# March 2026 Meetup Minutes The meetup began with a quick round of introductions, followed by a walkthrough of the agenda. A balanced mix of students and professionals contributed actively to the discussions.
## Spec-Driven Development by Revanth A Revanth began his talk with an introduction to his domain, automotive software and how AI has been adopted in software development within his organization. He explained the key problems addressed by spec-driven development using AI and described the combination of AI models used in his prompt engineering workflow. He also touched upon agile methodologies used in organizations and the influence of AI on these processes. Among various AI-driven frameworks, he highlighted the **BMad method**. He shared how he explored this approach to build an Android application using Kotlin, a language he was not previously familiar with. He demonstrated a screen recording showing how he selected options and used the BMad method to generate a PRD (Product Requirements Document) using Cursor IDE. He also emphasized the importance of checkpoints, where development can be paused and resumed without needing to rework prompt engineering once the PRD is generated. ## Lightning Talk: OpenSSH Backdoor by Madhav Kumar Madhav Kumar began his talk with a compelling introduction to the flow of the XZ backdoor, from XZ to systemd to OpenSSH. He discussed the widely known malicious activity involving a developer named “Jia Tan,” who contributed to the XZ compression library originally maintained by Lasse Collin. He explained what OpenSSH is and how it interacts with XZ. Furthermore, he described how the backdoor was implemented using techniques involving the Global Offset Table (GOT), IFUNC, and other low-level mechanisms to enable privilege escalation. He further elaborated on how the malicious code was designed to blend into normal execution flow, and how a vulnerable version of XZ was included in a release candidate of RHEL 10. Madhav walked through the timeline of Jia Tan’s involvement in the XZ project, leading up to the discovery and resolution of the issue. He highlighted how Andres Freund, a German engineer (not primarily a security expert), identified the anomaly due to an unexpected delay of over 500ms during SSH connections. ## A Software Development Process for the AI Era by Abishek Abishek opened his talk by discussing how AI workflows have become the de facto standard in both individual and organizational software development processes. He presented a simplified view of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), integrating both AI-driven and traditional approaches. He explained how more conservative workflows are required in high-stakes domains such as banking, where human intervention remains critical. He referenced the DORA report, backed by Google Cloud, and described how AI acts as an amplifier, exposing existing gaps in SDLC processes. He also discussed the risks associated with continuous deployment in AI-assisted environments. Based on insights from the DORA report, he proposed improvements to development pipelines, identifying areas where human intervention is essential versus where AI can take the lead. He concluded by emphasizing that while specification and coding can largely be AI-driven, verification should remain human-led, supported by AI tools, acting as a release gate. He ended with open questions that led to engaging audience discussions. ## Networking Tea Break ## Overview of the Linux Graphics Stack by Praveen Praveen shared his journey into understanding the Linux graphics stack, which began while attempting to install NVIDIA graphics drivers, a process he found challenging. He explained how Linux systems follow a client-server model and how this paradigm differs in the context of graphical systems like X11. Drawing from his web development background, he highlighted these differences in perspective. He described the graphics pipeline, explaining how user input events propagate through the system to produce output on the screen. He compared X11, a legacy windowing system, with Wayland, a modern alternative. He also introduced kernel-level components such as fbdev and DRM (Direct Rendering Manager). To conclude, he demonstrated how Linux’s philosophy of “everything is a file” can be leveraged to directly manipulate display pixels via fbdev. ## Lightning Talk: Neural Networks by Arun Arun introduced the fundamentals of neural networks, explaining how interconnected layers process information. He described a basic structure consisting of an input layer, multiple hidden layers, and an output layer. He drew parallels between artificial neurons and biological neurons, emphasizing how weights and biases influence outputs. He also demonstrated how these parameters can be visualized to better understand neural network behavior. ## Lightning Talk: Product-Based Thinking by Arockiaraj Arockiaraj shared his experience building a transaction insights dashboard using Google Scripts by parsing email based transaction notifications. He explained how he leveraged Gemini AI and other tools to develop an Android application for expense tracking. He also showcased his embedded e-ink display device, which displays expense data on his desk to encourage mindful spending. He concluded by emphasizing the importance of product thinking, starting from identifying real world problems to building effective solutions. He highlighted how AI-assisted tools have made implementation significantly more accessible. -- Regards, BabuSubashChandar
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