In this episode, Whitney and Coté discuss with Betty Junod, CMO of Heroku, the evolution of growing up without the internet to the present day's AI advancements and its implications for future generations. They explore how AI is changing critical thinking and curiosity, and how it affects children and business use cases. They also delve into workplace dynamics, such as transitioning between large tech companies and startups, leveraging frameworks to drive business goals, and the evolving role of...
Jun 25, 2025•59 min•Ep. 103
In this episode, Whitney and Coté discuss Whitney's newfound enthusiasm for AI after a recent stint with the tool Cursor. The conversation covers how AI tools can aid in coding, building engineering journals, and even drafting compelling conference talk abstracts. They highlight the difference between tasks and prompts in AI, personalizing AI interactions, and maximizing efficiency with various MCP servers. Along the way, they delve into practical use cases for AI in professional and personal co...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 102
In this episode, Whitney and Coté talk with Taegan Goddard, founder of Political Wire (https://politicalwire.com). They talk about what drives people to go above and beyond in their work, especially journalism like Taegan does. There's some fun conversation about how Taegan runs the business, keeping up his never ending coverage. Having run the site for well over two decades, they also talk about how the back-end stack has evolved over the years. And, some notes on how to make a great cup of cof...
May 29, 2025•58 min•Ep. 101
After an extensive discussion of 7-Eleven pizza cuisine, in this episode, Whitney and Coté talk with Sarah Christoff. They discuss working at startups, the point of startups, working in open source and balancing commercial and community interests, moving to Europe, and more! Find Sarah in LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/schristoff/). Also, Coté referenced a talk by Aneel Lakhani at Monktoberfest 2023 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTCuLyv6SHo&list=PLvsKqlNNP3R-D2HVUHmpyoxd3lI8oJnaC&a...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 100
Whitney and Coté talk with Robert Reeves about startups, catering, the Austin's tech scene, and the business of open source over the past 20 years. A sampling: Robert share some stories of early startup adventures and strategic moves, behind the scenes catering rock festivals, and the importance of geography for starting your career in tech. Check out the video version of this episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_4WiWPZeyc) if you prefer that kind of thing. Find Robert in LinkedIn (https:/...
May 01, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 99
Whitney and Coté tour through a couple decades of tech infrastructure history with Melissa Smolensky, whose marketing career spans Rackspace, GitLab, CoreOS, and the CNCF, among other places. They explore the OpenStack/Kubernetes evolution, how "radical transparency" actually functions in corporate settings, and the shifting landscape of tech marketing—from thought leadership to the changing role of industry analysts. Plus, they compare notes on the distinctive flavors of Austin and Portland tec...
Apr 16, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 98
In this episode, Whitney and Coté talk with Emily Omier, a consultant specializing in open source strategy and product management for businesses. They discuss the initial reactions and learning curve of new tech entrants to open source, the advantages and potential disadvantages of building a business around open-source software, and the ethical considerations in this space. Emily also goes over her experiences running a conference for open source founders and her insights into the challenges of...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 97
In this video, Coté and Whitney talk about tech education and learning with Mumshad Mannambeth. There's talk about certifications, but also how teaching online works and what it's like when it scales up to millions of people. Plus, Coté tries to figure out how to get access to more napkins. You can also watch the video of this interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coUgwtFgJRA) form if you prefer that kind of thing. Check out KodeKloud (https://kodekloud.com) and Mumshad in LinkedIn (https:/...
Mar 22, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 96
In this episode, Whitney and Coté talk with Hazel Weakly about the unexpected success of content, the influence of corporate interests in open source, and the importance of emotional vulnerability in the tech industry. Hazel shares her experiences transitioning as a trans woman in tech, how her interactions changed post-transition, and the need for emotional connections and support. They also get into the Kubernetes ecosystem, corporate capture, and the role of legibility in software development...
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 95
In this episode, Whitney and Coté interview Marino Wijay, Coté finally gets to the bottom of why networking has so many layers. Why do we keep adding new layers and frameworks instead of just fixing the ones we have? They also talk about the challenges of platform engineering, the importance of empathy in tech, the difficulties of integrating multiple layers in tech stacks, the essential role of effective communication and prioritization, and Marino's side project, EmpathyOps. Find Marino in Lin...
Feb 20, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 94
Join Whitney and Coté as they talk with Richard Seroter from Google about the myth of the 10X developer and his perspective on hiring and managing tech talent. They also talk about the significance of learning and AI in the tech industry, the importance of communication skills, valuable resources for staying updated in tech, and Richard's personal strategies for maintaining a robust reading habit and public profile. Additionally, they explore AI tools, the nuances of career progression, and navi...
Feb 06, 2025•59 min•Ep. 93
In this episode of Software Defined Interviews, Coté and Whitney host Brian Gracely, co-host of the Cloudcast podcast and head of portfolio strategy at Red Hat. They discuss the process of gathering and reporting cloud news, the evolution of PaaS, and the pros and cons of working at small startups versus large companies. Also: career advice, the importance of communicating value within organizations, and how to stay relevant in the ever-changing tech landscape. And still more: Brian shares insig...
Jan 23, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 92
What’s it really like to do all that DevOps-y transformation at companies? That’s what we talk about this week with Sasha Czarkowski…mostly. We also discuss learning how to learning, metrics, staying sane in chaotic systems and change, breaking presentation rules, Louisville, Kentucky, and Coté’s (odd?) dislike of the open spaces format. You can also watch the video of this episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll8TfchOGCs) if you prefer that kind of thing. Sasha in LinkedIn (https://www.link...
Jan 09, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 91
Katie Greenley shares her experiences managing events and community programs like the CNCF Ambassadors. Coté, Whitney, and Katie also discuss career development, managing a community team, and the delicate art of introducing cereal decanting into the home. Checdk out Katie in LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-greenley/), and the CNCF Ambassadors program (https://www.cncf.io/people/ambassadors/). Special Guest: Katie Greenley.
Dec 26, 2024•58 min•Ep. 90
In this episode, Whitney and Coté talk with Viktor Farcic, Developer Advocate at Upbound, about platform engineering, the evolution of DevOps, project managing a content creation engine of one, and the virtues of imperfection. Also, the strategic avoidance of asking for directions, or, really, talking with people in general. Find Viktor in YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/devopstoolkit), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/viktorfarcic/), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/vfarcic.bsky.social...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 89
As if platform engineering and expat'ing in the UK weren't enough, Whintney and Coté discuss the forgotten technology of business cards wih Abby Bangser. Check out Abby in LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbybangser/), and Kratix (https://www.kratix.io) the platform engineering project from Syntasso (https://www.syntasso.io). Also, check out the CNCF Platforms White paper (https://tag-app-delivery.cncf.io/whitepapers/platforms/) and Cloud Native Maturity Model (https://maturitymodel.cncf.i...
Nov 28, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 88
Whitney is back from KubeCon and shares what she saw. We talk about platform engineering, Salt Lake City's vibe, AI, and observability, among other things. We wrap the episode with tips for maximizing attending conferences. Also, memories of Arby's ads. Whitney's KubeCon talks: Choose Your Own Adventure: The Observability Odyssey (https://youtu.be/R3CFETvCBFU) Panel: Exploring eBPF Use Cases in Cloud-Native Security (https://youtu.be/towNkbPMDjE)
Nov 25, 2024•48 min•Ep. 87
In this episode, Whitney Lee and Coté dive into the insights of Rachel Stephens from RedMonk about the world of being an industry analyst. They discuss experiences from working as an analyst, the balance between qualitative and quantitative analysis, the challenges and misconceptions surrounding open-source business models, and the impact of AI on the analyst profession and beyond. They also discuss the 2024 DORA report, and a few other topics. Check out Rachel's blog at RedMonk (https://redmonk...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 86
Whitney and Coté talk with Phil Andrews, field CTO at Cast AI, about cost management and optimization, the nuances of Kubernetes, coin-operated laundromats, and farm life. The conversation touches on the differences between automation and FinOps, how sales and engineering intersect in cloud software, and Phil's unique experiences - from managing a laundromat and a hobby farm to evolving in the tech industry. Check out Phil in LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-andrews-iii/), and his wo...
Oct 31, 2024•54 min•Ep. 85
Whitney and Coté talk with Sidney Miller about tech recruitment. They talk a lot about the process from both sides: people hiring and people looking for jobs. Plus, some thoughts on working at Neiman Marcus. Find Sidney in LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidney-miller-06324b3/). You can the video of this interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNh5iJ8-2AM) as well if you're into that kind of thing. More details: They explore effective strategies for both the hirer and the job seeker. Ke...
Oct 19, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 84
Whitney Lee's career path has been all over the place, from artist, wedding photographer, waiter, and now world-renowned devrel in the cloud native world. This episode kicks off the reboot of this podcast, Software Defined Interviews. Whitney and I (Coté) have been planning to start a podcast for a year or so now, and it's great to start. We'll be putting out interviews every two weeks with people from our community. I hope you enjoy it, and tell us what you think! Guest suggestions are, of cour...
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 83
We discuss compensation, particularly how people in the IT department ("developers," etc.) are so disconnected from the actual business that compensating them based on business performance is near impossible. Not good if you're an IT person and like money. There's other types of comp. then money, obviously, and those are fine too. In particular, we discuss participation in open source and more recognition. But, still: money is the best.
Jul 17, 2020•51 min
People in large organizations avoid improving for improving's sake. They're very rarely proactive in transforming. Instead, it seems that management in most large organizations only act, and change, when they fear competition and failure. "Everyone" knows this is a bad strategy, and yet "everyone" does it. Perhaps we should embrace that behavior, or at least be empathetic, and figure out how to work with it. We discuss this problem and things to do in this episode. Also, we find out why Coté alw...
Jul 06, 2020•39 min
We discuss outsourcing IT.
Oct 31, 2019•58 min
Journey Through the Business Bottleneck, part 1. Join Rick and I as we try to find this elusive thing called "The Business." We lay out a theory we've been talking about: while IT has been improving or, at least, can improve, the business side of the house isn't showing up to do anything with CLOUD and AGILE and THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION. Why's this the case? Do toothpaste people have this problem? Outsourcing - that's a treat! And so forth. Hopefully next episode we'll discuss tactics to get p...
Sep 11, 2019•44 min
Large organization are desperate to become “tech companies.” They drool at these tech companies ability to grow and change quickly. Despite mastering agile over the past 20 years, IT as a whole is too slow and unreliable. “It’s the culture,” everyone says. Changing culture for a team of 10 people is easy - changing a department of 20,000 developers is another challenge entirely. Based on case studies and interviews over the past five years, this talk describes how large organizations are getting...
Sep 09, 2019•1 hr 32 min
Chris Aniszczyk is the CTO of the CNCF. We discuss how he got into open source, what it's like to work at Twitter and how he helped start the CNCF. Plus, Chris gives us an overview of the different kinds of CNCF projects and offers advice on how to get started with Kubernetes. Show links: Hatching Twitter (https://www.amazon.com/Hatching-Twitter-Story-Friendship-Betrayal/dp/1591847087) GORILLA.BAS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorillas_video_game) IBM Extreme Blue (https://www.ibm.com/employmen...
Jul 09, 2019•59 min•Ep. 82
Matt and Brandon interview Adam Jacob the co-founder of Chef. We discuss Adam's career, what led him to start Chef and Chef's recent decision to open source 100% of its Software. Plus, Adam give us some tips on Dungeons & Dragons and transitioning from being a founder to an executive. Links Goodbye Open Core — Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish (https://medium.com/@adamhjk/goodbye-open-core-good-riddance-to-bad-rubbish-ae3355316494) We need Sustainable Free and Open Source Communities (https://med...
Apr 08, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 81
Jeff Meyerson is the host of Software Engineering Daily (https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/). We talk about his career and what led him to start a daily tech podcast for software engineers. We also talk about current trends in cloud computing and Jeff recounts his career as professional poker player. Topics: Darknet Diaries Chartbreakers Episode (https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/27/) Who Is Michael Ovitz? (https://www.audible.com/pd/Who-Is-Michael-Ovitz-Audiobook/B07DJZBDK4) Where to find J...
Feb 11, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 80
Version control has changed a lot over the past 15 years: we’ve moved from a centralized to a distributed model at the basic level. But the practices people follow have changed and grown as new methodologies like DevOps and continuous delivery have relied on version control for operational stability and reliability. In this interview, Coté talks with Plastic SCM (https://www.plasticscm.com/)’s Pablo Santos (https://twitter.com/psluaces) to get the low-down and some tips on doing version control ...
Jan 15, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 79
