You’re reading The Steady Beat, a weekly-ish round-up of hand-picked articles and resources for people who make software products: designers, engineers, product managers, and organizational leaders.
By the Numbers - At the Dump
4 million — At its peak, the Puente Hills Landfill was receiving around 4 million tons of trash annually, making it one of the largest in the U.S.
56 — Puente Hills Landfill was operational for 56 years before its closure in 2013, serving as a massive time capsule for waste and engineering evolution.
70,000 — Even though Puente Hills Landfill is closed, its gas-to-energy facility still provides enough electricity to power 70,000 homes.
30 — Landfill owners are required to monitor and maintain closed landfills for at least 30 years after closure to ensure environmental safety.
$20 — The average American spends around $20 a month for trash disposal, which covers landfill infrastructure, operations, and maintenance for decades.
Think Inside the Box
At first glance, constraints in product development might seem like a buzzkill, but they are actually creative forcing functions. By narrowing options and forcing clarity, they focus teams, fuel innovation, and ensure that the product serves its purpose. Just ask Twitter—its original 140-character limit wasn’t a hindrance, but a feature that defined the platform. Whether it’s prioritizing user needs or cutting side quests, smart constraints turn decision paralysis into powerful momentum.
Leading Product, 5m #productmanagement
Keeping Politics in Check During Election Season
As the U.S. dives into another heated election cycle, tech leaders face a balancing act between free expression and maintaining workplace harmony. While some valley bigwigs are vocal about their political leanings, a majority of Americans—especially in tech—prefer a politically neutral work environment. Yet, some argue silence isn’t the answer either, as many employees believe businesses should stand up for democracy. The key for engineering managers? Set guidelines that respect differing opinions while fostering professionalism and empathy.
LeadDev, 6m, #leadership #management
I-HTML
Meet the <i-html> tag, a slick way to dynamically import and embed HTML into your page, brought to by the maintainer of GitHub’s <include-fragment>. This tag pulls the content directly into the DOM, allowing for dynamic updates without page reloads. It supports features like targeting links and forms, handling event streams, and even offering customization through CSS. With potential for AJAX-style interactions, streaming updates, and more, <i-html> might be your new favorite goto for embeds.
Keith Cirkel, 10m, #development #design #engineering
New Goodies from Steady
Steady just supercharged your team’s workflow with AI-powered summaries and faster check-ins. Team Highlights now serve up a distilled overview of everyone’s work, while Quick Fill speeds up updates by auto-summarizing past intentions and PR descriptions. GitHub lovers, rejoice: PR reviews are now automatically added to check-ins for better team visibility. Plus, you can follow teams and goals outside your own, keeping tabs on projects without the endless info hunt.
Steady, 3m #agile #continuouscoordination #development
Less Meetings, More Context
Have you tried Steady? It’s an AI-powered coordination layer that eliminates 83% of meetings for software teams.
Steady runs in the background, distilling plans and progress from tools, teams, & people into tailored summaries, giving everyone the clarity they need to build outstanding products together. With Steady, everyone has continuous context at their fingertips, eliminating the need for burdensome shoulder taps, interruptions, and endless meetings.
Learn more at steady.space.
