Modern CTO Why You Can’t Go Off Vibes in Software Development with Stephen Poletto, Field CTO at Span
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Mar 19, 2026 Stephen Poletto, Field CTO at Span, helps instrument dev processes and advise on AI-driven engineering. He warns against hype-driven decisions and champions data-first approaches. Conversation covers harness engineering, measuring real vs perceived productivity, AI-driven workflow shifts, and practical guardrails for safely using agents and tooling.
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Harness Engineering Turns Rules Into Constraints
- Harness engineering is guardrail design for agent workflows, evolving from human-readable rules to programmatic constraints.
- Examples include agents.md, custom linters with remediation, browser automation tests, and limiting direct DB access.
AI Can Assist Every Stage Of Product Development
- AI can be applied across the full product lifecycle, not just coding.
- Stephen cites frameworks like BMAD and agents doing stakeholder interviews to help frame product requirements.
Taste And Judgment Still Shape Good Products
- Low cost of shipping features can degrade product cohesion without human taste and judgment.
- Stephen references Linear's CEO: rapid shipping yields too many incohesive features, showing a persistent need for curation.
