Practices Articles

We’re curious people by nature. And we love to teach others what we’ve learned. So explore our blog to gain fresh insights from our expertise in areas ranging from culture to AI.

SEP Wins TechPoint’s 2025 Exceptional Employer Mira Award

SEP Recognized as Indiana’s Top Tech Employer, Winning TechPoint’s Prestigious Mira Award Westfield, Indiana - SEP has been named Exceptional Employer by TechPoint at the 26th annual Mira Awards. This award recognizes companies that are developing talent through skills-based hiring…
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Coworkers collaborating on tablet and laptop

Work Notebooks 101: Types, Best Practices, and Why You Need One

Keeping track of everything we do can feel like a challenge. Solving tough problems, making important design choices, picking up new skills—there’s so much happening every day. When it’s time for career conversations, it often feels tricky to recall all the wins and lessons from the past year. I have talked with a few folks […]
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Terraform: Creatine for Your AI-Assistant

I love software engineering because it lets me create new things every single day. As a programmer, I get to conjure novel solutions to problems I’ve never encountered before – manipulating chaos is my jam. For months, I stubbornly resisted tools like Cursor, Cline and Windsurf. Why? Because I’m passionate about programming and worried these […]
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AI robot on a tall ladder drawing a graph on the wall with chalk

A New Approach to Professional Growth: Personalized Learning Paths with Claude AI

Working with teams over the past 25 years, I have often been asked about where individuals should start on Professional Development. While I read a lot and know a good number of people that I can direct individuals to, I am always looking for better resources to help people. Recently, I was working with a […]
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aileindy 2024 speaker mashup

AgileIndy 2024 Recap: Learning, Networking, and SEP Insights + Jeff Patton Keynote Replay

We had a fantastic time at AgileIndy 2024! SEP was well-represented, with multiple speakers sharing their insights during the event, and we truly enjoyed the sessions. From engaging breakouts to networking opportunities, it was a great chance to connect and learn alongside fellow Agile practitioners. If you missed the event or want to rewatch your […]
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Jeff Patton presenting at AgileIndy 2024

Agile Indy 2024 Trip Report

Agile Indy 2024 From the AgileIndy site: AgileIndy is a user group devoted to raising awareness, acceptance, and support to people who explore and apply agile values, principles, and practices to make building software solutions more effective, humane, and sustainable. This year’s conference took place on Friday October 18th at 502 E Carmel Dr, Carmel, […]
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product design team reviewing mobile prototype in a discovery session

How to Make Bets That Pay Off: Effective Prototyping for Product Organizations

Many product organizations today face similar struggles: delivery cycles take longer than expected, timeframes are unpredictable, and schedules lead to unforeseen costs and outcomes. Often, designed, built, and delivered features go unused, ultimately failing to achieve the desired business results. We’ve seen these struggles appear when organizations pursue a solution without understanding critical assumptions about […]
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Design Configuration Management: The Awesome Best Practice You Didn’t Know You Needed

We’ve had a design practice at SEP for over a decade but didn’t have an official Design Configuration Management (DCM) process until recently. For most of that time, we’ve been a pretty small group of designers who typically had their hands full doing good work for our clients. Historically, designers on a project would hit […]
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programmer at computer with dual monitors working on coding project while wearing headphones

Your personal programming project misses you. How to make more time.

Personal programming projects are a great way to explore new topics. They can allow you a scaffold for exploring new technologies or techniques. They can use a personal interest as a motivator to overcome the trials of learning. But they compete for your limited time with your responsibilities, friends, and family. Sitting down for a […]
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Using Generative AI Every Day at Work? An AI Strategist’s Honest Take

I use Generative AI tools because, as a developer, I can’t ignore them. My clients and peers expect me to be at least conversant in AI technologies if not an expert. Maintaining that expertise means engaging with new tools as they come out. I’ve made a point to use them where I could for the […]
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