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 quality
• How to introduce new practices in a resistant environment
• Why collaborative coding, like ensemble programming, accelerates team growth
• The role of leadership in creating a culture of continuous learning and quality

In 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 assistants

References

Approval Tests and the weekly Approval Tests Ensemble

ChatGPT & Copilot are NOT Refactoring Tools

Where to connect further:

Connect with Emily Bache on LinkedIn and Samman Technical Coaching Society

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Want to hear more? Check out distributed.fm

Connect with Jack Hannah