Good talks/podcasts (Dec)

These are the best podcasts/talks I've seen/listened to recently:

• This Mental Model Changed How I Design Software FOREVER 🔗 talk notes (Emily Bache) [AI, Agile, Architecture, Mental models, tdd] [Duration: 00:09] (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) Applying the mental model of Test-Driven Development (TDD) as an empirical engineering approach to master software design and manage complexity alongside Agentic AI tools.
• From here to there and back again 🔗 talk notes (Simon Wardley) [AI, Strategy, Technology Strategy] [Duration: 00:57] Simon Wardley introduces maps for strategic situational awareness, detailing how technological evolution, inertia, and the rise of AI impact decision-making and software architecture, emphasizing the challenge of deciding where humans maintain control
• Who Does What by How Much? Customer-Centric OKRs explained with Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden #ccokrs 🔗 talk notes (Jeff Gothelf, Josh Seiden) [Agile, Company Culture, Management, Strategy] [Duration: 01:14] (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) Experts Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden detail how to define customer-centric Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) by focusing on measurable outcomes, encapsulated in the framework’s core question: "Who Does What By How Much?"
• Jim Womack on Lean Thinking: Past, Present & Future 🔗 talk notes (Jim Womack) [Company Culture, Lean Manufacturing, Management] [Duration: 00:32] (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) Jim Womack offers a comprehensive retrospective and prospective view of Lean thinking, exploring its evolution, current relevance, and future potential for a "second lean leap".
• Vibe coding in prod | Code w/ Claude 🔗 talk notes (Erik Schluntz) [AI, Agile, Continuous Delivery] [Duration: 00:31] A discussion on how to safely practice "vibe coding" (letting AI generate code while forgetting the code exists) in production by acting as the AI's Product Manager and focusing on verification of leaf nodes and abstraction layers.
• Analytics for not-so-big data with DuckDB 🔗 talk notes (David Ostrovsky) [Data Engineering, Performance] [Duration: 01:02] A deep dive into DuckDB, an embedded analytical database optimized for running high-performance analytical queries on "medium data" (1-100 GB range) locally on a single machine, with seamless integration for Python and diverse data sources
• The New Code — Sean Grove, OpenAI 🔗 talk notes (Sean Grove) [AI, Agile, Architecture, Devops] [Duration: 00:21] OpenAI's Sean Grove introduces "The New Code," arguing that specifications are the universal artifact of intent, crucial for aligning both humans and advanced AI models.

Reminder: All of these talks are interesting, even just listening to them.

You can explore all my recommended talks and podcasts on the interactive picks site, where you can filter by topic, speaker, and rating:

• 🌐 Interactive Site: https://eferro.github.io/eferro-picks-site/

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Related:

• Recommended Talk/Podcast Database
• Recommended resources tag

Custom GPTs: New Permanent URLs

Quick heads up: my Custom GPTs have new URLs after switching ChatGPT accounts. These should be the permanent ones.

All four GPTs are now available at their updated locations:

• eferro Lean Delivery — ChatGPT GPT for delivering value in smallest, safest steps
• eferro Lean Discovery — Turn fuzzy ideas into validated product bets
• Thinkie Agent (with Kent Beck's Thinkies) — Creative thinking tool using Kent Beck's habits of thought
• Good Strategy Bad Strategy — Strategy coach grounded in Richard Rumelt's "Good Strategy, Bad Strategy"

The functionality remains the same — only the URLs have changed. If you've bookmarked the old links, please update them.

You can find all my projects, including these Custom GPTs, at eferro.github.io.