Some reading before Summer wraps (As usual, a hat tip to Hacker News, Reddit, Youtube, Spotify, Twitter, Bluesky and my other feeds).
Until next time!
Saturday, August 01, 2026
Summer reading - 2026
Until next time!
Thursday, May 21, 2026
An obligatory post about vibe coding
(An obligatory post about vibe coding - everyone needs to make at least one, they say.)
I've been using my $20 Claude subscription to tinker on some side projects in my personal time.
It's astonishing how much can be done with the basic plan, which makes me wonder how much it will actually cost once the VC subsidies end.
I've also gained quite a bit of insight without going neck deep into multi-agent, spec driven, ralph loop, <insert latest buzzword> and such bleeding edge techniques or tools.
I've stuck to a simple workflow
- It involves Claude code on my Macbook, an architecture.md, a backlog.md and a simple claude.md. I also get the AI to create a more detailed but transient plan-<complex-feature>.md for complex, work in progress features
- I use Claude in the browser for learning, research and brainstorming
I've iterated on my personal workflow over multiple projects. It's been "productive", meaning I've created many experimental projects, including some that may have legs. Some have been purely personal and custom productivity type of tools. I've not really read the code it has produced because all of it was done while I was watching TV or doing chores. Some even in programming languages I have no prior experience with.
Learnings (using Claude as of May 2026):
- Despite having Claude.md and tests it can make subtle mistakes. On occasion
- It leaves docs in an inconsistent state and requires a reminder/instruction to find and fix them
- It forgets to read some of the instructions in Claude.md
- It writes docs in incorrect folders ignoring the designated docs/ folder
- It accidentally deletes features as part of larger changes, esp if those changes cannot be tested (UI)
- It freezes
- (My work related/professional experience is different which I won't speak about here)
- Judgement and Taste absolutely matter
- Identifying problems worthy of solving, brainstorming potential solutions and implementing them in the correct order is really where a good human engineer does really well
- Producing a usable application that is based on the most popular frameworks, on which the AI is trained on is a shockingly easy and delightful experience. Can't say the same about juggling multiple agents and reviewing lots of AI generated PRs from multiple team members though
Here are some of my older experiments: https://github.com/AshwinJay/ai-experiments
Here is one that I may actually use one day: https://github.com/AshwinJay/project-tracker
Until next time.
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
A poster: The architecture of high-performing teams
I had a bit of free time to introspect on how I work with my teams. I summarized the things I've learned to pay attention to while supporting them. None of this is novel or earth shattering as I do read a bit. I may have absorbed and synthesized information from various sources and certainly from personal experience. In fact it may be hard to make it simpler. I gave Claude some of my hand written notes and asked it to create a poster.
So here it is:
Here's how the relationships are mapped:
Top-down causality - the vertical flow shows that foundation shapes culture, culture shapes people, people form teams, teams execute projects, and projects produce outcomes. Each layer depends on the one above.
Horizontal duality - Vision/Mission/Charter and Culture/Values each exist at both company and team level, shown as parallel halves with a bidirectional connector. The two must align.
Bias as a structural outlier - it gets a dashed coral border rather than a solid one, signalling it's something to monitor rather than build on.
The tactics matrix - a 2D grid that makes the Start/More/Less/Stop × Fast/Medium/Slow intersection explicit. Every tactic can be applied at any pace.
The 5 Cs as a causal chain - not just a list but a sequence: Clarity + Context to deliver Content, the right Content hits the target, and Consistent delivery builds Confidence. Also Confidence that the Content has value to the Customer, and inspires Confidence in the Team/Product/Company.
Process at the bottom rather than the side signals it's the substrate - it doesn't direct the other layers, it captures and feeds them.
One thing that I have left out is the feedback loop that should exist in any healthy organization of any size. I left it out because it would make the poster busy and also serves as a good test to see if people pick up on that missing piece. Hopefully it sparks some interesting conversations about what the people in the organization at any level think is expected of them - Just follow instructions or act like an owner and help shape the culture, adapt and grow.
Down below, is another way of looking at the same framework but at different levels/scope:
Misalignment becomes visible. If a team's norms don't match the company's stated culture, or someone's personal values sit at odds with the team's, you can see exactly where the friction is coming from.
Tactics look different at each level. Start/More/Less/Stop is often thought of as a personal coaching tool, but at org level it's essentially a strategic portfolio decision, and at team level it's about changing practices. The same tool, three different conversations.
The 5 Cs are a diagnosis at every scope. Weak clarity in a team usually traces back to weak clarity at org level - if the company's narrative is inconsistent, the team can't be confident, which rolls down to individuals.
Process is the only row where org and individual rarely align. Company-wide systems almost never match how individuals actually work - which is often where friction and shadow processes come from.
Until next time.
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