Keynote: Strategies to Cope With Conflicting Design Patterns in C++ Development Teams

Sometimes we’re fortunate enough to work with a small group of devs who share our coding values, and when we see their PRs come in, we nod along and say, "Yup, that’s what I would have done. Oh, nice, that one’s even better than my usual approach, I’d better tuck that idea away for next time."

This perfect alignment is precious…​ and particularly elusive in C++. Most of us are living in codebases that are profitable, complex, and updated in ways with which we have legitimate beef. How can we keep a sense of curiosity, progress, and satisfaction amidst patterns we would never have chosen?

This presentation explores the often-overlooked social aspects of C++ development, offering both practical tools and light-hearted commiseration. We’ll draw from the field of behavior science to build strategies that address conflicting design patterns and the strong opinions that come with them.