Critical Questions You Should Be Asking
A lot of software development seems to be concerned with finding answers; troubleshooting issues; solving problems. But what if we’re not asking the right questions? Learning to ask the right questions in the various contexts in which we work is one of the key, yet underemphasized skills that any competent engineer should have!
In this session, we’ll examine several critical questions that you should keep in your toolbox. You can use these questions to evaluate tool and technology selection decisions, architecture strategy, data modeling decisions, and more. You should walk away with this session feeling equipped to engage in “adult conversations” about software engineering, where we cut through the hype and focus on the tradeoff decisions before us.
So what are the questions? Well, you’ll just have to come to the session to find out. But if you browse through my Twitter stream, you just might find a few.
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.
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