The Programming Ape: Optimizing Software Development for Human Cognition

Explore a thought-provoking conference talk that delves into the challenges of building software for humans, who are inherently irrational beings. Learn how modern theories of human cognition can be applied to optimize tools for human thinking rather than computer processes. Discover insights from Yammer's experience in developing human-centric engineering tools, and understand the sociotechnical challenges organizations face when striving for transparent architectures. Gain valuable perspectives on how these concepts relate to business success and profitability. Examine the differences between human and computer thinking, and understand the importance of leveraging intuition, conserving attention, and building ambient awareness in software development. Uncover strategies for creating tools that work with human cognitive processes, including visual cortex utilization, pattern matching, and anomaly detection.

"The Programming Ape" Coda Hale
How people think and why that matters.
Yammer The enterprise social network.
Help businesses be better businesses.
Software people!
We write software to help people do things.
What's a people?
People are not computers.
reliable minds.
We have human minds.
We care about how humans act.
We can observe how humans act.
Involuntary
Fast
Effortless
Invisible
Slow
Difficult
Perceptible
Associative
Parallel
Primed
SOAP
Pattern Matching
Coherence
Swimming Road Trip
Swimming Potato
Regulatory
Lazy
Bait Switch
didn't read.
didn't notice.
Too tired; didn't care.
Ego depletion.
So you're building tools for humans...
Let the visual cortex do the work.
Build ambient awareness.
Make daily life sustainable.
Correlate.
Normalize.
Detect anomalies.
Create a moment of cognitive strain.
Leverage intuition. Conserve attention.
We build tools which are used by people.