Communication on Jake Worth

A Missing README Isn't a Missing README

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 09:32:47 -0400

A missing README is rarely just missing documentation. It usually signals other things, too.

"What's Wrong With This Idea?"

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 09:43:43 -0500

One of my favorite problem-solving questions is: “What’s wrong with this idea?” It drives the conversation away from why the idea might work, and toward why it might fail. That perspective is invaluable when building.

A Talk on Twelve Factors

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 13:48:58 -0400

Today I gave a talk to my team about the Twelve-Factor App Methodology.

Banishing "Random" for Better Software Communication

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 12:19:04 -0400

“I’m still getting this random 404.”

Want to sound pro? Banish “random” from your software engineering vocabulary.

Why I Write for Software Engineers and Engineering Leaders

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 09:47:19 -0400

Eight years ago I wrote a post called You Should Blog. In it, I made an argument that I still believe in: public, professional writing is something every engineer should try. Today, I want to share why I write, and have for over a decade.

How I Approach Feature Requests

Wed, 14 May 2025 17:40:42 -0400

Receiving feature requests is part of running a software team. Here’s how I handle them.

Your Software Is Confusing

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 10:16:44 -0400

If something in your software is confusing to a customer, it is confusing.

Two-Follow-Up Rule for Closing Support and Internal Tickets

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 09:28:10 -0500

I recently learned a practice for customer communication that I’d like to document. It’s called “Hit It Twice.”

How to Start a Meetup Group (Lessons from Running One for 10 Years)

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been organizing Meetups for a decade, starting with Vim Chicago and Chicago Elixir, and now running Maine JS from Portland, Maine. In honor of our most recent Meetup, here’s my practical guide on how to start a Meetup group, based on what’s worked for me.

Practical Ways to 'Learn in Public' Now

Sun, 28 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been a practitioner of Shawn Wang’s ‘Learn in Public’ for years. In this post, I’ll share a list of ways I’ve found to learn in public.

My Feature Writing Template: Given/When/Then

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

When preparing feature development work, I write Gherkin-style tickets, which follow the “Given/When/Then” format. Many people call these stories, and I do, too. This technique is incredibly effective! But why? In this post, I’ll try to answer that question.

Deliver a Great Standup Report as an Engineer

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been lucky to have worked with some great engineers, and one thing that they tend to do exceptionally well is reporting about their work at meetings. Today I’d like to summarize what I think makes a great standup report.

How to Write a Perfect Bug Report (With Template)

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Bugs are part of software. Reporting bugs well is a necessary skill in an ever-growing number of job titles. In this post, I’d like to explain how to write a perfect bug report and offer some bug-reporting best practices.

The Problems With Code Screenshots

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Screenshots of code are common in developer communication, but they come with real drawbacks. Here’s why I try to avoid them.

Your Demo Doesn't Need Auth

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

When building a demo application, I believe you can often skip authentication.

Bug Reports Are Gold

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Me: Hey, I’m experiencing an issue with your software. Here’s a detailed bug report.

SAAS Engineer: What you’re describing isn’t possible.

Narrator: But it was possible.

This is a frustrating, unproductive snippet of a conversation I’ve had a few times in my career. What can we learn? Treat bug reports like gold.

Comprehensive Instructions

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

A user opened an issue in Tilex last week that I spent a significant amount of time thinking about and talking about (thanks JB) before responding to. Here’s the truncated request:

May I ask you to compile a step-by-step list to set up a running TIL instance?

How I Talk: My Guide to Tech Public Speaking

Wed, 09 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been giving technical talks for a few years, and I’m speaking at the Vim Chicago Meetup next month about integrating React with Vim. In this post, I’m going to use that opportunity as an excuse to document my speaking process.

You Should Blog

Sat, 11 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I created this blog to reflect on my code and development as a programmer. In that spirit, I’d like to make a pitch to anybody reading: you should blog.

Writing Elixir Sigils

Mon, 04 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Sigils are a mechanism for working with textual representations in Elixir. If you’ve ever made an array of Strings in Ruby with %w(), the API is similar. A neat feature of sigils is that we can make custom variants, or override existing Kernel variants. The latter is generally discouraged.