Episode 1 — who I am, why this show exists, and what’s coming next
Hey friends—welcome to The Woody Show. I’m Chris “Woody” Woodruff, and after three decades building software, leading teams, and collecting a few scars worth sharing, I’m kicking off a fast, practical show about software architecture that helps you ship with less noise and more clarity. Twice a week, in under 30 minutes, we’ll dig into what works, what doesn’t, and how to keep things simple without dumbing them down.
Who I am (and where I’m broadcasting from)
I live just outside Grand Rapids on the Lake Michigan coast—an inland sea with real waves, no salt, and zero sharks. When I’m not teaching or writing, I’m usually sketching architectures, refining developer experience, or walking a cold, snowy beach to think through a gnarly system problem.
Why this show now
Too many teams are drowning in accidental complexity. Simplicity-First is my answer: a philosophy and a toolkit for making clear choices, designing for change, and focusing on outcomes instead of ceremony. Here, I’ll bring opinions, patterns, and field notes—plus conversations with people who are moving the craft forward. Expect candor. Expect specifics. Expect results.
Next up: Update Conference Prague
I’ll be at Update Conference in Prague next week—one of my favorite events—and I’m serving as an ambassador on site. I’ll record hallway chats with attendees, sit-down interviews with speakers, and share takeaways you can apply the same day you’re back at work. If you’re attending, come say hi.
The workshop: ASP.NET Core Web API, modular monolith style
Focus: ASP.NET Core Web API with controllers and actions (a minimal-API twin is coming).
Architecture: Modular Monolith with a shared kernel (pooled EF Core
DbContext) to isolate domains for cleaner testing and team flow—without the database sprawl that can haunt microservices.Domain model: Built around the classic Chinook sample (music, orders, admin, reporting, identity).
Attendees start with a solid base and expand through domain-focused modules, seeing how boundaries, testing, and performance play together in a real codebase.
The talk: Making EF Core queries fast (beyond “it works”)
It’s not enough for a LINQ query to return data—you need it to return fast, predictably, and cheaply. I’ll show how to shape LINQ for better SQL, read query plans, choose indexes that matter, and spot pitfalls that only show up under real load (using SQL Server for the deep-dive). Bring your slow query horror stories. We’ll turn them into lessons and fixes.
What I’m building next
When I’m back from Prague, I’m heads-down drafting the Simplicity-First book—principles, patterns, trade-offs, and case studies for leaders and hands-on builders who want durable systems without the ritual. You’ll hear progress reports and early excerpts here first.