NorDevCon 2015: Technical Sessions Part 2

Just weeks into the new year NorDevCon 2015 is back and this year it means business.

Tuck into our tech session taster take-two with more details of just some of our skilled speakers and what you can look forward to from the next NorDevCon.

The Rationale For Continuous Delivery

Many people working in software development spend their careers working without seeing what good looks like. Our history is littered with inefficient processes creating poor quality output, too late to capitalise on the expected business value.

Dave Farley, co-author of the Jolt award winning book Continuous Delivery, raises the questions we’ve all been asking ourselves like 'How have we got to this state?' 'How do we get past it and what does good really look like?'

David has been having fun with computers for over 30 years and over this time has worked on most types of software. He has a wide range of experience leading the development of complex software in teams, large and small. Dave was an early adopter of agile development techniques, employing iterative development, continuous integration and significant levels of automated testing on commercial projects from the early 1990s. More recently Dave has worked in the field of low latency computing developing high performance software for the finance industry.

Seven Ineffective Coding Habits of Many Programmers

The rule of three at it’s finest – not the three-act play or the given–when–then BDD triptych, but this talk walks through — and has some fun with — a number of triples that affect and are found in software development.

Habits help you manage the complexity of code. You apply existing skill and knowledge automatically to the detail while focusing on the bigger picture. But because you acquire habits largely by imitation, and rarely question them, how do you know your habits are effective? Many of the habits that programmers have for naming, formatting, commenting and unit testing do not stand up as rational and practical on closer inspection.

Kevlin Henney examines seven coding habits that are not as effective as programmers believe, and suggests some tried and tested alternatives.

Web vs Native: Where Are We Now?

O2’s Ruth John talks to us about the browser, it’s emerging technologies and how much mobile technology has changed the direction of the web. She asks the hard question of Web vs Native, where the arguments lie for and against in the current climate and which one is more suitable to your projects. You’ll start the day with an enlightened insight  into how influential mobile really is.

Working for The Lab at O2 (Telefonica), Ruth has over ten years experience in the industry and she heads up UXing, designing and front end coding. You can often find her chatting about new mobile & web development techniques and getting excited about building apps.

                   
Conference Dinner and Kurasie Wine Reception

Make the most of your time at NorDevCon and join us for a wine reception (free), also at The King’s Centre, generously sponsored by Kurasie. Discuss what you’ve learnt, raise any questions or introduce yourself to other delegates and share insights.

If you’re unable to attend the conference then you’re still very welcome to attend the drinks reception and mingle with conference delegates, speakers, organisers, Norfolk’s tech community and beyond.

The drinks reception will be followed by the conference dinner (£35 + fees for 3 courses and 2 glasses of wine) where you’ll have the chance to sit down and dine with all your favourite speakers in turn and pick the minds of those that are most relevant to you and your business. Places must be booked in advance and, like the drinks reception, invitations extend to those unable to attend the full conference as they also provide invaluable stand-alone networking opportunities.

View the menu here.

Pre-conference special & dinner

You can now RSVP for the pre-conference special and dinner on the evening of Thursday 26th of February(the evening before the conference). If you're able to make it, please do come along to both. The details are below.

Everyone is welcome at both events and you don't need to attend the conference to attend the pre-conference events.

Pre-conference Special with Allan Kelly and Kevlin Henney

Thursday, 26th February 2015 @ 5pm
The Kings Centre, Norwich

The Rule of Three - Kevin Henney

The three-act play, the given–when–then BDD triptych, the three steps of the Feynman problem solving algorithm... a surprising number of things appear to come in threes. This talk walks through — and has some fun with — a number of triples that affect and are found in software development.

Every business is a software business - Allan Kelly

RSVP here.

Pre-conference Dinner at All Bar One

Thursday, 26th February 2015 @ 7.30pm
All Bar One, Norwich

This year the pre-conference dinner will be at All Bar One (a short walk from the Kings Centre) at 7.30pm. All are welcome and the fixed price menu is here:

View the menu.

When you RSVP you'll need to pay £11 for the meal and then for your drinks on the night. Please specify a starter, main meal and dessert when you RSVP.

RSVP here.

Student & Unemployed Discounts

If you’re a student or are unemployed you can attend NorDevCon for just £25 + fees. If you purchase a discounted ticket you will be required to prove your status when you register on the morning of the conference.

Click here for student tickets and here for unemployed tickets.