This keynote was presented by Rebecca Wirfs-Brock at Explore DDD 2017.
The ouroboros (οὐροβόρος in the original Greek) is an image or archetype of a serpent shaped into a circle, clinging to or devouring its own tail in an endless cycle of self-destruction, self-creation, and self-renewal. Becoming a good software designer sometimes feels like that.
Over time, we build up our personal toolkit of design heuristics. To grow as designers, we need to do more than simply design and implement working software. We need to examine and reflect on our work, put our own spin on the advice of experts, and continue to learn better ways of designing.