AI Development
Agents Can Produce More Code in a Day Than I Used to in a Week
Agents can produce more code in a day than I used to in a week. That's not entirely a good thing.
Elysium Blog
Engineering insights
Thoughts on AI development, software engineering, AWS, DevOps, and building better software from the Elysium team.
AI Development
There's Really No Need to Write Functional Specs Anymore
A vibecoded prototype isn't just a rough sketch. It's a working, interactive specification, and one heck of a starting point.
Infrastructure & Security
Elysium Is Now Cyber Essentials Certified
We've achieved Cyber Essentials certification, joining our existing ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 9001 accreditations. Here's what the scheme covers, why it matters fo…
Software Development
The Most Valuable Word in Software Services Is "No"
After 25 years of building bespoke software, the advice I wish I'd been given on day one: saying no to a client isn't a failure - it's the highest form of servi…
AI Development
AI Can Write the Code. You Still Need Someone Who Knows What to Build.
AI coding tools are fast. But speed makes experienced developers more important, not less - when you can produce the wrong code 10 times faster, you need someon…
Software Development
The Upgrade Economy: Why Bespoke Software Is a Long Game, Not a Project
Two decades of building bespoke applications has taught me that the initial build is rarely where the real value - or the real cost - lives.
AI Development
The Fastest ROI in AI Development Isn't Customer-Facing
The highest-return AI development work often isn't a product feature or a customer-facing tool - it's the internal jobs your team dreads, automated in an aftern…
Infrastructure & Security
SSL Certificates Are Now Valid for 200 Days. Soon It'll Be 47.
The CA/Browser Forum has voted to progressively shorten SSL certificate validity to 200 days, then 100, then 47. If you're still renewing certificates manually,…
AI Development
Building a CLAUDE.md for a Legacy Rails App: A Field Report
What we learned modernising a 15-year-old courier system for the age of AI agents - with the exact file structure, conventions, and test results we used.
Software Development
The Hidden Cost of Unused Indexes in PostgreSQL
Unused indexes don't just sit harmlessly in your database - they slow down every write, bloat your storage, and make autovacuum work harder. Here's how to find…
AI Development
Coding For Agents: Why Contextual Readiness is the New Technical Debt
Leading teams create in-repo guidance for their AI agents to slash onboarding time, banish hallucinations, and multiply delivery speed. Is your team Agent-ready…
DevOps & AWS
AWS SES Email Validation: API Lookup vs Auto Validation
AWS SES now offers built-in email validation - but the API lookup costs $0.01 per address while auto validation costs $0.01 per thousand. Understanding when to…
Software Development
Implementing a Solid Content Security Policy in Rails 8
A Content Security Policy is one of the most effective defences against XSS. Rails 8 has first-class CSP support built in - here's how to configure it properly…
Software Development
Ruby 4.0.0 Is Here: What's Changed and What It Means
Ruby 4.0.0 landed on Christmas Day 2025 with a new JIT compiler, Ractor overhaul, and Set as a core class. Here's what matters for production apps.
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