battling your biased brain

src: Battling your Biased Brain By Peter Wessels - 2023-10-04

Abstract

He presented 3 biased we encountered in our software engineering life:

1. IKEA effect: when labour leads to love

• consider third-party products
• make your choices explicit (e.g. with ADR)

2. Bandwagon effect: jump on the hype train

• be aware of your bias: identify when you join a majority
• educate yourself with the hype-cycle
• in case of new tech
  • what problem does it solve?
  • do I have that problem?
  • do I understand the trade-off?
  • what complexity does it add?
• be aware of the survivor bias

3. Bike shedding effect: wasting your time on trivial tasks

• automate your trivial matters
• make your meetings worth your time
  • set a goal for each meeting
  • keep on-topic: focus on outcomes
  • use feedback loops
  • dedicate time for complex matters