Get old, go slow, write code! - Tobias Modig - NDC Oslo 2024

Age should not be a barrier in software development - focus should be on code quality and maintaining passion for the craft

Sustainable pace is critical - software development is a marathon, not a sprint. Rushing leads to technical debt and poor quality

Building quality software requires slowing down to:

• Plan properly
• Write maintainable code
• Remove technical debt consistently
• Learn and improve skills
• Build team trust and psychological safety

The “Peter Principle” often pushes good developers into management roles they’re not suited for. Stay with coding if that’s your passion

Team hygiene and culture are vital:

• Daily standups should focus on planning, not status updates
• Make retrospectives meaningful
• Build psychological safety
• Create a learning environment

Deadlines are often arbitrary dates that encourage rushed, poor quality work. Push back on unrealistic timelines

Technical debt compounds when rushing - taking shortcuts now creates more work later

Developer competence comes from:

• Continuous learning
• Building the right things, not just building things right
• Understanding the domain
• Having time to reflect and improve

The average software developer career span is relatively short (~8 years). Focus on sustainability to extend your career

Quality code is the foundation of speed - going fast without control leads to waste and rework