East Anglia's Largest Developer Conference | Norfolk Developers Conference 2024

Norfolk Developers Conference 2024

Knowledge, inspiration, and networking opportunities come together.

Our three tracks offer a broad range of sessions suitable for various interests and expertise levels, making it an inclusive experience for seasoned professionals, budding entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts alike.

Get ready for a laid-back, friendly tech experience that's all about good vibes and learning together. Dive into the latest trends, advancements, and challenges in technology, gaining valuable insights to propel your career and business forward.

An audience at nor(DEV): con, gaze fixed on the speaker.

What to expect

Chill Community Vibe

Picture this: you walk in, and it's like joining a big group of friends who love tech just as much as you do. No fancy vibes, just a cool community excited to share and learn.
Lunch on the House

We get it - talking tech can work up an appetite. We've got your back with some tasty lunches. It's not just about the food; it's a chance to kick back, chat, and maybe make some new pals.
Engaging and Informative Talks

Our sessions cover a diverse range of topics, from the latest technological advancements to practical insights into industry trends. Whether you're interested in coding, development methodologies, or the broader tech landscape, there's something for everyone.
Networking... but *fun*

No forced handshakes or awkward exchanges here. It's all about making connections in a way that feels natural. Chat with speakers, meet fellow attendees, and who knows - you might just find your next project buddy.

So, ditch the pretence, grab a snack, and let's make 2024 the chill tech hangout you'll remember.
See you there! 🚀

11:00
Registration

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 11:00:00
11:45
Welcome & Introductions

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 11:45:00
12:00
The Heat Death of Enterprise IT

Most Enterprise Applications have more frameworks than developers. Many have more NPM / Maven / NuGet libraries than users. If these libraries were ubiquitous then we might be OK, but this is far from the case. It is entirely possible to be a legitimate expert in some platform, yet encounter completely new dependencies when moving between projects. Given this diversity, one might expect a renewed emphasis in our industry on specialization. But instead the reverse is true. The modern developer is often expected to conduct their own QA, transition their code to Cloud Native, and perform their own Threat Modeling. All whilst analyzing requirements, organizing demos, and generally being a Product Person. In previous decades we questioned what it meant to be an expert in our trade. Today that seems quaint. A more relevant question is - “are we so spread out that expertise is no longer possible”? In this talk we will explore the proposition that Enterprise IT will soon be so spread out that skilled work becomes a thing of the past. Along the way we will explore why you need to be a Full Stack Developer in four different dimensions, the impact of AI and low-code on our profession, why ultimately all your code sucks, and how to be successful at your job and get away with it.

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 12:00:00
13:00
Lunch

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 13:00:00
13:45
How to protect yourself from the biggest Internet threats

Nowadays, there are many attack vectors an adversary can employ to either break into the system or impact its operations. Oftentimes a successful attack is a clever combination of smaller vectors, which on their own do not seem very important or dangerous. That’s why to efficiently mitigate modern Internet threats the system should be built with the “defense in depth” in mind. In this presentation we will discuss the various approaches and technical solutions Cloudflare implemented to protect infrastructure and services from the biggest Internet threats. We will review a layered approach to security starting from the Internet itself, then data centre networking, server and operating systems layers, application and service layers. We will see how the Internet today has become the global “security perimeter” and how to protect modern cloud workloads and corporate services.

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 13:45:00
Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong

Some of you will recognise the title of this session as Murphy's law. In this talk, we'll explore this in the context of AWS. Operating a workload in AWS offers the ability for your application to run more reliably and be more resilient to failure. But how? How do you architect for failure? How do you ensure that your application can survive an AWS datacentre failure? Come along and find out the answers to these questions among many more.

In the Conference Room 1 on 2024-02-15 13:45:00
Unlocking Azure's Orchestration Secret: A Journey through Durable Functions

In this talk we will embark on an exploration of Azure with a brief introduction to storage, queues and Azure functions. This will lead us to a real-world scenario we encountered at NIQ Brandbank whilst building a bespoke pipeline to convert a customers data into our standard. We will discover Durable Functions and learn how they allowed us to build a more resilient system. Along the way we will explore application patterns and come up against deterministic APIs allowing you to define a stateful workflow for your business. Expect to see live code examples and demonstrations in the Azure Portal and Functions Monitor.

In the Conference Room 2 on 2024-02-15 13:45:00
14:30
Introduction to Azure Functions: Building, Deploying, and Triggering with .NET and C#

In this session, we will provide a comprehensive overview of Microsoft Azure Functions, discussing how to build and deploy functions using .NET and C#. You will gain a solid understanding of the core concepts, including function triggers, bindings, and input/output integrations.

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 14:30:00
Beyond Example-Based Tesing in .NET

Introduction to property-based testing in (mostly) C# Are you tired of trying to find every edge case in your code and write a test for it? Generative testing is the answer to that. In this talk we'll explore how _property-based testing_ is the antidote to brittle and hard-to-maintain test suites. Using examples in C# (and some in F# for variety), we'll work through how to take your existing example-based tests and evolve them to use property-based testing to expand your coverage and probe your edge-cases more thoroughly. Unit testing code is often seen as a bit of a tedious necessity: tests can be brittle in the face of even innocuous change especially when there are several similar tests to probe edge-cases. Example-based testing, as its name suggests, usually takes a single example to examine a specific edge-case. Some example-based tests can use test parameters to generate several examples; by contrast, property-based testing generates _random_ values for each test which can give extra insight into your code, and sometimes produce surprising failure-cases.

In the Conference Room 1 on 2024-02-15 14:30:00
Database Sharding

When you absolutely, positively got to join every table in the cluster, accept no substitutes. Richard Bensley, a database contractor, talks about his journey in scaling a customer's MariaDB servers using modern sharding techniques.

In the Conference Room 2 on 2024-02-15 14:30:00
15:15
What is a Microservice?

Over a decade has passed since the term "microservice" first emerged, and yet, many are still left wondering, "What exactly is a microservice?" Join us in this lighthearted talk as we embark on a journey to uncover the essence of microservices. In this talk we will cover: * The origin of Microservices: We'll start by unraveling the backstory of the term "microservice," which surprisingly traces back to a small event in Italy attended by James Lewis. * Parallel Evolution: Microservices didn't emerge in isolation. We'll explore the concurrent development of alternative approaches by Adrian Cockcroft and Fred George. * Building on Tradition: Microservices are not a revolution but rather an evolution from existing patterns of modular programming and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). * What the Experts Say: We see what Wikipedia has to say about microservices. Explore the consensus among experts and the formal definition that has emerged over the years. * Twitter's Take: Finally, we'll see what the tech community has to say by sharing insights and opinions from Twitter.

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 15:15:00
Beyond Logs: Real-Time Anomaly Detection with Machine Learning

Logs and traces generated by applications are valuable sources of information that can help detect issues and improve performance. However, they are often treated separately from other data, even though they are no different from the data an application works with. In this talk, we will explore a different approach: treating logs and traces as part of a scalable cloud storage repository that can be analyzed with the same techniques used for big data. By keeping all the data together, we can apply machine learning models to detect situations of interest and alert us in real-time when unwanted behavior is occurring or brewing. This approach enables intelligent monitoring that goes beyond simple threshold-based alerts and can help identify complex issues that would otherwise go unnoticed. We will discuss how to harness existing technologies to implement this approach, providing attendees with practical tips and insights that they can apply to their own projects.

In the Conference Room 1 on 2024-02-15 15:15:00
How to automate your data pipelines with Apache Airflow

There are many open source tools to help you with the different steps you typically need to extract insights from your data. As you scale and grow your use of data, keeping on top of the steps can be difficult. Apache Airflow is an open source orchestration tool that helps you to programmatically create workflows in Python that will help you run, schedule, monitor and mange data engineering pipelines - no more manually managing those cron jobs! In this session, we will take a look at the architecture of Apache Airflow, and walk you through creating your first workflow and how you can use a growing number of provider libraries to help you work with other open source tools and services. This session is intended for beginners/those wanting to learn more about this open source project.

In the Conference Room 2 on 2024-02-15 15:15:00
16:00
Break

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 16:00:00
16:30
Predict the future with "old school maths"

Have you ever wondered what is inside the Machine Learning models? Do you wish to understand more, but the maths are too scary? Fear not! In this talk we will decompose the machine learning models into basic comprehensible elements! This talk will go through the principles behind the popular machine learning models. We will focus on the problems we are trying to solve, the quality of the data required, and the appropriate methods used for a series of common problems.

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 16:30:00
17:30
nor(DEV): Drinks

Socialising, Networking, and Drinks

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-15 17:30:00
08:30
Registration

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 08:30:00
09:15
Welcome & Introductions

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 09:15:00
09:30
Opening Keynote

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 09:30:00
10:30
Break

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 10:30:00
10:45
[Panel] Game Development: An Industry For Norfolk?

Over 3 billion people play computer games, the games industry is worth over 200 billion dollars globally and it is growing at an incredible rate. The UK is at the forefront of this industry with decades of experience and a strong supply of talented people with the skills needed to make great games. British games studios are highly export driven and bring money into the country from all around the world. Founding, nurturing and growing these studios within Norfolk offers a great opportunity to grow the wealth of the entire region and give our young people an exciting career option. This is a panel session gathering together five key figures in the Norfolk games industry. We will talk about what they need in order to grow and what opportunities there are for new teams looking to break into the market.

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 10:45:00
Rethinking Content Modeling for Unforgettable User Experiences

Effective content modeling is essential for creating a flawless user experience that drives product success. However, as content complexity and volume increase in a company, managing it all can seem overwhelming. In this talk, developers and founders will walk away with practical strategies for rethinking their content model to improve maintainability, developer experience and scalability - ultimately reducing technical debt and delivering a seamless user experience.

In the Conference Room 1 on 2024-02-16 10:45:00
Fighters, Bards, Druids and Wizards in It – how to talk to them?

Do you ever feel like you're surrounded by characters that are impossible to get along with and insufferable? Are they too loud and too breakneck or are they always silent? Do they ask too many questions or don't read emails at all? Are they late for meetings or suck all the air from the room? Trample everyone bluntly or beat around the bush endlessly? Adventures in a diverse team of wanderers in the land of IT can be a difficult challenge. Rude Warriors, narcissistic Bards, slow Druids and cold Wizards. Or maybe: brave Warriors, captivating Bards, soothing Druids and insightful Wizards? How to play the game of communication? Stay awhile and listen. *May contain a fair number of references to Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, The Office, and more…

In the Conference Room 2 on 2024-02-16 10:45:00
11:30
Harnessing Generative AI to Automate Business Processes

The rapid evolution of AI, especially with the emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs), has been a transformative force in the tech landscape. Developers are enthusiastic about the potential of LLMs, but integrating them into real-world applications can be a daunting task as they often grapple with complex workflows, data challenges, and the lack of readily available tools. In this talk, I will discuss how a framework like LangChain simplifies LLM integration and redefines how we harness generative AI for tasks like report generation, data analysis, and even personalized customer service.

In the Conference Room 1 on 2024-02-16 11:30:00
What the Avengers taught me about working with developers

Developers are a curious kind of creature. Often found in the wild lands of product development, they create magical solutions by bringing requirements to life. As a Change Manager and big fan of the Avengers, I am fascinated by what I can achieve with them. However, due to misconceptions around the value and timing for Change Management, a question remains. How do you bring such different skillsets together to fight the battle against terrible DevOps implementations? Whilst many turn to ChatGPT, I am here to share with you what I learned from the Avengers about bringing a diverse team together. From fighting monsters in New York, to the absolute end game with the infinity stones, they can teach us a lot about dealing with adversity to bring change, enterprise, or small scale. After all, they also share a common mission despite a very diverse background. Through parallels between the Avengers and DevOps implementation teams, as well as the core principles of building robust and scalable applications, we will focus on defining what matters; Smart collaboration to make users the heroes of every solution story and empower them to navigate a world of continuous tech transformation.

In the Conference Room 2 on 2024-02-16 11:30:00
12:15
Lunch

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 12:15:00
13:30
[Panel] Future of AI

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 13:30:00
The Erosion of Consumer Ownership: From Possession to Subscriptions

In the current digital era, a noticeable erosion of personal ownership and rights is underway as consumers transition from owning physical products to subscribing to services. This shift not only transforms our relationship with possessions but also imposes limitations on our ability to repair devices, often dictated by proprietary constraints. Join us in exploring ways to reclaim ownership and restore the repair freedoms we once enjoyed in the evolving realm of subscription-based services.

In the Conference Room 1 on 2024-02-16 13:30:00
Redundancy - How to tackle it and come out on top

A career in software development has countless highs, but the lows are tricky to deal with. Many tech companies are making software developers redundant due to difficult times we are currently in. I’ve been made redundant multiple times over my career so far, and I’d like to talk about how I’ve dealt with it with the help of a fantastic community, how you can use your time effectively and ultimately how to stay one step ahead and learn from what I’ve experienced.

In the Conference Room 2 on 2024-02-16 13:30:00
14:15
Pizza Delivery in Motion: Real-time Pizza Delivery Service at Scale

Most of us love pizza, so let’s use a pizza delivery service as an example. Our pizza delivery service receives orders from multiple users in real time; but what if you want to recommend specific starters for specific types of pizzas and enrich pizza orders with contextual data? How can you do this in real time? In this talk, we will address real-time application challenges and how real-time stream processing can be used to enhance data streaming pipelines by simplifying deployment and operations with ultra-low latency. The combination of Real-time storage and computing provides a unique synergy that enables applications to address real-time use cases at any scale.

In the Conference Room 1 on 2024-02-16 14:15:00
9-to-5 vs Contract Development: the Truth from an 11 Year Veteran

Rob J has been a contract developer since 2012. He's worked with more than 23 clients, with user bases ranging from 1,000 to 1m+. He's seen the best in development, and the worst. He's been paid on time, paid late and not paid at all. You name it, he's experienced it. In this talk Rob is going to take you behind the scenes of what it's really like to be a contract developer - the pro's, the con's, and whether it's really worth moving away from permanent employment!

In the Conference Room 2 on 2024-02-16 14:15:00
15:00
Break

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 15:00:00
15:15
[Panel] Norfolk Tech in the Politics

In this panel discussion we will discuss the political landscape and vision for supporting for the Norfolk tech community, the tech based businesses that call our county home, and the skills requirements and opportunities for our region.

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 15:15:00
Cedar, next generation Authz for your applications

Authorization is one of the foundational needs when building your applications and services. Making sure you are able to correctly and reliably grant or deny access to your application resources is critical. Yet this is still one of the hardest things we have to do as developers. In this session I am going to cover a new open source project called Cedar that helps you solve this problem and build next generation authorization into your applications. I am going to provide a quick overview in authorisation first before looking at Cedar and then showing you with a simple demo how you can begin to use Cedar to help you simplify authorisation for your applications.

In the Conference Room 1 on 2024-02-16 15:15:00
The best practices of working securely

In the Conference Room 2 on 2024-02-16 15:15:00
16:00
Escaping the Hype Train

As developers, we often find ourselves on the hype train; it's cool, it's amazing, and it's as full of shiny stuff as any magpie's nest. However, we never seem to ask why, or even if it's the right place to be. This talk is about thinking critically about the hype train, finding a balance between shiny and boring but stable. I'll share some cautionary tales from different corners of the industry, and draw on my own experience, before talking about stereotypes around "enterprise" languages and why they don't always deserve it. Hopefully, attendees will leave with a little bit more perspective on the hype train, and better equipped to think critically about it.

In the Conference Room 1 on 2024-02-16 16:00:00
"The Era of Creative Distinction: How To Become an Agile, Disruptive and Future Thinking Tech Leader

In my talk I will be sharing how tech leaders can develop their leadership distinction through my insights such as my 3 I's of Cutting Edge Leadership, the difference between a mindset and a state of mind and how to become legacy minded in the era of creative distinction and beyond. I'll also share how to become more agile, disruptive and a future thinker using my ODA Leadership Model™ and my insight below. "The push for machine learning and deep learning is growing at an exponential rate but, the world is searching for creative and deep thinkers, the human learners who can create and deliver disruptive value on local, national and global platforms." ~ Onyi Anyado.

In the Conference Room 2 on 2024-02-16 16:00:00
16:45
Break

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 16:45:00
17:00
Sponsor Session

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 17:00:00
17:30
Keynote

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 17:30:00
18:30
Thanks & Celebrations

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 18:30:00
18:45
Wine Reception & Conference Dinner

In the Main Auditorium on 2024-02-16 18:45:00

What's the plan?

Workshop Day
Wed, 14th Feb 9:00am
A day of workshops
Pre-Conference Social
Wed, 14th Feb 5:30pm
They say the "corridor conference" is the best part of any conference; meeting friends new & old! Networking is one of most powerful elements of both professional and personal life. Discuss the upcoming conference, debate your schedule, what you're looking forward to and are planning to see. What speakers are you most excited by?
Conference Day 1 - Registration Opens
Thu, 15th Feb 11:00am
The first day of the conference; join us for nine sessions and two keynotes, deep diving into software development!
Conference Social
Thu, 15th Feb 5:30pm
Thursday evening, we'll move from the Kings Centre to the Last Pub Standing "en mass". A free bar, a BBQ, DJ, and a great opportunity to network with your fellows!
Conference Day 2 - Registration Opens
Fri, 16th Feb 8:30am
The second day, a full day of talks! 6 sessions on software development, 3 panels, and 6 sessions on career & business growth
Conference Dinner
Fri, 16th Feb 6:30pm
A gourmet three-course meal with a wine reception. A great way to finish off the two days of learning; chat with fellows & network over some great food.

Join the conversation ahead of time The “Conference Corridor experience” pre & post conference.

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Knowledge, inspiration, and networking opportunities come together.

What to expect

11:00

11:45

12:00

13:00

13:45

14:30

15:15

16:00

16:30

17:30

08:30

09:15

09:30

10:30

10:45

11:30

12:15

13:30

14:15

15:00

15:15

16:00

16:45

17:00

17:30

18:30

18:45

What's the plan?

Workshop Day

Pre-Conference Social

Conference Day 1 - Registration Opens

Conference Social

Conference Day 2 - Registration Opens

Conference Dinner

Sponsors

Gearset

Norfolk County Council

Langham

Redgate Software

Salable

Aviva PLC

Join the conversation ahead of time The “Conference Corridor experience” pre & post conference.

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