Thoughts & Insights

Blog

I write about building reliable systems, leading teams, and using AI as a real engineering partner. Most of my work lives behind the scenes — middleware flows, internal tools, and systems that quietly keep things moving. This space is where I pull those lessons into the open.

Deep Dives

Featured Posts

These are the big ones — playbooks, case studies, and essays that show how I think and build.

QA & MiddlewarePlaybook

What It Really Takes to Own QA for 1500+ APIs

Most people think API testing is about tools. It's not. It's about architecture, risk, and people.

How we mapped and categorized 1500+ middleware APIs, the difference between coverage and useful coverage, and the metrics that actually matter to executives.

How we mapped and categorized 1500+ middleware APIs

The difference between "coverage" and "useful coverage"

Why regression is more about dependencies than tests

How to keep multiple LOBs and vendors aligned on quality

The dashboards and metrics that actually matter to executives

12 min readDec 4, 2024

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Case Studies & PlaybooksCase Study

Designing Feedback Box: From Idea to Internal Product

This is the story of how a messy feedback process turned into a full-blown internal platform.

A deep dive into turning vague complaints into a real product, designing workflows people actually follow, and how QA thinking shaped every decision.

Turning vague complaints into a real product concept

Designing roles, permissions, and workflows that people actually follow

Frontend decisions: why drawers, not popups; why Tailwind; why clarity > cleverness

Backend structure: tables, relationships, approvals, and notifications

How QA thinking shaped every decision — from DB constraints to UI edge states

15 min readDec 4, 2024

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Case Studies & PlaybooksCase Study

Booster App: Building a Daily Habit Experience Across iOS & Android

Building Booster was more than "make an app that shows quotes." It was about crafting a daily experience.

How we designed the 9:36 AM daily experience, built notification pipelines, and made subtle UX decisions that make the experience feel calm, not noisy.

How we designed the 9:36 AM daily experience

The notification pipeline: backend → APNs/FCM → device

Like logic that respects "one user, one like per day"

SwiftUI vs Kotlin Compose – matching UX across platforms

The subtle UX decisions that make the experience feel calm, not noisy

15 min readDec 4, 2024

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Explore By Topic

All Posts

Automation & DevOpsEssay

Automation Is Not the Goal. Trust Is.

Everyone says "automate more." Few ask why, or where, or what happens afterward.

8 min readComing Soon

AI & EngineeringGuide

How I Use AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor) in Real Engineering Work

This is not a "10 prompts for devs" article. It's the perspective of someone who actually uses AI daily.

9 min readComing Soon

QA & MiddlewareEssay

The Middleware Mindset: Thinking Like the Systems in the Middle

Middle layers don't get the spotlight — until they fail.

7 min readComing Soon

Leadership & TeamsPlaybook

Leading 22 Engineers Across Time Zones Without Burning Out

Leadership is not standups and dashboards. It's expectations, systems, and emotional clarity.

11 min readComing Soon

Career & Personal JourneyPersonal

10 Years at CIBC: What a Decade in QA Leadership Actually Teaches You

Not a highlight reel. The real lessons.

13 min readComing Soon

Future Topics

Coming Next

Long-term thinking and depth. These tell recruiters and leaders: this person has a roadmap, not random thoughts.

From Test Cases to Quality Strategy: How to Level Up as a QA Engineer

Designing Roles & Permissions Without Making Everyone Hate the System

Using DevOps to Make QA Faster — Not More Stressful

Why Internal Tools Deserve the Same Respect as Customer-Facing Products

Scaling from 1 Project to an Ecosystem: How I Think About Systems at YDS Canada

Want to build better systems, teams, or tools?

If any of these topics resonate with what you're building — whether it's a banking platform, internal tools, or a new product — I'd be happy to connect.

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