Artificial Intelligence
Spec-Driven Development promises reliable, specification-led software generation, but in practice I found the workflow slow, heavy, and less effective than iterative prompting. This post walks through a real-world test using Spec Kit and explains why traditional AI-assisted development still outpaces SDD by a wide margin.
Artificial Intelligence
Phase 5 was the strategic rebirth of the JARVIS project, moving it from the chaos of the self-destructive ‘Ultron’ stage to a state of purposeful discipline. Following a rather dramatic system collapse, I put the brakes on the overwhelming temptation to immediately bolt on intelligence features like RAG and memory. Instead, I executed a disciplined pivot to multi-agent orchestration and governance. This foundational work now allows JARVIS to critique itself, synthesise consensus across conversations, and, most critically, embed a `blast_radius` governance marker from the very first line of code. This strategy of delayed gratification was about building a robust decision-making loop and earning trust before granting the system real power, ensuring the foundations are sound for its ultimate transformation into Vision.
Tech
One of the key responsibilities of a software architect is communicating effectively—more often than not, that means using visuals rather than relying on text. This post explores approaches and tools for modelling architecture and creating diagrams.
Testing
The role of the Software Test Engineer is undergoing its most radical transformation since the advent of Agile. AI presents a fundamental bifurcation in the future of quality: Testing AI systems and Using AI to Test software. This post explores the evolution of testing from manual gatekeepers to modern, multi-skilled strategists.
Sustainability
As AI systems scale to billions of daily interactions, their environmental impact remains largely invisible. Building sustainable AI requires transparency in reporting, prioritising efficiency over scale, and challenging the use of AI when it is truly necessary.
Artificial Intelligence
Last week, we had the privilege of speaking at HM Treasury at the ID25 (Innovation Day) event on the crucial topic of balancing AI innovation with sustainability. In this post, we share the points we raised in that presentation on the current "brute force" reality of GenAI models, and the potential for the UK to lead the way in developing AI systems that are both powerful and sustainable.
Sustainability
Introducing the latest enhancements to the Tech Carbon Estimator — schema updates, kg CO₂e values, and exportable data.
Artificial Intelligence
This article looks at how AI can provide support and guidance to people by offering tools and reflections that complement traditional therapy sessions. AI cannot replace the full depth of the therapeutic journey, but it can enhance care while preserving the integrity of the therapeutic space.
Artificial Intelligence
Organizations seeking cost-effective, privacy-conscious alternatives to proprietary AI solutions can leverage well-chosen open-source LLMs for internal agentic tasks. We tested whether open-source models could substitute OpenAI in multi-agent workflows.
Sustainability
Following the latest update of the Technology Carbon Standard, this blog explores the carbon footprint of digital content throughout its entire lifecycle, highlighting key carbon emissions hotspots and offering strategies to mitigate them.
Open Source
Fluxnova is now live under FINOS, and with it comes a powerful new way to model financial workflows. In this post, we explore how Scott Logic helped shape the launch, contributing a suite of executable blueprint processes that span the full trade lifecycle. From KYC to settlement, these templates combine subject matter expertise with engineering precision. Curious how it all came together? Read on.
Podcast
In this episode, I'm joined by Josie Walledge, Catherine Pratt and Dave Ogle to explore whether Agile has lost its meaning – or worse, become a dirty word. With years of combined experience, we reflect on Agile’s evolution from a revolutionary mindset to a sometimes rigid and misunderstood process.
Artificial Intelligence
Rebuilding a carbon emissions calculator with Devin vs Copilot, where agentic AI speeds delivery and where human engineering remains essential.
Sustainability
Why the smartest investors are finding that sustainability is a competitive advantage. The narrative around sustainability has too often been dominated by compliance costs and regulatory burden. But this framing misses the bigger picture. The most successful companies aren't just ticking regulatory boxes; they're using sustainability as a lens to unlock operational efficiencies, reduce costs, and create entirely new revenue streams.
Artificial Intelligence
UI automation testing is valuable but time-consuming, with on-going maintenance resulting from fragile selectors, asynchronous behaviors, and complex test paths. This blog post explores whether we can release ourselves from this burden by delegating it to an AI coding agent.
Tech
We explore using JavaScript’s native Proxy object as a simpler, safer alternative to external state-management libraries. We demonstrate how a Proxy can intercept gets and sets on an object to enable reactive behavior—like creating computed properties, triggering listeners when state changes, and even achieving bi-directional binding between form inputs and state. Drawing inspiration from Angular Signals, we argue that for many cases, proxies are sufficient without needing full frameworks, reducing complexity and dependency risk.
Tech
Let's explore the concept of 'masonry' layout in web development where items share the same width but differ in height. We'll explain when a simple CSS grid is sufficient, when to rely on libraries like Masonry.js for dynamic content, and why the CSS grid-template-rows experimental value 'masonry' remains impractical due to limited browser support. We'll also touch on accessibility concerns, the underlying column-stacking logic, and more advanced rectangle-packing techniques for layouts with both variable widths and heights.
Sustainability
We recently undertook a literature review about the environmental impact of AI, across carbon, energy, and water. It offers practical strategies for teams to reduce impact today, while highlighting the gaps in measurement, reporting, and governance that still need to be addressed.
Delivery
A look at MVPs, when they are a good fit and alternative tools that may suit your use case better.
Testing
This blog explores how to best use GitHub Copilot to swiftly refactor existing test automation