Going to Production

David Dieruf & Wael Rabadi

Going to Production is the podcast where technical leaders get real about the complexities of shipping software. Hosted by Wael and David, each episode features honest conversations with VPs of Engineering, CTOs, and seasoned technical decision makers who share the unvarnished truth about what it really takes to get code from development to production. What You'll Discover This isn't another podcast about the latest frameworks or theoretical best practices. We dive deep into the messy realities that every technical leader faces: the trade-offs that keep you up at night, the production incidents that teach hard lessons, and the organizational challenges that textbooks don't prepare you for. Our guests share real stories from the trenches—the moments when "it works on my machine" meets the harsh reality of production environments, scaling challenges, team dynamics, and the pressure to deliver reliable software under tight deadlines. Who This Is For Going to Production is designed for technical decision makers who need more than surface-level advice. Whether you're a VP of Engineering navigating organizational complexity, a technical lead managing production systems, or an engineering manager balancing technical debt with feature delivery, you'll find actionable insights from leaders who've been where you are. The Format Each series focuses on a broad topic critical to production success, explored across multiple episodes with different perspectives and real-world case studies. From deployment strategies and incident response to team scaling and technical decision-making under pressure, we cover the full spectrum of challenges that define modern software delivery. Join us for conversations that matter—where technical leaders share what they've learned, what they wish they'd known, and what really works when the stakes are high.

Episodes

  1. 12/11/2025

    True Development in the AI Age: What It Means Beyond Writing Code

    Is computer science a dying field now that AI can generate code? Are developers just becoming "code monkeys" who paste AI output into repositories? In this episode, David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi tackle these questions head-on and explore what true development actually means when AI handles the implementation grunt work. What You'll Learn: What true development means beyond writing code Why context and documentation are critical for effective AI pairing How AI exposes the difference between code monkeys and real developers The importance of shared understanding and ubiquitous language Why interdisciplinary teams and collaboration matter more in the AI age How to provide AI with the context it needs to be effective The future of software development careers when AI handles implementation Key Insight: AI doesn't eliminate the need for skilled developers—it raises the bar. The question isn't whether AI will replace developers, but whether you're doing true development or just being a code monkey. If you're the latter, AI is coming for your job. If you're the former, AI is your new superpower. Hosted by engineering leaders David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi, co-founders of Kisasa.

  2. 11/27/2025

    Production First Development: Why Staging Environments Are Holding You Back

    Most engineering teams treat staging environments as a safety net—a place to test changes before they hit production. But what if that safety net is actually slowing you down and creating more problems than it solves? In this episode, David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi challenge the conventional wisdom around staging environments and make the case for production-first development. What You'll Learn: Why staging environments create false confidence and environment parity problems How infrastructure as code (CDKTF) enables production-first development Blue-green deployment strategies for safe production deployments Why moving the edge to deployment eliminates the need for staging How to simplify cloud security audits with infrastructure as code Practical approaches to deploying directly to production safely Key Insight: If your staging environment isn't identical to production, it's not protecting you—it's just slowing you down. Invest in deployment practices that make production safe, not in maintaining a staging environment that lies to you. Hosted by engineering leaders David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi, co-founders of Kisasa.

  3. 11/13/2025

    AI Pair Programming: How AI is Transforming Developer Roles and Velocity

    The rise of AI coding assistants is fundamentally changing what it means to be a software developer. But contrary to popular fear, AI isn't replacing engineers—it's transforming their roles from code writers to context managers and decision-makers. In this episode, David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi explore how AI pair programming is reshaping development at every level, from entry-level developers to senior architects. What You'll Learn: How AI is transforming developer roles at entry, mid, and senior levels Why context management is the new critical skill for developers The economics of AI pair programming and productivity gains How to structure development workflows around AI collaboration Why documentation and shared understanding matter more than ever The future of software development careers in an AI-augmented world Key Insight: AI doesn't eliminate the need for skilled developers—it raises the bar. The question isn't "Can AI write code?" but "Can you provide the context and make the decisions that turn AI-generated code into production-quality software?" Hosted by engineering leaders David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi, co-founders of Kisasa.

  4. 10/30/2025

    Thin Slices vs Story Points: Better Backlog Grooming for Engineering Teams

    Most engineering teams struggle with backlog grooming because they focus on estimating story points and debating technical implementation details rather than defining user value and thin slices. In this episode, David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi discuss why traditional backlog grooming often becomes a solutioning session—and how to shift toward grooming that enables rapid iteration, effective testing, and better product outcomes. What You'll Learn: Why story points create false precision and slow teams down How to identify true thin slices that deliver vertical value The difference between grooming (defining what) and solutioning (planning how) Practical techniques for journey-based testing How to maintain ubiquitous language across product and engineering Why premature technical planning hurts iteration speed Key Insight: The best backlog grooming sessions ask "What does the user need to accomplish?" not "How should we build this?" Save the technical planning for after you've clearly defined the user value you're delivering. Hosted by engineering leaders David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi, co-founders of Kisasa.

  5. 10/16/2025

    When Good Engineers Build Bad Systems: Why Smart Teams Create Problems

    Why do talented engineers with good intentions end up building problematic architectures? In this episode, we explore how smart teams create bad systems through local optimization, unintended consequences, and the gap between component thinking and systems thinking. What You'll Learn: Why smart teams create problematic architectures The danger of local optimization without global context Unintended consequences of well-intentioned technical decisions Systems thinking vs component thinking How technical debt accumulates in successful systems Patterns that lead good engineers to build bad systems Key Insight: Good engineers build bad systems when they optimize locally without understanding the global delivery system. The problem isn't skill or intent—it's perspective. Systems thinking requires seeing beyond your component to understand the whole. Hosted by engineering leaders David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi, co-founders of Kisasa.

  6. 10/02/2025

    The Stack, The Plan, and The Platform: Modern Delivery Stack Methodology

    Your technology stack isn't just a list of tools—it's the foundation of your entire delivery system. In this episode, we introduce the Modern Delivery Stack methodology: how to connect business goals to technical decisions through a unified platform that enables sustainable velocity. What You'll Learn: The Modern Delivery Stack framework: Customer Value → Domain Applications → Domain Services → Runtime Platform How to connect business goals to customer outcomes through technology Why platform is the foundation for delivery, not just infrastructure Strategic technology planning that aligns with business objectives The difference between tooling and delivery systems How to build platforms that enable teams rather than constrain them Key Insight: Most teams focus on tools and frameworks. Great teams build complete delivery systems that connect business strategy to customer value. The Modern Delivery Stack provides the framework for making that connection real. Hosted by engineering leaders David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi, co-founders of Kisasa.

  7. 09/18/2025

    Conway's Law in Action: How Team Structure Dictates System Architecture

    Your system architecture mirrors your organizational structure—whether you planned it that way or not. In this episode, we explore Conway's Law in practice: how team boundaries, communication patterns, and organizational design directly shape the technical systems you build. What You'll Learn: How team structure inevitably dictates system architecture Why organizational design is a technical decision Real-world examples of Conway's Law in action How to align teams with your desired architecture The relationship between communication patterns and system boundaries Strategies for restructuring teams to enable better systems Key Insight: If you want to change your architecture, you have to change your team structure first. Conway's Law isn't a suggestion—it's an organizational reality that shapes every system you build. Hosted by engineering leaders David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi, co-founders of Kisasa.

  8. 09/04/2025

    The Platform Multiplication Problem: Why Teams Duplicate Infrastructure

    Why do organizations end up with multiple platform teams building the same infrastructure? In this episode, we explore the platform multiplication problem—how well-intentioned teams create duplicated effort, fragmented systems, and wasted resources across the organization. What You'll Learn: Why platform teams naturally duplicate effort across organizations The hidden costs of fragmented infrastructure and tooling How team autonomy leads to platform proliferation The difference between platform teams and platform engineering Why unified delivery systems matter for scale Practical approaches to consolidating platform efforts Key Insight: Platform multiplication happens when teams optimize locally without understanding the global delivery system. The result? Multiple teams solving the same problems, fragmented infrastructure, and wasted resources that could be invested in actual business value. Hosted by engineering leaders David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi, co-founders of Kisasa.

  • 8 Episodes

About

Going to Production is the podcast where technical leaders get real about the complexities of shipping software. Hosted by Wael and David, each episode features honest conversations with VPs of Engineering, CTOs, and seasoned technical decision makers who share the unvarnished truth about what it really takes to get code from development to production. What You'll Discover This isn't another podcast about the latest frameworks or theoretical best practices. We dive deep into the messy realities that every technical leader faces: the trade-offs that keep you up at night, the production incidents that teach hard lessons, and the organizational challenges that textbooks don't prepare you for. Our guests share real stories from the trenches—the moments when "it works on my machine" meets the harsh reality of production environments, scaling challenges, team dynamics, and the pressure to deliver reliable software under tight deadlines. Who This Is For Going to Production is designed for technical decision makers who need more than surface-level advice. Whether you're a VP of Engineering navigating organizational complexity, a technical lead managing production systems, or an engineering manager balancing technical debt with feature delivery, you'll find actionable insights from leaders who've been where you are. The Format Each series focuses on a broad topic critical to production success, explored across multiple episodes with different perspectives and real-world case studies. From deployment strategies and incident response to team scaling and technical decision-making under pressure, we cover the full spectrum of challenges that define modern software delivery. Join us for conversations that matter—where technical leaders share what they've learned, what they wish they'd known, and what really works when the stakes are high.

Information

  • Creator
    David Dieruf & Wael Rabadi
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Going to Production David Dieruf & Wael Rabadi
  • Show Website
    Going to Production