Failure is the Only Option
Even taking into account everything that we've learned about operating at “web scale” in the last several years, most applications are designed and implemented to be, as Michael Nygard highlights in his book Release It!, “feature complete” not “production-ready.” Unfortunately, the architectural patterns associated with operating at scale – notably the move toward “micro-services” – introduce an order of magnitude more ways in which our applications can fail. If we do not plan well for failure, we will experience the ultimate failure. But if we do plan well for failure, we have a fighting chance at success.
This talk will take a tour through the James Chiles' book Inviting Disaster: Lessons From the Edge of Technology, and examine what we can learn from engineering fields in the physical world, applying those learnings to the way in which we develop fault tolerant applications.
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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