In this deep-dive continuation with Mob Mentality Show hosts Austin Chadwick and Chris Lucian, we explore the practical implementation of mob programming in embedded and IoT environments. The discussion covers how collaborative programming extends beyond pure software development to include firmware engineers, hardware teams, and DevOps specialists working together in real-time. Key insights include strategies for managing cross-disciplinary collaboration, overcoming organizational resistance, and maintaining continuous delivery pipelines in hardware-constrained environments. The conversation reveals how mob programming can dramatically reduce feedback loops and eliminate the traditional handoff delays between embedded system components, leading to multiple daily production deployments even in IoT contexts."+y

In this special crossover episode with the Mob Mentality Show, Jeff and Luca explore how mob programming can revolutionize embedded systems development. The discussion covers critical pain points in the embedded industry, including hardware-software coupling, documentation overhead in safety-critical systems, and the persistent silos between electrical, mechanical, and software engineers. Chris Lucian and Austin Chadwick from the Mob Mentality Show share practical strategies for implementing collaborative development practices, including hardware abstraction layers, the inverse Conway maneuver, and techniques for breaking down organizational barriers. The conversation provides actionable insights for embedded teams looking to improve flow efficiency, reduce cycle times, and enhance cross-functional collaboration in IoT and hardware product development.

In this episode of the Agile Embedded Podcast, Luca speaks with Violet Su, Business Development Manager at Seed Studio, about the challenges and opportunities in hardware manufacturing. Violet shares insights on how Seed Studio has evolved to become an AI hardware partner, providing everything from sensors to edge computing products and customization services. The conversation explores the realities of hardware development, from initial prototyping to mass production. Violet emphasizes the importance of getting products into users' hands quickly to gather feedback, even if they're not perfect. She highlights common pitfalls for newcomers to hardware manufacturing, including underestimating costs, certification requirements, and supply chain complexities. The discussion also covers the growing influence of AI in hardware development and how emerging connectivity technologies are shaping the future of embedded systems.

Luca and Jeff dive into how AI tools can supercharge embedded development workflows. Luca shares his extensive hands-on experience, while Jeff brings a fresh perspective as someone just starting to incorporate these tools. They explore how AI can help with coding, testing, and debugging - while emphasizing that good software engineering judgment remains crucial. The conversation is particularly timely since AI tools are evolving rapidly, unlike their usually more "evergreen" podcast topics.

In this bonus episode, Luca responds to a thoughtful listener question about repository granularity in embedded development projects, particularly in safety-critical industries. The listener describes their approach of using separate repositories for different work products and even considers micro-repositories for different code components. Luca shares his perspective on why this approach makes him uneasy, suggesting it might overcomplicate development processes. He advocates for fewer repositories - ideally a monorepo approach - and explains how configuration management can be handled effectively within a single repository using feature flags, tagging, and CI pipelines. Luca reflects on how his own thinking about repository strategy has evolved over the course of the podcast, moving away from branch-based development toward trunk-based development with appropriate safeguards.

The episode discusses the concept of Minimum Viable Continuous Delivery (Minimum CD), which represents a counter-movement to heavyweight frameworks like SAFe. The hosts explore how Minimum CD provides a set of essential practices for successfully building software-based products without unnecessary complexity. The approach focuses on core principles rather than rigid frameworks, making it particularly relevant for embedded systems development. The discussion covers the fundamental requirements for continuous delivery, including automated testing, pipeline-driven deployments, and trunk-based development. The hosts emphasize that while these practices may seem challenging for embedded systems, they become increasingly important as devices become more sophisticated and connected. A key theme throughout the episode is the importance of building trust in the development process through automation, consistent practices, and cultural commitment. The hosts stress that while some practices may seem difficult to implement in embedded systems, the more challenging they are, the more valuable they become when successfully implemented.

In this episode of Agile Embedded, Jeff Gable and Luca Ingianni speak with Ryan Torvik, founder and CEO of Tulip Tree Technology, about cybersecurity from a Red Team hacker perspective. Ryan shares his experience as a former defense contractor supporting offensive cyber operations for the U.S. government and how he's now applying those lessons to the commercial space. Ryan provides fascinating insights into the mindset and challenges of offensive cybersecurity work, explaining how vulnerability researchers approach embedded systems to find exploitable weaknesses. The conversation covers practical security considerations for embedded developers, including the importance of secure coding practices, proper handling of user inputs, and designing security into products from the beginning rather than as an afterthought. Ryan also discusses how emulation technology can help developers test their firmware for vulnerabilities without physical hardware. The episode highlights the growing importance of cybersecurity in embedded systems, particularly in regulated industries like medical devices, and offers practical advice for developers looking to improve their security posture without necessarily becoming security experts themselves.

# Mastering Behavior-Driven Development in Embedded Systems with Steve Branam In this insightful episode of the Agile Embedded Podcast, Jeff and Luca welcome Steve Branam, a software developer with over 40 years of experience in communication systems, consumer products, and embedded systems. Steve shares his expertise on Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), explaining how it adds an additional layer of discipline on top of Test-Driven Development (TDD) to help developers avoid common pitfalls. Steve describes BDD as a design technique that focuses on behavior rather than implementation details, which helps create more robust, less brittle test suites. He explains how the structured 'Given-When-Then' format forces developers to think about the public API and observable behaviors rather than internal implementation details. Throughout the conversation, Steve provides practical examples of applying BDD to embedded systems, including strategies for testing hardware interactions using test doubles like spies, and approaches for testing state machines without creating brittle tests.

John Taylor returns to the podcast to discuss his new book "The Embedded Project Cookbook", co-authored with Wayne Taylor. The book serves as a practical guide for embedded systems development, providing recipes and techniques that John has refined over his 30+ year career. Unlike his previous book "Patterns in the Machine" which focused on software engineering best practices, this new book takes a more hands-on approach to project mechanics - from requirements gathering through release. The book provides opinionated guidance on setting up project infrastructure, managing requirements, software architecture, and release processes. While organized in a waterfall-like structure for clarity, it emphasizes the need for agility in embedded development. A key theme is establishing good practices early to make releases boring and predictable rather than chaotic.

In this episode, Jeff and Luca discuss trunk-based development, a software development practice where developers merge their work into the main branch (trunk) frequently - at least daily. They explain how this approach differs from traditional branching models like GitFlow, and address common objections and concerns. The hosts emphasize that while trunk-based development may seem risky, it actually reduces risk by exposing integration problems early and forcing teams to implement good engineering practices like automated testing and feature flags. The discussion highlights how trunk-based development acts as a "forcing function" that encourages better development practices, smaller changes, and more frequent collaboration between team members. They explain that while this approach originated in web development, it's equally applicable to embedded systems. The hosts cite research from the book "Accelerate" showing that trunk-based development is a predictor of high-performing software teams. The episode concludes by emphasizing that most objections to trunk-based development actually point to underlying process issues that need to be addressed, and that the benefits of early integration and feedback outweigh the perceived downsides.

The episode features a discussion with Mitch English, a product development team lead at Inertia, about using the QP (Quantum Platform) framework for embedded systems development. Mitch and Jeff recently collaborated on a medical device project where they successfully implemented QP. The framework, created by Miro Samek, implements the actor model with active objects running in their own threads and communicating via messages. This approach helps avoid common concurrency issues found in traditional RTOS implementations.

Find the video here: https://youtu.be/Zwo1aTElfis In this special episode, Jeff and Luca meet in person for the first time in Munich after 4 years of collaboration! Recording from Luca's mother's living room, they reflect on three years of the Agile Embedded Podcast and share key insights they've gained from their guests, audience, and consulting experiences. They discuss standout interviews with guests like Miro Samek on event-driven architecture, John Odo on roadmaps, and Luca Mustafa from IRNAS on rapid hardware development cycles. The hosts explore why organizational change is challenging, why "doing Agile" requires real investment and commitment, and offer practical advice for teams facing fixed deadlines and scope. This candid conversation provides both sobering reality checks and encouraging perspectives for anyone working to improve embedded systems development practices. Note: This episode is also available as a video on our YouTube channel, offering a unique glimpse of Jeff and Luca's first in-person meeting and their temporary recording setup in Munich.

In this episode, Luca Ingianni and Jeff Gable discuss SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework for Enterprise), a framework designed to implement agile practices at scale in large organizations. Luca, a certified SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC), provides both explanation and criticism of the framework. The discussion covers how SAFe attempts to coordinate multiple teams through "trains" of different scales, from team level to portfolio level, working in synchronized increments. While SAFe provides detailed answers to scaling challenges that other frameworks may avoid, Luca warns that it can be a "dangerous instrument" if not applied properly. The framework is often criticized for being heavyweight and over-commercialized, yet it remains the market leader for scaled agile implementations. The hosts discuss how SAFe particularly suits industries like automotive and aerospace, where complex products require coordination among thousands of people. A key insight shared is that organizations should view SAFe as a starting point rather than a rigid solution - successful implementations require adapting the framework to specific needs and evolving it over time. The episode also explores common challenges in SAFe adoption, particularly around budgeting and organizational culture change. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 - Introduction and overview of SAFe 00:01:10 - Background and purpose of SAFe framework 00:04:00 - SAFe structure and terminology (teams, release trains, etc.) 00:12:00 - Application in automotive and aerospace industries 00:16:00 - Program Increments and release cycles 00:21:00 - Common implementation challenges 00:25:00 - Budgeting and organizational challenges 00:32:00 - Common criticisms of SAFe 00:35:00 - Success stories and parodies 00:38:00 - Advice on implementing SAFe 00:42:00 - Wrap-up and contact information

In this episode of the Agile Embedded Podcast, we are joined by Mark VanderVoord and Michael Karlesky, creators of the open-source tools Unity, CMock, and Ceedling, which help developers unit test C code. Mark and Michael share their journey of creating these tools, their experiences as open-source maintainers, and insights into the evolving landscape of embedded systems testing. The discussion covers the origins of their tools, the challenges of maintaining open-source projects, and the different needs of various embedded development communities. We also explore the gaps in current testing tools, particularly in system and integration testing for embedded systems. The episode concludes with exciting news about the upcoming Ceedling 1.0 release and the launch of Ceedling Pro, a new commercial support offering. Key Topics Discussed: 1. Origins of Unity, CMock, and Ceedling (3:00) 2. Challenges of open-source maintenance (14:30) 3. Barriers to entry for test-driven development in embedded systems (9:15) 4. System and integration testing tools for embedded systems (28:00) 5. Use of simulators and emulators in testing (37:30) 6. Changes in embedded development communities over time (41:30) 7. Upcoming Ceedling 1.0 release and Ceedling Pro launch (52:00) Notable Quotes: "The tools were really easy to develop in the first place. Unity is a very simple thing, and some people just use that without any of the rest of our tools. So the tool concept is not that hard. The thing that's hard, I think, for people getting into test-driven development or even test after is, more conceptual, like what do you test and how do you test it and what's worth doing and what's not." - Mark VanderVoord (10:15) "GitHub as a tool is amazing. And also there's a couple, I love that they have all these metrics for like contributing to projects and stuff like that. And that really motivates some people, but also that occasionally gets in our way because as Mike said, the easiest path isn't always directly merging something and then they don't get credit for." - Mark VanderVoord (21:30) "Arduino actually cured me of my hatred for C++. I, for a long time, despised C++. I just, it was just so stupidly complicated and arcane and just a junk drawer of software concepts." - Michael Karlesky (47:30) Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction and guest introductions 3:00 - Origins of Unity, CMock, and Ceedling 9:15 - Barriers to entry for test-driven development in embedded systems 14:30 - Challenges of open-source maintenance 28:00 - Discussion on system and integration testing tools 37:30 - Thoughts on simulators and emulators in testing 41:30 - Changes observed in embedded development communities 47:30 - Arduino and its impact on C++ perception 52:00 - Upcoming Ceedling 1.0 release and Ceedling Pro launch 55:30 - Closing remarks and contact information For more information about the topics discussed, visit throwtheswitch.org or reach out to Mark and Michael directly.

In this episode of the Agile Embedded Podcast, we, Jeff Gable and Luca Ingianni, discuss various modern development buzzwords, techniques, and tools applicable to embedded systems. We cover concepts such as microservices, Docker, Kubernetes, continuous integration, delivery, deployment, A/B testing, API-first design, behavior-driven development, and modern programming languages like Rust. We explore the practical applications and benefits of using these technologies in embedded systems, while also addressing challenges related to safety-critical industries and the integration of AI. Tools like Memfault, Mender, Renode, STM Viewer, and Tracealyzer are mentioned for enhancing debugging, observability, and monitoring. We emphasize the potential of AI in development and real-time applications, recommending its cautious and informed use. Throughout the episode, we share professional insights and invite our listeners to contribute their experiences and opinions.

In this episode of the Agile Embedded Podcast, hosts Jeff Gable and Luca Ingianni welcome back Philip Markgraf, an experienced software developer and technical leader, to delve into the use of Rust for embedded systems. Philip shares his journey from using C and C++ to adopting Rust, describing the challenges and benefits he encountered along the way. The discussion covers Rust's advanced type system, memory safety, compile-time guarantees, and how these features contribute to more reliable and maintainable code. The episode offers insights into the current state of Rust in embedded development, its advantages over traditional languages like C and C++, and its growing adoption in the industry. The trio also explores the impact of Rust on team collaboration, test-driven development, and potential use cases. Join us to understand why Rust might be the right choice for your next embedded project.

In this episode of the Agile Embedded Podcast, hosts Jeff Gable and Luca Ingianni discuss the pitfalls of using overly 'magical' abstractions in software development. They explain how such abstractions, while aiming to simplify complex tasks, can lead to significant problems and risks when they fail or become difficult to work with. The conversation touches on examples like Arduino's beneficial simplicity and CMake's controversial complexity. They emphasize the importance of creating useful, testable abstractions that don't hide essential complexity and the need for careful tool and framework selection. They also draw connections between good abstractions and testability, advocating for test-driven development to ensure quality.

In this episode of the Agile Embedded Podcast, hosts Jeff Gable and Luca Ingianni are joined by Bailey Steinfadt, owner of Stonepath Engineering, to discuss her experiences teaching Git and other software tools to non-software engineers. Bailey explains how Git enhances visibility, eases collaboration, and builds trust among teams and clients, especially those new to software development. The conversation also covers practical tips for using GitHub Desktop, managing repositories, improving communication, and fostering trust as a consultant. Additionally, various tools and methods for tracking progress and documenting issues are discussed. Bailey shares her approach to project assessments and underscores the importance of leaving clients self-sufficient.

In this episode of the Agile Embedded Podcast, hosts Jeff Gable and Luca Ingianni discuss how the principles from the book 'Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps,' by Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim, apply to embedded systems development. A listener prompted the discussion by asking about the book's relevance to embedded systems. Jeff recently read the book at Luca's suggestion, and they plan to provide an overview of the book and examine what differentiates embedded systems development.

In this episode of the Agile Embedded Podcast, hosts Jeff Gable and Luca Ingianni interview Weronika Michaluk, the software-as-a-medical-device practice lead at HTD Health. The discussion centers on the collaboration between software and firmware teams in medical device projects. Key points include the importance of open communication, aligned technical understanding, and clear user requirements. Weronika also highlights the significance of version control, regular and integrated team meetings, and maintaining up-to-date documentation. The conversation also touches upon client interactions, agile processes in the medical device industry, and the evolving understanding and attitudes towards these methodologies.