Personal blog of David Lewis.https://david-lewis.com/https://david-lewis.com/posts/tested-by-accident/https://david-lewis.com/posts/tested-by-accident/I accidentally deleted my website this weekend. The forced rebuild was the first real-pressure test of the standards-first experiment I wrote about a few days ago. The standards held — and revealed what is still unfinished.Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/slop-is-a-standards-problem/https://david-lewis.com/posts/slop-is-a-standards-problem/AI slop is real. The diagnosis is wrong. Slop is what AI does when no one sets the standard — and the same technology can elevate the bar instead, if you choose to use it that way.Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/evolving-agile-in-the-age-of-ai-agents/https://david-lewis.com/posts/evolving-agile-in-the-age-of-ai-agents/The agile practices that survived AI-assisted development weren't the process ones — they were the philosophical ones. A look at what changed and what stayed when building a real product with AI agents.Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/the-incomplete-history-of-design-tokens/https://david-lewis.com/posts/the-incomplete-history-of-design-tokens/A thirty-year story about a single idea: that design decisions should be named, shared, and separated from the things they style — from Håkon Wium Lie's 1994 proposal to the W3C specification.Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/goal-driven-development-with-ai-agents/https://david-lewis.com/posts/goal-driven-development-with-ai-agents/Starting with a real problem — the "did we get cinnamon sticks?" moment in the kitchen — and figuring out the solution as you go. Part 1 of a series on building a real product with AI agents.Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/if-your-meeting-needs-people-from-five-teams-somethings-broken/https://david-lewis.com/posts/if-your-meeting-needs-people-from-five-teams-somethings-broken/When delivering one idea requires five teams in a room, that's not a planning problem — it's a structural one. On value streams and why cross-functional engineering teams are only halfway to the goal.Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/part-2-the-handoff-from-the-ais-point-of-view/https://david-lewis.com/posts/part-2-the-handoff-from-the-ais-point-of-view/The second part of a documentation experiment, written from the AI's perspective. GPT inherits a codebase cold, reads the principles doc, and uses it to constrain a feature decision — validating the thesis that the right documentation shapes choices, not just describes code.Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/whats-left-when-the-code-becomes-the-source-of-truth/https://david-lewis.com/posts/whats-left-when-the-code-becomes-the-source-of-truth/I wrote 786 lines of documentation, then deleted 83% of it. Here's what survived — and why it's the only documentation that matters.Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/ai-can-explain-your-code-stop-documenting-the-obvious/https://david-lewis.com/posts/ai-can-explain-your-code-stop-documenting-the-obvious/AI can now explain what a system does and how it works. That changes what documentation is for — and what's still worth writing down.Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/why-your-server-is-paying-for-your-css-choices/https://david-lewis.com/posts/why-your-server-is-paying-for-your-css-choices/Server-side rendering makes some previously invisible costs very visible. This post explores how styling can end up on the server's hot…Sat, 20 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/folding-the-laundry-a-kanban-story/https://david-lewis.com/posts/folding-the-laundry-a-kanban-story/Kanban explained through household laundry: visualise the work, cap what's in progress, and deliver in small finished batches. Simple rules that apply equally to software delivery and a pile of clean clothes on the spare-room bed.Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/teaching-ai-to-design-what-i-mean-not-just-what-i-say/https://david-lewis.com/posts/teaching-ai-to-design-what-i-mean-not-just-what-i-say/My experiments trying to take back control of AI-generated UISun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/iframes-vs-web-components-which-one-actually-performs-better-in-2025/https://david-lewis.com/posts/iframes-vs-web-components-which-one-actually-performs-better-in-2025/After 102 automated Playwright tests, Web Components load 4.5× faster than iframes with identical memory use. A data-driven guide to when each isolation mechanism is the right call.Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/how-i-beat-stage-fright-and-accidentally-cured-my-fear-of-small-talk/https://david-lewis.com/posts/how-i-beat-stage-fright-and-accidentally-cured-my-fear-of-small-talk/How a socially awkward introvert became a confident public speaker — through practice, not talent. Four techniques that actually work: rehearse until the script disappears, present one slide ahead, leave space for the day, and video yourself.Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/from-drift-to-drive-helping-teams-move-towards-strategic-outcomes/https://david-lewis.com/posts/from-drift-to-drive-helping-teams-move-towards-strategic-outcomes/Teams rarely drift because they're lazy. They drift because no one's holding the map up anymore.Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/stretch-dont-hide-ambition-empathy-and-ai/https://david-lewis.com/posts/stretch-dont-hide-ambition-empathy-and-ai/AI expands what we can attempt — but that speed can trigger Dunning-Kruger overconfidence. The fix is curiosity over proof: show your working, ask what surprised you, and let cross-discipline experiments build empathy instead of ego.Thu, 09 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/quiet-debt-the-hidden-cost-of-ignoring-the-small-stuff/https://david-lewis.com/posts/quiet-debt-the-hidden-cost-of-ignoring-the-small-stuff/Most of us are familiar with the classic definition of technical debt: the shortcuts, workarounds, and legacy code that get us out of a jam…Mon, 29 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/whats-on-your-teams-plate/https://david-lewis.com/posts/whats-on-your-teams-plate/Why quick fixes feel good, but lasting health takes patienceFri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/the-case-for-slow-thinking-in-engineering-teams/https://david-lewis.com/posts/the-case-for-slow-thinking-in-engineering-teams/Engineering teams rush to close decisions and the fastest voice usually wins. The seven-second rule, System 1 vs System 2 thinking, and why slow deliberation paired with fast AI is a more powerful combination than either alone.Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/avoiding-the-ai-tell-how-to-write-in-a-way-that-sounds-like-you/https://david-lewis.com/posts/avoiding-the-ai-tell-how-to-write-in-a-way-that-sounds-like-you/The "You're not X, you're Y" pattern is everywhere in AI-generated writing — punchy, rhythmic, and a dead giveaway. This post identifies the tell and offers four concrete rewrites to keep the impact without the polish that signals AI.Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/the-power-of-emergence-why-leaders-shouldnt-prescribe-every-solution/https://david-lewis.com/posts/the-power-of-emergence-why-leaders-shouldnt-prescribe-every-solution/Prescribing solutions feels efficient but suppresses the unexpected ideas that matter most. A before-and-after flood image UI that emerged from a misunderstanding shows why leaders should frame outcomes, protect slack time, and get out of the way.Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/16-rules-to-help-your-meetup-run-more-smoothly/https://david-lewis.com/posts/16-rules-to-help-your-meetup-run-more-smoothly/Sixteen practical rules for running a successful meetup, drawn from years of organising SydCSS — from AV prep and food choices to managing no-shows and keeping presenters on time.Sat, 07 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMThttps://david-lewis.com/posts/calm-above-the-water-and-paddling-like-hell-underneath/https://david-lewis.com/posts/calm-above-the-water-and-paddling-like-hell-underneath/A personal account of overcoming a lifelong fear of public speaking — from hiding under a slide in the rain at age 12 to presenting at Respond 2014 in Sydney. On the years of small steps, SydCSS, and what it actually takes to walk to the front of the room.Fri, 07 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT