Moving the Needle in the Age of Infinite Tools

Tech organizations are shifting fast. Product engineering roles are rising, AI accelerates execution, and expectations around productivity and ownership are higher than ever. With powerful tools everywhere, the real challenge is ensuring our work actually moves the needle. In a world of intelligent IDEs, automated reviews, AI agents, and endless frameworks, the differentiator is not output, it is critical thinking, prioritization, and understanding effort versus impact. Modern engineering requires clarity about which problems matter, how to measure progress, and how to build feedback loops that separate real improvement from motion. This talk shares practical ways to quantify impact, align technical choices with product goals, and choose work that meaningfully advances outcomes, from features to technical debt.