Showing 25 posts
What I've Learned
Practical insights from building products, scaling teams, and embracing AI
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Technical Leadership
Nov 06, 2026
10 min read
How to Evaluate a Software Development Estimate
How to evaluate a software development estimate or agency quote: what a credible one contains, the red flags, the hidden line items and the questions to ask.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Technical Leadership
Nov 02
10 min
Technical Due Diligence Checklist: Before You Buy or Sign
A technical due diligence checklist for founders: what to check in code, data, security, costs and team before you buy, invest or sign, and what red flags cost.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Technical Leadership
Oct 27
10 min
Rebuild vs Refactor: When to Rewrite Legacy Software
Rebuild vs refactor: how to decide whether to rewrite legacy software or upgrade it in place, from two real projects that went opposite ways and what each cost.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
AI Development
Oct 25
9 min
Human in the Loop: Why AI Still Needs Human Oversight
AI writes code faster than any team, but it can't tell when it's wrong. What human in the loop means, what breaks without it, and how to check your team has it.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Web Development
Aug 14
9 min
PWA vs Mobile App: Why I Told a Client to Skip the App
PWA vs native mobile app: why I steered a client away from an app store build to one installable web app, what you give up, and when native is worth it.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
AI Development
Jan 16
5 min
Prompt Engineering vs Prompt Guessing: When to Use Each
Prompt engineering vs prompt guessing: why prompts without context, guidelines and goals give random results, and when guessing is actually the right move.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
AI
Dec 04
5 min
Do I Need a CMS for My Website? Why AI May Be Better
Do you need a CMS for your website? For most business sites, an AI-managed static site is faster, safer and cheaper. Here is when a CMS still makes sense.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Web Presence
Nov 24
3 min
Why Your Business Needs a Web Presence Before You Need It
Why your business needs a web presence now: reviews, rankings and reputation compound slowly, so start building before your sales pipeline slows down.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Security
Nov 01
6 min
Stop Contact Form Spam Without CAPTCHA: 5 Invisible Layers
How to stop contact form spam without CAPTCHA: five invisible layers that cut bot submissions by 80% while real customers fill out the form as normal.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
AI Development
Oct 25
4 min
When to Use AI Thinking Mode (and When to Turn It Off)
When to use AI thinking mode: turn it on for strategy, tradeoffs and open questions, and off when you know exactly what you want built. A simple rule of thumb.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Project Management
Oct 11
12 min
Documentation Debt: How to Organize Team Documentation
Documentation debt is what you pay when nobody can find the docs. How we organized 39+ files with one entry point, status badges and an archive in 4 hours.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
AI Development
Oct 10
8 min
Vibe Coding for Beginners: 5 Do's and 5 Don'ts
A vibe coding guide for beginners: 5 do's and 5 don'ts for building with AI tools, from small first projects and clear prompts to testing and version control.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
AI Development
Sep 30
12 min
Vibe Coding with AI: Why Planning Still Matters
Vibe coding with AI gets you to 80% fast, then stalls. Why planning still matters, and how having AI document its own work keeps your codebase consistent.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
AI Development
Sep 26
8 min
AI Development Best Practices: Avoid the AI Speed Trap
AI doesn't fix chaos, it amplifies it. AI development best practices for moving fast with systems: documentation, tests, prompt templates and daily reviews.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
AI Development
Sep 21
8 min
AI Project Stuck at 80%? How to Finish and Ship It
Why AI projects get stuck at 80%: the five blockers behind the last 20%, how to tell if your project is really stuck, and two practical paths to ship it.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Team Leadership
Jun 26
7 min
How Personal Habits Build Professional Excellence
How personal habits build professional excellence: everyday disciplines at home, from finances to email, train the planning and detail that your projects need.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Project Management
May 30
5 min
Weekly Priorities for Project Managers: The Big 3 Method
Set weekly priorities as a project manager with the Big 3: three outcomes that make the week a win, align your team and stop busywork stalling projects.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Systems & Organization
Apr 22
5 min
File Naming Conventions: Best Practices to Stop File Chaos
File naming conventions best practices: a simple date, project, type and version format with examples, plus tips to roll it out so your team finds files fast.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Project Management
Mar 19
6 min
Recurring Tasks: Best Practices That Actually Work
Recurring tasks best practices: when to automate repeating work like standups and audits, when to skip it, and a one-sentence test for deciding.
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Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Agile
Feb 10
9 min
12 Agile Principles That Actually Work in Real Projects
The 12 Agile principles with a real-world example for each, the four Agile Manifesto values behind them, and why they work in practice, minus the theory.
TS
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.