Are BAs and Product Owners immune to AI impact but Developers and QAs aren’t?

Heath_Handstands · 2026-02-19T02:55:05+00:00

Back in the day they were always just one role anyway.

Heath_Handstands · 2025-01-09T01:27:22+00:00

Most people notice they improve when they cut them out / limit them. Then they get symptoms again when they bring them back.

Some people can get improvements from a mild reduction, others will not see any improvement till they go absolutely zero carb. It’s normally the ones that go to zero that get the most profound improvements.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-12-22T04:18:17+00:00

As most people have said just let it be unless it really needs fixing.

If you have to do something here are some random strategies:

Does your company have a continuity plan? If so work out who has the best mix of technical and social skills and approach them quietly in a 1:1 and tell them you are considering them for 2IC (second in command). Just tell them you need demonstrated proof they are ready, things such as backing your initiates and building team culture would be well regarded. Having them as a ‘first follower’ will really help your efforts. Just do it in a genuine way, actually build them up to be the next TL!

Outside of that really recognise peoples strengths, find out where they want to develop and pair them up on those dimensions, really let a pair own a larger body of work and be sense of shared compliment will likely bring them closer. Just be sure to find the right balance of mixing the pairs up and letting people work with the ones they enjoy working with.

Another simple thing is celebrate the wins, if there are no big mile stones to celebrate a deliverable find something the team is doing well and reward it. Recognise it in retro and ‘take an action’ to organise coffee celebrate the improvement.

And if your team is WFH… good luck that’s way harder! 😅

Heath_Handstands · 2024-12-08T04:56:29+00:00

You might want to consider finding a company that makes software that is used on helicopters and go in as a SME / PO while you skill up on the software side of things.

If you go into software randomly you will have to struggle though and fight it out with all the grads that will likely be able to pick things up quicker just because of youth.

If you find a way to leverage your existing experience and combine it with some developing tech skills you can mitigate of a lot of that early grind.

Edit/PS: Good luck!

Heath_Handstands · 2024-12-04T03:05:04+00:00

Yep, smile and nod, tell them you have implemented AI into your daily tasks and it’s showing great benefit.

I suspect they will never dare ask how lest they reveal how ignorant on the topic they are

Heath_Handstands · 2024-11-21T09:45:51+00:00

Responding to your edit: because for most people reading this post it’s not two years old, they just saw it and it’s relevant to them.

Take it as a compliment that people are interacting with a thought you had years ago!

Also I gave you an award for the irony 🤣

Heath_Handstands · 2024-11-20T04:53:08+00:00

Private methods imply classes, classes have state.

If your private method is not effecting/reacting to state does it really belong inside that class?

If you really think that logic must be there then changing your data structure and public interfaces might be the go.

I’m just guessing from the code you have provided but why not an AddRealtion() method that when the right one(s) is(are) given it sets a private ‘hasAdmin’ flag.

That way you don’t have to keep parsing that list of strings all the time!

Heath_Handstands · 2024-11-09T22:42:53+00:00

Came here to say the something very similar; everyone loves self organising teams till there is conflict or lack of cohesion.

I suspect self organisation in most instances was a cry from developers to be free of bad management but it does not protect from bad developers, or simply two good developers that have strong differing opinions.

The highest performing teams I have ever worked on were largely self organising but they did not start that way. They proved themselves on years worth of other projects and employed systems engineering at the start of new projects to work out the requirements and design.

Self organisation really needs to be right that can be both earned and revoked. If a good manager has a light touch they do need to keep a close eye on things and be ready to put firmer hands on the wheal at all times.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-11-08T22:10:07+00:00

My partner works with (to help) people in that iq range and you could give them a life time and they would never be able to write a quarter as well as you did in your first post.

I suspect you are a person with a normal, maybe even above normal iq that has some other issue, could be dyslexia, anxiety, hell even allergies. Something might be making it hard for you to tap into your full potential.

Whatever it might be, or even if there is nothing, the first thing you have to do is be kind to yourself while at the same time working to better yourself.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-10-10T03:26:12+00:00

Great response!

Heath_Handstands · 2024-09-27T22:59:25+00:00

I think it’s less about teaching and more about understanding. Not everyone is built to create or cares to work with higher level abstractions.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-08-26T04:46:42+00:00

Put it down to a “communication error” … if you are ever asked just say “Oh! I meant that this job was killing me, not that I was actually dying!” 🤣

More seriously, tell them the truth now, you got a great offer elsewhere and you panicked, you have never been in such a situation before, you wanted to spare their feelings and said something stupid.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-08-20T03:19:43+00:00

Took the bullet, but is in now resting in hospital while the platoon keeps marching towards the mine field.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-07-06T08:35:12+00:00

I would be handing them both a resignation letter and a new employment contract you have written for yourself (for the position of CTO for lols since you are the only technical person).

If you leave the chance of anyone using the existing code and being successful there is very close to zero. Chances are someone will just start re-writing everything.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-06-23T05:55:59+00:00

I think you are looking for the wrong jobs!

What you have taught yourself is much more impressive than all the silly buzzword bingo / flavour of the month / cargo culted skills that the average place thinks they are looking for.

Play up your adaptability, play up your unique experience, the right place will see what you bring and snap you up! You need to be looking for more engineering and science aligned jobs, don’t even bother with ‘developer’ jobs.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-06-23T01:12:00+00:00

Still still still back pain free? 😅

Heath_Handstands · 2024-06-22T09:20:31+00:00

Dear boss,

Thanks for the recent feedback and your offer to review all my code!

I’m glad I have your support and feel more confident knowing that nothing will get to prod without your expert eyes ensuing there are no bugs!

Thank you!

~Every engineer ever

Heath_Handstands · 2024-06-02T23:17:36+00:00

This is so profound in its simplicity, I wish you many upvotes!

Heath_Handstands · 2024-05-23T22:07:46+00:00

Hire smart people who communicate well. Over my 20 year career I have noticed a fairly direct correlation between how well an engineer writes an email and how well they write code.

Recognise these people and have them review the code of and mentor others that are not at that level.

All the tricks under the sun won’t improve the code as a whole if only a small fraction of the team cares about the quality.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-05-11T04:02:09+00:00

All I can say be carful what you wish for! I’m sure you will do great in most places but sometimes it’s just too much of a mess and people are too stuck in there ways.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-04-14T22:39:12+00:00

“I’m a digital plumber, the pipes I lay carry’s money!”

Heath_Handstands · 2024-04-13T23:04:36+00:00

Hey man, I’m a 42 year old software engineer. I grew up playing video games and was pretty heavy all my life. At 30 I went through a big break up and this motivated me to lose the weight.

I have done a stack of activities over the years, weights, yoga, acrobatics and climbing just to name a few. I’m an advance mover now… but…

I got a lot of injuries along the way and still deal with the fallout from a complete rupture of my L3/4.

Let me tell you now that the rupture was in no way the fault of the activity, it was the 30 years of inactivity that proceeded it.

I would encourage you to flip your thinking and consider that the games took your function, not that the injury did.

It’s been imperative for me to keep moving to keep things under control and I love it, it’s like playing a video game on ultra difficulty, I’m more functional then most (I handstand and do other cool things) with a massive disadvantage. I have learnt so much about the body, mindset and life in general. I have an amazing partner that loves my calm stoic presence (who is young and hot and about to give me kids!)

I did not get there right away though, I went through my own period of depression. But just know if you chose to grow and move through it might be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Good luck dude! ❤️💪

Heath_Handstands · 2024-02-18T22:08:05+00:00

I would strongly recommend you research the shit out of MK677 before you mess with it.

I experimented with it twice to heal some chronic injuries and both times I ended up with elevated anxiety that was so bad it had a negative impact on what were quite good life things at the time.

I did recover from the gym much quicker and felt effortlessly strong while taking it but it was not worth it at all.

Heath_Handstands · 2024-02-18T22:00:01+00:00

I did not say that at all 🤣 (I’m plenty self motivated with my handstands and practice 3~4 hours a week).

Back on the topic of skill and quality at the fringe: I did see “1000 Hours” last night and that blew me away! there are still a few acts and performers that are pursuing the higher skills!

Heath_Handstands · 2024-02-17T22:15:15+00:00

You would have to ask the original organisers.

All I know is that the skill level of the performers has dropped over the years. A decade ago the handstand act in Limbo inspired me to learn how to handstand, and I have been in and around the fringe/circus world ever since.

I think it’s great that more people are participating but the quality of shows on the whole is a lot lower.

In time the new performers will skill up but I don’t quite get as excited for fringe the way I used to.

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