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In our careers as software developers, one of the biggest challenges we face is “keeping up.” I personally know a COBOL developer that is freaking out because there’s “no development work.” This obviously isn’t the case, but because he let his technical skills age over time, he’s now much like the horse carriage repairman that thought automobiles were a fad. This talk will give you some inspiration to learn something new, while showing you some simple ways to make it a reality.

What do we mean by intuition? Is it a developer’s friend or foe? Can we train ourselves to have a better sixth sense? How do you do that? What sort of devices can you use? One small part theory and one big part practical, Suzan will give you tips and ideas you can put into practical use.

What are you waiting for?
When would NOW be a good time for you to make a difference? How much more do you need to learn? How many other people do you need to please before you step up and change your world in a meaningful way.
You will never win the lottery. You are never going to be a billionaire. This is fantastic news because there is no someday eventuality that you need to wait for to get started.
Let’s do this!

Make no mistake, your career in software is in your hands. It’s not up to your boss, your mentor, your mom, your bookie named Vito, or the other members of your team to make you a better software developer. It is up to you. While others can help, you need to have the reigns of your career firmly in your hands. What should you learn? What should you practice? What should you read? Whether you’ve just taken your first software job or have authored code bases that would be old enough to drive in some states, you have chosen a field where the learning never stops. We’re going to talk about ways that you can make the most of your career.

Perhaps you’ve heard the old XP joke, “if you can’t fit a requirement on an index card, you should get a smaller card.” The same counter-intuitive epiphany applies to team size, too: if a team of 10 is failing, a team of 20 may only succeed in failing more slowly. And yet, the first solution prescribed to struggling teams is usually to add more people to them. This talk will set out to challenge the line-of-thinking that tends to lead to that conclusion.

We spend a large portion of our time thinking about code and technical project issues. What about the people side of things? The majority of project failures occur because of people, not technology. What we need are guides that help us navigate the waters between the people around us.

People Patterns introduces my latest effort to capture the subtleties and nuances of interpersonal relations. I’m distilling a lot of experience, a bit of psychology and a substantial amount of research and have come up with a series of patterns that can help everyone be more successful in teams and at work. How do you have those critical conversations? How do you get your point across when you think the other person is incompetent? Come and help me reveal these and join a lively discussion.

Just like we have bugs in our code, we have bugs in our communities sometimes. We call these community bugs “difficult people” — bullies, trolls, Debbie Downers, whiners, drama queens. We all know them. It’s easy to let these toxic personalities cripple your community and cause dysfunction. In this talk, we’ll talk about the negative effects these behaviors can have, how to get to the root of the problem, and how to deal with these personalities in a constructive, effective way.

Why can’t we all just get along? Well, we call it “creative tension” for a reason! Innovation seldom springs forth from a placid, stable environment where everyone looks, thinks, and acts the same. If you want to enjoy creative breakthroughs on your team, you’re probably going to have to throw a few weirdos into the mix. Discover why diversity is not only important for coming up with fresh new ideas — but also critical for winning the hearts and minds of your customers.

Designers are designers and developers are developers and never the twain shall meet, right? Except – not really. There are some imaginary lines drawn around the two disciplines of design and development, but the truth is they are closely intertwined, and it can be very useful for a developer to have design knowledge and skills in his or her toolbox. This presentation will correct some commonly-held misconceptions about design, cover the basics of design from a developer’s perspective and explore how a developer can employ these principles to build clearer, cleaner and more usable applications.