Automating the New York Times crossword

The engineers on the New York Times digital games team bake quality into every new product and feature they deliver. Join Phil Wells for an overview of how the team builds a culture of quality. You'll discover a few of the technical tools and tricks the team uses to ensure confidence and velocity in their software delivery process.

The New York Times digital crossword has more subscribers than the population of Iceland. The team responsible for this media mainstay adds new features all the time: new games like Spelling Bee and Letter Boxed; new features like leaderboards and vertical streaks; and engaging bonuses like milestone animations. Phil Wells leads a deep dive into how a team that does so much with a product so renowned while ensuring that they’re building in quality with every new release. He addresses the negative feelings some teams might feel with delivering anything but a perfect product and the software quality practices his team uses to squash those feelings. And he demonstrates some of the tools they use to ensure that everyone feels confident and happy with their software delivery. By the time you leave, you’ll understand why software delivery is a process of continual shame elimination. And you’ll have a few new tricks to help you get the job done.