Stellar Work

Benjamin Igna
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Work is broken. Not in a LinkedIn-thought-leader way. In a "we spent 18 months on a transformation and nothing changed" way. Ben unpacks what actually moves the needle with practitioners, engineers, and leaders who've been through it. New episodes every two weeks.

  1. #55 Allen Holub About The Evolution Of Agility And Its AI Future

    MAR 30

    #55 Allen Holub About The Evolution Of Agility And Its AI Future

    Summary Agility was supposed to change everything. And it did — just not always in the way we hoped. In this episode, Ben sits down with Allen Holub to talk about how agile methodology shaped the software industry, where it went off the rails, and why AI might be repeating the same mistakes. From the original promise of the Agile Manifesto to the certification industrial complex, and from developer empowerment to the next wave of AI-driven disruption, this is a candid, no-holds-barred conversation about what went wrong and what it takes to actually get it right. Allen Holub is a software development thought leader, consultant, trainer, and author who helps organizations become more effective at creating software. With a career that started building robots and writing compilers, Allen has since served as CTO for early-stage startups, Principal Architect for a medium-sized one, and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Mills College  where he taught what he calls "real agile," not the Agile-industrial-complex version. He's worked with hundreds of companies from startups to large enterprises, engaging at every level from CEO coaching to mobbing with individual teams. Allen is widely published, with bestselling books like Taming Java Threads and Compiler Design in C (used as a textbook at Berkeley, CalTech, MIT, and IIT), and was a contributing editor at Dr. Dobb's Journal and JavaWorld. He co-moderates the 200K+ member Agile and Lean Software Development group on LinkedIn and is a sought-after international speaker  many of his talks are available on YouTube. A dual US-EU citizen, Allen continues to consult and train on both agile process and software architecture, with a focus on building flexible systems that can evolve gracefully over time, with and without AI. Allen on Linkedn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenholub/ Allens Mail: allen@holub.com Allens Website: https://holub.com/ Allen on Mastodon: https://mstdn.social/@allenholub Stellar Work: Here is the Stellar Work Newsletter: https://substack.com/@stellarwork Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.stellarwork.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information about how evolutionary agile transformations work Make sure to follow us on your podcast player 🔔

    44 min
  2. #54 Matas Rastenis On Augmenting Engineers At Uber

    MAR 19

    #54 Matas Rastenis On Augmenting Engineers At Uber

    Summary In this episode, Ben talks with Matas Rastenis, Senior Staff Engineer at Uber's Developer Platforms team, about what it actually looks like to bring AI tools to one of the world's largest engineering organizations  not as a flashy demo, but as production-grade infrastructure that delivers measurable impact. Matas shares how Uber approaches AI augmentation for its engineers: evaluating which tools to adopt, building the enablement infrastructure to support them, and making sure they're reliable and cost-effective at scale. A key focus of the conversation is measurement. How do you actually prove that AI tools are making engineers more productive? Matas breaks down how Uber thinks about quantifying the value of AI-assisted development, moving beyond vanity metrics to real impact on developer velocity and output quality. They also dive deep into the organizational side — the change management challenge of rolling out new AI-powered workflows across thousands of engineers with different habits, skill levels, and levels of skepticism. Matas shares practical lessons on what works when driving adoption: meeting engineers where they are, building trust through reliability, and ensuring tools deliver value beyond slick demos. A must-listen for anyone leading developer experience, platform engineering, or AI adoption initiatives in large organizations. Matas Rastenis is Staff Software Engineer on Uber’s Developer Platform team, building AI devtools that run reliably at scale. He leads AI testing automation and AI quality infrastructure, turning agentic workflows into production-grade systems that are measurable, cost-aware, and dependable. With a foundation in SRE and distributed systems, he focuses on making AI tooling observable, governable, and easy for engineers to trust. Uber at https://www.uber.com/ Engineering at Uber: https://www.uber.com/en-US/blog/engineering/ Matas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matasr/ Stellar Work: Here is the Stellar Work Newsletter: https://substack.com/@stellarwork Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.stellarwork.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information about how evolutionary agile transformations work Make sure to follow us on your podcast player 🔔

    35 min
  3. #53 Matthias Wagner From Flux On AI For Hardware Engineers

    MAR 2

    #53 Matthias Wagner From Flux On AI For Hardware Engineers

    In this episode, Ben sits down with Matthias Wagner, founder and CEO of Flux AI, to explore how artificial intelligence is finally making its way into hardware engineering — a field where design tools have barely changed in decades. While software development has seen wave after wave of innovation, hardware engineers have been stuck with legacy tooling that hasn't kept up. Matthias explains how this gap inspired him to build Flux, a cloud-based platform that acts as an AI-powered hardware engineering assistant, helping engineers go from a product brief to a manufacturable PCB design in a fraction of the time it used to take. Flux is the world’s first AI hardware engineer. Just as Devin and Claude Code have transformed software development, Flux is transforming hardware design with agentic AI by allowing anyone to design PCBs with natural language prompts. Flux is able to understand schematics, PCB layouts, and component constraints, helping teams design, review, and optimize hardware in real time. It makes professionals 10x faster and gives non-engineers the ability to build products they could only dream of in the past. With more than 1 million sign-ups and more than 6 million projects created to date, Flux is pioneering a new era of AI-native hardware design. Matthias Wagner is the founder and CEO of Flux AI, a San Francisco-based hardware design platform that's bringing AI-powered tools to the world of PCB and circuit design. Before founding Flux in 2019, Matthias held product and technology roles for nearly two decades, including product management positions at Meta and as an instructor at General Assembly. His career path is anything but conventional — before returning to the electronics world, he built a company in the music industry whose work sold over a billion units globally, including the viral hit "Axel F" by Crazy Frog, which has amassed nearly 4 billion views on YouTube. Today, Flux serves over 300,000 hardware engineers, including teams at Fortune 500 companies, with the mission of making hardware design as accessible and AI-augmented as modern software development. Relevant links: https://www.flux.ai/ https://x.com/BuildWithFlux https://x.com/MatthiasWagner Flux Matthias Wagner 🤑Discount Code- 20% off: stellarworkflux🤑 No sponsoship, just 20% off for you fam 3 Stellar Work: Here is the Stellar Work Newsletter: https://substack.com/@stellarwork Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.stellarwork.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information about how evolutionary agile transformations work Make sure to follow us on your podcast player 🔔

    31 min
  4. #52 Harry Max On Managing Priorities

    FEB 23

    #52 Harry Max On Managing Priorities

    Summary In this episode, I sit down with Harry Max, author of Managing Priorities, to explore why prioritization is one of the most critical — yet frustratingly difficult — skills in work and life. We unpack what makes managing priorities so challenging, and how the game changes as you move from the personal level to teams and entire organizations. Harry shares practical tips and frameworks for getting it right, whether you're sorting through your own to-do list or aligning an enterprise around what truly matters. Harry Max is the author of Managing Priorities: How to Create Better Plans and Make Smarter Decision, and a seasoned Silicon Valley executive player-coach; a fractional Chief Product Officer who coaches exec teams as a hands-on leader. Harry's specialty is partnering with leaders to manage through transformations and change in chaotic environments. His experience includes having been a founder/CEO, operational leader, and consultant with start-ups, innovators, and global brands, including Apple, Adobe, DreamWorks, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, PayPal, Planet Labs, Rackspace, Silicon Graphics, Skype, and Symantec. He lives in Santa Cruz, California, USA with his family and rescue cat. Harrys LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrymax/ Harrys Book: https://www.amazon.de/Managing-Priorities-Create-Smarter-Decisions/dp/B0D932D1R6/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=1LYVHKOTHHVH5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-_Ol0Sgl5lvLR6u5aCdusAUSpSAlS5Rc5Z9WqRhjlu41H33nngz7tK1fXmi8SV7A7HWNpiFd0Zj6fjU6mPVQ9EpEU7F0MLIK5MSS6S30UM0qdVaS_FOnVxWZU0SFOg5wHCjTchpyr7U3eHhurmxXqmx-Q6qY_-z8cb9sERTbcg2GZtwzyVLqAMvPHneyQlhq.0qFhUjc1UxKS4JO6GXq0RUd7a5JAl6oggGIKxF73oos&dib_tag=se&keywords=harry+max+prioritizing&qid=1771549038&sprefix=harry+max+prioritizing%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-1 Stellar Work: Here is the Stellar Work Newsletter: https://substack.com/@stellarwork Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.stellarwork.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information about how evolutionary agile transformations work Make sure to follow us on your podcast player 🔔

    35 min
  5. #50 Sander Hoogendoorn on what it takes to run tech teams at iBood

    JAN 26

    #50 Sander Hoogendoorn on what it takes to run tech teams at iBood

    Summary In this episode, Benjamin interviews Stuart Munton, CIO at AND Digital, discussing the transformative impact of AI on the consulting industry and software development. They explore how generative AI is reshaping business models, the importance of adapting to new technologies, and the challenges organizations face in integrating AI into their workflows. Stuart shares insights from his experience at AND Digital, including case studies and the evolving role of middle management in an AI-driven world. The conversation emphasizes the need for a shared context in AI integration and the future of agile methodologies in product development. Sander Hoogendoorn: Sander Hoogendoorn is an independant dad, consultant, software craftsman, architect, programmer, coach, personal mentor, speaker, traine, writer and traveller. He is seasoned in (beyond) agile, Scrum, Kanban, continuous delivery, (no) software estimation, agile requirements, design patterns, web development, domain driven design, UML, software architecture, microservices, and writing beautiful code. Sander changes organizations and teams and coaches them to optimize their processes, practices, architecture, code and tests, currently as chief technology officer at ANVA, previously as the CTO for a well-known Dutch insurance company and as global agile thought leader at Capgemini. Sander authored best-selling books such as Microservices. A practical guide, The Continuous Culture, This Is Agile and Pragmatic Modeling with UML and published hundreds of articles in international magazines. He is an inspiring (keynote) speaker at international conferences, he presented hundreds of (in-house) training courses and lectured at many universities. Sander is well known for his enthusiasm and motivational capabilities, innovative skills, team building, deep knowledge of the field, quick adaptation, broad vision, and collaborative skills. An open personality, eager, driven, out-of-the-box thinker. He is not afraid of trying out new paths and techniques and has never been a nine-to-fiver. Having new ideas is a 24/7 process. Check out Sanders Website: https://sanderhoogendoorn.com/ to learn more about him and his work. If you want to get in touch, try Sanders LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aahoogendoorn/ Also take a look at AND Digital: https://www.ibood.com/ Stellar Work: Here is the Stellar Work Newsletter: https://substack.com/@stellarwork Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.stellarwork.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information about how evolutionary agile transformations work Make sure to follow us on your podcast player 🔔 as well as on LinkedIn to never miss out on more content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/stellarwork/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sponsors: This podcast is 100% sponsored by me :) If you need help with you agile transformation and opting for an evolutionary approach seems like something you want to check out, click here and lets meet: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://zeeg.me/stellarwork⁠⁠ Note: Stellar Work Podcast hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

    53 min
  6. #49 Stuart Munton on the adoption of AI

    JAN 12

    #49 Stuart Munton on the adoption of AI

    In this episode, Benjamin interviews Stuart Munton, CIO at AND Digital, discussing the transformative impact of AI on the consulting industry and software development. They explore how generative AI is reshaping business models, the importance of adapting to new technologies, and the challenges organizations face in integrating AI into their workflows. Stuart shares insights from his experience at AND Digital, including case studies and the evolving role of middle management in an AI-driven world. The conversation emphasizes the need for a shared context in AI integration and the future of agile methodologies in product development. Stuart Munton: "Community and Curiosity have driven Stuart’s 20+ year digital career, starting with Agile and Digital transformations for major organisations, including ASDA / Walmart and the NHS. Joining AND Digital in 2014 as a startup, Stuart shaped working practices as they grew to 1000+ consultants, working with ~50 cross-industry clients. Now as AND’s ‘Chief for Group Operations & Technology’ Stuart oversees internal technology and AI enablement. Active in closing the Digital Skills Gap and Tech DEI Gap, Stuart is a member of the UK’s Government's Digital Skills Council advising on digital skills adoption, a member of the TechUK Skills and Diversity Council, and a Cornerstone Advisor for the West London Careers Hub, Stuart co-founded the FutureSkills:Reading (formerly Agile Reading) meetup group and is a frequent speaker at international conferences. Stuart lives with his family in Reading, Berkshire, where he is a coach and semi-retired player at his local rugby club." Check out Stuart on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartmunton/ Also take a look at AND Digital: https://www.and.digital/ Stellar Work: Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.stellarwork.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information about how evolutionary agile transformations work Make sure to follow us on your podcast player 🔔 as well as on LinkedIn to never miss out on more content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/stellarwork/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sponsors: This podcast is 100% sponsored by me :) If you need help with you agile transformation and opting for an evolutionary approach seems like something you want to check out, click here and lets meet: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://zeeg.me/stellarwork⁠⁠ Note: Stellar Work Podcast hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

    50 min
  7. #48 Darja Smite on the evolution of remote work

    12/29/2025

    #48 Darja Smite on the evolution of remote work

    In this conversation, Benjamin and Darja Smite explore the evolution of remote and hybrid work over the past five years, particularly in light of the pandemic. They discuss cultural differences in work practices, the impact of remote work on team dynamics and productivity, and the challenges of onboarding in a fully remote environment. The conversation also touches on the importance of social connections, the changing nature of meetings, and strategies for effective collaboration in a hybrid work setting. Darja shares insights from her research, highlighting the need for companies to adapt their policies to fit their unique cultures and the evolving landscape of work. Darja Smite Dr. Darja Šmite is a leading expert in Global Software Engineering (GSE), dedicated to helping organizations master the complexities of distributed work. As a Professor at the top-ranked Software Engineering Research Lab (SERL Sweden), she combines academic rigor with industrial relevance to improve team efficiency, coordination, and decision-making in offshoring and outsourcing contexts . Her research bridges the gap between theory and practice, with recent work focusing on the post-pandemic evolution of work—moving from “forced work-from-home” to flexible “work-from-anywhere” models . An active consultant and advisor, Dr. Šmite collaborates with industry partners to implement evidence-based improvements in agile processes and distributed team management . Check out Darjas Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HUHqrTEAAAAJ&hl=en Darja on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darjasmite/ Stellar Work: Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.stellarwork.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information about how evolutionary agile transformations work Make sure to follow us on your podcast player 🔔 as well as on LinkedIn to never miss out on more content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/stellarwork/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sponsors: This podcast is 100% sponsored by me :) If you need help with you agile transformation and opting for an evolutionary approach seems like something you want to check out, click here and lets meet: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://zeeg.me/stellarwork⁠⁠ Note: Stellar Work Podcast hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

    50 min
  8. #47 Magnus Östberg on The Heartbeat of Automotive Innovation

    12/15/2025

    #47 Magnus Östberg on The Heartbeat of Automotive Innovation

    This episode features Magnus Östberg, Chief Software Officer at Mercedes-Benz, discussing how the company is transforming its approach to software and innovation. Magnus explains the development of MB.OS, their custom software platform, and how Mercedes is syncing hardware and software teams with agile methods like the ‘heartbeat.’ The conversation covers balancing tradition with fast-paced delivery, embracing open source and standards, and what’s ahead for software-defined vehicles. Listeners get practical insights on leading digital transformation and the future of connected mobility. Magnus Östberg: Magnus assumes overall responsibility for the MB.OS vehicle operating system as Chief Software Officer at Mercedes-Benz AG since September 1, 2021. Magnus Östberg was born on April 27, 1973 in Sweden. After graduating from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, with a master’s degree in electrical engineering, he obtained an Executive Master in Business and Administration from the University of Gothenburg in 2006. He started his career in the automotive industry at Mecel, a software and technical consulting company, followed by various management positions at Delphi in Germany and the United States with a focus on vehicle software, infotainment and telematics. Most recently, Magnus Östberg was Vice President Software Platform & System at automotive supplier Aptiv in the US and responsible for development and launch of the ADAS Satellite Architecture at multiple automotive manufacturers. Learn more about the Mercedes Benz Operating System: https://group.mercedes-benz.com/careers/about-us/mercedes-benz-operating-system/interviews.html Check out Magnus Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/drivingsoftware-7041741069142679552/ Magnus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/magnus-%C3%B6stberg/ Stellar Work: Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.stellarwork.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information about how evolutionary agile transformations work Make sure to follow us on your podcast player 🔔 as well as on LinkedIn to never miss out on more content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/stellarwork/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sponsors: This podcast is 100% sponsored by me :) If you need help with you agile transformation and opting for an evolutionary approach seems like something you want to check out, click here and lets meet: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://zeeg.me/stellarwork⁠⁠ Note: Stellar Work Podcast hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

    33 min
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About

Work is broken. Not in a LinkedIn-thought-leader way. In a "we spent 18 months on a transformation and nothing changed" way. Ben unpacks what actually moves the needle with practitioners, engineers, and leaders who've been through it. New episodes every two weeks.

Information

  • Creator
    Benjamin Igna
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Benjamin Igna
  • Show Website
    Stellar Work

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