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How vibe coding will help accelerate the next wave of innovation, to a point
Vibe coding and AI no code platforms will empower a generation of innovation, but the tools come with a major...
22 April 2025
Strategies for adopting AI in your organisation
AI adoption isn’t a one-off project - it’s a journey. But with the right focus, frameworks and partner, you can...
15 April 2025
Beyond chatbots - the next wave of generative AI applications
Going beyond chabots, what the next wave of GenAI powered applications look like.
20 March 2025
Stop trying to boil the ocean - where to start with AI adoption
Struggling to know where to start with adopting and leveraging AI in your business? It pays to start small by...
4 March 2025
Top cyber security priorities for CEOs in 2025 (and how to tackle them)
Given the growing complexity and severity of the cyber security landscape, what should CEOs be prioritising in 2025? And how...
30 January 2025
Critical thinking in the age of AI and why it still matters
Why critical thinking and solid software engineering practices matter more than ever in the age of AI
15 January 2025
Modernising? The journey starts with your people...
At the beginning of modernisation journey? It might feel like a technology challenge but in reality it is as much...
7 January 2025
Why are we modernising? Do we really have to?
Most software will eventually require updating but given the risks and costs associated is it necessarily the right thing to...
5 December 2024
Accelerating technical requirements with generative AI
How generative AI can be used to transform informal requirements into formal specifications using generative AI
30 July 2024
Modernising legacy software - the real deal
What are some of the key challenges and considerations when kicking off a large modernisation project? Here are 5 things...
15 July 2024
Leveraging Kanban to enhance your product discovery
As a product team, it can be a challenge to ensure a steady flow of well-defined requirements into the development...
29 May 2024
Why the product engineering mindset matters
This post marks the beginning of a series delving into the realm of product and product engineering. Here, we will...
7 May 2024
Managing complexity with Cynefin
How do you manage complexity in a project? Is it with the same set of tried-and-tested tools that have (mostly)...
26 April 2024
7 tips for better harmony between designers and developers
When it comes to building user interfaces, the collaboration between product design and engineering is paramount. Neither discipline can be...
8 April 2024
Signs and portents for 2024
It's an end-of-year tradition here at Instil that the Head of Learning assumes a Janus-like pose and looks forward to...
4 January 2024
A beginner's guide to AWS best practices
Starting your cloud development career can be daunting, here's a beginner's guide to some AWS best practices.
12 December 2023
Little Miss Bossy
Bossy or just a boss? How 'bossy' women are just leading the way, and why our choice of words matter.
30 November 2023
6 steps to becoming an AWS Solutions Architect
Looking to become an AWS Solutions Architect Associate? Follow these 6 simple steps and you will be well on your...
26 October 2023
Where to start with Generative AI?
With the rise of managed services in the Artificial Intelligence space offered by the main cloud providers, is it possible...
18 October 2023
Scrum - reassessing the agile metaphor
There is a term used by agile teams on an almost daily basis, a metaphor, that many who use it...
13 October 2023
The Powerlifting Principal (III): building confidence from within
From Setback to Success: How Overcoming Injury Made Me a Better Engineer
12 June 2023
The Powerlifting Principal (II): In the thick of it
How injury can lead to some of your greatest engineering breakthroughs.
7 June 2023
The Powerlifting Principal (I): the start of something great...
There are principals and then there are principles. I am the former and I just so happen to love the...
10 May 2023
Security for the masses - the importance of building a security-first culture
In 2022, the World Economic Forum identified cyber failure as one of the top 10 short and medium-term risks facing...
8 May 2023
Zero to Serverless car insurance - part 3
In this post, we'll look at how you can encourage your team to adopt a Serverless mindset.
18 April 2023
Zero to Serverless car insurance - part 2
In this post, we'll be focusing on some key improvements we've made to the platform, particularly focusing on how writing...
11 April 2023
Zero to Serverless car insurance - part 1
Over the past 2 years we learned a lot about what it takes to build a Serverless platform; what it...
3 April 2023
Spreadsheets Anonymous: how to kick the habit and reclaim your life
It's been over forty years since Apple first introduced the world to the digital spreadsheet. In that time they have...
15 March 2023
How to run a successful software engineering graduate academy
We have been running graduate academies for 15 years. Here are the secrets to how we make them a success.
15 December 2022
How to avoid unnecessary NAT usage and reduce your AWS costs
How to reduce your AWS costs by avoiding unnecessary NAT Gateway usage
15 September 2022
How to pause a Step Function while waiting on a response from a third party API
In this post we explore how you can pause a Step Function, using Task Tokens, while waiting on an external...
3 August 2022
4 essential tips to apply when using AppSync & DynamoDB to build Serverless apps
AppSync and DynamoDB - can you name a more iconic duo!? In this post I'll cover 4 lessons learned when...
30 June 2022
Improving the CDK development cycle
Spend less time waiting on deployments with CDK hot swaps
25 February 2022
5 things you need to know when using AWS CDK
If you are working with Amazon's Cloud Development Kit (CDK), here are 5 essential tips and lessons we have learned...
24 January 2022
Signs and portents for 2022
In this post, Head of Learning Garth Gilmour, will make predictions for the tech industry in 2022
14 December 2021
Building an OpenSearch Index from DynamoDB
In this post we will demonstrate how to set up an OpenSearch domain with a DynamoDB source
11 November 2021
A Post Pandemic Scorecard
A checklist for judging if your team is adapting to and benefitting from remote working
21 October 2021
Principled Autonomy
High performance teams consistently outperform other teams by a significant factor. But why is this - what is the secret...
30 August 2021
TypeScript 4.4 - Be on your guard
In this post, in celebration of the release of TypeScript 4.4, I explore Type Unions in TypeScript and how the...
27 August 2021
TypeScript 4.3 - I object your honour!
In celebration of TypeScript 4.3 I take a look TypeScript's Object Oriented features and look at the new features this...
26 May 2021
Using TypeScript const assertions for fun and profit
How can we utilise the const assertion in TypeScript to flip the script and define types from immutable data?
29 April 2021
How we podcast
After 15 episodes here's how we podcast and what tools we like. Enjoy a deep dive into our process.
19 April 2021
Lambda Container Images
Ever wish you could combine the portability of containers, with the scalability of Lambda functions? Well now you can!
5 March 2021
OODA Considered Harmful
Thoughts on why the OODA loop as applied to agile delivery is flawed or should even be considered harmful.
5 February 2021
Introducing Weeknotes, a podcast
Instil have started a weekly podcast about all things tech and other interesting stuff.
4 February 2021
Kotlin and FP - The Best of Both Worlds
In our first Kotlin meetup of 2021, Amazon's Katie Levy and Twitter's Shelby Cohen gave an excellent talk on how...
27 January 2021
The Perils of Advocacy
Developer advocacy is an extremely rewarding job but is it all sunshine and meadows or is there a darker flip...
4 January 2021
The Rise of the Developer Advocate
Thoughts on the move away from consultancy towards developer empowerment through advocacy and mentoring.
21 December 2020
Signs and portents for 2021
Each December, our Head of Learning reflects on emerging trends, and makes some foolish predictions for the year to come....
1 December 2020
Crazy, Powerful TypeScript 4.1 Features
In this article I'll take a look at some new features in TypeScript 4.1 - namely Template Literal Types, Key...
19 November 2020
TypeScript Testing Tips - Mocking Functions with Jest
In this, the second of a series of posts on practical applications of TypeScript, we continue on the topic of...
28 October 2020
TypeScript Testing Tips - Creating Dummies
This is the first post in a series on using TypeScript in practical applications. It shows a simple TypeScript pattern...
21 October 2020
GOTO Oslo - talks now available to watch
GOTO Oslo took place as a virtual event due to COVID-19 on 3rd March this year. Head of Learning, Garth...
5 June 2020
The Debt We Owe Java
On its 25th birthday, it's probably time we said a word of thanks to Java, for no matter what you...
23 May 2020
A Kotlin DSL for Everyone
Typically, we use Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) in configuration scenarios (think Gradle). But we can also use them internally to...
23 January 2020
Using Koin for Dependency Injection
Koin provides a modern DI framework which supports Kotlin idioms and is usable across conventional, mobile and Cloud based applications.
29 November 2019
Don’t ThreeTen-d that Dates are easy with legacy Android
Why date and time is so difficult with older Android versions and the best approach to solve this
20 November 2019
Does Readability Have a Cost?
In software, there is a constant tension between sufficiency - the need to say something in as few words as...
5 September 2019
Programming in English
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (or a flavour thereof) are often touted as cornerstone subjects for a career in software...
4 December 2018
Community Matters
Community is a vital part of a successful software ecosystem, but what are the secrets to creating a successful meetup?...
27 November 2018
Kotlin Contracts
The Kotlin type system is fairly flexible but there are a few corner cases where the compiler enforces rules which...
27 September 2018
Chaos and Order
A look at how ideas of order and chaos apply to software development
12 March 2018
Denial is Not a Defence
Security expert Simon Whittaker discusses the impact of a recent ICO fine and the upcoming GDPR on web application security
13 October 2017
Daily Standup
Standing desks may be trendy but are they good for you?
1 September 2017
Security Testing & Incremental Threat Modelling
Security expert Simon Whittaker discusses using incremental threat modelling to deliver secure software applications
7 August 2017
Jack Nicholson Channels Programming Languages
Tongue and cheek look at how Jack Nicholson channels programming languages
31 May 2017
Music Driven Development
If you're looking for a new way to drive your software development, then look no further. Tests, Behaviours, Models and...
2 May 2017
The Planning Fallacy (and How it Messes With Your Ability to Estimate)
How the psychological phenomenon of planning fallacy can bias your estimations in software
10 April 2017
Leaders don't give orders
How leading agile software teams is not about one person giving orders
1 July 2016
Fear in Tech
Fear and imposter syndrome are common in the software industry. Where does this fear come from and what is...
6 May 2016
A Fresh Start with Ansible
A guide to using Ansible to automatically setup your OSX development environment
26 April 2016
Test Setup as a Sanity Check on your Design
The importance of listening to your tests as a sanity check on your design
15 April 2016
SIMD in Depth - Performance and Cost in C# and C++
SIMD in Depth - Performance and Cost in C# and C++ (Part 2 of 2)
7 April 2016
Working With Constraints
Strengthening our creative practice through a fresh perspective on our own limitations and those imposed by others
2 March 2016
Xamarin: A Panacea for Cross-Platform Mobile Development?
Xamarin - a panacea for cross-platform mobile development?
10 December 2015
Reading the Tea Leaves
Reading the tea leaves - predicting what's in store for 2016 and beyond
27 November 2015
RxJava in Different Flavours of Java
Quick introduction to using RxJava in Java 7 and Java 8
5 August 2014
Java Shark Jump Redux
Opinion piece on why Java 8's attempt to jump the shark is just that
6 June 2014
Java Jumps the Shark
Java 8 attempts to 'jump the shark' with the introduction of streams, lambdas and 'FP'
4 June 2014
Those That Can't
Opinion piece on the skills required to teach and do in software
30 May 2014
Simplicity Rules
Why is simplicity such an elusive quality in many developers code