REPLs All The Way Up: A Rubric For Better Feedback Loops • Avdi Grimm • GOTO 2023

This presentation was recorded at GOTO Chicago 2023. #GOTOcon #GOTOchgo Avdi Grimm - Head Gardener at and recipient of the Ruby Hero Award @AvdiGrimm RESOURCES ABSTRACT We all know that the key to successful software development is iteration and feedback loops, whether that takes the form of the red-green-refactor cycle, or agile project planning. But not all feedback is equally valuable. I propose a novel archetype for virtuous feedback cycles: the humble Read-Eval-Print-Loop (REPL). In this talk, we’ll talk about the history of REPLs and how they revolutionized early programming environments. We’ll examine the evolution of iterative feedback in software development processes, through the lens of “REPL nature”. We’ll talk about “scientific” processes, and why the proverbial theory/experiment cycle is not sufficient for good science or graceful software development. Finally, we’ll explore what makes for better feedback loops at every level of the software process, from building algorithms up to business intelligence. You’ll leave with a new rubric for evaluating and improving the iterative circles you work in every day. [...] TIMECODES 00:00 Intro 00:37 Feedback loops 04:21 Agenda 04:48 History of exploratory feedback loops 17:38 What properties make REPLs feel so good? 26:43 REPLs are exploramental 28:05 REPLs are fast 31:47 Examples, from small to large 48:36 Seek exploratory feedback 49:20 Outro Download slides and read the full abstract here: RECOMMENDED BOOKS Bob Albrecht • My Computer Likes Me When I Speak in Basic • Forsgren, Humble & Kim • Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps • Fred Brooks Jr. • The Mythical Man-Month • Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Nicole Forsgren, Patrick Debois & John Willis • The DevOps Handbook • Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais • Team Topologies • #REPL #FeedbackLoop #Feedback #SoftwareArchitecture #SoftwareEngineering #AvdiGrimm #Debugger #TDD #Exploramental #CICD #FeatureFlags #FeedbackLoops Looking for a unique learning experience? Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket at Sign up for updates and specials at SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily.