Steve Tapley

trykanso.appShared Responsibility in a Job Ad: Who Decides? | KansoAn engineering manager job ad shares decisions and delivery responsibility. What happens when scope, quality and the team’s capacity disagree?

“Neither role can point at the other” when delivery is shared. Ask what changed last time product and engineering disagreed. trykanso.app/case-studies...

A manager's answer about autonomy is one piece of evidence. Compare it with the job description, the approval process and a future colleague's example. Do they describe the same job?

trykanso.appAfter-Hours Expectations Before Accepting a Job | KansoQuestions to ask about overtime, on-call coverage and after-hours messages before accepting a job, including frequency, response expectations and time back.

After-hours availability is part of the offer. Ask how often it happens and what you receive in return. trykanso.app/blog/after-h...

trykanso.appJob Non-Negotiables: How to Identify Yours | KansoLearn how to identify your job non-negotiables, turn them into evidence questions, and test them against a role before accepting an offer.

Decide what you will not compromise on before an offer. A flattering title or larger salary can make a costly compromise look reasonable. trykanso.app/blog/job-non...

If a manager says they welcome initiative, ask about the last time someone used a different approach and it worked. Who made the final call, and how did the manager respond?

If a role regularly needs access to your evenings, find out exactly how the arrangement works and what the role gives you in return, then decide whether that use of your time is worthwhile.

An offer is easier to judge when you separate dealbreakers, negotiable conditions and what you would give up for something more important. trykanso.app/blog/job-non...

“Keep me informed” can mean a weekly summary, a discussion before a high-risk decision, or approval for every routine choice. If a manager uses the phrase, ask which decisions are yours and what they actually expect you to report.

trykanso.appFeedback or Micromanagement? Questions to Ask | KansoLearn what separates useful feedback from controlling oversight, and which questions to ask a prospective manager before you decide whether to accept a new job.

I wrote about the questions that make promises about feedback and autonomy more specific: trykanso.app/blog/feedbac...

This #100DaysOfCode experiment has come to an end. It has been less about adding features and more about making Kanso clearer and more valuable. I’ve reworked the analysis, improved the experience around it, and updated the website (many, many times!). The product is in a better place.

Same problem haunts me that everyone else has - distribution and gettting traffic levels to be somewhat meangingful So my next 100 days is a continuing focus on distribution. #buildinpublic

trykanso.appAfter-Hours Expectations Before Accepting a Job | KansoWhat does after-hours availability really mean in a new role? Questions to ask before accepting a job with flexible or unclear working hours.

Ask about the after-hours policy, then ask what happened last time someone was needed. The example shows how it works. trykanso.app/blog/after-h...

22 Sept

A vague answer is not proof of a problem, but it adds uncertainty if you take the role. You need to decide how much is acceptable. trykanso.app/blog/job-non...

18 Sept

“Flexible” can mean control over your hours or no reliable end. What 'needed' an after-hours response last month? trykanso.app/blog/after-h...

16 Sept

“Great variety” sounds appealing. If the role is already broad, ask: if more work gets added, what comes off the list? trykanso.app/case-studies...

15 Sept

Updating the website to match the improved app analysis. Distribution still sucks though, am not seeing any meaningful increases in traffic yet. Cracking on with other strategies here will be my focus for the next 100 days I think. D93-98 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

15 Sept

Less feedback does not always mean more autonomy. Ask which decisions would be yours, which ones the manager would review, and whether that changes once you know the job.

12 Sept

“Flexible” can mean control over your hours or no reliable end. What 'needed' an after-hours response last month? trykanso.app/blog/after-h...

9 Sept

A job non-negotiable needs a consequence. What would its absence cost you, and what evidence would make you decline? trykanso.app/blog/job-non...

9 Sept

Consumed by refactors and limited time to post 😔 A lot of UX work on the analysis which was previously....basic. Now, theres at least some 'wow' factor to it. Its not over the top, so matches the design aesthetic, a definite improvement! D80-92 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

27 Aug

Putting some more structure into how I work with agents. Hardening how and where stuff is stored so I can make better decisions. Based on the BOSOS work I did before, but I got a little lazy, so restarting that work. 🦥 D76-79 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

23 Aug

I only have a 3 month old domain, so it was SEO work today - researching low hanging fruit 🍅, of which there are a decent amount (a nice problem to have!!!). Polishing the website copy to match. Easy as. D75 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

22 Aug

The last update was a long time coming, this is too! 🐢 Went back to the prompt. I felt the nub of what I was trying to give someone wasn't quite there, so I rewrote it again, and again. 🔄🔄🔄 Perfect? No. Better in every way? Yes! Day 66-74 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

14 Aug

Huge 3 days of rewriting my profile prompt - the centerpiece of my app. IMHO, it was good before but I didn't feel like it justified some handing over $ for. What I have now feels like something well crafted, thoughtful and thorough. D63-65 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

10 Aug

Legal shenanigans for the payment provider done ✅️ Turns out Australia doesn't allow USD bank accounts using Wise, so I have to wear the conversion fees 😥Stripe still has a cross-border fee for local banks, so I can't win either way 😮‍💨 D59-62 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

6 Aug

Two weeks since my last update. Unacceptable! 😡 It was mostly a holiday ✈️. Still unacceptable! 😀 When I wasn't sitting on a beach, I did complete the app payment flow. Moving onto the legalities of actually getting $ into a bank account. D43-58 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

22 July

Cancelled @GitHubCopilot because they don't care about their customers and haven't responded to billing issues for more than 2 weeks. So useless.😡 Rant over, continuing with the pricing model work on both the website and app. D44 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

21 July

Finally completed the pricing pages and workflow for the app. 2 relatively simple Supabase edge functions calling the Polar backend - and using their elements API. Now...repositioning my website copy to reflect what is free and what is paid. D41-43 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

18 July

School holidays means not a lot of time for development unfortunately 🤽 Completed the last of the website feedback from people. 🎉 Continuing with Polar implementation which is taking longer than I would have hoped 💰️ 🐢 D36-40 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

polar.shPolar — A billing platform for the intelligence era | PolarPolar is the Merchant of Record for developers building AI-era software: payments, subscriptions, and usage-based billing, with global tax handled for you.

13 July

Unfortunately, the weekend was a writeoff, so progress was slow 🐢 Decided to go with Polar.sh for the MOR and I'm working through how that looks and works right now. I'm still unclear on what the free featureset is vs the paid featureset. D31-35 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

8 July

Spent the last two weeks working through the issues with copy, positioning & framing on the website. Its not finished, but I'm kicking off the work on monetisation now - moving from a free to freemium model. D29/30 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

8 July

Paddle & LemonSqueezy seem to be the solo founders favourite for payment gateways - any other recommendations?

trykanso.appBest Alternatives to MBTI, CliftonStrengths & Personality Tests | KansoCompare MBTI, CliftonStrengths, Enneagram, DiSC and Pigment to see what each assessment is designed for, where each one falls short, and when Kanso is the better choice for career decisions.

6 July

Ever wanted to compare MBTI, CliftonStrengths, DiSC, Pigment & Enneagram in one place? Completed the first hub page: trykanso.app/personality-.... Thoughts? ...but was mostly a weekend spent out of the house at the WA Squash Junior Open. D26/27/28 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

3 July

Almost completed the second piece of user feedback. PDF download of the analysis report - both in app, and via the Supabase edge function. PDFMake is a great tool! D23/24/25 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

An organisation's purpose rarely matters as much as people say. Early data from Kanso shows that only around 30% of people rated it as "very important" or "essential".

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Purpose-driven orgs also tend to be the least flexible ones. A compelling purpose comes with resistance to change built-in.

trykanso.appMost People Say Purpose Matters. The Data Says Otherwise. | Kanso BlogMost professionals claim purpose is non-negotiable, but early Kanso data shows only 30% rate it highly when forced to choose. Here's what that gap reveals.

If your org's purpose stopped feeling true tomorrow, would the work still hold up? trykanso.app/blog/purpose-stated-vs-revealed-preference

An organisation's purpose rarely matters as much as people say. Early data from Kanso shows that only around 30% of people rated it as "very important" or "essential".

That's a big gap from how often purpose shows up in interviews, culture decks or exit surveys. It's something people claim as important, but these findings suggest that other factors are commonly more important.

30 June

Huge 2 days of solid work. Finished reworking the main website based on feedback, and upgraded the app's analysis engine. It now offers deeper insights and a much better understanding of how different factors relate to one another. D21/22 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

28 June

Experienced first hand why raw token costs are not the whole story. Gemini 2.5 Flash vs DeepSeek V4 Flash on Open Router. Similar pricing, but Gemini chewed through 10x more tokens for the same task. And DeepSeek's results were far superior. D19 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

27 June

Built & now executing the plan to address user feedback: - home page - unclear hero (fixed) - removed coming soon products (done) - unclear process (partially done) - lack of testimonials (underway) - sample output (underway) D17/18 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

26 June

Toying with purchasing one of the surface scan security apps that are out there. Then I found Mozilla's HTTP Observatory site. Got both my marketing site and app site from 50/100 to 115/100 (bonus points???) It's not everything, but its free and fast. #buildinpublic #indiedevs

26 June

Is there anything in that class of apps that's worthwhile? One of the previews i saw flagged me returning results from the route '/swagger'. That route doesnt exist, and my angular app just redirects to the home page. So many false-positives like that make me wary.

25 June

Spent some more time on user research, and got some great, hard to hear feedback. It confirms some things, which is good because now its a plan of action. And then I spent time fixing up an auth bug, which stopped people logging in. Sigh. 🛠️ D16 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic

Accountability is the one cultural value nobody admits they don't want. Yet when we looked at early data from Kanso, only 20% of people rated it as essential. 60% put it squarely in the middle: 'moderately important'.

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Brené Brown nails the root cause: you can’t hold someone accountable for something they didn't explicitly agree to. Most "accountability issues" aren't execution failures. They're just messy, unspoken expectations.

Think about the last time someone on your team let a commitment drop. Were you actually mad about the impact on the work, or the sudden radio silence? trykanso.app

Amy Edmondson’s research explains the friction. Rigid tracking kills psychological safety; people stop raising problems early and start hiding the issues. They don't hate reliability. They hate when a missed deadline becomes judgement on their performance.

23 June

Continuing to empty my brain into the Kanso project repo. After a fortnight of this, Codex is finally starting to 'get it'. Way more insight into what it is I need to do (lets be honest, its marketing for me right now!). D15 #100DaysOfCode #buildinpublic