Talks

I am always happy to talk: please see this rider for details.

Writing a Technical Book

I've written several technical books and edited several others. This talk summarizes what I've learned that first-time authors might find useful.
Last updated: November 2022.

Software Design for Data Scientists

Many data scientists are self-taught programmers and have never been shown how to think about design in the large. This talk presents ten different approaches, each of which gives different insights.
Last updated: July 2021.

Software Engineering's Greatest Hits

Software engineering is in the process of turning itself into an evidence-based research discipline. This talk describes how that is happening, why it matters, and a few of the more interesting, surprising, and controversial results to date.
Last updated: May 2023; video.

What Everyone in Tech Should Know About Teaching and Learning

Having tried to cram a dozen books about teaching into a two-day course, I have now tried to cram key ideas from that course into this one-hour talk.
Last updated: July 2021; video.

How to Run a Meeting

A few simple rules that can make everyone's life run a little more smoothly.
Last updated: July 2020; video.

Teaching Online on Short Notice

A webinar given in the early days of COVID-19.
Last updated: March 2020; video.

Software Carpentry: Lessons Learned

Since 1998, Software Carpentry has evolved into a worldwide volunteer effort to improve researchers' computing skills. This talk explores the lessons we've learned along the way.
Last updated: October 2018; video.

Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Ike Quebec

Keynote at CarpentryCon 2018 in Dublin.
Last updated: May 2018; video.