Andy Cassell is a full-stack web application developer in Herndon, Virginia who designs and builds user experiences that are delightful on any device. Andy is an employee of the non-profit Marine Spill Response Corporation, the largest dedicated oil spill and emergency response organization. He works on their website and internal web applications.
Session
User Experience: The Good Parts
A good user experience will make or break most software projects. Building software that people will want to use, want to keep using, and love the developers for is a challenge made easier when you understand the basics of UX design. Even if you never touch a single line of HTML or JavaScript you are still creating a user experience for other developers when you have an API or public methods on a class. The field of user experience design is full of good and bad parts. There is an abundance of really fantastic ideas like mental models, task based user interfaces, and eliminating modes. Unfortunately, these good ideas are mixed in with bad and downright horrible ideas, like personas and mood boards. You will leave this presentation thinking differently about what makes great software, what design techniques will lead to great user interactions, and what to avoid so people are not annoyed using your products. Room: Captain's Club When: Seaday: July 23rd, 4:00p - 5:00p
For the past 15 years Cal has worked with PHP and MySQL on Linux, OSX, and Windows. He has built a variety of projects ranging in size from simple web pages to multi-million dollar web applications. When not banging his head on his monitor, attempting a blood sacrifice to get a particular piece of code working, he enjoys building and managing development teams using his widely imitated but never patented management style of "management by wandering around". These days, when not working with PHP, Cal can be found working on a variety of projects like Nomad PHP. He speaks at conferences around the world on topics ranging from technical talks to motivational talks for developers. If you happen to meet him at a conference, don't be afraid to buy him a shot of Bourbon.
Session
FILDI
What are you waiting for? Permission? Don't wait for "a welcoming community" don't wait for "permission". If you want to make something, MAKE IT. Join me in an old-man rant as I yell at you about why you have it easy. I'll show you what it was like before the internet, before cheap hosting, and before everything was a SaaS. Along the way I will yell at you to get off my lawn at least once, maybe more. If you have a computer and any access to the Internet, you CAN build something great. The real question is, are you willing to put yourself out there. Stop telling me why you can't do something, FILDI! Room: Butterflies Lounge When: Seaday: July 19th, 9:00a - 10:00a
Chris Hartjes has been building web applications of all shapes and sizes using PHP (with a smattering of Python, Perl, and Javascript) since 1998 and caring about unit testing his code since 2005. As the power behind Grumpy Learning Inc. he believes that teaching developers about testing and automation leads to building high-quality applications quickly. He works from his basement office in the snowy wilds of Canada while helping to organize the TrueNorthPHP conference.
Session
Time Management For Grumpy Programmers
"I don't have enough time" is a cry that echoes across social media and online chat rooms. Work deadlines, family obligations, hobbies that don't involve computers -- they all are taking out chunks of the time we have available to us. But there is one immutable fact --we all have the same amount of time available, some of us just find different ways to use it. In this session learn how grumpy programmer Chris Hartjes organizes and makes decisions about how to spend his time. Business owner, involved work-from-home parent, conference speaker, podcaster, collectable card game enthusiast - Chris does this all and more without feeling super-stressed about it. Was he born with this super power? Not at all. The talk will cover how Chris plans his life, his preferred tools, and strategies for figuring out what to do and when to do it. It is possible to get a lot done and not become a workaholic in the process. Sit back, relax, and let a grumpy programmer show you how to maximize your time. Room: Captain's Club When: Seaday: July 18th, 1:00p - 2:00p
Workshop
Admit it, you don't do testing — Let's fix that
In the middle of Web 3.0 it's become obvious that a very large percentage of developers are aware that there are tools available that allow them to write automated tests for the code they write. But you don't write tests. Never have. You feel a little bad about it but you tell yourself that it looks really tough to get into and you have a hard deadline that doesn't have any time for you to learn to use these tools.
What if you could learn how to write tests from someone who has been using them for a long time and also knows how to explain it in a way that cuts down on the fear and anxiety while teaching you what you need to go to get started immediately? That's what Chris Hartjes, long-time PHP testing evangelist, wants to do for you.
In this workshop Chris starts you off from the point of never having written a unit test and guides you through what tests really are. Then he will show you PHPUnit works and what features are the ones you really need to know. Next you will walk through using Test Driven Development using some code katas and leave with a solid, practical foundation that you can take back to your regular job and actually use.
Testing your code is hard and might require you to relearn some closely-held practices. Let a grumpy programmer fix that for you!
David Stockton has been writing PHP code professionally since 1998. He is Vice President of Technology at i3logix in Denver, CO. He is very passionate about source control, TDD, APIs and PHP development. He is married and has two daughters who he is teaching to program and build circuits with Arduino and a four year old son who has a Master's degree in annoying his sisters, and has been seen studying calculus and recursive algorithms. He created zendWORKSHOPs.com and tddftw.com.
Workshop
Family
Learn to Hack Minecraft
Bring the family and have some fun with Minecraft! In this session we will cover all manner of interesting things you can do in Minecraft, that will let your family members begin to understand the basics of programming! Using both redstone blocks to create logic circuits, and the power of command blocks, you'll be amazed at everything that you can do. All attendees and their families are welcome at this session. (And don't worry, if it ends up too over the head for your young ones, they'll just get to hang out and play Minecraft anyway!)
Workshop
Family
Teaching the Kids to Code
Whether a kid, or a kid at heart, this session is designed for family members to attend! We'll spend time teaching the basics of programming just by using JavaScript and a browser. Teaching level will be kept low, but just enough to spark the interest of family members here on the last day of the confernece so that they can go home energized to learn more! Room: Raphael Room When: Seaday: July 23rd, 9:00a - 10:30a
Eli White is the Conference Chair and Manging Editor of php[architect]. He has been building Web Applications for 20 years and fell in love with PHP the day that PHP 4 was released. Since then he's been a strong advocate for PHP and used it in every project he's worked on.
Session
Opening Remarks
Join us for some introductions, information about the ship, and what to expect out of the conference. Nothing too heavy, we have a long week ahead of us! Room: Beauties Dance Club When: Boarding: July 17th, 5:00p - 6:00p
Session
Refactor, Don't Rebuild
To paraphrase a popular 1970's TV series: "We can rebuild it...we have the technology". Everyone has heard the phrase uttered: "This codebase sucks, we need to rewrite it from scratch!". In fact you've probably said that exact phrase before. But is it ever really a good idea? Via real world examples, we will explore the topic in this session and iterate the reasons why it's almost always better to maintain and slowly refactor existing codebases as you go, rather than throw them away and start again from scratch. Room: Butterflies Lounge When: Seaday: July 19th, 2:30p - 3:30p
Graham is a Staff Engineer at Refinery29 in Manhattan, author of the CodeManifesto, co-creator of HackTheStigma and US Lead for PHPWomen. He represents the PHP League of Extraordinary Packages for the PHP-FIG. He's a passionate engineer that enjoys solving problems, mentoring others and being involved in the community. He can usually be found on twitter talking about his kids, food, or code.
Session
Life Driven Development: Striving for Balance
Work/Life balace is a phrase that's become so saturated it's almost lost all meaning. What does it mean, exactly? Why is it is important? Why should you care about, let alone fight for it? In this talk we'll answer those questions, as well as discuss tips for how to acheive balance and what to do when you absolutely can't. Room: Captain's Club When: Seaday: July 23rd, 1:00p - 2:00p
Workshop
Cleaning House With Doctrine
All developers have roughly the same dream: To work on a green field project, ripe with opportunity. Most of us don't live that dream. We're trapped in the dank dungeon of a legacy codebase, being suffocated by thousands of lines of spaghetti code. Never fear! Doctrine2 Can help! This isn't the kind of workshop where you start from scratch and build a nice proof of concept. We're going to start in the middle of something kind of funky. The database schema isn't going to be perfect. The models aren't going to be well defined. There'll be logic all over the place. Together, we'll use Doctrine to migrate our domain into one that is easier to reason about, test and maintain.
Heather has held various jobs in the past, ranging from teaching elementary school to being a project manager and trainer for the Army’s medical research program. She holds a Bachelors of Biology and a Masters in Curriculum Development. Currently she uses her background in curriculum and teaching to head up the Training Program at php[architect], as well as being their customer service lead. Heather is also a self proclaimed geek and enjoys Sci-Fi, Medieval reenactment, and board games.
Session
Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone: Learn to Teach
As a developer you spend your entire life learning. But what happens when the tables are turned and you become the teacher? Do you want to become a conference speaker, talk at your local user group, give presentations at work, be a mentor or become a technical trainer? As a previous classroom teacher with a Master's Degree in Curriculum Development, I will take you on a journey to understand the various learning styles and how to effectively reach everyone. We will look at how to present your information, best ways to structure it, and learn ways to reach all students no matter their level. We will also cover a number of best practices for crafting your presentation decks themselves. Join me for this exploration into the inner workings of the human mind. Room: Captain's Club When: Seaday: July 23rd, 2:30p - 3:30p
PHP Developer, system administrator, community builder, conference organizer, conference speaker, maker, hacker, tinkerer, husband, and owned by cats
Workshop
Morning Code Katas
Join us for some morning code katas. We've been at port for three days, time to shake ourselves back into the coding mindset and prepare for the rest of the conference! Room: Ivory Piano Bar When: Seaday: July 23rd, 9:00a - 10:30a
Session
Silence is Acquiescence: How Things Got Done
I never set out to be an organizer, but I saw people in other cities doing the same thing. It couldn't be that hard; I was incredibly wrong. I've spent the past six years bringing user groups together and creating nonprofit organizations in my local technical community. Join me as I share what we did right, what we could have done better, and how I found my way into not only my local community, but the larger technical community. I'll share insights and stories into how we connected isolated user groups and started new user groups through accidental meetings and pure peer pressure. Unifying the user groups laid the foundation to build nonprofit organizations to promote local technical events. Room: Butterflies Lounge When: Seaday: July 19th, 1:00p - 2:00p
Passionate soul who gets his kicks solving problems with deep fried awesomeness. Currently employed by Microsoft.
Session
Case Studies in a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset starts with a belief that everyone can grow and develop; that potential is nurtured, not predetermined; and that anyone can change their mindset. Leadership is about bringing out the best in people, where everyone is bringing their A game and finding deep meaning in their work. We need to be always learning and insatiably curious. We need to be willing to lean in to uncertainty, take risks and move quickly when we make mistakes, recognizing failure happens along the way to mastery. And we need to be open to the ideas of others, where the success of others does not diminish our own. – Satya Nadella
In this talk, we will dig into what a “Growth Mindset” is and case studies of success and failure with different mindsets. Room: Butterflies Lounge When: Seaday: July 19th, 4:00p - 5:00p
Kevin is the sole Designer/Front End Developer in the band of developers called Musketeers.me and php[architect]. He has spent half of his 20 year design career drifting between Web Designer and Developer and lives in both camps comfortably. Being an evangelist of clean design and clean code, he started a still thriving web technology Meetup, an AIGA Design Meetup, is an AIGA Blue Ridge Board member and speaks at national tech conferences.
Session
Design for Developers
While there is some truth to “some amount of innate talent is required to be a true artist”, it’s not necessarily so in learning how to design. And as developers, we’ve all found ourselves struggling when called on to be both the designer and developer of a website. There are processes and techniques you can use to create a well designed site. From “hierarchy of content” to “font usage” to “proximity of elements”, I will teach you how to develop an eye for design that will carry you through any task, and may even alter how you see the world as you learn related patterns are everywhere. Room: Captain's Club When: Seaday: July 18th, 10:30a - 11:30a
Oscar still remembers downloading an early version of the Apache HTTP server at the end of 1995, and promptly asking "Ok, what's this good for?" He started learning PHP in 2000 and hasn't stopped since. He's worked with Drupal, WordPress, Zend Framework, Silex, and bespoke PHP, to name a few.
Workshop
Technical Writing for non-Writers
Do you need to document your projects for clients, managers, and team members? Don't know how to start or what makes good documentation? In this workshop, lead by our very own Editor-in Chief, we'll look at how to structure your writing and share tips for writing clearly and concisely. We'll learn about markdown and how to use it to output different kinds of documents, from web pages, to HTML and Word Documents. The workshop includes a number of hands on excercises so be ready to write!
Samantha Quiñones is a polyglot hacker and systems architecture expert. Over the course of her 17-year career, she has built software and led teams for some of the largest names in financial services and digital media and is currently a Principal Software Engineer on the content platform team at AOL. Samantha is an accomplished writer and frequent speaker at technology conferences, a participant in the White House Data Jam on STEM Workforce Quality, Flow, and Diversity and has been recognized by the Huffington Post as one of the top Latinas in American Media.
Session
Hacking the Human Interface
Humans are the most complex systems we work with on a regular basis. That complexity produces a huge variety of behaviors that can seem entirely unpredictable on the surface. Thankfully we have a powerful tool in our arsenal that we can use to understand and share the experiences of our fellow humans. Let's talk about how we can marshal that often-underutilized ability to unlock the true potential of human relationships, mediate conflict, manage mental health, inspire others, and forge a stronger connection with the world around us. Room: Captain's Club When: Seaday: July 18th, 2:30p - 3:30p
Session
Technology and the Future of Media
It’s been two decades since the digital revolution started to change the way we share and consume media. Today, traditional media faces a host of new challenges: how to monetize in a world of information freedom; how to effectively communicate a message to an increasingly over-saturated audience; how to get ahead of trends and make sense of the social Internet. These problems are often approached from a business perspective, but engineers throughout the industry are searching for technological solutions. In this session, you’ll gain an insider’s perspective on where we’ve been, where we’re going, and how we’re reinventing media with code. Room: Butterflies Lounge When: Seaday: July 19th, 10:30a - 11:30a
Sandy Smith lives in the Washington, DC area, and has been a web developer for an eternity in the web world: 15 years. He’s spent all but a year of that time consulting, usually for nonprofits and government, working both in-house and in an agency. He’s worked with a hundred or so organizations in various capacities, from basic development to strategic advice to multi-tier applications. He’s the leader of the DCPHP User Group, a member of the php[architect] team, and really committed to helping new developers get up and running in PHP effectively.
Workshop
You Won’t Fear the Regex
…after this tutorial. Even advanced developers can be intimidated by regular expressions, but we’ll face them together. Taking a practical, hands-on approach, we’ll demystify regexes and learn to use them with confidence in our code and even in our editors.
Tessa Mero is the Developer Evangelist for Cisco. She spends her extra time contributing on a leadership team for the Joomla! Project and has been involved with Joomla for the past 5 years. She runs the Seattle PHP Meetup and is the organizer of the Pacific Northwest PHP conference. On her free time, she likes to play video games, snowboard, and eat Korean food.
Session
Nom Nom: Consuming REST APIs
Feeling hungry? You’ve came to the right place! As APIs have become increasingly more important and popular in usage in the past few years in web development, it is important to understand the basics of what they are and why to use them. I will be going
over the basics: The What’s, Why’s, Where’s, and When’s. You will learn the basics of REST APIs and I will show you how you can use POSTMAN to test making REST API calls. I will use Cisco’s Spark and Tropo as use case examples of working with APIs. Room: Captain's Club When: Seaday: July 18th, 9:00a - 10:00a
