What can programmers learn from pilots?

Transcript

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   Andrew Godwin @andrewgodwin Programmers LEARN FROM WHAT CAN Pilots?

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   Andrew Godwin Hi, I'm Author of 1.7 Django & South

   migrations Senior Software Engineer at Really likes cheese FAA & EASA PPL, working on IR
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   flickr.com/photos/russss/16735398019/

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   Learning about aviation Applying lessons to coding 1 2

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   Commercial flying is very safe AIRLINES GA 0.2 11.2 CARS/TRUCKS

   0.53 MOTORCYCLES 15.6 Source: 2005 Nall report, 2004 NHTSA stats, 1991-2000 FAA stats, 40mph avg. road speed (fatal accidents per million hours) General aviation is still not bad
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   Pilot Source: 2005 Nall report Mechanical Other 76% 16% 9%

   GA ACCIDENT CAUSES
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   COMMON CAUSES Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) Disorientation in clouds

   (VFR in IMC) Bad decision making (get-there-itis)
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   WHY DO I KNOW THIS? Detailed investigation of every accident

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   HOW DOES IT HELP US? Let's look at common problems

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    Soft Failure Explicit disengage signals Covering inaccurate instruments Replacing parts

    at first sign of issues
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    Soft Failure Crash hard on any serious error Redundancy, not

    single system reliability Freedom to get rid of servers whenever
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    Noisy Warnings Limited number of warning sounds Clear, unambiguous text

    & speech No constant low-level warnings
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    Noisy Warnings Don't email/notify on every tiny error Choose 5

    top errors, solve them first If you ignore it for a week, delete the warning
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    Poor Testing Every part tested to destruction Well known statistical

    limits Knowing when, not if, things fail
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    Image: © Boeing 2010

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    Poor Testing Test latency, memory issues, dodgy network and other

    unusual things Interactions are as important as individual units
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    Automation Reliance Tested without autopilot/instruments Plane usually advises, rarely controls

    Easy to see what's happening and why
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    flickr.com/photos/wkharmon/4631001766

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    Automation Reliance Don't rely on magical automatic failover Regularly practice

    manual recovery steps Know what your systems are doing
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    People Reliance Checklists for everything Warnings built around common assumptions

    Reduce workload at critical times
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    None
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    People Reliance Checklists for releases/testing/onboarding Automate common tasks Reduce workload

    at critical times
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    Bad Priorities Aviate, Navigate, Communicate Minimum Equipment Lists Mayday priority

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    Minimum Equipment Quiz Passenger video screens Lavatory ashtrays Air conditioning

    Fuel recepticle caps Seatbelt signs Weather radar
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    Minimum Equipment Quiz Passenger video screens Lavatory ashtrays Air conditioning

    Fuel recepticle caps Seatbelt signs Weather radar
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    Margaret Hamilton

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    Bad Priorities What are your critical features? What can you

    do without? Know what you want to fix first and test most
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    Unclear Responsibility Single person always in command Others are always

    listened to Clear, concise communication
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    Unclear Responsibility Single person makes key decisions Others are always

    listened to Clear specifications and expectations
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    Blame Culture There is never a single cause of an

    accident Individual problems identified and addressed Blaming someone solves nothing
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    Blame Culture There is never a single cause of a

    problem Work back and find all of the bad factors Blaming people makes things worse
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    Deadlines Always carry extra fuel Always have an alternate Land

    safely rather than at the destination
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    Deadlines Don't schedule everyone at maximum Always expect unknown problems

    Ship good code rather than to a deadline
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    Takeaways

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    Checklists First step before automation

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    Filter unimportant errors Keep ignoring it? It's not important.

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    Pick your key features Don't worry about breaking minor stuff

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    Reward good decisions It's often not the people staying late

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    Ops are like pilots Boredom punctuated by moments of terror

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    Thanks. Andrew Godwin @andrewgodwin eventbrite.com/jobs