confirmation bias

Banana photo by Mike Dorner Bananas and Critical Thinking

People skilled in critical thinking are willing to accept new findings and evidence, even if it means reassessing previous beliefs. They aim to rely on reason rather than emotion in making decisions, and they seek to detect inconsistencies in reasoning, including their own. It's an important skill to have in software.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
What Do You Believe?

Many people in the agile community believe their way of doing agile is the only right way. This is supported by confirmation bias, which lets us only see facts that support our beliefs. We deserve data-based approaches to determine what leads to the best outcomes. Can you look beyond your personal beliefs?

Johanna Rothman's picture
Johanna Rothman
What Does It Really Cost to Fix a Software Defect?

Bonnie Bailey writes that confirmation bias leads us to throw out the critical thinking needed to determine if the “average cost to fix one defect” metric, which is what we really have to figure out to get the data points for the Boehm curve, is really even a valid metric in the first place.

Bonnie Bailey's picture
Bonnie Bailey
Confirmation Bias: The Most Human of Tendencies

Confirmation bias is the tendency to notice evidence that supports our beliefs, preconceptions, and hypotheses, and to miss, ignore, or dismiss evidence that contradicts them. Instead of trying to falsify a hypothesis, we tend to try to confirm it. It’s a human thing to do.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten