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The System Metaphor Explored

Premise

The system metaphor is a powerful mechanism for understanding and guiding the shape of the system, but many teams don’t make full use of it.

You will...

  • Understand why you want a metaphor
  • Know what to do when you catch one
  • Practice brainstorming metaphors
  • Critique metaphors
  • Have fun!

Format

  • Half-day
  • Mix of lecture, exercises, and games.

Outline

  1. Metaphor: what it is, isn't, and why
        Icebreaker
  2. How do you find a metaphor?
        Exercise: Brainstorming
  3. What do you do with a metaphor?
        Exercise: Score Card
  4. Four key objects
        Exercise: Haddock's Eyes
  5. Bad metaphors
        Exercise: Garden Path
  6. More issues
        Exercise: Popcorn
  7. Summary and wrap-up

Audience

Anybody who needs to understand or develop a system metaphor, especially customers and programmers.

Offerings

Private offerings (email William.Wake@acm.org)
XP 2002. Sardinia, Italy.
XP Universe 2001. July 23-25, 2001. Raleigh, NC.

Instructors

William Wake (William.Wake@acm.org, www.xp123.com) is a programmer, the author of Extreme Programming Explored, and the inventor of the Test-First Stoplight and the Programmer’s Cube.

Steve Wake (swake@earthlink.net) is a development manager and software engineer who gets excited about new ways to do things right. His interests include agile development methods and distributed software using Java.

Background Reading

Extreme Programming Explored, "What is the system metaphor?" by William C. Wake. Addison-Wesley, 2001.

Designing Information Technology for the Postmodern Age, Richard Coyne. MIT Press, 1995.

Also of Interest

Extreme Programming Explored (2-day course). An overview of XP, using games and exercises to introduce the concepts.

Consulting services

Copyright 1994-2009, William C. Wake - William.Wake@acm.org