https://heidloff.net/Blog from Niklas Heidloff, an IT professional focussing on artificial intelligence, development and advocacy. Niklas works at IBM and shares his AI, Cloud, OpenSource and DevOps experience. 2026-05-07T08:31:44+02:00 Niklas Heidloff https://heidloff.net/ Jekyll © 2026 Niklas Heidloff /assets/img/favicons/favicon.ico /assets/img/favicons/favicon-96x96.png 2026-05-06T02:01:00+02:00 2026-05-06T02:01:00+02:00 https://heidloff.net/article/spec-driven-development-ibm-bob/ Niklas Heidloff

AI-based development tools can significantly increase autonomy in software development. However, it is crucial that developers maintain control to ensure the level of quality required for enterprise applications. This post demonstrates how Spec-driven Development addresses these challenges and how it can be utilized in IBM Bob. While Vibe Coding created a lot of excitement, developers quickly ...

2026-05-04T02:01:00+02:00 2026-05-07T08:30:52+02:00 https://heidloff.net/article/why-ibm-bob-software-development-lifecycle-partner/ Niklas Heidloff

The tagline ‘Software Development Lifecycle Partner’ is a mouthful, but it describes well the key benefits of IBM Bob. This post explores the reasoning behind this concept and why it matters for the future of software development. Here is how the documentation describes IBM Bob: IBM Bob is an AI SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) partner that augments your existing workflows and helps y...

2026-03-18T01:01:00+01:00 2026-03-18T01:01:00+01:00 https://heidloff.net/article/watsonx-orchestrate-gitops-cicd/ Niklas Heidloff

CI/CD and GitOps are standard techniques to deploy software. This post describes one way how this can be done for agents in watsonx Orchestrate. CI/CD and GitOps The post GitOps on OpenShift explains CI/CD and GitOps. CI/CD automates software building, testing, and deployment, while GitOps is a modern approach using Git as the single source of truth for infrastructure and application state. ...

2026-03-11T01:01:00+01:00 2026-03-11T01:01:00+01:00 https://heidloff.net/article/mcp-watsonx-orchestrate-oauth-on-behalf-of/ Niklas Heidloff

MCP tools acting on‑behalf‑of users in IBM watsonx Orchestrate enable agents to perform actions just as users would. Impersonated tools boost efficiency by automating tasks securely and seamlessly. With OAuth On‑Behalf‑Of (OBO) flows and SSO (Single Sign On), users authenticate once while agents work transparently in the background. My previous post describes a technique to run Python tools on...

2026-03-10T01:01:00+01:00 2026-03-10T01:01:00+01:00 https://heidloff.net/article/agent-plugins-watsonx-orchestrate/ Niklas Heidloff

Customizing watsonx Orchestrate agents with plug-ins unlocks powerful ways to shape how agents interpret inputs and produce outputs. By integrating plug-ins that filter, sanitize, or transform data, teams can enforce critical safety, guardrails, security, and regulatory requirements. This post explores how input and output plug-ins strengthen agent reliability and trustworthiness. Watsonx Orch...