Tech Talk | Foundations and Change: Lessons from Two Production Systems

What separates software systems that survive change from those that struggle to keep up?

As software grows over time, developers face challenges that go beyond writing code. Building strong foundations while preparing for future change is essential for creating systems that remain reliable, maintainable, and adaptable.

In this live Tech Talk, you will hear from Ollie Church, Founding Software Engineer at Ontime Payments, who transitioned into software engineering during the pandemic and has worked on both stabilizing large production systems and building new ones from the ground up. His experience offers a practical perspective on the different challenges developers face throughout a system's lifecycle.

In this session, Ollie will share lessons learned from working with two very different production systems. He will explore how to distinguish between preventable problems and inevitable change, why technical foundations matter, and how thoughtful design decisions can make software more resilient over time.

You will walk away with a deeper understanding of how production systems evolve and practical insights into building software that can adapt as requirements change. This session will help you think beyond individual features and develop a stronger appreciation for designing systems that stand the test of time.

This session is ideal for students, junior developers, and software engineers who want to strengthen their understanding of software design and long-term maintainability.

Join us on Friday, July 31 at 1 PM PT | 3 PM CT | 4 PM ET and save your spot now and learn how strong foundations can prepare your software for change.