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NFJS2025

The Art of Better (Part 2)

Digging one level deeper into the details of Idea Flow Learning Framework, we'll do this second session as a group troubleshooting game! After we play the game, we'll do an “Experience Review” and analyze the causes of diagnostic difficulty, the nature of decision-making, and discuss strategies for making better decisions.

The Troubleshooting Game: I'll split the audience into two teams. Team 1 will stealthily hide a bug in the code. Team 2 will have to track down the bug in as little time as possible. Then Team 2 will have their chance to stump Team 1. The team that troubleshoots the bug the fastest will walk away with an exciting prize!

After we play the troubleshooting game, we'll do an “Experience Review” with each team's coding experience. Rather than optimizing the code, we'll focus on optimizing the problem-solving process. We will:

  1. Visualize and discuss the differences between code sandwiches
  2. Identify the major factors that caused diagnostic difficulty
  3. Discuss the troubleshooting strategies used by each team and what made them more or less effective.

While it's certainly challenging to understand how we think and make decisions, it's an incredible opportunity to learn. By recognizing the inputs to our decisions, and how we evaluate trade-offs, we can compare our internal decision-making logic with our peers. With objective feedback on the consequences of our decisions, we can systematically optimize developer experience.

Learn how to master the art of software development with Idea Flow Learning Framework!


Arty Starr

About Arty Starr

Arty Starr is a recognized Flow Experience expert, researcher, speaker and thought leader, and author of Idea Flow, how to measure the friction in software development. Arty's PhD research is developing a theory of momentum in software development, and she is creator of the FLOWS platform designed to help developers thrive and find joy through more time in the flow state. The company she founded, FlowInsight, is on a mission to bring back joy to our everyday work.

Arty is also a 2D/3D animator and artist, and has spent the last couple years building 3D apps in AR. She loves to share about her experiences with these technologies.

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