22-25 April 2026 
Video unavailable
SQLBits 2026
How to Derail Your Data Programme: A Practical Guide
A data programme drifts off course through small, human choices. My Hitchhiker's Guide walks through the common missteps, why they happen, and how to spot trouble early. A look at how teams go astray and the nudges that bring them back.
A data programme rarely explodes in one dramatic moment. It slips, quietly, through a series of small choices that all looked harmless at the time. This talk is a calm walk through those choices. Think of it as a field guide to common hazards, written for anyone who has ever watched good intentions turn into confused meetings and rising tension.
We’ll look at how plans drift, how people talk at cross purposes, and how a perfectly sensible idea on a Monday becomes something unrecognisable by Friday. There’s no blame here. Only a gentle look at how humans work when faced with deadlines, ambition and too many opinions.
This isn’t a tour of tools or code. It’s a light, honest take on the moments where a data programme starts to wobble and the small nudges that steady it again. If you’ve ever wondered how things unravel so quickly, or how to stop that from happening next time, this session will feel strangely familiar.
We’ll look at how plans drift, how people talk at cross purposes, and how a perfectly sensible idea on a Monday becomes something unrecognisable by Friday. There’s no blame here. Only a gentle look at how humans work when faced with deadlines, ambition and too many opinions.
This isn’t a tour of tools or code. It’s a light, honest take on the moments where a data programme starts to wobble and the small nudges that steady it again. If you’ve ever wondered how things unravel so quickly, or how to stop that from happening next time, this session will feel strangely familiar.