Abstract: We are about launch our latest feature to the eager public, when suddenly we get the call all developers dread: The Site is down! Our business is pressuring us to quickly fix the site, but we can’t even find the problem! We pick up the red phone and call Karen, the fixer. She calmly spends five minutes typing, and announces that she found the problem, and everything is back to normal. Where would we be without Karen? How can we get these skills on the rest of the team, so anyone can work the magic she does?
It turns out that troubleshooting is a learnable skill. Join Shawn and Chris as the explore the Science of Troubleshooting. This workshop will examine what is happening during effective problem solving. It will examine types of scientific reasoning, and explore how we are using them to solve problems, sometimes without even realizing what we are doing! Participants will see how, by using scientific reasoning and experiments to build and test hypotheses about the problems, they can greatly increase the effectiveness of their troubleshooting and debugging. By making the process explicit even consummate problem solvers can improve how they approach and solve problems. Using the awareness gained attendees can guide others to improve their problem-solving skills.
Learning Outcomes: - Understanding types of scientific reasoning
- A useful model for the process of troubleshooting
- Language and practices that can be used with your team to help them gain these skills
