Twin Cities Software Symposium
March 8 - 10, 2013
Critical Thinking in Software Engineering, Part I: Lecture
Saturday - Mar 9 1:30 PM CST - Salon A
No matter where you slice software engineering:
- architecture
- technology selection
- process
- etc.
The root cause of many, if not most problems, is the common absence of critical thinking in how we approach decision making. Instead of thinking critically about our engineering decisions, we often follow a Cargo Cult mentality or blindly follow the pronouncements of the Blowhard Jamboree. The end results all too often include suboptimal productivity, excessive spending, poor quality and cancelled projects.
When we think instead critically about a component of software engineering, we take it apart. We discard our presuppositions. We challenge tradition. We gather our own evidence. We question everything.
This talk will examine the pathologies associated with not thinking critically, including a tour of the antipatterns that can emerge from such a practice. We'll then walk through the concentric circles of the critical thinking process, including evidence evaluation, argument evaluation, and argument construction. You'll leave this session with a critical thinking framework which can be applied to software engineering as well as beyond.
Matt Stine
I Enable Early-Career Enterprise Software Engineers to Continuously Improve
About Matt Stine
My passion is taking a metaphysical approach to software engineering: what is the nature of the collaborative game that we continuously play, and are there better, more contextually-aware ways to play that game?
By day I lead a team tasked with taking a first-principles-centric approach to intentionally enabling programming language usage at the largest bank in the United States.
By night I write and teach my way through a masterclass in software engineering and architecture targeting early-career software engineers working in large-scale enterprise technology organizations.
What is the primary goal?
To win the game. More seriously: to get 1% better every day at providing business value through software.
Who am I?
I'm a 22-year veteran of the enterprise software industry. I've played almost every role I can imagine:
- Software Engineer
- Software Architect
- Technical Lead
- Engineering Manager
- Consultant
- Product Manager
- Field CTO
- Developer Advocate
- Conference Speaker
- Author
- Technical Trainer
- Technical Marketer
- Site Reliability Engineer
- Desktop Support Specialist
I've worked at Fortune 500 companies, a tenacious teal cloud startup, and a not-for-profit children's hospital. I've written a book, and I've hosted a podcast. I've learned a lot along the way, including many things I wish I'd known when I first got started. And so now I want to pass those learnings on to you, especially if you've only just begun your career.