Friday 

Room 4 

13:30 - 14:30 

(UTC+11

Talk (60 min)

From Horror Story to Fairy Tale: Writing code people want to read

As developers we spend much more time reading code than we do writing it. It’s important that our code conveys its meaning clearly, not just to the computer but also to other developers. Everything we write tells a story, and our code is no different. From meaningless variable names to confusing comments, the code we write can be a horror story that leads to frustration, bugs, and delays. In this session we'll discuss the importance of empathy when writing code, and the impact this can have on inclusivity. We'll look at concrete examples of poor naming, obfuscated logic, and other anti-patterns. And finally we'll cover specific tips for writing fairy tale code that future developers will want to read. We'll also cover processes for implementing these tips within your team so that you can all live happily ever after.

Ethics
People
Methodology

Michael Dowden

Michael is a technology leader with over 30 years experience in software development, working alongside more than 100 companies during his career to build human-centered solutions. As an international and keynote speaker he has spoken on every continent covering a wide range of technology topics including Serverless Architecture, Accessibility, and User Experience. Michael is the author of Programming Languages ABC++, Approachable Accessibility, and Architecting CSS, and is honored to have been recognized as a Google Developer Expert and Microsoft MVP.