QConShanghai2013-Martin Thompson-Mechanical Sympathy Keynote

Mechanical Sympathy Martin Thompson - @mjpt777

Sir Jackie Stewart

– 3 times World F1 Champion

The “Flying Scot”

“Mechanical Sympathy”?

Man and machine working together in harmony

What does a “hardware guy” look like?

Colin Chapman

Lotus Founder

UCL Structural Eng

Pilot and Driver

Aerodynamics

?

“I can think of no other field of human endeavour that allows the levels of inefficiency that we accept as normal in software.”

- Dave Farley (Continuous Delivery)

Mechanical Sympathy

1.Distilling a Model

2.Understand the Safety Features

3.Importance of Testing

4.Let Data drive Decisions

5.Mechanical Sympathy in Action

1. Distilling the Model

A model is a representation of the domain in a given context.

Map != Territory

Model != Domain Software != Real World

How do I create a Model ?

Distil the essence of what represents the domain

What makes a really fast car?

How do I create a Model ?

Apply a Scientific Mindset

1.Draw on Experience

2.Do your Research

3.Learn by Experimenting