Non-Programming for Programmers

Day Camp 4 Developers #6

Date: July 26, 2013
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM CDT

You know all the keyboard shortcuts for your favorite IDE.
Your .vimrc is longer than most programs.
You have memorized every haystack/needle paring. (PHP only)

As programmers we are masters of the arcane. We have muscle memory for the most common commands in our chosen language, package manager, and operating system. We can express ideas to each other using words that make mere mortals’ heads spin. There is more to programming though, than writing code.

Day Camp 4 Developers 6: Non-Programming for Programmers covers 4 topics that programmers ignore, don’t bother to learn, or like to pretend aren’t important…even though they are.

Join us for a morning of learning as our 4 speakers talk to you about :

  • Documentation
  • Agile development
  • Source code management
  • Estimating

Join us on Friday, July 26th for Day Camp 4 Developers #6: Non-Programming for Programmers.”

Lorna Mitchell

Practical Software Estimation Techniques, or “How Late?”

Lorna Mitchell

These two questions can seem to be closely related; estimations are often so inaccurate as to be seen as useless by the business, with the result that we can sometimes skip on this phase altogether. This session covers a selection of techniques for reversing the trend, producing useful estimations and measuring project progress as we work towards delivering our masterpiece on time and on budget. We’ll look at the factors that can make it all go wrong: scope changes, budget constraints, risky tasks that don’t turn out as well as we hoped – and how we can use the expert experience of developers to overcome these challenges.

Thursday Bram

How to Make Good Documentation a Regular Part of Your Day

Thursday Bram

I’ve seen developers cringe at the mere mention of the word ‘documentation’ — but if you build good documentation habits, it pays off. You become a better developer, work better with a larger team and even become more appealing as a candidate for a new job. To build those habits, you need to learn to write good documentation in the first place, as well as to create a work process that includes writing more than just code every day.

Christopher Swenson

Source Code Management and Version Control

Christopher Swenson

Source code management (SCM), sometimes called version control (VC), is a tool for solving a fundamental development problem: Your source code is constantly changing, and keeping track of different conflicting versions and pieces will drive anyone insane quickly. But the SCM tools themselves don’t have to drive you crazy, too.

In this topic, we’ll cover what SCM does for you and why you should use SCM for every project (even the smallest ones you do by yourself). Then, we’ll dive into some specific, simple workflows with git, the controversially awesome SCM, for working by yourself and with others.

Brendan Wovchko

How to Speak Business & Eradicate Confusion in Software Development

Jeff Carouth

Businesses are trying hard to transform from IT to Product — but project management isn’t keeping pace. Even if your organization is “agile” or “lean” the objectives, timeframes, and work imposed on “the doers” from “the planners” often have a casual relationship with reality. Wovchko will share proven techniques on how to baseline expectations with business people, eliminate half-baked requirements, and protect focus by delineating minor problems from true emergencies. Shared from the perspective of an Agilist, you will leave this session with document templates and tips on how to get management to implement a Definition of Done, Definition of Ready, and Definition of Performant at your place of work.

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