CaSE: Conversations about Software Engineering

In this episode of the CaSE Podcast, Sven Johann, Alex Heusingfeld, and Heinrich Hartmann dive into the concept of sensitivity points in software architecture, using the recent Volkswagen data leak as a striking example. They explore how seemingly minor architectural decisions and code changes can carry massive implications when balancing trade-offs like data privacy versus functionality. The trio also discusses the growing impact of AI-assisted development, reflecting on practical experiences with tools like ChatGPT, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot. Birgitta Böckerler, AI Assistance beyond coding Cursor IDE Loveable Massive data breach at VW Sensitivity and Trade-Off Points in Software Architecture, chapter 7.2. Peter Naur, Programming as Theory Building Chapter Marks: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:57 VW data breach example 00:05:45 What is a sensitivity point (SP)? 00:13:10 SP: How serious are we with security requirements 00:17:05 SP: Different stakeholder needs 00:20:33 SP: The problem of getting stakeholders together 00:25:46 SP: Applying this concept to data lineage? 00:32:30 SP: Protecting critical lines of code 00:36:38 SP: Engineering critical code protection 00:41:57 AI assistance: it helps, if your are an expert 00:45:32 AI: Being successful with a clear mental model and iterations 00:54:33 AI: Larger code bases 01:01:10 AI: Devil’s advocate and inspiration on design 01:09:30 AI: Talking to the LLM for coding and writing 01:15:35 AI: Non technical people creating code 01:27:50 AI: Wrapping up

How do you ensure the reliability of your cloud-native applications in an ever-evolving landscape? In this episode of CaSE, we dive deep into the intricate world of cloud-native testing with Ole Lensmar, the mind behind SoapUI, serial entrepreneur and Founder of TestKube. Join us as we explore the challenges of testing in Kubernetes environments, the balance between automation and manual testing, and the evolving role of AI in shaping our testing strategies. TestKube – Test execution at scale for CI/CD KubeShop -- An Accelerator for Open Source Startups Swagger – API design, documentation, and testing SoapUI – Testing tool for SOAP and REST APIs Postman – API development and testing platform JUnit – Unit testing framework for Java k6 – Load testing for developers Chapter Marks: 00:00:00 The Intersection of Software Engineering and Butchery 00:09:03 Introduction to Cloud-Native Testing 00:09:03 The Role of AI in Testing 00:15:44 API Testing Tools: SoapUI and Swagger 00:28:47 Cloud-Native Testing Strategies 00:45:37 Continuous Testing and Monitoring 00:54:43 The Future of Testing Tools and Practices 01:26:17 Building and Sustaining Open-Source Communities

Theo Schlossnagle, a world-class software engineer and owner of a butcher shop, discusses the intriguing parallels between butchery and software development. He emphasizes the power of curiosity in coding and explores automation in butcher operations. Unpacking the complexities of distributed systems, he shares strategies for debugging and managing state. Schlossnagle also critiques legacy systems, advocating for simplicity over abstraction. With insights on IoT and modern tooling, he highlights what truly defines great software engineering.

Sven Johann talks to Heinrich Hartmann and Alexander Heusingfeld about the cost of observability How Buildings Learn, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HowBuildingsLearn Big Ball of Mud, http://www.laputan.org/mud/mud.html#BigBallOfMud Coinbase USD 65M bill from Datadog, https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/datadog-65m-year-customer-mystery/ Observability by Ben Sigelman, https://medium.com/lightstephq/observability-will-never-replace-monitoring-because-it-shouldnt-eeea92c4c5c9 Charity Majors, GOTO Amsterdam, Observability 2.0, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag2ykPO805M Hillel Wayne, SRECon Keynote, “Are we really engineers?”, https://www.usenix.org/conference/srecon24emea/presentation/wayne Chapter Marks: 00:00:00 New hosts, new formats 00:12:40 Observability Costs 00:29:03 Observability Training 01:06:10 Engineering vs. Software Engineering 01:18:03 Wrapping up

Aino Corry, expert on improving tech meetings, discusses the importance of meetings for software engineers. They explore various types of meetings, the role of humor in meetings, techniques from family therapy, crafting an agenda and meeting structure, effective meeting endings, and the value of preparation and reflection for continuous improvement.

Lucas Dohmen talks with Angelo Veltens about Solid Solid Homepage SolidOS Solid community Solid organization on Github SolidOS organization on Github Forum Chat Solid Spec schema.org A data ecosystem fosters sustainable innovation

Guest Mark Seemann, software engineer and author, discusses heuristics and cognitive constraints in software engineering, the decision of choosing a programming language, vertical slicing in software development, the culture of change and pride in work, code readability and rhythm, and recommends a book and blog for engineers to advance their careers.

Chris Richardson and Sven Johann discuss service templates Chris’ Microservices Patterns website Chris’ book on Microservices Patterns Crowdsourcing Technology Governance at Target Sam Newman, Building Microservices, chapter “Governance and the paved road” and “Governance and the paved road” Blogpost from Pete Hodgson

Sven Johann talks with Adam Tornhill about Software Design X-Rays This interview was recorded for the GOTO Book Club Part 1 Part 2 Adam Tornhill, Software Design X-Rays Adam Tornhill, Your Code as a Crime Scene Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais, Team Topologies John Ousterhout, A Philosophy of Software Design Dave Thomas & Andy Hunt, The Pragmatic Programmer Fred Brooks Jr., The Mythical Man-Month Chapter Marks: 0:00 Intro 2:54 Behavioral code analysis 8:53 Hotspot analysis and technical debt 14:42 Trends analysis 21:05 System mastery 24:11 Software Design X-Ray 27:18 The more metrics the better? 30:09 Change coupling 33:19 Copy-paste dilemma 42:40 Change coupling gets more expensive with distance 45:20 Team structure visualized in the code 53:52 Outro

Sven Johann talks with Manuel Pais about Team Topologies Interview with Werner Vogels Team Topologies book Free resources Github: tools and templates Team Topologies Academy Platform as a Product Nikki Watts, Platform Engineering as a Community Service Chapter Marks: 00:00 Intro 01:45 The challenge of “two pizza” teams 07:00 The three types of cognitive load 10:48 Measuring cognitive load 16:44 Stream aligned (“two pizza”) teams 21:26 Platform teams 22:54 Enabling teams 24:25 Complicated subsystem teams 26:13 Overcoming common problems of enabling teams 38:21 What do Platform teams do? 53:35 Interaction modes between teams 56:08 Applying team topologies in small organisations 59:51 Closing