Blog on Kane G. Anderson

Electronics Testing and the Pareto Principle

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 20:34:59 +0000

This article showcases how Q-PAC tests Fan Controllers, presents a framework for thinking about product testing, and discusses the highest leverage test opportunities to get the most bang for your buck.

TL;DR

Q-PAC thoroughly tests Fan Controllers. We use the 80/20 principle to design tests that have the highest ROI to catch the most defects, as early as possible, for the least investment. There are 4 categories of tests, and they can be summarized by these quick taglines:

C and C++ interop in embedded systems

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 01:06:54 +0000

Note: this content is best viewed on ChatGPT or Q-PAC’s Confluence page if you can. The code formatting didn’t copy over very nicely.

https://chatgpt.com/share/e/6852002a-d1b4-8005-91a8-0f7e5df32c0e

https://teamq-pac.atlassian.net/wiki/x/bIA87

I had a great chatGPT session where I learned a lot. Thought I would document it and share in case it can be helpful to any fellow wizards.

Our Fan Controller has a firmware architecture that splits the code base into statically linked library layers. There are 5 layers:

Make Better Decisions Faster

Mon, 19 May 2025 00:19:19 +0000

In an episode of the Best Places to Lead podcast, guest Clint Rusch shared his decision making framework. I thought it was neat, so I made this little flow chart.

Reposting to my blog from a 2 year old LinkedIn post.

For Want Of a Unit Test

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 17:29:34 +0000

I read something in Sahil Bloom’s Curiosity Chronicle. Great newsletter - check it out if you haven’t yet. Here’s my referral link .

As Sahil writes,

“For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.

For want of a horse, the rider was lost.

For want of a rider, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. All for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Sapere Aude

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 15:01:52 +0000

Today in Sahil Bloom’s Curiosity Chronicle, I read the following.

Sapere Aude

Sapere Aude is a Latin phrase meaning Dare to Know.

The phrase originated with the Roman poet Horace in his Epistles, where he wrote, “Dimidium facti, qui coepit, habet: sapere aude, Incipe.”

Translation: “He who has begun is half done: dare to know, begin!”

Originally penned as an inspiring call-to-action, the phrase was adapted by philosopher Immanuel Kant in a 1784 essay entitled, What Is Enlightenment (emphasis mine):

Product Roadmaps

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 15:15:39 +0000

Product Roadmap Musings

A great product roadmap provides value up and down the company hierarchy.

Executive Level: Setting Expectations

At the top, for the executive officers, the roadmap sets expectations. Officers influence what gets priority and funding. With a 10,000 ft view, they can see how product developments impact the market and company revenue.

Product Managers and Product Owners: The Vital Link

For the product managers and product owners (see Product Ownership ), the roadmap is what you eat, sleep and breathe. They will collaborate with other different departments, trade horses, and make the magic happen. They serve as the crucial link between where we’re going and how we get there.

3-3-3 x 3

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 14:31:44 +0000

My Daily 3-3-3 x 3 Journaling Practice

Inspired by The Curiosity Chronicle , and by Heroic . This journaling practice has been a great tool for me. It take about 5-10 minutes from my morning. I write down my day’s 3-3-3 x3 on an index card, to focus myself. Here’s an overview:


						—	—	—	—		3h deep work focus:
						—	—	—	—		Character

3-3-3: Tasks

What’s something you’ll focus on for 3 hours today in deep work? What are 3 shorter tasks you’ve been avoiding? What are 3 maintenance tasks you should do keep-up work on today? Or 3 items fixed in your schedule like regular meetings.

The Three Facets of Product Design

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 17:57:42 +0000

The Three Parts of the Human Experience

I like the number 3. It might be my favorite number. My colleague Ken was chatting with me about how our company’s product needs to serve three facets: construction, performance, and control. If our product can win in all three domains, then sales will follow. I liked the idea, and it made me think about the analogy of the trichotomy of the human experience as body, mind, and spirit. I also wrote a journal entry about how resilience is tripartite . There’s a theme also in Heroic that the good life has three components - energy, work, and love. Optimize those three, and you can optimize your life. So I decided to think about the product in this context and fill out the analogy.

What Do You Live By?

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:22:42 +0000

As in, what are your principles? What are the Ten Commandments that rule your life? What’s the animating force behind why you do things the way you do them?

What’s your leadership philosophy? What do you live and lead by?

Each person must, as the retired Marine general and former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has said, “Know what you will stand for and, more important, what you won’t stand for.” Mattis advises leaders to “state your flat-ass rules and stick to them. They shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.”

Why Do You Do What You Do?

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 05:39:35 +0000

What Drives You: the Fear of Failure or the Thrill of Mastery?

On The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish , episode #181, the guest Gio Valiante said something about asking people “why do you do what you do?” He was talking about finding out whether they’re motivated by ego vs motivated by mastery. When somebody is motivated by mastery, they get super curious. They take failure as an opportunity to learn. If they are motivated by ego, they just want to look good to other people. They take failure as an embarrassment. What about you? Do you feel embarrassed after failure? Or are you invigorated? In another recent episode of the same podcast, the guest recalls proving Daniel Kahneman wrong. This got Kahneman super excited and happy. The guest was dumbfounded… who gets this happy about being wrong? Kahneman said that being proven wrong means you can learn something!

Backburner

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 12:39:02 +0000

Today’s article in the daily stoic leadership course says:

In a piece in The New Yorker titled, “The Myth and Magic of Generating New Ideas,” Rockmore shares anecdote after anecdote of mathematicians having a breakthrough when they weren’t worrying about the problem. Most problems are solved, he says, when you aren’t directly pointing your thinking at ideas for solutions, when the mathematician steps away from the whiteboard. “An initial period of concentration,” Rockmore writes, “need to be followed by some amount of unconscious processing…the key to solving a problem is to take a break from worrying, to move the problem to the back burner, to let the watched pot boil.”

To Begin, You Must Study the End

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 12:00:08 +0000

A great chess player, José Raúl Capablanca said to begin, you must study the end.

When it comes to decision making, get the whole picture and plan to the end - before you act.

⁠That’s the point of the ‘requirements phase’ of an engineering project, where you gather up requirements in many categories. Compliance, merchantability, functional, user experience, cost, manufacturability, test, quality assurance, etc. All of them are important, and they represent an engineer thinking it through. Normally you want to iron out these requirements before you begin. Ideally you want to get stakeholder buy-in, and agree with everyone on what you’re delivering.

Faramir

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 20:24:14 +0000

I grew up on Lord of the Rings. So when I was thinking about changing negative experiences into opportunities to practice virtue, a silly thing popped into my head.

A chance for Faramir, captain of Gondor to show his quality…

How do you reframe the negative experience or bad luck into a chance to practice virtue? It can be difficult in the moment. It might not feel like much of a chance.

Teaching Perseverance In Parenting and Programming

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 01:17:12 +0000

Yesterday, I asked my 6-year-old son to put away some Lego pieces. We’d been constructing a robot set he received for his birthday. He dutifully went looking for his Lego bin. When it wasn’t in the very first place he expected it to be, he said, “I can’t find it.” His response triggered a thought—why do we give up so quickly when obstacles arise?

⁠This is not an isolated event. Whether it’s bike riding or reading, my son’s readiness to quit if not immediately successful is concerning. Yet, the path from beginner to master is one of consistent practice and dedication, echoing Ryan Holiday’s insight in “The Obstacle is the Way” that the obstacle isn’t just the way; it’s the only way. I feel my son needs to just keep going, but when I’ve say that to him, he shuts down emotionally.

The Art of Context Switching: From Computing to Consciousness

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 10:44:41 +0000

In computing, context switching occurs when an “interrupt” demands immediate attention. Either triggered by external inputs or scheduled by the operating system, the active program relinquishes control, enabling another to execute.

Perfect Machines, Imperfect Minds

Ironically, if humans operated like computers, emotional residue from prior experiences would be non-existent. A workplace conflict wouldn’t affect your demeanor at home; a domestic argument wouldn’t linger during office hours. As professionals, particularly high achievers, efficient context switching is invaluable. One moment you’re in “recruitment mode,” assessing candidate suitability; the next, you’re the “troubleshooting guru,” resolving field malfunctions that cost thousands.