The Bike Shed

Aji and Sally dive into their personal experiences with ADHD, revealing effective systems they use for work. They discuss how coping methods evolve over time and share innovative tools like Obsidian and tactile note systems. Sally highlights the importance of avoiding multitasking and managing attention, while Aji emphasizes clear team communication. They also touch on the benefits of consulting for maintaining focus. The duo hilariously navigates the intricacies of Slack reminders, blending humor with practical advice for a productive workday.

Joël and Aji dive into the complexities of change management and data migrations. They explore the risks involved with data changes versus code changes, highlighting the permanent nature of corrupted data. Incremental migrations and the Strangler Fig pattern offer strategies for smooth transitions. The importance of planning zero-downtime changeovers is emphasized, along with handling in-flight requests during migrations. Joël shares insights from past migration experiences, while discussing innovative solutions like ID exchange endpoints and canary deploys.

Joël and Sally dive into the art of PR reviews, discussing the importance of concise descriptions and manageable sizes for code diffs. They explore the balance between human judgment and AI support in code review, emphasizing clear rationale for changes. The duo also highlights the value of readable methods and managing levels of abstraction. They caution against overly complex tests and debate the nuances of splitting work into meaningful tickets. Tune in for insights that blend technical expertise with practical advice!

Sally and Aji delve into the concept of invisible mentorship, particularly within code reviews. They discuss the nuances of providing feedback, including when to initiate conversations and how to tailor insights based on developers' experiences. The duo highlights the importance of empathy and communication styles, and the value of draft pull requests as tools for collaboration. They also touch on neurodiversity and the crucial role of context in feedback. Join them as they explore the dynamics of mentoring in tech!

It’s board game night at the Bike Shed as Joël and Aji crack out the game pieces to assess how their work as programmers influences strategy when playing some of their favourite games. As they make their way round the board they discuss the cycle of setbacks and iteration, finding the optimal solution to a puzzle, as well as the key skills that best links their programming work to board games. — Thanks to our sponsors for this episode Judoscale - Autoscale the Right Way (check the link for your free gift!), and Scout Monitoring. Check out the upcoming conferences mentioned in this episode - XO Ruby and Rocky Mountain Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville and Aji Slater. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Joël prepares to write his new book by asking Sally some fundamental questions about Web browsers. Together they look to answer the deceptively simple question of what is a browser, examining what they are at their core, what they’re capable of beyond basic functions, the nuances of programming for the web across different systems and devices on the front and back end, as well as unpacking the surprising benefits of different forms of browsers like the terminal text based platform Lynx. — Thanks to our sponsors for this episode Judoscale - Autoscale the Right Way (check the link for your free gift!), and Scout Monitoring. Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville and Sally Hall. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Sally and Joël explore the essence of developer skills beyond just writing code. They discuss the importance of context in problem-solving and the critical role of effectively reading error messages. The duo emphasizes the art of asking the right questions, whether to Google or AI. They dive into expert Googling, detailing the difference between reference lookups and exploratory searches. Mentorship and learning from PRs are highlighted as vital for juniors transitioning to senior roles, showcasing the dynamic journey of a developer.

Joël is joined by some familiar faces in today’s episode of the Bike Shed to help reveal some exciting changes to the show as he asks his new co-hosts, what’s new in your world? — Thanks to our sponsors for this episode Judoscale - Autoscale the Right Way (check the link for your free gift!), and Scout Monitoring. Joining Joël Quenneville as your new co-hosts are Aji Slater and Sally Hall. Get to know your hosts a little better by checking out Sally’s recent episode on timezones or Aji’s RailsConf Keynote and handy list of previous keynotes. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Joël talks with Adam McCrea, founder of Judoscale, about the best ways to manage your queues and autoscaling. Adam discusses some tough lessons he learnt recently during a technical outage at Judoscale, what exactly autoscaling is and how it works, the best signals to assess when working with an autoscaler, and provides some simple tips to better organise your own queues. — You can connect with Adam via LinkedIn or check out the work he does with Judoscale, who have also sponsored this episode of The Bike Shed. Be sure to claim your free gift if you haven’t already! Thanks to the second sponsor of this episode Scout Monitoring. Your host for this episode has been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Join Jimmy Thigpen, a developer at Thoughtbot, as he dives into the world of AI workflows. He and fellow developer Joël Quenneville discuss the real impact of LLMs on programming. They explore the balance between rapid AI assistance and the need for careful planning in software development. The duo also examines AI's limitations in creativity and flexibility, sharing insights on how to improve interactions with AI tools and maximize coding efficiency. A thought-provoking conversation for anyone navigating the evolving landscape of AI in tech!