Is your engineering team psychologically safe?

This week's must-know news for engineering leaders

Author

Ada
May 06, 2025

This week’s bytes:

  • How to address layoff culture

  • The real state of your dev team’s workflow

  • LaunchDarkly’s Guarded Releases

Worth reading

4-minute read by Sebastiano Armeli

Amid layoffs and uncertainty, psychological safety is critical. This guide breaks down four stages (inclusion, learner, contributor, and challenger safety) and gives actionable tactics. Engineering leaders should lead with vulnerability, reward risk-taking, reframe failures, and invite dissent. Trust builds the infrastructure for innovation.

6-minute watch by DevStats

Learn how to track Cycle Time, Throughput, and WIP to uncover bottlenecks, cut slowdowns, and keep projects flowing. This quick video breaks down the core metrics that reveal how work really moves across your team.

8-minute read by Darryl K. Taft

LaunchDarkly expands beyond feature flags with Guarded Releases, AI prompt management, real-time release monitoring, and automated rollback. New tools include Release Assistant, AI Configs, and Guardian Edition. The company now combines experimentation, observability, and safety into one platform.

4-minute read by Ben Linders

Resilience is more than culture, it’s survival. In this keynote summary, Kathleen Vignos explains how software companies can build resilience across three layers: personal (adaptability), technical (tool fluency), and organizational (networks and flexibility). Learn why modular architecture, continuous learning, and cross-functional collaboration are critical during tech shifts like AI and regulatory upheavals.

3-minute read by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

Google’s 2025 report shows that most attributed zero-day exploits came from state-backed hackers—mainly China and North Korea. Spyware vendors like NSO Group also contributed. Despite fewer total exploits (75 vs. 98), consumer platforms remain prime targets. Lockdown Mode and Pixel’s MTE helped curb attacks.

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