The strongest articles on engineering excellence and technical leadership — ranked by substance, not recency. How this is ranked
Engineering as a Leadership System: Moving Beyond Frameworks
Delivery outcomes are shaped less by frameworks and practices than by the operating model leaders have designed. How an organisation's …
Why Most Companies Operating Models Fail in Dynamic Markets
A concise comparison of Predictive and Adaptive Operating Models, explaining why traditional structures fail in dynamic markets and how …
Telling People What to Do Is Not Leadership. It’s a Failure of System Design
Explores why real leadership means designing systems that enable team autonomy, flow, and accountability, rather than relying on …
AI Agents Lie About Being Done
My agent reported every task complete when half the tests were missing. Call that a lie if you like. The engineering problem is that the …
Don’t Manage Dependencies, Remove Them
Explains why dependencies are a sign of poor system design and outlines steps to eliminate them by aligning teams, clarifying ownership, and …
The Estimation Trap: How Tracking Accuracy Undermines Trust, Flow, and Value in Software Delivery
Tracking estimation accuracy in software delivery leads to mistrust, fear, and distorted behaviours. Focus on customer value, flow, and …
Is Agile Really Just a Mindset?
Explores Agile as a disciplined system of delivery, emphasizing engineering excellence, CI/CD, observability, and system design over mindset …
Stop Building Silos. Start Building Systems
Explains how fragmented automation and tool silos harm software delivery, and advocates for unified engineering systems and platform …
How to Build for Business Resilience and Continuity
Learn key strategies for building business resilience and continuity, including observability, system decoupling, routine deployments, team …
889 resources, newest first
Using Visual Studio 2008
Overview of Visual Studio 2008 features, including multi-.NET Framework targeting, project upgrade notes, source control tips, and new …
About Me
Personal profile with links to Martin Hinshelwood’s resume, LinkedIn, and background, clarifying identity and focusing on technology over …
Studying for the new job
Preparing for a new job by studying BizTalk Server, SharePoint Services, and .NET certifications, with recommended books and resources for …
A change for the better #1 - Merrill Lynch to Aggreko
A developer transitions from Merrill Lynch to Aggreko, seeking stability and opportunities to work with new technologies like SharePoint, …
Team Foundation Server Error TF30177 : Team Project Creation Failed
Explains how to resolve Team Foundation Server TF30177 errors by updating server URLs to use the FQDN, addressing proxy and DNS issues …
A new day, a new week, a new Team Server
Covers upgrading to TFS 2008, smooth installation, creating projects with Visual Studio 2005, and exploring SharePoint integration with …
The cause of dyslexia
Dyslexia is a hereditary, neurological condition linked to brain structure and function, affecting reading ability but often associated with …
Service Manager Factory
Provides an upgraded managed service factory for .NET, with installer support for GAC deployment, enabling integration into various …
Windows Live SkyDrive Beta
Review of SkyDrive Beta’s ease of use for online file storage and sharing, with suggestions for improved online editing and SharePoint-style …
Team Foundation Server Error 28936
Explains how Team Foundation Server installation fails with error 28936 due to IIS URLScan filter blocking web services, and how removing it …
Windows Vista Pre-SP1 Performance and Reliability Updates Result
A user shares improved speed and reliability after installing Windows Vista pre-SP1 updates on an older laptop, highlighting smoother …
Becoming a better developer
Practical steps for improving as a developer, including ongoing learning, project work, community involvement, blogging, and embracing …
Why I think VB.NET is a better choice than C#
Compares VB.NET and C#, highlighting VB.NET’s advantages in readability, accessibility, case insensitivity, and real-time code checking, …
VB 9
Comparison of Visual Basic and C#, highlighting arguments and evidence supporting Visual Basic’s advantages within the .NET development …
Hosted Team Foundation Server
Explains challenges of hosting Team Foundation Server, including project isolation issues, upcoming improvements, and the availability of …
Microsoft's internal uptake of Team Foundation Server
Microsoft widely adopted Team Foundation Server internally, with 21 instances supporting 734 projects and 5,600 users, driving rapid product …
Office Mobile 2007
Covers installing Office Mobile 2007 on Windows Mobile 6, highlighting new features like RSS feeds in Outlook Mobile and OneNote Mobile with …
MSN Cartoon (Beta)
Step-by-step guide to using MSN Cartoon Beta, a Microsoft tool for creating custom cartoon avatars from photos, including installation, …
Application Owner
Explains the responsibilities of managing production applications, including vendor relations, issue resolution, audits, and system access, …
An Application Deployment
Highlights the challenges of deploying complex enterprise applications with incomplete, unclear documentation, emphasising the need for …
Developer vindication
A .NET developer shares their experience of being approached by Microsoft for a potential job, highlighting the challenges of US work visa …
HTC Touch / Black Shadow Weather
Guide to adding custom cities to the HTC Touch or Black Shadow Weather app by editing registry or XML files, enabling local weather display …
Soapbox Beta
Microsoft Soapbox is an online video sharing platform similar to YouTube, using Flash for playback instead of Silverlight, and accessible …
Southparkify / Simpsonize : better with both!
Comparison of Southparkify and Simpsonize avatar creators, highlighting differences and personal preferences for creating cartoon-style …
Team System Web Access finally released
Team System Web Access, the successor to TeamPlain, is now available, offering improved stability and features for TFS users, but with some …
Simpsonize Me!
Transform your photo into a character styled like The Simpsons using an online tool that creates cartoon versions of real-life images.
Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 Team Explorer
Explains the absence of Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 installation and the need to download it separately for Team Foundation …
Installing the .NET Framework 3.5 Beta 2 on Vista
Step-by-step guide to resolving .NET Framework 3.5 Beta 2 installation issues on Windows Vista by uninstalling specific hotfixes and …
Installing Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 on XP
Guide to resolving installation issues with Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 on Windows XP, including removing Office 2007 beta and hardware …
Social and Business Networking
Explores challenges of managing multiple social and business networks, proposing a unified, secure system for centralised contact management …
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia affects reading and spelling, often causing letter confusion, but can enhance oral skills and visual thinking. Many develop unique …
SharePoint Content Request | What would you like to see?
Share your ideas for new SharePoint features, including better Team Foundation Server integration for both technical and non-technical …
Why do we care about software factories?
Explains the benefits of software factories, how they improve software development, and highlights resources that make the concept easier to …
Deployment documentation
Outlines steps to document and improve deployment for a complex business app, focusing on automation, rollback, vendor updates, and …
How to become a Multi-Dimensional Free Thinker
Explores how dyslexia can enhance multi-dimensional thinking, creativity, and problem-solving, highlighting benefits for careers in …
Memories of a multi-dimensional free thinking software developer
Explores how neurodiversity, particularly dyslexia, influences software development skills, offering insights and resources for developers …
Access to Team Foundation Server
Discusses challenges and solutions for accessing and practising with Team Foundation Server (TFS) outside work, including limitations of …
Loosing the battle, but the war goes on
A personal account of challenges promoting TFS over Jira and Subversion, highlighting adoption barriers, team dynamics, and efforts to …
How 'e' are you?
Discover your "e-score" and see how you rank online with a quick test that measures your digital expertise and compares your results to …
TFS Event Handler Prototype Feedback
Request for user feedback on the TFS Event Handler tool, focusing on installation, configuration, functionality, and interest in future …
Its that time again
A developer reflects on career changes, balancing family and work, and considers moving into contracting for flexibility and better pay, …
Simplify
Blog categories and article categories have been streamlined, with clearer descriptions and Wikipedia links. Suggestions include post …
The future of software development
Explores how software factories, web services, and specialised development teams can speed up software delivery, improve adaptability, and …
Back to the grind
Returning to work after two weeks of paternity leave and welcoming a newborn daughter; reflections on family and resuming professional life.
The Delivery
A personal account of a daughter's birth, detailing the unexpected and rapid labour, hospital experience, and gratitude for the support …
Windows Mobile 6 Black Shadow (4.0)
Guide to updating HTC Hermes phones with Windows Mobile 6 Black Shadow (4.0) ROM, including installation steps, benefits, and tips to avoid …
Solution to sub sites in Sharepoint 3.0 with Team Foundation Server
Explains how to configure Team Foundation Server to create SharePoint 3.0 project portals as sub-sites, including manual and automated setup …
Creating a managed service factory
Explains how to build a managed service factory to access and manage local or remote services across multiple servers, supporting flexible …
Creating your own Event Handler
Learn how to create custom event handlers for Team Foundation Server by inheriting from AEventHandler, implementing IsValid and Run methods, …
TFS Event Handler: Prototype Released
Prototype application and source code for a TFS Event Handler are now available, enabling configuration and extension for Team Foundation …