Software Quality Assessment as an Ongoing Practice, Not a One-Time Event
If you’re looking to enhance your organization’s systems through quality assessments, I would love to connect with you. Let’s explore how I can contribute to your success. You can easily reach me via my contact page here: https://woodruff.dev/contact/ Quality checks are often treated as a box to tick at release time Many organizations still think of quality as something to …
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The Hidden ROI of Technical Due Diligence in Software Investments
If you’re looking to enhance your organization’s ROI through strategic software investments, I would love to connect with you. Let’s explore how I can contribute to your success. You can easily reach me via my contact page here: https://woodruff.dev/contact/ Most investment decisions focus on financials, not software foundations When investors assess a company, the starting point is often its financial …
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Bringing Simplicity-First to the Page: My Upcoming Book
I am excited to share some big news. In the second half of 2026, my new book, titled Software Architecture Made Simple: A ‘Simplicity-First’ Approach to Software in the Age of Complexity, will be released. This book compiles years of blog articles, newsletters, and social media posts, consolidating them into a single, focused source of knowledge. Think of it as the …
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System Modernization Without the Burnout: Lessons from Distributed Systems
If you’re looking for support in successfully migrating your legacy system, I would love to help your organization through this process. Let’s connect and explore how I can assist you. You can contact me directly via my contact page here: https://woodruff.dev/contact/ The Dreaded “Big-Bang Rewrite” Every developer has heard the horror story: the company that decided to throw away its …
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Why Fractional Architecture is the Future of Technology Strategy
If you’d like to chat about how I can help your organization as a Fractional Architect, I’d love to connect. You can reach me directly through my contact page here: https://woodruff.dev/contact/ Hook: The Myth of Big-Enterprise Architecture For years, software architecture has carried an aura of exclusivity, something reserved for Fortune 500 companies with expansive IT budgets and dedicated teams …
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Day 35: Evolution Beyond Biology: Using Genetic Algorithms for Creative Art and Design
Genetic Algorithms are often associated with engineering, scheduling, or optimization problems, but their potential extends into the domain of art and design. When applied to visual composition, generative structures, or music synthesis, GAs can produce unexpected and compelling outcomes. These creative applications demonstrate that evolution-inspired algorithms are not limited to purely functional results. In this post, we explore how you …
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Day 34: Genetic Algorithms vs. Other Optimization Techniques: A Developer’s Perspective
Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are a powerful optimization strategy inspired by the principles of natural evolution. But they are far from the only technique in a developer’s toolbox. In this post, we will compare Genetic Algorithms with other widely-used optimization methods such as Gradient Descent, Simulated Annealing, and Particle Swarm Optimization. The goal is to understand when to use GAs and …
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Day 33: Case Study: Using a Genetic Algorithms to Optimize Hyperparameters in a Neural Network
Tuning hyperparameters for machine learning models like neural networks can be tedious and time-consuming. Traditional grid search or random search lacks efficiency in high-dimensional or non-linear search spaces. Genetic Algorithms (GAs) offer a compelling alternative by navigating the hyperparameter space with adaptive and evolutionary pressure. In this post, we’ll walk through using a Genetic Algorithm in C# to optimize neural …
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Day 32: When Genetic Algorithms Go Wrong: Debugging Poor Performance and Premature Convergence
Even well-written Genetic Algorithms can fail. You might see little improvement over generations, results clustering around poor solutions, or a complete stall in progress. These symptoms often point to premature convergence, loss of genetic diversity, or flaws in selection and fitness evaluation. Debugging GAs requires tools, insight, and techniques for diagnosis and correction. Understanding Premature Convergence Premature convergence occurs when …
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Day 31: Best Practices for Tuning Genetic Algorithm Parameters
Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are flexible and powerful tools for solving optimization problems. However, their effectiveness relies heavily on the correct tuning of parameters. Population size, mutation rate, crossover rate, selection pressure, and generation limits all affect convergence, solution quality, and performance. In today’s post, we will explore best practices for tuning these parameters to get the most out of your …
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