Glossary

# 5on2

Talk for 5 minutes about any work you have today that will take 2 hours or more. Prevents roadblocks and wasted time doing the wrong work.

Credit: Chance Smith

# Cognitive Load

Engineers do their best work when they can focus deeply. Spreading people across too many contexts degrades quality and morale. Guard your team's attention.

# Feedback Loops

Share work early and often to get input fast. Quick feedback saves you from wasted effort while helping others—people or AI—understand what you need and adjust accordingly.

# Log the Error When It's Handled

Don't log errors at every layer they pass through. Log them once, at the point where you actually handle them.

# No Purple Prose

Remove unnecessary words. Clarity over decoration — say what you mean without embellishment. Especially important when working with AI, which tends toward verbose, flowery output.

# No Snacking

Focus on what matters. Don't fill time with low-impact busywork that feels productive but doesn't move the needle.

Credit: Will Larson

# Progressive Disclosure

Front-load value and let the audience choose how deep to go. If someone stops reading, watching, or listening at any point, they should already have at least one actionable takeaway. Include people in the process early so they can opt into more detail — don't gate understanding behind length.

# Team Topologies

Teams should be aligned to business domains, not technical layers. This reduces handoffs and gives teams real ownership of outcomes.

# The Virtuous Cycle

A self-reinforcing loop where each improvement drives the next. In software: better tooling → faster iteration → more shipping → better feedback → better tooling. Small gains compound into massive momentum over time, like a flywheel.

Credit: Jim Collins & Jeff Bezos

# Work Out Loud

Share your work often for accountability and feedback. Don't work on an island — give a pulse of what you're doing and what's going on.

Credit: Chance Smith