iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Still reminiscing about our event last week during Rails World. 🤩 Thanks to everyone who came out from Rails World, our Austin friends and even some thoughtbot alumni! Who knows… Ruby Underground might be coming to a city near you next. 👀

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 29/09/2026

AI can get you somewhere decent pretty fast. The harder part is making it feel like you. Svenja and Moses talk about the small design choices that can take something from generic to distinct.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 28/09/2026

We asked healthcare leaders about the pressures shaping software delivery today, from moving quickly without adding risk to navigating approvals, reliability, and everything in between. Read the report: thoughtbot.com/healthcare-s...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 22/09/2026

Some of the best open-source tools start as solutions to very specific product problems. Jorge Manrubia shares how work on Basecamp helped shape Turbo, Trix, and the Rails ecosystem in Episode 617 of Giant Robots. Stream the full episode: podcast.thoughtbot.com/617

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 21/09/2026

People’s habits change. Good products evolve with them. Jesse Mecham talks about changing behaviors and how they’re influencing the way YNAB helps people learn. Stream Episode 618: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g91A...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 18/09/2026

What do you do with the time AI gives back to you? Rakesh uses it to focus on quality: planning, iterating, and refining generated code until it’s something he’d actually want to ship. More time for the thoughtful stuff sounds pretty good.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 15/09/2026

Technical leadership isn’t just experience. It’s staying close enough to the technology to have an informed point of view when it matters. Joël Quenneville and Sally Hall discuss on The Bike Shed. bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/504

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 14/09/2026

AI gets a lot of attention. 👀 Raja Rajamannar of Mastercard is more interested in what it helps people do better. Stream Episode 607: podcast.thoughtbot.com/607

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 11/09/2026

A great tool can still be the wrong choice if the license leaves too much uncertainty. Jorge Manrubia shares why open source licensing played a big role in the technology behind Lexi. Stream Episode 617 of Giant Robots: podcast.thoughtbot.com/617

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 08/09/2026

“If everything is a priority, nothing is.” That was the mindset behind MilesMe’s MVP. The goal wasn’t to build every possible feature. It was to launch a calm, reliable route-generation app people could actually use, then keep improving from there. #MVPDevelopment #ProductStrategy #StartupMVP

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 07/09/2026

Start with AI. Keep only what actually needs AI. Joël Quenneville shares how he uses LLMs to explore new workflows, then pulls deterministic pieces into scripts and templates for less complexity, lower token usage, and faster results. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqGS...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 04/09/2026

YNAB started as a spreadsheet. What made it work wasn’t the spreadsheet, but the idea behind it. Jesse Mecham shares how a different way of thinking about money became the foundation for a software business. Stream Episode 618: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g91A...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 01/09/2026

AI designed this dashboard and it's genuinely a solid starting point. But a few quick passes make a big difference: fixing accessibility contrast, making typography intentional, catching data that's literally getting cut off, and building real visual hierarchy.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 31/08/2026

Good code doesn't just work. It helps people make better decisions. In this clip from our virtual healthcare panel with Merck, Joël Quenneville shares a simple naming pattern that makes handling sensitive data easier to spot during development and code review.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 28/08/2026

First, make it work. Then you get to ask better questions. Aji Slater talks about moving beyond the basics of React and learning when rendering matters, when it doesn’t, and when it’s actually time to worry about performance. bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/484

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 25/08/2026

Not every idea needs the same process. David Pace at Merck shares how his team balances governance with experimentation by giving smaller, lower-risk ideas room to move faster. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqGS...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 24/08/2026

AI can generate a design in seconds. But can you tell it was generated by AI? Moses Amama thinks there are a handful of patterns that give it away almost every time. We put that opinion to the test on The Opinionated thoughtbotter.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 21/08/2026

Building a software company isn’t just about optimizing for growth. It’s also about deciding what kind of company you want to run. RightMessage founder Brennan Dunn shares how that shaped the way he built his product.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 18/08/2026

AI can help find problems in a codebase. But does finding them make the code easier to trust? Chad Pytel and Sami Birnbaum discuss security, confidence, and the more important question: why were those problems there in the first place?

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 17/08/2026

Engineering culture shapes how teams learn, experiment, and build. David Pace at Merck shares how his team is drawing inspiration from thoughtbot practices that create more space for continuous growth and having fun with technology. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqGS...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 14/08/2026

AI-generated code may be new. Inheriting a codebase you don't fully trust isn't. Chad Pytel and Sami Birnbaum discuss why human oversight and understanding what you're building on still matter.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 13/08/2026

YNAB started as a spreadsheet and became a 20-year lesson in product, leadership, and money. In Episode 618 of Giant Robots, Jesse Mecham shares what changed along the way, what didn’t, and why being willing to rethink things matters. www.youtube.com/watch?v=g91A...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 11/08/2026

The easiest thing to measure in software development is how much code gets written. The hardest things to measure are clarity, maintainability, and good engineering judgment. In this conversation, @Emma Barnes reflects on why those became the priorities that mattered most.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 10/08/2026

Excited to be teaming up with our friends at Bubble! Don't miss this session for new founders featuring thoughtbot Design Director Vendela Colavecchio and Bubble Growth Marketing Lead Emmelie De La Cruz. Let's talk about when to ship and why. Register to join us here: luma.com/acpli38w?tk=...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 10/08/2026

“Agentic AI is making developers lazy.” A spicy take from Rakesh that gets more nuanced pretty quickly. If AI is writing more of the code, maybe the bigger question is where developers put their attention instead. #ai #lazycoders #thoughtbot

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 07/08/2026

Sometimes “basic” is exactly what you need. In this clip from The Bike Shed, we revisit HTTP basic auth, why developers tend to move on to more sophisticated approaches, and when the simplest tool might still be the right one.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 05/08/2026

There isn’t just 1 gender story when it comes to AI. Dr. Victoria Plutshack explores how gender shows up across AI adoption, labor, online harms, and even opposition to data centers. “There’s gender aspects to all of it.” #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #WomenInTech

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 04/08/2026

Good developer experience isn't always about the framework. Sometimes it's the tools around it that make all the difference. For Sally Hall, React Hook Form was one of those tools.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 31/07/2026

Lawyers might seem like unlikely early adopters of AI. In this episode of Giant Robots, Joe Cohen shares why firms are seeing 80–85% adoption, and why “law is the profession of language.” podcast.thoughtbot.com/615

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 29/07/2026

Claude Design can be a useful starting point, but the defaults are easy to spot. Serif fonts. Beige and orange. Emoji icons. Familiar copy patterns. The interesting work starts after generation: refining the design, improving the content, and making it yours.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 28/07/2026

Trust in a codebase isn't built by proving it's perfect. It's built by understanding how it works, where it falls short, and why. Chad Pytel and Sami Birnbaum discuss why AI can help uncover problems, but good engineering still depends on understanding the systems behind them.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 27/07/2026

For a long time, time was the easiest way to measure value. Joe Cohen argues that AI is changing that equation. A thoughtful conversation about legal AI, professional services, and what happens when efficiency no longer tells the whole story. podcast.thoughtbot.com/615

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 25/07/2026

Join us July 30 for an animated discussion on the challenges and strategies for working with healthcare systems. We're bringing together leaders from Merck and thoughtbot to share different perspectives on reducing risk while continuing to innovate. Register today: thoughtbot.com/events/secur...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 24/07/2026

The best engineering conversations often start with, "I don't think that's actually true." Aji Slater revisits a story from an earlier episode and ends up uncovering something even more interesting.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 21/07/2026

Good engineering starts with good questions. As AI continues to evolve, thoughtbot's AI Ethics Task Force is exploring the tradeoffs, challenging assumptions, and helping shape how we think about AI in software development.

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 17/07/2026

Join us on July 30 for a virtual panel on identifying the blind spots in health tech architecture, AI, and data governance. Learn more and save your spot: thoughtbot.com/events/secur...

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 15/07/2026

As developers, our priorities evolve. First it's "make it work." Then it's "make it good." Eventually, it's "make it fast." That shift is less about writing code and more about understanding the systems we're building. What was that turning point in your own career?

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 29/06/2026

How much of the conversation around AI is driven by reality, and how much is driven by perception? Chad Pytel and Sami Birnbaum explore AI-generated code, trust, technical debt, and maintaining quality as development practices evolve. podcast.thoughtbot.com/614

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 26/06/2026

AI is making it easier than ever to move faster as developers. But are we giving ourselves enough time to actually think? In this episode of Giant Robots, Sami Birnbaum talks AI, critical thinking, and slowing down. Stream the full conversation: podcast.thoughtbot.com/612

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 23/06/2026

Some of the best conversations in tech happen when people think out loud. This anniversary episode brings together past and present hosts to discuss software, AI, burnout, creativity, and the evolving experience of working in tech. Full episode here: bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/500

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 22/06/2026

Culture isn't built through mission statements. It's built through the people who show up every day and do the work. Andy Budd joins Chad Pytel to discuss Clearleft, employee ownership, and building companies that last. Listen to the episode here: podcast.thoughtbot.com/613

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 19/06/2026

For Episode 500 of The Bike Shed, former co-host Sage Griffin reflects on mentorship, growth, and why teaching others became more fulfilling than simply writing code. Stream the full episode: bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/500 #SoftwareEngineering #DeveloperCommunity #AI #thoughtbot

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 15/06/2026

Careers in software are rarely linear. In this clip from The Bike Shed's 500th episode, Stephanie Viccari reflects on returning to development after time away and the experience of picking old skills back up again. bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/500

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 12/06/2026

AI is changing the way we build software, but what does that mean for the people building it? In this clip from The Bike Shed's 500th episode, Joël Quenneville & Derek Prior discuss the tradeoffs, opportunities, and open questions that come with AI-assisted development. bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/500

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 09/06/2026

There’s something refreshing about hearing experienced developers admit they don’t always optimize for “perfect” anymore. Listen to the full episode: bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/500

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 05/06/2026

Good technical writing isn't just about what you say. It's about understanding who you're writing for. Sally Hall and Joël Quenneville discuss audience, assumptions, and communication in Episode 501 of The Bike Shed. bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/501

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 02/06/2026

What does success look like in highly regulated industries? We asked a few of our senior developers to share recent wins with enterprise clients in healthcare, finance, and insurance. Here's what delivering real product outcomes looks like when the stakes are high. #thoughtbot #HealthcareTech

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 29/05/2026

A lot of the AI conversation right now is about moving faster. But what if the real value is having more time to focus on the work that actually matters? Chad Pytel talks AI, ReadySetGo, and intentional product development on Giant Robots. Stream the full episode here: podcast.thoughtbot.com/612

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 28/05/2026

Brennan Dunn of RightMessage joins Chad Pytel for a conversation on building intentionally, staying lean, and rethinking the pressure to constantly scale. Listen to the full episode: podcast.thoughtbot.com/611 #SaaS #AI #thoughtbot #giantrobotspodcast #buildinpublic

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thoughtbot @thoughtbot.com · 27/05/2026

500 episodes later, The Bike Shed is still evolving. In this special anniversary episode, past and present hosts reflect on burnout, mentorship, AI, podcasting, software careers, and the moments that shaped them along the way. Listen to the full episode: bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/500

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