Code Saiyan

Sign in Subscribe

Peter Cepeda

📚 Pitfalls & Anti-Patterns: A Glossary for Engineers, Managers, and Product People

📚 Pitfalls & Anti-Patterns: A Glossary for Engineers, Managers, and Product People

A friendly glossary of common traps, anti-patterns, and bad habits that creep into engineering, product, and management work—so you can spot them (and avoid them!) next time they show up.

Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls 🌊

Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls 🌊

We all agree waterfall is broken. Somehow, we keep rebuilding it every 90 days and calling it progress. This is a critique of quarterly planning, control culture, and the illusion that you can schedule flow.

Your Code Isn’t a Masterpiece — It’s Just Design

Your Code Isn’t a Masterpiece — It’s Just Design

Some engineers treat their code like art — striving for perfect form, debating aesthetics, and nitpicking endlessly. But code is design, not art. Its value comes from function, not form. Here’s why adopting the right mindset helps your team ship better software — faster.

The Blessing and Curse of Being a Truth-Teller 🤫

The Blessing and Curse of Being a Truth-Teller 🤫

Being a truth-teller sounds noble in theory. In practice—at work and in life—it often sucks. Here’s what I’ve learned about the pros and cons of pushing for honesty.

The Traditions We Keep (Even When They Don’t Work Anymore) 🦃

The Traditions We Keep (Even When They Don’t Work Anymore) 🦃

A reflection on workplace traditions: why we keep doing them, when to let them go, and how to tell the difference between helpful rituals and outdated routines — just in time for the holidays.

Make the Backlog Work for You, Not the Other Way Around 🪵

Make the Backlog Work for You, Not the Other Way Around 🪵

A backlog is not a to-do list, a feature dump, or a trash bin of ideas. It’s a communication tool. If it’s not reflecting user value and team focus, it’s working against you. Here’s how to fix that.

Paging Isn’t a Substitute for Planning

Paging Isn’t a Substitute for Planning

Paging systems are meant to wake people when systems fail — not when communication does. When leaders rely on paging to compensate for coordination gaps, they don’t just disturb sleep; they disrupt trust, ownership, and culture.