Mike DiDomizio

When did senior engineers start acting like every task needs to be fully scoped for them? Lately, I’ve heard devs say they want “clean Jira tickets.” Let’s be honest about what that really means: No ambiguity. No product thinking. No ownership. Just code. Preferably handed to them in a neat little box. If that’s the kind of work you’re looking for, there are places for it: internal IT at a bank, government contracts, legacy systems in maintenance mode. But if you’re working in a product company—especially a startup or scale-up—that posture won’t get you far. The job is messy. The requirements do change. The customer will contradict themselves. That’s why we need engineers who lean into the ambiguity, not away from it. This is exactly why I wrote Product Driven. Too many teams are optimizing for clean tickets instead of customer outcomes. But product thinking isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s the job. I break down what that looks like and how to lead for it in the book. 👉 https://buff.ly/1W4AoCz

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Pull Requests shouldn’t feel like this. We’ve all opened a large PR review and thought: “Well... this is going to hurt.” Sure, small PRs are great, but sometimes you need the full picture. That’s where stacked PRs help (been using Graphite for that, a tool for managing PRs and code reviews). Stacked PRs treat your feature development as a chain of commits / PRs layered on top of each other. Think of it like a Jenga tower: each block (PR) builds on top of the previous one. pr1 → main pr2 → pr1 pr3 → pr2 Now it’s getting even better. I just got early access to Graphite Chat 👇 - I can literally ask it “what’s going on in this PR?” and it gives me the full story, codebase history, past PRs, even outside context. - I can just highlight it and ask “explain this”, instant breakdown. - Flags risks before reviewers even show up. - When someone leaves feedback, it helps me make sense of it and suggests fixes. - And the best part? When CI blows up, I can just ask “why did this break?” and actually get an answer. I’ll even be able to pop open the Graphite Editor right inside Chat to view and edit the codebase. Reviews feel lighter, more collaborative. Exactly how they should.

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How to turn around a software project that’s going off the rails When a software project starts to unravel, it usually doesn’t happen overnight. The warning signs show up early: ⚠ Goals aren’t clear or keep shifting ⚠ Product and dev teams aren’t on the same page ⚠ Technical debt starts piling up ⚠ Deadlines slip, and no one’s sure who’s in charge So, how do you pull things back on track? 1️⃣ Run a quick discovery to realign the team on goals and scope 2️⃣ Audit the architecture and codebase to see what’s really under the hood 3️⃣ Prioritize like crazy. Focus on what’s essential, not everything 4️⃣ Create small, fast wins to rebuild momentum In software, the best practice for rescuing struggling projects is not about just adding hours or bodies. It’s about: ✅ Alignment: making sure everyone is clear on goals, scope, and priorities ✅ Focus: cutting distractions and nonessential work ✅ Prioritization: tackling the riskiest or most valuable pieces first Get those right, and you don’t just rescue the project.  You rebuild team confidence and momentum. -- ♻️ Repost this if you found it useful 🧐 Follow me (@gmansoor) for more posts 📩 Get VIP insights in my email newsletter #ProjectRescue #SoftwareDelivery #AgileLeadership #TechTeams #ProjectManagement

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I keep seeing teams wrestle with feature requests that sneak their way into a product roadmap. Is it valuable, or is it just scope creep? Here’s a simple question tree I use to sanity-check new features before they get built: 1. Business Alignment Does this feature directly support our current product goals, OKRs, or business strategy? Yes → Go to 2 No → Probably scope creep. Park it for later. 2. User Value Does it solve a real user problem backed by research, feedback, or data? Yes → Go to 3 No → Gather more evidence before building. 3. Impact & Priority Will it move the needle on retention, revenue, or adoption? Yes → Go to 4 No → Backlog it for now. 4. Effort vs. Value Is the value high enough to justify the cost (time, complexity, maintenance)? Yes → Go to 5 No → Cut or simplify it. 5. Dependencies & Risks Will it add significant complexity or risk? Yes → Make sure the risk is worth the tradeoff before moving on. No → Go to 6 6. Roadmap Fit Does it fit into the planned timeline without delaying higher-priority items? Yes → Green light. Build it. No → Consider deferring. This little checklist has saved me from building “cool ideas” that would have distracted the team or slowed us down. How do you evaluate whether a new feature is worth building?

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Your coding skills are worthless if no one understands what you're saying. Here's how to transform from a technical expert to a strategic powerhouse: 1/ Decode Business Objectives ↳ Understand what truly matters to leadership ↳ Connect your data directly to company goals 2/ Speak Their Language ↳ Translate complex algorithms into dollar signs ↳ Show impact, not just technical complexity 3/ Master Data Storytelling ↳ Create narratives, not just spreadsheets ↳ Make your insights compelling and memorable 4/ Deliver Actionable Insights ↳ Every chart should trigger a decision ↳ Recommend clear, executable strategies 5/ Build Contextual Intelligence ↳ Look beyond numbers ↳ Understand the broader business ecosystem 6/ Simplify Technical Complexity ↳ Explain like you're talking to a curious 5-year-old ↳ Cut the jargon, focus on clarity 7/ Learn Business Dynamics ↳ Study industry trends ↳ Know what keeps executives up at night 8/ Network Strategically ↳ Build relationships across departments ↳ Be more than just the "tech person" 9/ Continuous Learning ↳ Stay curious about business strategy ↳ Read beyond technical journals 10/ Quantify Your Value ↳ Track how insights drive decisions ↳ Prove your worth beyond code Technical skills get you hired. Strategic communication gets you promoted. Combine analytical depth with business acumen, and you become unstoppable. ♻️ Repost to help data professionals unlock their true potential. Follow Tuan Sihan for frameworks that turn data nerds into business heroes.

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