Have you heard about anchoring? It's a cognitive bias, a shortcut our brain uses. In software engineering it's seen when we unreasonably prefer the first proposal we hear over all later proposals. No matter how much better the later proposals are.
If I give you a task and also a solution that worked on a similar task in the past, you will try to bend that solution to also work on the new task. Even though research has experimentally shown we write fewer bugs if we start from scratch.
As developers we like to think of ourselves as highly mathematical beings, highly precise and logical.
But the human brain isn't really as logical as it has been painted out to be. The brain takes lots of shortcuts and it's not at all transparent about it.
This talk is exposing ways in which cognitive biases creep into our work, cause bugs and rollbacks, and how to fight back.
If I give you a task and also a solution that worked on a similar task in the past, you will try to bend that solution to also work on the new task. Even though research has experimentally shown we write fewer bugs if we start from scratch.
As developers we like to think of ourselves as highly mathematical beings, highly precise and logical.
But the human brain isn't really as logical as it has been painted out to be. The brain takes lots of shortcuts and it's not at all transparent about it.
This talk is exposing ways in which cognitive biases creep into our work, cause bugs and rollbacks, and how to fight back.
Ines Panker
I’ve been building software for almost 2 decades, writing code, shaping architecture, and leading teams. From Java to PHP to a decade with Python, I love finding elegant, simple solutions in complex systems.
I see great codebases like well-designed cities: thoughtfully planned, easy to navigate and built to grow. The key is in laying strong foundations while creating solutions.
But software is ultimately human. It’s built by people, for people, within teams and shaped by the society that uses it.
I speak to share technical insights alongside the human side of software, focusing on making complex ideas understandable and relevant.
I see great codebases like well-designed cities: thoughtfully planned, easy to navigate and built to grow. The key is in laying strong foundations while creating solutions.
But software is ultimately human. It’s built by people, for people, within teams and shaped by the society that uses it.
I speak to share technical insights alongside the human side of software, focusing on making complex ideas understandable and relevant.