Posts, in sequence
Some questions don't fit in one post. A series is a line of thinking followed across several — read in order, each part building on the last.
Architecting Software in 2026
A six-part build log of one live system, Bullpen, a paper-trading league on real market data, plus a bonus on a requirement that arrived mid-plan. It tests which microservice and distributed-systems decisions still hold in 2026, cost included. It records my take at this moment: the platforms under it change monthly, and some of it will age.
- 01When to Use Microservices in 2026: Scaling Alone Is No Longer the Reason12 min read
- 02Architecture as Code Has Three Jobs: Describe, Govern, Remember11 min read
- 03Database per Service Is Free Now. That Is Not a Reason to Use It28 min read
- 04The Saga Pattern Is About Time, Not Services21 min read
- 05Every New Requirement Has a Cost. Make It Visible.18 min read
- 06Not yet publishedNext
All series
Engineering with agents
Staying in the control plane of AI-assisted development — from treating every inference call as an architectural decision, to sizing the handoff, to the posture that keeps a developer an operator rather than a spectator.
Architecting Software in 2026
A six-part build log of one live system, Bullpen, a paper-trading league on real market data, plus a bonus on a requirement that arrived mid-plan. It tests which microservice and distributed-systems decisions still hold in 2026, cost included. It records my take at this moment: the platforms under it change monthly, and some of it will age.
Landing Page (Opens in a new tab)A series has a fixed number of parts decided up front, published one a week in reading order. Each post carries its place in the sequence, and the last part closes the question the first one opened.