Dave Horan
Engineering leadership · Notes from practice

Good engineering starts with people.

I'm Dave Horan. I've spent more than 25 years building software, leading engineering teams, and connecting technical decisions to the people who depend on them.

This is a place to explore the practical work behind engineering leadership: clearer expectations, healthier teams, reliable systems, and technology that solves a real problem.

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The collection

Recent writing

Ideas in progress, published when they are ready to be useful.

Writing

Leading with Strengths

Aug 2024

The first step in building on your employees' strengths is to identify what those strengths are. This might sound simple, but it can be more complex than it seems. People are often modest or unaware of their own capabilities, which means you may need to dig a little deeper to uncover their true potential.

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Experiments and tools

Things being built

A project is a way to test a belief against real constraints.

Project · PRJ.001

SimpleJobMatch

Scores a resume against a job description and generates a match report. Built on Replit with a Claude layer. Free tier, plus a paid tier for saved reports.

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Project · PRJ.002

ScanFlip

A mobile tool for eBay resellers: photograph an item, get an AI identification and current resale pricing pulled straight from eBay.

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Project · PRJ.003

StatBlock

The platform that connects players, Game Masters, and venues for in-person tabletop role playing. Discover local games, manage your campaigns, and roll with the right people. Whether you're rolling dice or running the world, StatBlock has tools made for your play style. Everything you need — active games, nearby activity, your characters, and session stats — all in one dashboard.

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Slow notes, not a stream.

Occasional writing and useful resources, sent only when there is something worth sharing.

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