Track: Agility as a Craft

Abstract: You can't spend much time in the industry without realizing that there are many different levels of talent. Some people seem like they are born programmers, and others struggle. In this talk, Michael Feathers will explore the idea that very good programmers just see software differently. They notice different things in problems and solutions, and these things that they notice give them a strong intuition about what is right or wrong in context. If we study these differences in perception, we may be able to short-circuit the traditional "trial and error" educational process and make it easier for people to move toward mastery.