How can we get better as software designers? By becoming more aware of our design heuristics and continuing to cultivate and refine them. Heuristics aid in design, guide our use of other heuristics, and even determine our attitude and behaviour. In addition to heuristics we learn from others, we have own unique toolkit of additional heuristics acquired through years of experience. Each heuristic makes sense under certain circumstances. If we don’t have the same conditions, the specific heuristic might not be useful.
This workshop is an opportunity to learn practical techniques for recording and distilling your design heuristics and becoming more intentional about design. During the workshop you’ll have ample opportunities to practice a variety of techniques for identifying and expressing your heuristics.
What You’ll Learn
- Differences between “fast and frugal” heuristics and design heuristics
- Three types of design heuristics: Heuristics that aid in design, heuristics that guide our use of other heuristics,
- Simple techniques for recording heuristics on the fly (Question-Heuristic-Example Cards, Heuristic Gists)
- How to conduct a structured conversation to distill heuristics
- Heuristic mining techniques
- The relationship between patterns and heuristics
- How to recognise and decide among conflicting / competing heuristics
- Decision making under stress
- Techniques for growing your heuristics: Spotting heuristics in the wild, arguing a point of view, reconciling your heuristics with new ones
Prerequisites
- Senior developers and architects
- No devices, just plenty of hands-on activities