Holistic Engineering: Organic Problem Solving for Complex Evolving Systems

Title: Holistic Engineering: Organic Problem Solving for Complex Evolving Systems

Speaker: Vanessa Formicola

Overview:

Vanessa Formicola, an experienced Principal Engineer, discussed holistic engineering, emphasizing the integration of technical and non-technical factors in system design. This approach considers how various external and internal forces influence the development and functionality of software systems.

• Background: Vanessa introduced herself and outlined her varied experiences across different roles and companies, highlighting recurring patterns of problems in technology projects.
• Holistic Engineering Concept: The methodology promotes considering all factors—external events, organizational structures, human elements—when designing and managing software systems.
• Strategies for Implementation:
  • Identify and make explicit the various forces impacting the system.
  • Create models and visualizations to understand complex interactions within the system.
  • Socialize findings and insights across the organization to foster collective understanding and improvements.
• Project Challenges: Vanessa explored common project pitfalls, such as late deliveries due to unforeseen constraints, and the importance of understanding the social dynamics within organizations.
• Case Studies and Examples: Examples were provided to illustrate how external and internal factors affect technical decisions and project outcomes.

Conclusion: Emphasizing a holistic approach helps in recognizing the interconnectedness of various elements within the software development ecosystem, allowing for more resilient and adaptable systems.

This is the end of the AI-generated content.

Every day developers have to work with code influenced by past decisions made by non-technical departments. Every day there are defects and other obstacles caused by non-technical factors that are nonetheless reflected in your code. Isn’t it time we make the implicit explicit, and embrace the organic, evolving nature of our software?

In this talk I will share many experiences I have had with such problems. I will draw out the common factors that underpinned these difficulties, describing not only how they presented in code, but also the causes that led to them. I will introduce Holistic Engineering, the practice of designing tech thinking of all the intrinsic parts of the organic system, embracing how people, management, organizational structure, budgets, company goals, production vision, security and even the political climate impact directly your code. This talk will help you better understand the boundaries of the organic system you are making technical decisions for and apply strategies to incorporate technical and non-technical factors to your decision process for your ever evolving organic system.