Presentation: Helping Developers to Help Each Other
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Abstract
If you have ever asked yourself the question "Why did they do THAT!?" when wrestling with a developer’s work, this presentation is for you.
My doctoral research does not answer it, but it does refine the question; I have built a definition of what “THAT!” is by interviewing software developers with a total of more than 400 years of industry experience between them. In my presentation, I will share the common themes that emerged: what experienced developers said about the day to day decisions made by their peers and how these make the job harder or easier.
These findings catalogue what constitutes “good practice” from the unique perspective of how it affects peers’ progress in their own tasks. But by itself, this catalogue does not change developer practice. In pursuit of improving developer experience, I have tested a workshop format that draws on the collective experience of the interviewees to help teams step back and reflect on their practice in a safe and encouraging environment. I will be explaining what these experimental workshops involved, why developers liked them and the potential the materials could have for other applications.
Acknowledgement: My research would not have been possible without the generous help of my participants. My heartfelt thanks to all the software developers who volunteered to take part and the companies who allowed them to do so. I hope you all benefited from the experience.
Tracks
Monday, 5 November
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Microservices / Serverless Patterns & Practices
Evolving, observing, persisting, and building modern microservices
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Practices of DevOps & Lean Thinking
Practical approaches using DevOps & Lean Thinking
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JavaScript & Web Tech
Beyond JavaScript in the Browser. Exploring WebAssembly, Electron, & Modern Frameworks
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Modern CS in the Real World
Thoughts pushing software forward, including consensus, CRDT's, formal methods, & probabilistic programming
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Modern Operating Systems
Applied, practical, & real-world deep-dive into industry adoption of OS, containers and virtualization, including Linux on Windows, LinuxKit, and Unikernels
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Optimizing You: Human Skills for Individuals
Better teams start with a better self. Learn practical skills for IC
Tuesday, 6 November
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Architectures You've Always Wondered About
Next-gen architectures from the most admired companies in software, such as Netflix, Google, Facebook, Twitter, & more
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21st Century Languages
Lessons learned from languages like Rust, Go-lang, Swift, Kotlin, and more.
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Emerging Trends in Data Engineering
Showcasing DataEng tech and highlighting the strengths of each in real-world applications.
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Bare Knuckle Performance
Killing latency and getting the most out of your hardware
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Socially Conscious Software
Building socially responsible software that protects users privacy & safety
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Delivering on the Promise of Containers
Runtime containers, libraries, and services that power microservices
Wednesday, 7 November
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Applied AI & Machine Learning
Applied machine learning lessons for SWEs, including tech around TensorFlow, TPUs, Keras, PyTorch, & more
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Production Readiness: Building Resilient Systems
More than just building software, building deployable production ready software
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Developer Experience: Level up your Engineering Effectiveness
Improving the end to end developer experience - design, dev, test, deploy, operate/understand.
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Security: Lessons Attacking & Defending
Security from the defender's AND the attacker's point of view
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Future of Human Computer Interaction
IoT, voice, mobile: Interfaces pushing the boundary of what we consider to be the interface
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Enterprise Languages
Workhorse languages found in modern enterprises. Expect Java, .NET, & Node in this track
