His mission

(he chose to accept it)
Unearth bugs like no one else can
I'm the only full-time dev at my company, so I love this kind of video series. Even though you're not talking to me, it's easy to pretend that you recorded these "conversations" directly for my benefit. Being a solo dev slows my growth for all the obvious reasons, so I make sure to fill in the gap with content like yours.
Lee Stetson

Recent Deployments

Tools & Tradecraft

Keynote

Receiving feedback

Dishing hot takes

Golfing

Noteworthy Achievements

Co-founded a software agency back in 2011; contributed less than one might think as its people and clients surpassed all expectations
Peaked too young by keynoting at each of RubyConf 2014, RubyKaigi 2016, and RailsConf 2017
Cornered the market in over-opinionated mocking libraries—actively maintaining Mocktail for Ruby and testdouble.js for JavaScript
Gave a keynote in Japanese once at Ooedo Ruby 2020.​.. that was scary
Spared myself and others a lot of pain by knowing myself well enough to avoid going into management—there’s no shame in being a practitioner!

Reports from the Field

  1. Only you can give meaning to your career

    Deciding to take ownership over the meaning of my work has unquestionably changed my life for the better. This post is the first time I've shared my process publicly.
    Time An icon of a clock Publish Date
    January 2, 2024
    Person An icon of a human figure Authors
    Justin Searls
    Category An icon of a paper organzier Categories
    Growth
  2. The future of Rails test data management

    A year ago, I created one of the most ambitious, creative, and potentially impactful libraries of my career… and I never told anyone about it. Here's why
    Time An icon of a clock Publish Date
    November 13, 2023
    Person An icon of a human figure Authors
    Justin Searls
    Category An icon of a paper organzier Categories
    Testing
    Rails
  3. 16 things you believe about software

    Over 6 years ago, I made up an unscientific personality quiz as a joke…and people can't help themselves—they're still filling it out! Here's what they think
    Time An icon of a clock Publish Date
    October 10, 2023
    Person An icon of a human figure Authors
    Justin Searls
    Category An icon of a paper organzier Categories
    Community
  4. The TLDR on Ruby's new TLDR testing framework

    It's 2023, and it's time for a totally new way to run your tests. Here's how the new TLDR test runner can save you from a life of avoiding your slow tests
    Time An icon of a clock Publish Date
    October 3, 2023
    Person An icon of a human figure Authors
    Justin Searls
    Category An icon of a paper organzier Categories
    Testing
  5. The looming demise of the 10x developer

    Tech's most contentious debates end with people talking over each other, but they make way more sense viewed through the lens of inter-generational conflict.
    Time An icon of a clock Publish Date
    July 12, 2023
    Person An icon of a human figure Authors
    Justin Searls
    Category An icon of a paper organzier Categories
    Industry
    Career
  6. Field Report: RubyKaigi

    Can't make it to RubyKaigi 2023 in Japan? Fake it! Impress your friends and colleagues with all these facts you could only know if you were actually there!
    Time An icon of a clock Publish Date
    May 10, 2023
    Person An icon of a human figure Authors
    Justin Searls
    Category An icon of a paper organzier Categories
    Ruby

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