Notes on building useful software

Practical writing on applications, delivery, modernisation and AI. From defining a first version to integrations, launch and the engineering choices behind them.

• Building & Delivery — First releases, user workflows, integrations, launch and handover.
• Decision Notes — Practical ways to define a project and work through technical choices.
• Modernisation Notes — Patterns for improving and extending existing software.
• AI in Practice — Useful AI workflows, evaluation and human responsibility.
• AI-Assisted Engineering — Specifications, implementation and review when AI tools contribute code.

• Define the First Useful Version of a Business Application

  A business application already has users and a workflow. Its first version is the one task people can finish in it on day one, exceptions included.

• AI Where It Earns Its Place: Four Questions Before You Fund a Pilot

  A four-question test for deciding whether an AI pilot is necessary, measurable and controllable inside a real operational workflow.

• Before You Modernise, Decide What the System Is For Now

  A practical way to decide whether a long-lived system should be renewed, contained, replaced or retired before technology choices become a programme.