Dungeons, Dragons & Developers • Matt Brunt • YOW! 2025

This presentation was recorded at YOW! 2025. #GOTOcon #YOW
https://yowcon.com

Matt Brunt - Dungeon Master & Team Tinkerer @MattBrunt 

RESOURCES
https://bsky.app/profile/brunty.me
https://mastodon.social/@brunty
https://github.com/Brunty
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbrunt
https://brunty.me

ABSTRACT
You enter the dungeon, as the echoes of your footsteps sound around you, something catches your eye - is that… oh, oh no.

You grab your trusty sword and with your fellow adventurers, you seek to overcome the mighty challenge that lays ahead of you: building software.

This talk is a look at some of the parallels between Dungeons and Dragons, and software development.

We’ll see how lessons learned through delving into dungeons and fighting monsters with a party of adventurers can help teams of developers when building software in the real world.

Are you ready to join me in a mighty quest for better software? [...]

TIMECODES
00:00 Intro
02:42 Dungeons & Dragons
04:24 The dungeon master
05:35 Our story begins with you
06:03 Your alignment
07:35 My alignment?
07:53 Wizards
09:34 Our party
11:28 The quest
13:41 Find your balance
15:51 Quest requirements
17:02 Defend your side
19:00 Ok, let's get going!
20:36 Hey folks, can I join you?
24:41 Losing the path
25:22 Crossing the river
27:10 Decisions need context
27:35 Hey DM, can we try?
28:24 Agility over Agile
30:25 Sometimes you roll a natural 20
31:02 Sometimes you roll a natural 1
31:15 Be prepared
31:43 Use knowledge & experience
33:43 "I Cast Fireball"
34:26 Knowledge silos are a barrier to progress
35:40 The final hill
36:09 Exhaustion
38:31 Reaching your goal
39:58 Victory & reward
41:14 Summary
41:56 Outro

Download slides and read the full abstract here:
https://yowcon.com/brisbane-2025/sessions/3641

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Heidi Helfand • Dynamic Reteaming • https://amzn.to/3Fvu5BA
Heidi Helfand • How to Change Your Teams • https://leanpub.com/DRTGuide
Carl Larson & Frank M J LaFasto • Teamwork • https://amzn.to/4cFWseQ
Gene Kim & Steve Spear • Wiring the Winning Organization • https://amzn.to/3QJcfBp

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