What “Stairway to Heaven” Can Teach Us About Software Development – YouTube
Posted by jpluimers on 2025/11/20
Cool video [Wayback/Archive] What “Stairway to Heaven” Can Teach Us About Software Development – YouTube with this intro:
One of the most iconic rock songs ever written starts with the line “There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold…” and chances are you know the rest of the lyrics by heart. Though one could argue that this ability is rather useless. It’s not like it makes you a better software developer, right? Right?!
Allow me to change your mind! I know that the lyrics to “Stairway to Heaven” have sparked countless online debates over its meaning, but being a developer and a musician I think it is actually about software development. In fact, I even believe it contains a few good lessons on it and if that is the case, knowing the lyrics by heart can really benefit you.
So during this talk I will perform snippets of the song, explain why I think it is about software development and how your next software project can be better because of it. I’ll make sure to cover the identity of ‘the lady’, interpretation of requirements, reverting architectural decisions and the cost of overly ambitious guitar solos.
Via [Wayback/Archive] Hanno Embregts 🎤🎸 on Twitter: “My talk “What ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Can Teach Us About Software Development” was scheduled for 17:00, but #Covid got in the way. I’m so sorry, #JFokus! If you’re curious about the talk: an earlier version of it was recorded at @JoyOfCoding: youtu.be/HF58tmnDiuA 👀”
–jeroen
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