Prompt engineering vs prompt guessing: why prompts without context, guidelines and goals give random results, and when guessing is actually the right move.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
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.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
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.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
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.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
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.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
AI doesn't fix chaos, it amplifies it. AI development best practices for moving fast with systems: documentation, tests, prompt templates and daily reviews.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
How personal habits build professional excellence: everyday disciplines at home, from finances to email, train the planning and detail that your projects need.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
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.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
Recurring tasks best practices: when to automate repeating work like standups and audits, when to skip it, and a one-sentence test for deciding.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
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.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
A learn by doing framework in three stages: read to build the theory, apply it to real work, then master it through repetition, failure and refinement.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
A simple Monday planning framework: 30 minutes in CEO mode to brain dump your work, pick your top 3 priorities and block time before your calendar fills up.
Travis Sutphin
Principal engineer. 25+ years building software.
