Nick Walter

Missing form labels, empty buttons, links that go nowhere... Let's stop calling this "accessibility debt." This is just incomplete development. The real issue isn't that accessible code costs more to retrofit. It's that we're calling basic HTML requirements "extra work." A button without text? That's not accessibility debt - that's unfinished code. A form input without a label? That's not technical debt - that's skipping steps. A link that doesn't go anywhere? That's not an edge case - that's broken. These things should be in your Definition of Done already. Not because of WCAG, but because they're fundamental to how HTML works. When we frame basic semantic markup as "accessibility work," we make it sound optional. It's not. It's just good development. Start there. Get the fundamentals right. The rest gets easier once your team stops thinking of working buttons and labeled forms as "nice to have." #WebDevelopment #Accessibility #TechDebt

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Going live today to talk about something that gets overlooked way too often: semantic HTML. I see so many developers building beautiful interfaces but missing the foundation that makes them actually work for everyone. We're diving into lists, tables, forms, and the difference between links and buttons (yes, it matters more than you think). If you've ever wondered why accessibility feels mysterious or you want to strengthen your HTML fundamentals, this stream is for you. No experience required - just bring questions. Join me later today: https://bit.ly/4nH6JNu It will be recorded if you can't watch live. #Accessibility #HTML #WebDevelopment

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If you're looking for a new docs framework for your dev tool, I can't recommend Docusaurus enough. 1. You can change the appearance of any component—no matter how big or small—by ejecting its raw React code into your source tree. I've ejected almost all of its major components and restyled them with Tailwind. 2. It supports content written with MDX, which is like Markdown but better. MDX lets you write JSX tags so you can render React components (like badges and banners) directly inline your content. No more messy templating. 3. It bundles Prism for code snippet highlighting. So you if you want to change how each and every token of your language gets styled—which I do—you can override it with a simple centralized map—which I have. 4. You can swap out its on-site search engine with Algolia, now widely considered the best option for developer sites. It is, in other words, the perfect tool for people like me who are obsessed with every pixel.

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When it comes to selecting the right DXP, things can go off the rails. But don’t lose your caboose. Dan Drapeau has a two-track evaluation model that can keep you rolling – full steam ahead. In today's Guest Critic article, Dan proves why he’s a masterful conductor on the digital experience train. As he explains, the DXP competitive landscape has converged across architectural models, and evaluation approaches haven’t evolved at the same pace. Dan’s observation is that single-track processes are still chugging along – focusing on feature breadth and demo cohesion and favoring pre-composed suites. In his experience, what we really need is a more balanced approach that separates platform evaluation from ecosystem architecture. How do you leave the station? By running two structured tracks, which he outlines in detail. This helps vet not only current capabilities but also long-term durability relative to core considerations like vendor lock-in, CDP and DAM strategies, and the ever-evolving target of AI. In his post, Dan details the operational requirements, where the complexities exist, and how to synthesize results. He even digs into the critical topics of validation and stress testing, and distills it all into a handy checklist to help guide your DXP evaluation. As he says, composable and pre-composed DXPs represent architectural strategies along a spectrum, and these pointers can help keep you on track. “A structured two-track evaluation approach ensures that whichever model is selected, it is chosen for structural alignment and long-term outcomes rather than surface cohesion.” If you’re currently evaluating DXPs – or considering it in the future – this is a fantastic read from a sharp practitioner. Check it out on CMS Critic: 🔶 https://lnkd.in/e-XB3Pig #dxp #digitalexperience #digitalexperienceplatform #softwareevaluation #dam #digitalassetmanagement #cdp #customerdata #customerdataplatform #cmp #contentmarketingplatform #ai #artificialintelligence

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TWELVE THINGS THAT SURPRISE DEVS WHEN THEY WATCH HOW I WORK (and one that surprises me) _________________________________________________________ The first thing that surprises developers when they see me programming is how often I run the tests. The second thing that surprises them is how often I commit. The third thing that surprises them is how often I push. (And the fourth is that I'm pushing directly to the trunk branch). The fifth thing that surprises them is how often I do code reviews. The sixth thing that surprises them is that refactorings are actual things (like the moves of chess), and that menu they occasionally noticed in their IDE - but never really looked at - automates a bunch of them. The seventh thing that surprises them is how often I talk to other people on the team, and the eighth is that I don't consider those conversations "interruptions", but rather the most important part of my work. The ninth thing that surprises them is that I don't often jump straight in and start writing code, but instead spend some time thinking about and often talking about what I'm about to do. I might even do a little sketch or write a list. The tenth thing that surprises them is how fewer tests I tend to write than they would for the same problem, and the eleventh is how my tests still somehow cover more than theirs do. And the twelfth thing that *really* surprises them, after all that time I spent testing and reviewing and refactoring and integrating and thinking and sketching and communicating, is how soon my work makes it into production. What surprises *me* is just how many developers still think that's a paradox.

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Every week there's a new "best coding agent". The contestants change. Constantly. The barrier to entry is low. Advancements in models, agentic loops, and agentic tooling makes it easy to launch a new agent. How do I know? Coder's agent is already #3 in the benchmarks and it didn't exist four months ago. The challenge is not picking the right agent. It's creating a foundation where you can easily swap out any agent. Maybe it's efficacy. Maybe it's developer choice. Maybe M&A leaves you with three of everything. The why changes as the agents change. The how shouldn't. That's why we built our AI stack they way we did. Read more about it in this excellent blog from Suman. She details how Coder empowers you to self-host any agent on any infra. https://lnkd.in/gqviX-V8

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** Vibe-coding 101 ** https://lnkd.in/g72w9wik Agentic coding assistants are here, and they're surprisingly capable (for certain tasks). I have some practical tips on how to maximize your vibe-coding productivity. - use Full Vibe Mode, but only for intern-level tasks - Point to Helpful Context - Maintain an Onboarding Doc for your AI - Prompt for Questions - Defensive Code Review - For tasks beyond intern-level, use Chain-of-Vibes

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3 reasons why we build software and service as one team: We don’t build tech *for* operations at Tandem. We build tech *with* operations. Here’s why that matters; 1) Fix friction at the root. If a vet has to click 5 times to do something that should take one, we fix it. Not just because it’s “inefficient”. But because it creates cognitive load, slows care delivery, and compounds under pressure. Less friction = faster throughput, fewer errors, and lower burnout. 2) Close the loop between builders and users. The person who writes the feature talks directly to the person who uses it. That means issues surface faster, fixes are more accurate, and nobody ships something that “technically works” but operationally fails. It’s not just “faster iteration” - it’s tighter alignment with reality. 3) Scale the system, not the sprawl. New clinics, new roles, new workflows. We don’t layer on SaaS duct tape. We evolve a system designed to flex with operational growth. That means fewer integration points, tighter control, and a consistent experience from core to edge. We don’t treat tech like a layer. We treat it like a nervous system. Because when you’re delivering care in the real world, you can’t afford delay, dissonance, or dropped signals. That’s why we built Tandem the way we did: One system. One team. Zero silos. Because when service and software evolve together, the whole organism gets smarter, faster, and stronger over time. ------------- Hi, I’m Doug. I’m the Chief Technology Officer at Tandem. We’re engineering the backbone for modern pet care. Follow me for posts on: * How we build tech with ops, not for them * How we build tech tools that scale cleanly * Scaling hybrid companies without SaaS bloat

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An update on behalf of the .NET Foundation Project Committee... The most active Community projects for January 2026 were: Pull Requests: Bootstrap Blazor (69), Orchard Core (65) Commits: .NEXT (1349), Stride (217) New Contributors: .NEXT (7) Downloads: Polly (45.9M), Fluent Validation (22.3M) Full list: https://lnkd.in/ea2UB3st The most active Microsoft projects for January 2026 were: Pull Requests: .NET Runtime (622), Azure SDK for .NET (474), .NET Aspire (329) Commits: Roslyn (698), .NET Runtime (413)  New Contributors: .NET Runtime (16), .NET Aspire (15) Full list: https://lnkd.in/eCXKbiTx #opensource #dotnet .NET Foundation

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