WHERE
I'VE BEEN.

Understanding a large, unfamiliar codebase quickly enough to be useful.

How to read code before writing it, and how to ask focused questions.

Would have asked for a short codebase walkthrough on day one instead of exploring alone for a week.

Teaching a mixed-experience group without losing beginners or boring the more advanced ones.

How to structure material in layers so people could opt into more depth.

Would have built in a short diagnostic at the start to group participants by experience.

Learning to balance shipping speed with genuine user research.

How product decisions get made under real constraints — time, budget, stakeholders.

Would have pushed earlier for direct access to users instead of relying on secondhand notes.

Staying disciplined without the structure of a team or manager.

How to set and hold his own standards.

Still finding out — this chapter is current.