Field Notes

Plain talk about the software your business runs on.

Twenty years of lessons on building, rescuing, and betting your business on software. No jargon, no filler.

Cover image for “How to hire a developer when you're not technical”
Strategy

How to hire a developer when you're not technical

You can't judge code you can't read, so don't try. Judge the things you can: how they communicate, what they ask, and whether they're honest about trade-offs.

6 min read
Cover image for “Mobile-first isn't a trend, it's where your customers already are”
Performance

Mobile-first isn't a trend, it's where your customers already are

Most people will see your site on a phone first, often only on a phone. Designing for the big screen and hoping it shrinks gracefully has it exactly backwards.

5 min read
Cover image for “Integrations: making your tools finally talk to each other”
Custom tools

Integrations: making your tools finally talk to each other

You probably already own good software. The friction is that none of it talks, so you become the human glue copying data between apps. That job can be automated away.

5 min read
Cover image for “An email list beats a following you don't own”
Growth

An email list beats a following you don't own

Ten thousand social followers belong to the platform, not to you. A few hundred email addresses you own outright are worth far more, and can't be taken away.

5 min read
Cover image for “Legacy software modernization: the incremental approach”
Strategy

Legacy software modernization: the incremental approach

Big-bang rewrites fail more often than they succeed. The safer path to legacy software modernization is incremental: strengthen what works, replace only what needs it.

6 min read
Cover image for “What a code audit actually reveals”
Strategy

What a code audit actually reveals

A code audit isn't about finding fault. It's about understanding what you have, what's risky, and what it'll take to move forward before you spend another pound on the wrong thing.

5 min read
Cover image for “Fixed-price vs. hourly: why the pricing model matters”
Strategy

Fixed-price vs. hourly: why the pricing model matters

Hourly billing punishes you for asking questions. Fixed-price development changes the whole relationship, here's why, and what it takes to quote one honestly.

5 min read
Cover image for “Technical debt: what it is and why it's costing you”
Performance

Technical debt: what it is and why it's costing you

Technical debt isn't a bug, it's the accumulated cost of every shortcut, and it compounds quietly until one day something important stops working.

5 min read
Cover image for “The hidden cost of an outdated website”
Growth

The hidden cost of an outdated website

An old site doesn't just look dated, it leaks trust and leads every day. How to tell when it's time to rebuild.

5 min read

Have a system that keeps you up at night?

Tell me what's breaking. I'll tell you what I'd do about it.

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