Back to Basics: Crafting Quality Software in the Age of Complexity by Scott Gerring

A conference talk covering practical techniques for maintaining software quality over time. Topics include static analysis (linting, style checking, SAST, SCA), architecture testing with ArchUnit to enforce structural rules as unit tests, observability via distributed tracing and OpenTelemetry, and continuous profiling using Java Flight Recorder. The core argument is that good upfront design is necessary but insufficient — automated tooling must enforce quality continuously throughout the SDLC to prevent codebases from degrading. Key tools mentioned: ArchUnit, Semgrep, CodeQL, Snyk, SonarQube, OpenTelemetry, and JFR.