Problems not to solve on a Friday afternoon

# Problems not to solve on a Friday afternoon

Some problems can be solved quickly.
Some problems can be solved slowly.
Some problems you should never, ever promise your boss you can solve in a reasonable amount of time.

Have you ever heard your boss tell a client, "Sure, we can calculate the optimal route for your salespeople"? How about, "Yes, we can determine the most efficient schedule for those activities."

This talk will explain why those promises are a bad idea, and why you should always be very careful when promising absolutes. It will serve as a reminder for those who've met the P vs NP problem before, and a brief introduction to those who have not. 

And if you can solve them in an efficient manner on a Friday afternoon, there's a million dollars in it for you. Even if you can do it on a Monday morning!

## Amanda Wagener

Amanda Wagener is a freelance Ruby developer from Christchurch, New Zealand, but can often be found almost anywhere around the globe. She has a programming husband she convinced to switch to Ruby, and a three month old son who has already attended his first Ruby meetup. 

![Profile picture](https://raw.github.com/awagener/rubyconfau-2014-cfp/problems_not_to_solve_on_a_friday_afternoon/talk-amanda_wagener-problems_not_to_solve_on_a_friday_afternoon/profile_picture.jpg)

- [My website](http://awagener.com)
- [My twitter](https://twitter.com/a_wagener)