Duri Chitayat

AI-SDLC Reflections 2026

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

As execution accelerates in the AI-SDLC, strategy and alignment has to become more intentional.

Techno Panopticon

Sun, 25 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

When technology mediates every choice, agency and democracy become an illusion. A look at what free will means in an age of algorithmic nudges.

The Anatomy of Strategy

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Strategy is not a plan — it is an insight, a policy, and a set of coherent actions. How to know when good practice isn't enough and real strategy is required.

What’s Next

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

I’ve always been drawn to the pull of new ideas and change. It’s what led me to engineering, product strategy, and, ultimately, the CTO role at Safeguard Global.

Austin: A Guide for Founders, Engineers, and Innovators

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Austin has emerged as a dynamic tech hub in the U.S., blending a solid startup ecosystem with a welcoming culture. My advice for folks - whether entrepreneur, engineer, or a product - getting the most from Austin is…

Unlocking Modernization: The Fusion of Generative AI, Quality Data, and Human Expertise

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

GenAI alone does not modernize legacy systems — data quality and human expertise do. Lessons from Project Falcon on modernizing 10M lines of code across 120 countries.

Craftsmanship 2.0 - AI driven revolution of the workforce

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

AI is reshaping the firm itself, not just the work it produces. Drawing on Coase's Theory of the Firm to understand why organizations will look fundamentally different after AI.

Understanding the Generations of HR Technology: Gen1, Gen2, and Gen3

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Human Resources (HR) technology has undergone significant transformation over the past few decades, paralleling advancements in information technology and organizational needs. This evolution can be categorized into three generations.

Unlocking the Future: The Transformative Power of Large Language Models in Business

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Large Language Models (LLMs) are redefining what artificial intelligence can do. They aren’t mystical black boxes but sophisticated tools built on deep learning techniques, capable of processing and generating human…

Forging the Interdisciplinary Team

Sun, 04 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Over the past several years I've made it a mission to forge an interdisciplinary team ethos and supporting working model. An "Interdisciplinary Team" is all about finding the sweet spot between doing your own thing and working together.

Why Division of Labor is Obsolete

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

In a modern complex knowledge-based economy, the traditional division of labor may not align well with the need for flexibility, creativity, and innovation.

Flattening Hierarchies: How AI is Reshaping Organizational Structures

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Technology can be a transformative force. It can shape how people organize. How will AI change the way we work? Will it enable us to work together better or will it drive us further apart?

Seeing Like a State

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott critically examines the ideology that leads to centralized planning, the disregard for local systems, and ultimately failure and devestating consequences. The book offers insights into the dangers of overreliance on top-down approaches and the importance of local knowledge in governance.

What is Vision

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT

A vision is more than a statement on paper. It’s a clear picture of a better future—a guide that shows everyone in your team what you’re aiming for.

Techopedia Interview: AI Trends in HR 2024

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT

AI in job application and recruitment processes, and the importance of maintaining healthy skepticism and human oversight

People and Technology on ChatSG

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT

ChatSG introduces new features - Trending Topics and Government Website Search, enhancing user experience. These features highlight the synergy between technology and human knowledge, ensuring users receive timely updates and can easily access reliable official government websites, reducing reliance on unverified sources.

How this tech team grew from 30 to 155 professionals

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Facing a software programming skills shortage, businesses are turning to global hiring strategies. Safeguard Global expanded its tech team fourfold using a geography-unbound approach, tapping into talent from 22 countries, including regions like Turkey. This diverse approach resulted not only in team growth but also in increased product releases and improved quality. For a successful global team, companies should prioritize talent quality over cost and be open to diverse experiences and flexible work models.

Continuous Exploration

Sat, 16 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT

At Safeguard Global, we’re on a journey of continuous exploration. I couldn’t be more proud of the creativity, innovation, and vision that has propelled us forward.

AI and the Speed of Change

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT

In a recent episode of the "PeopleTech" podcast, I had a discussion with Mark Feffer about the evolution and prominence of AI in the HR and business landscapes. I emphasized how AI has discreetly been part of our daily lives for a while but has only now begun to truly captivate the global audience, spurring a burst of innovation. I also introduced our latest endeavor at Safeguard Global, ChatSG, an AI application grounded in natural language processing that taps into our expansive HR expertise spanning 170 countries.

CTO Show: Intersection of HR and Technology

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Published on The CTO Show

Understanding Return on Investment (ROI)

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

A rundown of several ROI measures, common costs and benefits, and a few things I like to keep in mind when going through this exercise.

Why And How To Build Remote Global Development Teams

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Technology leaders long assumed that physical proximity is critical to innovation and outsourcing is for grunt work. Safeguard CTO Duri Chitayat, says hiring developers everywhere will give you surprising results. With the right strategy, borderless development teams excel.

Use Case Podcast - Aug 18, 2022

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Speaking with William from the Use Case Podcast about how Safeguard Global enables Global Talent through Technology, Local Market Expertise, and Service

Agile Org Design

Sun, 05 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Agile organizations are team-first. Experts work together cross-functionally, and take independent action aligned to objectives. Traditional organizations focus on senior individuals who are responsible for directing activity to people at "lower levels" of the organization.

Tesla Office Policy Surprise

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT

The announcement that Tesla employees return to the office or be fired is an interesting move for a company that prides itself on innovation.

Great Product Demos

Mon, 30 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT

A good demo is quick (minutes). If you have a lot of features, break up the demo by user scenarios. Spend time on only the important information. Most importantly, get engagement from the audience.

Microservice Patterns by Chris Richardson

Sat, 10 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

The case for why Microservice architectural style is a good fit for large, complex applications, and some of the important patterns that can be used to implement and maintain it.

Cracking Complexity by Benjamin and Komlos

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT

David Benjamin and David Komlos provide a practical approach to improving organizations leveraging insights from complexity science.

Communication Loops

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

I like to work synchronously and accompany conversations with white boarding or some simple visuals. Somehow using multiple comms channels helps bring down the error rate and allows for course correction “Here what I…

Team of Teams by Gen. Stanley McChrystal

Sun, 10 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Team of Teams by Gen. Stanley McChrystal presents a modern approach to leading organizations that are responsive and adaptive - two qualities critical when facing into a complex environment.

Cloud Native Patterns by Cornellia Davis

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Cloud Native Patterns by Cornellia Davis is about defining the cloud native term as a set of application development priorities towards fault-tolerance, availability, and scalability. In it, the author explains several popular design patterns for designing cloud native applications.

Exploring the Future of Quantum Computing

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Quantum Computing is an emerging technology designed to perform complex computations in a fraction of the time it takes a classical supercomputer. Underneath this promise lies a solid technological, engineering, and scientific value proposition that can disrupt existing markets and support the emergence of new socio-technical systems that were previously unimaginable.

System Design Interview by Alex Xu

Sun, 01 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT

System Design Interview was written by Alex Xu initially as a guide to the System Design Interview and later as more of a survey of the essential concepts and patterns that one might use in high level software architecture design.

[Case Study] GE FastWorks Transformation

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT

A case and analysis of GE’s FastWorks initiative. Borrowing concepts from Silicon Valley titans like Eric Ries, FastWorks sought to redefine how GE identified, executed, and financed products. What happened?

Team Typologies by Matthew Skelton, Manuel Pais

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais detail an approach plus useful patterns for software development organizations moving from a siloed org chart, to value-oriented system, to ultimately a dynamic evolving system.

Site Reliability Engineering by Betsy Beyer

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Site Reliability Engineering explains how Google runs production systems at scale. It is a compilation of articles which balance theory and practice. It is a companion to generalized DevOps theory, showing what a digital native DevOps implementation looks like.

Origin Stories in Organizational Transformation Paradigms

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Origin Stories help illustrate and anchor a new paradigm in a way that's organic and personal to the people involved.

Wonder Wall Agile Retrospectives

Sun, 21 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Agile practices include holding regular retrospectives, blameless port-mortems, and open town-halls. These forums have their benefits and their drawback.

Empathy and Compassion

Sat, 30 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

There is a difference between empathy and compassion. If our goal is to understand then we empathize. If our goal is to care then we feel compassion.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship notes from Collision 2018

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Collision 2018 brought 3000+ startups together with with over 20,000 attendees. The event was well-organized. At night, New Orleans took care of the rest. Her are my 3 takeaways.

DevOps Handbook by Gene Kim

Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The DevOps Handbook by Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Patrick Debois, & John Willis presents the goals, principles, culture, and high-priority technical practices of DevOps.

Hypothesis Driven Development

Fri, 16 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Introduction to the Hypothesis Driven Development approach for product development.

Startup Way by Eric Ries

Thu, 11 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Eric Ries in The Startup Way - an enterprise focused successor to The Lean Startup - argues that innovation is a management discipline that can be developed in Large Established Organizations.

3 Measures of Momentum

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Problem solving is important, but the ultimate problem solver is a team with Momentum. If we consider what momentum is, then we might be able to develop it.

Drain the Product Backlog

Mon, 06 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The product development backlog is a big, bloated, unwieldy, mix of ideas. These "like to haves" and low priority improvements are a cognitive pollution that needs to go.

Systems Thinking Way Out of Busy Work

Sat, 10 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT

This presentation applies systems thinking to explain the common anti-pattern that promotes an addiction to busy work. I draw a lot from the Build Trap and Stephan Bungay's Art of Action.

5 Keys to Leading with Intent

Fri, 09 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

\"Lead with Intent\" is at the core of most modern leadership philosophies. However most managers are still confused on exactly how to do it.

Stages of Team Development

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMT

\[caption id=\"attachment1770\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"487\"\] Tuckman's Stages of Team Development\[/caption\]

Grateful

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Words cannot express my gratitude to the amazing people I've worked with over the last 3 and a half years at Pixafy and Net@Work. Wish i had more pictures but I'll always have great memories.

My 21 Favorite Fantasy Series

Sat, 30 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Fantasy appreciates the limitations of normal perception and re-imagines the human condition. It tests our belief in things that are impossible or improbable. ... Plus magic is awesome.

What I Learned Day 2: Magento Imagine 2016

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT

So day 2 was a lot of fun. My goal leading into the conference was to focus my attention on learning as much as I could on three topics I thought would be interesting and helpful to my practice:

What I Learned Day 1: Magento Imagine 2016

Tue, 12 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Okay so the first few sessions in the books here are some of the things I've learned at this years Magento Imagine conference.

3 Things I Want to Learn at Magento Imagine Conference

Mon, 11 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Last year's Magento Imagine Conference was great but I don't think I got everything out of it that I could have.

Useful Front-end Techniques, Libraries, and Examples 2015

Mon, 09 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT

http://tutorialzine.com/2014/07/20-impressive-css3-techniques-libraries-and-examples/

Programming is a Craft

Sat, 12 Sep 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Programming is a Craft

Leading in a Tech Company: 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Effective Leadership

Sat, 22 Aug 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Tech teams are inherently different from other organizations—they are creative, self-motivated, and highly autonomous. They thrive on solving complex problems, exploring new ideas, and challenging the status quo.

My Takeaways from NYT Amazon Controversy

Tue, 18 Aug 2015 00:00:00 GMT

The New York Times article titled “Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace” ignited a lot of debate over the weekend.

Transitioning Matrix to Team Organization Structure

Mon, 08 Jun 2015 00:00:00 GMT

When our team grew our matrix structure met significant challenges. Instead of adding more functional managers or additional management layers I decided to extend management responsibilities horizontally.

Poll - Sales Timeline for Web Development Projects

Wed, 11 Mar 2015 00:00:00 GMT

This is a question I often have, how long should a sales cycle be?

Business Model for the Professional Service Firm

Sun, 22 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMT

This post is part of the series: Managing the Professional Service Firm.

Strategic Management Templates

Sun, 25 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT

This post is part of a series called Managing the Professional Service Firm.

Research Series - Managing The Professional Service Firm

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT

This post is part of a series called Managing the Professional Service Firm. Managers of professional service firms face many challenges.

Start With Why

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT

This post is part of a series called Managing the Professional Service Firm.

Conditions for Effective Management

Sun, 27 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Every organization relies on a huge amount of coordination and delivery to keep things moving—figuring out how to execute strategy, solve problems, and keep teams aligned. For simplicity, let’s just call this management.

A3 Thinking Template

Mon, 21 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT

A3 Thinking is a great way to diagnose problems and communicate an action plan in a concise and easy to communicate format that is (among others) appropriate for communicating with executive management.

Question everything

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT

@JamesSaliba Question everything, except your own ability
— Duri Chitayat (@durichitayat)

Art is Expectation

Wed, 09 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMT
Expectation, that is the true soul of art.

Great Introduction to Lean UX with Bootstrap

Wed, 08 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT
This slideshare does an excellent job of introducing the concept:

Happy New Years

Tue, 31 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMT
Happy New Years

New Hudson Look on We See Beauty

Wed, 13 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMT
Post-Impression Hudson, a new \"Look\", just launched today on We See Beauty. This is a site we're very proud of and it has a lot to do with great content like this.

The New We See Beauty

Sat, 02 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMT
weseebeauty.com

Writing decent user stories

Wed, 09 Oct 2013 00:00:00 GMT
Working on tightening up my user stories, i came across this pretty decent video by Rally. It weaves in their a bit much APP but still a good video.

Jawa Logos

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT
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LuRuHome

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Completed this client project including this custom Shopify website today, some graphic design, and general ecommerce consulting. Very happy with the way this turned out. A great home of unique fabrics.

New Logo Designs

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT
A new logo concept design I'm working on for a client. Comments welcome!

Pixelated Solutions V3

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT
So in response to feedback and analytics we decided to make some changes to the Pixelated Solutions website design.

Pixelated Solutions SEO Challenge

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Starting from Monday October 29th I'm taking on an SEO challenge: I will work hard for 45 days to gain serious SEO cred for my new concept of a digital collective - Pixelated Solutions.

Visualizing the Business Model

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Great video about visualizing a business model, an important step i'm going through at the moment. It makes talking about it easier and gives a frame of reference to when communicating with others. Thx to IDEO.

Pixelated Solutions, a new concept of a Digital Collective

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Pixelated Solutions is an out-of-the-box digital agency. It's organized as adigital collective dedicated to bringing creativity and delivery expertise.

Trillion Watts Project

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT
I'm working on a campaign for a new Initiative called Trillion Watt Project. The mission is to save the planet more than 1 Trillion Watts through innovation in LED Lighting.

Physical Products Marry the Web

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT
These days it seems like every day I meet someone starting a business with a revolutionary new business model to reshape the product lifecycle by (in one way or another) marrying it to the web, and they are doing this…

Responsive Website Content with CSS3

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Great tut on how to create responsive websites. I have been doing some research on this since a lot of the Javascript gits a la 2009 don't work 100% reliably for creating responsive sites for mobile .

First Look at the New Groopti

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT
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StrictlyCookies Website and Ecommerce Redevelopment

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT
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Lean Machine is Coming soon to Shanghai

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Here is a quick picture of of the Warmup last Thursday.

Shanghai 100 day Police Foreigner Roundup?

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Probably not as big a deal as some of the blogs are making it sound (some make it sound pretty serious), but have a copy of your passport and work permit in your pocket at all times anyway. Better to be safe than sorry.

Great Firewall of China

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT
I know that everyone in China has experienced this often. You go to google, type in your search term, and get your results (sometimes). Maybe you even get to open a few pages (sometimes).

Update:: WihlborgDesign.com :: New Screenshot

Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Here's a new look at WihlborgDesign.com. Will launch in the next couple days... Very earthy. Comments welcome!

Scrum Agile Conference in Shanghai 2012

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT
ScrumGathering. Its June 7-9 .. hardcore types .. good lineup of speakers. a litle pricey but worth it. A number of the presentations will be in Chinese so I'll be making due with sweat-breaking focus on my…

The Evolution of Black Hat SEO

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Wondering what Black Hat SEO is and how its changed over time? Here you go.

New UX/Ident :: Shanghai Teachers

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Screenshot from a new branding and development project Shanghai Teachers. Feedback welcome!

Google DoubleClick

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT
[](http://images.ientrymail.com/webpronews/articlepics/dfp-logo.jpg)

Technode hosts its first "Mechup" event in Beijing in English

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Today, in case you weren't aware, marks the first ever English Mechup hosted by Technode in Beijing. The goal of the event was what you'd expect of Technode: a techy meetup for thought sharing and networking.

PKSH :: PECHA KUCHA SHANGHAI

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Just returned from a great night of Pecha Kucha sponsored by Dutch Design week in Shanghai.

HUD Glasses; Google brings me 1 step closer

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT
I've expressed interest in many things through the years, including but not limited to:

Shanghai Lacrosse Website

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT
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At happy valley

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT
I think I can safely say I'm going to like this.

SXSW Interactive 2012

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Okay so SXSW Interactive is over, it was by all accounts awesome... AND I MISSED IT. Darn.

Shanghai Teachers

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT
This project is a work in progress. Looking forward to getting it up for everyone to see

Groopti Gorilla Marketing

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Groopti Gorilla Marketing cards were designed to be dropped in Coffee shops and other meeting places nearby design schools and design events.

Video Introduction of Groopti

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Groopti Product Development

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT
We developed a good number of new furniture designs at Groopti crowd-sourced from independent designers in more than 12 countries across the globe.

Deliciously Done :: Website & Logo

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT
DeliciouslyDone is the personal blog of the very trendy and lovely Holly Kim (aka LittleMissShanghai).

Groopti Photo Guidelines

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT
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The Groopti Story

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT
This booklet was designed as a welcome to Groopti. Not quite a manifesto and not quite a branding book, it is in between conveying the temperament::values::ethos of Groopti.

Groopti Fabric Swatches

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT
Fabric Swatches designed to send as samples to potential customers.

Groopti Website

Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT
The Groopti website was a great team effort that brought together branding, UX, design, testing, and community feedback. The Website went through 2 major revisions prior to launching at ICFF in NY during design week.

The Groopti Brand

Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT
Role: Brand Interpreter, Lead Project Manager

Groopti Brand Manual

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT
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Daorad Identity Site

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT
Flash based identity site for my product development startup, DAORAD LLC.\[gallery link=\"file\" order=\"DESC\" orderby=\"rand\"\]