys to the software I’d be working on my entire professional career, and I decided to rewrite it from scratch.

Today I’ll teach you the best way to learn a new programming language, framework, or technique.

Learning new tech is one of the easiest ways that you can advance your career. You’ll have one additional tool that you can use to write software for your customers. And it just might put you on the fast track to that new job or next promotion!

Shipping 30 atomic essays in 30 days was so hard I decided to do it again.

If you’ve followed my writing journey since August 2021, you’ll remember that I fell overboard 21 days into my first cohort.

My X doesn’t work. Please help me.

I empathize. I really do. But I can’t help you.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman carried his 12 favorite problems everywhere he went.

You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind, although by and large they will lay in a dormant state. Every time you hear a new trick or a new result, test it against each of your twelve problems to see whether it helps.

In July 2021, I discovered the fantastic Ship 30 for 30 community and signed up for the next cohort.

I started a daily writing habit and completed a 20-day streak. Only packing and moving to a new house stopped me. I struggled and finally limped across the finish line 16 days late.

And then I stopped.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman carried around 12 favorite problems at all times.

When he’d find a new idea, he’d try it against all of these problems to see if it would help.

Most of the time things wouldn’t match up, but occasionally he’d get a useful hit!

Defects are the last of the Seven Wastes of Software Development.

The Seven Wastes were identified by Mary and Tom Poppendieck, the foreparents of Lean Software Development. It grew out of their efforts to understand and apply the principles of Lean Manufacturing to software engineering.

Task Switching is the sixth of the Seven Wastes of Software Development.

The Seven Wastes were identified by Mary and Tom Poppendieck, the foreparents of Lean Software Development. It grew out of their efforts to understand and apply the principles of Lean Manufacturing to software engineering.

Delays are the fifth of the Seven Wastes of Software Development.

The Seven Wastes were identified by Mary and Tom Poppendieck, the foreparents of Lean Software Development. It grew out of their efforts to understand and apply the principles of Lean Manufacturing to software engineering.

Handoffs are the fourth of the Seven Wastes of Software Development.

The Seven Wastes were identified by Mary and Tom Poppendieck, the foreparents of Lean Software Development. It grew out of their efforts to understand and apply the principles of Lean Manufacturing to software engineering.

Relearning is the third of the Seven Wastes of Software Development.

The Seven Wastes were identified by Mary and Tom Poppendieck, the foreparents of Lean Software Development. It grew out of their efforts to understand and apply the principles of Lean Manufacturing to software engineering.

Extra Features are the second of the Seven Wastes of Software Development.

The Seven Wastes were identified by Mary and Tom Poppendieck, the foreparents of Lean Software Development. It grew out of their efforts to understand and apply the principles of Lean Manufacturing to software engineering.

Partially Done Work is the first of the Seven Wastes of Software Development.

The Seven Wastes were identified by Mary and Tom Poppendieck, the foreparents of Lean Software Development. It grew out of their efforts to understand and apply the principles of Lean Manufacturing to software engineering.

Home is where you wake up, and you don’t wonder where you are.

Home is where you look around and you think, “Yes. This is how it should be.”

There is a foreign language spoken by the parents at youth baseball tournaments.

I started drafting this piece as I was sitting at yet another opening tournament of what we call “Fall Ball.” My son’s starting at Third Base this year, and he’s also getting some reps as a relief pitcher. As I waited for the game to start, I also waited for the “baseball parent-isms” to start flying.

Waste elimination is critical to delivering value through software.

In the late 1940s, Toyota had a problem. Manufacturing was expensive, so prices were high. But the typical car buyer in Japan was light on cash. Reducing the cost of manufacturing was the only way to sell cars.

Mass production could have solved the problem, but Japan’s economy wasn’t large enough to create demand for thousands of cars. Toyota had to find another way, and they turned to Taiichi Ohno.

As much as I loved my Computer Science curriculum at Ole Miss, it taught me nothing about being an effective software engineer.

When I was in school, Computer Science programs were optimized for producing grad students. Grad students need to excel at research and publishing. Not shipping software.

On September 20, 1998, Cal Ripken Jr. ended his record streak of 2,632 games played. In 1999, he had the highest batting average of his 21-year career.

On July 17, 1941, Joe DiMaggio ended his record streak of 56 consecutive games with a hit. He went on to win the 1941 World Series and American League MVP award.