Martin Stühmer

Who I Am

I’m Martin, CTO at Integrated Worlds GmbH in the Stuttgart region. I’ve been building .NET systems for nearly 20 years—since Framework 2.0 when SOAP was cutting-edge and ORMs were controversial.

Today I lead technology strategy for cloud-native solutions on Azure. Before this, I was Director Consulting Services at CGI, working with enterprise teams on architecture and transformation. I’m a Microsoft Certified Trainer and IHK-certified instructor, and I maintain several open-source NuGet packages.

What I Do

As CTO, I don’t just make decisions from a distance. I write code, review PRs, debug production issues, and mentor teams. Technology leadership means staying hands-on and feeling the consequences of your choices.

As a trainer and mentor, I focus on fundamentals that outlast framework hype. Static analyzers, testing strategies, performance patterns, maintainable architecture—the stuff that actually prevents production fires.

As an open-source maintainer, I publish packages that solve problems I’ve hit repeatedly in real systems. When strangers depend on your code, you write better tests and clearer docs.

What I’ve Learned

Almost two decades means I’ve made every mistake: over-engineered systems, bet on Silverlight and WCF (oops), built “flexible” architectures that were just complicated, shipped code I’m not proud of.

Here’s what stuck:

  • Quality isn’t optional – Analyzers catch bugs in milliseconds, tests prevent regressions, and both are faster than firefighting
  • Fundamentals outlast frameworks – Patterns and principles survive; specific tools don’t always
  • Context beats dogma – “Best practices” depend on your team, domain, and constraints
  • Evidence beats opinion – Measure, benchmark, validate before deciding
  • Pragmatism wins – Good-enough architecture that ships beats perfect architecture that doesn’t

What I Write About

I share perspectives from production systems and real teams. I’m skeptical of buzzword-driven development and allergic to cargo-cult practices. If a trend lacks substance or a pattern doesn’t hold up under pressure, I’ll say so.

This blog is for developers, solution architects and operators who maintain production systems and care about quality, not just shipping fast.

Published blogs

How to Use Copilot Without Becoming Its Puppet

How to Use Copilot Without Becoming Its Puppet

In a previous article, we laid it out – unfiltered: Copilot turns junior devs into syntax secretaries.

Not because it’s evil. But because it removes friction before understanding.

It gives you working code before you know what working even means. It creates the illusion of progress, while slowly eroding the very skills that define a software engineer: reasoning, decision-making, and technical ownership.

Copilot Turns Junior Devs Into Syntax Secretaries

Copilot Turns Junior Devs Into Syntax Secretaries

The hype around GitHub Copilot (or any other AI code assistant) is deafening. AI-assisted coding. Effortless automation. 10x productivity.

But here’s the harsh truth: Copilot isn’t empowering junior developers – it’s deskilling them.

Vibe Coding in .NET: Creative Catalyst or Maintenance Risk?

Vibe Coding in .NET: Creative Catalyst or Maintenance Risk?

In the world of software development, there’s a recurring tension between discipline and improvisation. Somewhere along that spectrum lies a phenomenon increasingly referred to as Vibe Coding. The term evokes a style of development where engineers follow intuition and momentum rather than formal plans, processes, or design patterns.

It’s fast, fluid, and occasionally brilliant. But is it sustainable in a .NET-based enterprise context?

Understanding the C# `StringValues`: A Comprehensive Guide

Understanding the C# `StringValues`: A Comprehensive Guide

In C#, the StringValues struct belongs to the Microsoft.Extensions.Primitives namespace, which is widely used in modern .NET applications. This struct plays a crucial role in efficiently managing string collections, especially when handling efficiently, particularly in contexts where multiple strings are involved. In this blog post, we’ll explore the purpose, usage, and key features of the StringValues struct in C#.