Building Smarter Apps with AI | Josh Bermann & Adam Cogan

Contact us: https://bit.ly/4fAFrVx

Josh Berman catches up with Adam Cogan at NDC Melbourne to explore the cutting-edge world of enterprise AI applications. In thischat, Adam teases his upcoming talk where he shares 12 essential lessons from building SSW’s AI-powered tool Yak Shaver. e dives into the evolution from traditional apps to generative AI, the challenges faced with Microsoft Teams, cost modeling missteps, and how the newly emerging MCP is reshaping what intelligent agents can do. Whether you’re an AI developer, architect, or product owner, this session is a goldmine of practical takeaways to bring into your next AI project.

00:00 | Introduction
00:36 | How his AI session stands out from others
01:05 | Lessons learned from building Yak Shaver
01:27 | Cost modeling mistakes and advice
01:50 | Architectural pivots and smarter decisions
02:00 | Moving from workflow to agent-based models
02:39 | How users interact differently than expected
02:55 | The future of Yak Shaver with MCP agent compatibility

About SSW: https://linktr.ee/SSWTV

Links:
Need help? https://www.ssw.com.au/consulting/ai
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/ssw
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ssw_tv
Facebook: https://facebook.com/SSW.page
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ssw_tv
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ssw_tv

Get in touch:

Josh Berman – SSW Software Engineer
About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/josh-berman
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-berman-18ab1a262

Adam Cogan – SSW Chief Architect
About: https://www.ssw.com.au/people/adam-cogan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcogan

#SSWTV #NDCMelbourne #EnterpriseAI #YakShaver #AIApps #GenerativeAI #AgentMode #MCP #MicrosoftTeams #AIArchitecture

V1 – Marcus

About the speakers

Josh Berman

Josh is an SSW Software Developer working in the Sydney Office. He is currently a student at the University of Sydney, studying a double bachelor degree of Advanced Computing and Commerce, majoring in Computer Science and Finance.

Josh joined SSW through the FireBoot Camp work experience scheme, where he honed his skills in both front-end and back-end development, working with Angular, C#, .NET Framework, SQL, and various other technologies on SSW's internal projects. He takes pride in his effective communication and problem-solving abilities, always striving to enhance efficiency and reduce redundancy.

Since joining SSW, Josh has honed his front-end development skills by working on a variety of projects using React and Next.js. He has further expanded his expertise through his contributions to TinaCMS. Josh represented SSW at NDC Copenhagen 2024, where he showcased TinaCMS to hundreds of developers, highlighting its capabilities as the world's leading Markdown website editor.

Outside of software development, Josh is always finding a way to stay active. Whether in the gym, out in the surf, or on the pitch playing football. He has a natural passion for strengthening both his mind and body.

Microsoft Teams Etiquette: Simple Habits That Make Meetings Better | Adam Cogan

Whether you’re working remotely or in the office, small habits can make a huge difference in Microsoft Teams meetings. In this video, Adam Cogan shares practical etiquette tips to help meetings run more smoothly—from introducing people who join the room, to announcing yourself when joining a call, using screen sharing respectfully, and ending meetings with a recorded summary that can automatically create a Product Backlog Item (PBI).

These simple communication habits improve collaboration, reduce confusion, and make hybrid meetings more inclusive and productive.

Treat Your Code Like Uranium | Adam Cogan

Adam Cogan shares a striking story comparing two World War II factories—one ordinary, one handling uranium—and the surprising lesson that the uranium workers lived longer because they followed disciplined, risk-aware practices. He connects that idea to software teams: the best outcomes come from careful habits like automated tests, telemetry, pull requests, retrospectives, shared rules, and good tools. The message is simple: treat software delivery with the same respect as dangerous work, and you’ll reduce stress, avoid chaos, and get better results.

3 Tips for Better Video Recordings | Adam Cogan

Great coaching can dramatically improve how you present, communicate, and learn. In this video, Adam Cogan shares 3 practical coaching tips that SSW uses every day—from onboarding and role plays to improving video delivery. He explains why having a coach matters, why immediate interruption beats delayed feedback, and how repeating corrections helps lock in better habits.

TinaCMS + Fumadocs: Bring Visual Editing to Your Docs | Hark Singh

Discover how to connect Playwright with AI agents and unlock powerful workflows.

Stop Using 👍 Wrong in Teams | Adam Cogan

A quick communication tip from Adam Cogan: don’t use 👍 as a catch-all response when someone assigns you a task in Teams, Slack, or Google Chat. In the example Adam gives, if a task will take about five minutes, a thumbs up is too ambiguous because it does not clearly say whether you’ve read it, agree with it, are doing it now, or will do it later. Instead, use 👍 for agreement, 👀 to show you’ve seen the task and are actively working on it, and then replace 👀 with ✅ once the task is done. It is a small change, but it removes ambiguity and cuts down unnecessary follow-up messages.

How to record a done video in SSW | Sylvia Huang | SSW Rules

Sylvia Huang from SSW shares her SSW Cultural Exchange experience from Hangzhou, China to Australia

4 Essential Sales Tips for Engineers | Adam Cogan

Not a salesman? No problem. Adam Cogan shares 4 practical tips to help engineers navigate sales meetings with confidence. Learn how to stop “selling” and start solving, how to talk numbers without the awkwardness, and why being transparent about your process wins more clients.

Do you explain why you’ve deleted or updated an appointment? | Adam Cogan | SSW Rules

Ever wonder why a meeting was moved or cancelled? Adam Cogan explains the “Secret Ingredient” to professional scheduling: always include a version history and reason for change at the top of your appointments. Improve clarity, keep a record of changes, and hold participants accountable with this simple SSW Rule.

Chat first before changing others’ code | Adam Cogan

Changing someone else’s code? Don’t just dive in! Adam explains why it’s important to check the source history and talk to the original developer before making changes. A quick chat can save headaches and keep everyone on the same page. Perfect advice for devs working in teams!