Sumudu Siriwardana

Mental Models for Projects: Part 1 Three thinking habits that help me plan better and stay steady when projects get messy Recently, my manager asked if I was familiar with the term premortem. It rang a bell, but I couldn’t place it rig...

Projects rarely go exactly as planned!

When things start to drift or get messy, I’ve noticed I keep coming back to the same 3 mental models.

- First Principles Thinking
- Second-Order Thinking
- Inversion Thinking

I wrote about how I use them in projects:

www.linkedin.com/pulse/mental...

This year, the weather seems a bit confused 😁

A conference room filled with attendees seated at curved tables, watching a presentation. A woman stands near the front, speaking beside a large screen displaying sponsor logos: “Improving,” “Render ATL,” “This Dot,” and “Sevaa Group.” Various snacks and drinks are placed on the tables, with pizza boxes visible near the front. To the right of the screen, several boxes, including Girl Scout cookies, are stacked on a side table. The room has a modern design with bright overhead lighting and a whiteboard on the back wall

A digital screen displays the event schedule for “Modern Web.” The schedule is as follows: • 6:30 - 6:45: Pizza & Welcome! • 6:45 - 7:05: Erik Boemanns: Fireside Chat • 7:05 - 7:25: Evan Marie Carr: AI in Education • 7:25 - 7:35: JavaScript Jeopardy • 7:35 - 7:55: Chris Nowicki: Bridging The Gap The “Modern Web” logo is at the bottom right corner of the screen. To the right, partially visible, are boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

Full room at Modern Web Atlanta, AtlantaJS, @reactatl.dev meetup event at Improving. Talks on AI in Education, Career Transformation & Wellbeing for developers are on the agenda!

An indoor event at Atlanta JavaScript featuring a fireside chat. Two speakers are seated on stage under a projector screen displaying the event agenda, which includes topics like ‘Leader Fireside Chat,’ ‘From Junior to Staff: What is My Actual Job?,’ and ‘Code Meets Creativity: Design Basics for Web Apps.’ Attendees sit at round tables, attentively listening, while one person works on a laptop. The venue has industrial-style decor with exposed pipes and soft lighting.

@refactr.tech Fireside Chat with @ceceliacreates.com and CallRail Senior Director of Eng @bethlaing.bsky.social discussing tech culture and the engineering leadership path

stands on stage at an Atlanta JavaScript event, presenting a talk titled ‘From Junior to Staff: What is My Actual Job?’ The presentation slide includes the speaker’s name, Dustin Goodman, and his photo. The venue features industrial-style decor with exposed pipes, and attendees sit on couches and chairs, listening attentively. One person sips water while others take notes or watch the presentation. The atmosphere is casual and focused.

“You don’t have a mentor or good manager? Find one to level up.”

From Junior to Staff ~> @dustingoodman.dev from ClickUp speaking at Tech Square ATL

@refactr.tech

An indoor event with a presenter speaking on stage in front of an audience. The slide projected on the screen reads ‘The Power of Color’ with a color psychology chart displayed. The venue has industrial-style decor with exposed ducts and a casual seating arrangement. Attendees are seated, some looking at the speaker, while others are engaged with their devices.

Code Meets Creativity: Design Basics for Web Apps with @calypso-coding.bsky.social at Tech Square ATL focusing on essential principles like color, typography, and spacing

@refactr.tech #tech #design #accessibility

I'm so sad I missed the meetup and your talk this time, but I hope to see you at the next meetup.

If you like fantasy, check Stormlight Archive & Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson. Also recently read Babel by R. F. Kuang and really liked it.

Podcast artwork. Dark blue background. White writing says "Accessible numbers podcast. Accessibility and intersectionality with Priyanca D'Souza." There's an illustrated image of Priyanca in the bottom right corner. Priyanca has brown skin and brown eyes. She has long dark hair and is wearing a blue cardigan and green scarf.

Accessibility and intersectionality with @priyanca.bsky.social (dedicated to Vicky Teinaki).

We discuss #dyscalculia, intersectionality, and the complexities of managing multiple access needs, as well as common service barriers and tips for designers.

accessiblenumbers.com/accessibilit...

These are beautiful! They are very talented 😍

Maybe that artwork needs a spot on the wall 😍

😳

The workstation is a whole vibe! Don’t wanna get up from that table 😍

ATL got snow, and everyone’s losing it! It really was a beautiful sight! 😍

Learn to Code with Resilient Coders

Hey #blacksky and friends! Do you have someone in mind that would be a great fit for Resilient Coders? bit.ly/RCSpring2025 The application deadline has been extended to Jan 6th! Resilient Coders Non-Profit can take you from little to no coding experience to being competitive for FREE. Please share

Like them! But I can never have any stickers on mine 🙈

Happy New Year Everyone! 🎊🎉

True! Also, while it brings back nostalgic Superman vibes, I still want my Henry Cavill! 🙈

Thank you! 💜

It’s officially “let’s circle back after the holidays” season!

Thank you for your kind words. Taking time to reflect is so necessary! I think we all are a “work in progress” until our last days. I hope you’ll have a great holiday and a good start to the year!

Too late 😂😂

I don't regret saying this 😂

Love this so much!!! And I heart his balls 😂😂😂

2024: A Year of Change, Emotional Growth, and Professional Resilience With 2024 coming to an end, I was taking a moment to reflect on a year that tested me and helped me grow in ways I didn’t expect.

This year taught me that resilience isn’t about pushing through. It’s about pausing, feeling, and growing from it all. 2024 was about surrendering, rebuilding, and learning to embrace the messiness of it all.

Here’s what I took away from this year - medium.com/@sumudusiriw...

#YearInReview

Published bitches!! ❤️‍🔥

By a REAL disabled person who actually knows what it's like to encounter inaccessibility every day. Not a fake AI-generated regurgitation machine.

ashleemboyer.com/blog/how-to-...

Hire me when you're ready to fix your inaccessible websites & web apps. 🥰

Live streaming of Mark Techson presenting his talk 'Build the Next Generation of Web Apps Today' at the Commit Your Code conference.

Really miss attending the #CommitYourCode conf in person this year. But glad I could catch @marktechson.com's talk, 'Build the Next Generation of Web Apps Today,' on the live stream!

The State of UX in 2025 From design tools, to our design process, to the user behaviors that will change the way we design — a list of what to expect for User Experience (UX) Design in the next year.

The GREAT DESIGN HANDOFF: “We’re handing our designs to Figma while it trains its AI. We're optimizing our flows for clicks, not clarity. We stopped building tools and started building engagement traps. We're trading empathy for algorithms.”

trends.uxdesign.cc #ux

Looking great! Have fun!

Not jealous at all 😁 Enjoy the conf!