Field Notes
Field notes
Field notes on existing software, modernization, software engineering, and what changes when producing code is no longer the hardest part. One coherent body of work—existing systems, engineering practice, and human-directed engineering—not a high-volume blog.
Operations software
Why software built around your operation is different
A common failure mode: projects capture requested features more clearly than the operation those features support—and what operation-first work looks like instead.
Legacy systems
Before you rewrite legacy software, recover what it knows
Old software often encodes business knowledge that isn’t documented elsewhere. Rewrite-first risks throwing away the very behavior the operation still depends on.
HDSE
AI can read legacy code. It can’t decide which behavior matters.
AI can accelerate comprehension and construction. Deciding which behavior to preserve, change, or discard still requires human engineering authority.
Decisions
Maintain, modernize, rebuild, replace—or leave it alone?
“Rewrite” is only one possible answer. The choice should follow evidence about risk, knowledge, and what the business actually needs.
Distribution systems
Integration before automation: why distribution technology problems often start between systems
Companies often buy another platform before fixing how existing systems exchange data and support the real workflow.