"Clever" is a bad word
“Clever” applied to designs or code is a bad word. Compliments include: “simple” or “dumb”.
Posts
Beware the word “we” in designs
Precise names lead to clearer designs. E.g., “we” referring strictly to people.
The two person rule
Having two pairs of eyes on all destructive changes to prod reduces manual error.
Proactive identification of reliability issues
Systematically enumerate dependencies and failure modes. Prevent, mitigate, or accept them.
Requesting a review means wrangling reviewers
Explicitly communicating with reviewers early and often leads to smooth reviews.