12. The Butterfly Effect in Software

You probably haven’t heard of the theory of long-range dynamical behavior associated with chaotic dynamics. But the odds are good you’ve heard of its more common name, The Butterfly Effect.You may have also seen Ashton Kutcher’s 2004 smash hit of the same name. In that movie, Evan Traborn, played by Kutcher, figures out how to go back in time to change traumatic events from his past. As he does this he realizes that even though his intentions are good his actions have unforeseen consequences.In software, we make a lot of choices each day. Some of these choices seem small and insignificant, but sometimes our choices can have ripple effects that come back to the surface later. Sometimes, what surfaces can be nothing but trouble.With so many unknowns, how do we ensure that what we’re building won’t come back to haunt us later?Topics:• 02:05 – What is the Butterfly Effect? • 04:10 – In software, our decisions tend to stick around a while• 04:54 – The Butterfly Effect isn’t always bad• 05:35 – The origins mean a lot• 08:22 – We can’t always be sure how our tools will be used later• 15:35 – Plan ahead with a Pre Mortem• 19:24 – Consistently ask if you’re impacting the future• 21:15 – Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.• 21:34 – How do I make the wrong decision less often?• 22:49 – Enterprise software lasts forever• 26:08 – “Best Practices” can be a dangerous term• 29:49 – Who will be maintaining your code years from now?• 32:30 – Did you read the AWS fine print?• 33:05 – Enterprise software lives longer the longer it lives• 36:56 – Who are the people you’re building software for?• 39:20 – Eliminate bad paths before they can cause troubleHelpful Links:• The Butterfly Effect• Benjamin Franklin’s Poem• Atlassian’s Pre-Mortem Template• Ashton Kutcher’s best movie—– Thanks for listening! We hope you enjoyed today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a comment and a five-star review. It helps us out a ton. If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear. • Check out our website • Follow us on twitter • Find us on Facebook • Subscribe on Google Podcasts • Subscribe on Apple Podcasts •