

CaSE: Conversations about Software Engineering
CaSE Podcast Team
Conversations about Software Engineering (CaSE) is a podcast for software engineers about technology, software engineering, software architecture, reliability engineering, and data engineering. The three of us regularly come together to discuss recent events or articles, exchange on our learnings, and reflect on our professional and personal experiences. Additionally our guest episodes feature engaging conversations with interesting people from the world of software engineering.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 2, 2026 • 1h 12min
Guiding, not ruling: Architecture Governance Approaches
Overview on Paved Road, Advice Process, Architecture Principles and Technology Radar
Chapter Marks
-000:00:00 Introduction: Governance and Autonomy
-000:01:56 Golden Path / Paved Road Explained
-000:30:49 Architecture Advice Process
-000:46:53 Architecture Principles & Macro Architecture
-000:57:18 Technology Radar
-001:05:27 AI and the Future of Governance
Links
Zalando Tech Radar
ThoughtWorks Technology Radar
Facilitating Software Architecture
Service Template/Paved Road
Cultivating Architecture - Martin Fowler & Birgitta Böckeler | Craft 2019
CaSE Principles with B. Boeckeler
CaSE C. Richardson on Service Templates
CaSE A. Harmel-Law on the architecture advice process

Jan 13, 2026 • 1h 21min
Andrew Harmel-Law on Better Architecture Decision Making for Everyone
Chapter Marks
-00:00:02 Intro & Welcome
-00:03:04 What is software architecture?
-00:07:27 Architecture advice process
-00:10:41 Learning & unlearning in architecture
-00:14:36 Advice process in detail
-00:24:00 Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)
-00:35:25 Scaling architecture & organization
-00:56:49 Architecture Advice Forums
-01:06:26 AI & Architecture Work
-01:11:58 Naming, Power & Psychological Safety
-01:17:54 Writing, Editing & Book Creation
-01:20:07 Conclusion & Farewell
Show Notes
Books
Facilitating Software Architecture
Architecture Metrics
Team Topologies
Unlearn
Domain-Driven Design (Eric Evans, Blue Book)
Principles of Product Development Flow
Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture Volume 5 - On Patterns and Pattern Languages
Articles / Blogposts / Talks / Papers:
Architecture Decision Records (Michael Nygard)
Who Needs an Architect? (Martin Fowler)
Decentralizing the Practice of Architecture at Xapo Bank
Fred George, Programmer Anarchy
(Probabably) the earliest ADR paper
Conway’s Law (Melvin Conway), Original Paper
Conways’s Law explained by Martin Fowler

4 snips
Sep 22, 2025 • 1h 20min
Data Marketplace, Data Products and Data Contracts
Simon Harra, CEO of Entropy Data and co-creator of the data mesh manager, dives into the transformative world of data management. He discusses the evolution from software engineering to decentralized data thinking, emphasizing the importance of data contracts. Simon breaks down the anatomy of these contracts, covering quality guarantees and validation processes. He then shares insights on building a centralized data marketplace and explores future possibilities like AI-enhanced discovery and governance automation. A fascinating look into the future of data products!

17 snips
Jul 2, 2025 • 1h 49min
Data Architecture with Christoph Windheuser
Christoph Windheuser, a seasoned data expert with over 30 years in the field and a PhD in AI, shares insights on evolving data architectures. He discusses the transformative shift from data warehouses to concepts like data lakes and data mesh. Christoph emphasizes the critical importance of data quality and governance, relating them to real-world challenges in AI. The conversation touches on emerging technologies like large language models and practical applications in data management, weaving together technical depth with visionary trends.

Jun 5, 2025 • 1h 46min
Mirko Novakovic on Waves of Innovation and Observability Product Management
In this episode of the CaSE Podcast, Mirko Novakovic, a seasoned entrepreneur and investor, shares his journey through the waves of technological innovation—from the early days of online banking to the rise of AI and open telemetry. We explore with him how the lessons learned in diverse industries, including the food business, can reshape our approach to software development and architecture, emphasizing the importance of curiosity, adaptability, and a solid grasp of the fundamentals.
Chapter Marks
-00:00:11 Introduction
-00:01:35 Learning from Olive Oil farming and restaurant businesses
-00:09:20 Waves of technological innovations?
-00:16:19* Fundamentals vs. Trends in Software Engineering
-00:21:08 Minimum knowledge of performance analysis today
-00:26:49 Honouring the works of Brendan Gregg
-00:30:17 Importance of features like profiling
-00:39:45 You only change if you feel the pain
-00:47:58 Overestimating the need for speed of change
-00:51:25 Explaining benefits of Open Telemetry to customers
-01:00:09 The Rift Framework and Data Usability
-01:21:37 Product Management and User-Centric Design
-01:38:11 Entrepreneurship
-01:44:39 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Show Notes
Dash0
Instana
eBPF
Brendon Gregg
OpenTelemetry

Apr 8, 2025 • 1h 30min
Architecture Sensitivity Points; Interactions with AI Assistance
The discussion kicks off with a dive into the high-stakes implications of sensitivity points in software architecture, highlighted by the recent Volkswagen data breach. The hosts explore how minor architectural choices can heavily influence data privacy and functionality. They also examine AI's role in development, sharing insights on tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot. The conversation highlights the challenges and benefits of AI, emphasizing its potential to aid creative thinking and even empower non-coders in application development.

4 snips
Mar 17, 2025 • 1h 35min
Ole Lensmar - From Swagger to TestCube: Evolving Testing Practices in the Kubernetes Era
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

Feb 25, 2025 • 1h 51min
Theo Schlossnagle on Meat, Machines, and Mastery in Software Engineering
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.

Feb 3, 2025 • 1h 22min
New Hosts and Formats, Observability Costs and Training
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

Sep 11, 2023 • 1h 9min
Aino Corry on Better Tech Meetings
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.


