# Building Mental Models of Ideas That Don't Change

DevFeed: [Building Mental Models of Ideas That Don't Change](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/building-mental-models-of-ideas-that-don-t-change-1327.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://shopify.engineering/building-mental-models>)

Author: Hammad Khalid

Published: 2020-10-22T17:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Shopify Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/shopify-engineering.md>), [Shopify Engineering - Shopify Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/shopify-engineering-shopify-engineering.md>)

Topics: [Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/programming.md>), [systems](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/systems.md>), [dashboards](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/dashboards.md>), [monitor](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/monitor.md>), [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/networking.md>), [Server](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/server.md>)

Tags: [developers](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/developers.md>), [engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/engineering.md>), [management](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/management.md>), [mental-models](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mental-models.md>), [metrics](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/metrics.md>), [monitor](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/monitor.md>), [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/networking.md>), [programming](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/programming.md>), [servers](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/servers.md>), [systems](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/systems.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains how mental models can help developers handle information overload and learn enduring principles instead of chasing every new framework, language, or platform. It presents a method for prioritizing concepts, tracking important ideas, and applying engineering and management models to make better decisions, including avoiding silent failures through monitoring, logging, dashboards, and alerts.

## Source excerpt

Developers constantly face information overload. There's always a new programming language, methodology, framework, or platform. How do you make sense of it all? You use mental models to guide you.