Unit testing can make you a faster developer. Good tests let us move forward more confidently, give us instant feedback when checking regression, and help us pinpoint bugs when things go wrong. In this workshop, we’ll look at the qualities of good tests, including isolation, repeatability, runnability, and more. And we’ll look at specific techniques that make our tests easy to ready, easy to write, and easy to run.

We’ll go hands-on with TDD (Test-Driven Development) to see the red-green-refactor cycle in action. Some code is tricky to test: we’ll look at how to test for exceptions and error states, and we’ll use a mocking framework to create mocks and stubs. Tools include MSTest and NUnit (for testing) and Moq (for mocking), but the skills easily translate to other frameworks.

Objectives +Characteristics of a good unit test and how to implement them (including isolation, repeatability, runnability, and more) + Basics of TDD + Parameterizing tests + Techniques for testing exceptions + Using a mocking framework to isolate dependencies

Pre-Requisites Basic understanding of C# and object-oriented programming (classes, inheritance, methods, and properties). In addition, experience with interfaces and other forms of abstraction is very helpful. No prior experience with unit testing is necessary; we’ll take care of that as we go.

Being a backend developer, frontend developer, or system administrator often isn’t enough in the modern technology space. Now it is often the expectation that the developer is responsible for all parts of the stack, making them what can be referred to as a Full Stack Developer.
We’re going to see how to leverage Node.js towards building a very modular web application that can be expanded beyond the web to things like mobile, desktop, and the Internet of Things (IoT). In particular, we’re going to be looking at NoSQL as our data layer, Node.js as our logic layer, and Angular as our client layer when building a web application. This web application will be brought to Android and iOS using NativeScript.
A breakdown of the session can be seen below:
- Building a RESTful API with Node.js that has several CRUD endpoints
- Connecting the Node.js application to a NoSQL database for flexible data storage in JSON format and complex querying
- Creating and consuming API data from an Angular with TypeScript frontend application
- Creating and consuming API data from a NativeScript mobile application
As an attendee, you’ll walk away with knowledge that can be applied towards creating your own very powerful, yet lightweight, full stack web applications.

Unit testing is one of those things that we all agree is good but, because of the learning curve, unit testing is often put in the back seat or forgotten. As a result, we lose out on the positive benefits that come from unit tests and the process that they lead us through. This workshop is designed to help you destroy the learning curve and become proficient in not only unit testing, but also mocking and test-first development (or TDD). This session might not be able to transform you into a seasoned expert, but it WILL help you get past the common speed bumps and roadblocks that discourage many well-meaning developers. Bring your laptop and your favorite code editor and get ready to go “extreme!”

Every developer secretly (or not so secretly) wants to develop games. However, most developers think there just is not enough time to learn the tricks needed to makes games. This workshop will show the you how to leverage your existing development knowledge to create games.

If you've been curious about Kanban and how it might be useful to your business in web development, this course is for you! Paul will walk you through how he's made huge strides in his business using this incredibly versatile and intuitive tool - once you get the hang of it.
Do you use a Kanban board for your team’s work? Maybe you are the team lead and have just heard about Kanban. However, you haven’t taken the time to learn about how to use it or why it is important. Perhaps you want to be more agile but don’t know how to get started with Kanban.
This workshop will not only help you understand what Kanban is but also how to get started. Paul is very excited about many things with regards to Kanban but one of his favorites is teaching you about why you should be measuring waste in your team. So come join him as he uses a great mixture of slides and classroom activities to teach you about the essentials of Kanban in no time.

The tools and frameworks for data science that the Python programming language offers can help those drowning in data. This workshop will look at how Python can be used out of the box, libraries like numpy & pandas, visualization and the amazing Jupyter notebook to share and collaborate with others.

What is Agile and why is everyone buzzing about it? Are Agile methods appropriate in any context? This workshop is not an introduction to any one Agile methodology; it is an introduction to Agile itself. Through an interactive simulation, attendees will learn how the principles of the Agile Manifesto can be applied at the team and program levels. During the simulation, participants will also get hands on experience using basic Agile metrics to inform decision making. At the conclusion of this workshop, attendees will be ready to evaluate different Agile methods for best fit and begin experimenting with the practical application of Agile principles.

This room is closed in preparation for an evening event.

Growing your team is about more than just hiring the people with the strongest technical skills. The interview process is about making sure the people that join your team fit into the larger picture. In this workshop, a software development manager and a technical recruiter will teach you how to identify the needs of your specific team. They will help you create a unique interviewing framework that considers your team’s technical and non-technical needs. This framework will compare those needs with the strengths and weaknesses of potential team members. Then, you will apply your framework to common scenarios to help make more informed and effective interviewing decisions. Finally, we will discuss how to take this framework back into the real world.

Wondering what NoEstimates means in practice, or why you would want to use NoEstimates? Perhaps you’ve heard the buzz, read Vasco Duarte’s excellent book or simply want to understand how to plan better and reduce risk. If so, you should attend this workshop session for a multi-team game that will help you:
Find out through experimentation what — and how much — different factors influence delivery time
Learn how to create a probabilistic forecast that provides a less risky way to plan
Understand how to reduce variation that affects — and creates risk in — delivery
For more information, including the game materials, please visit mattphilip.wordpress.com/noestimates-game/

In this session, you’ll learn how to convert an existing Web application that relies only on plain JSON responses into one that relies primarily on RESTful principles of loose-coupling and control data returned in responses. In the process you’ll see how you can eliminate code from the client — code that introduces brittleness and rigidity in the client.
In a series of simple review and refactoring, you’ll learn how to move specific knowledge of 1) objects , 2) addresses, and 3) actions out of the client code and place it into the message. As a result, you’ll have a more robust, adaptable, and resilient client that will reduce the need to versioning and repeated redeployment. This session offers valuable lessons and advice for front end developers, API service providers, and software architects.

Herbie is an interactive game which compares four different types of WiP limits and how they impact on throughput, the history of WiP limits such as Henry Ford and Taiichi Ohno and how to apply Little’s law. It is a fun and engaging game with plenty of opportunity for discussion and learning.

Customer feedback is like a flashlight in the night: it keeps us from falling off a cliff as we try to find our way there. Teams should ship value early and often, but are we shipping the right value? The most value? Agile teams oft pay lip service to feedback loops, but in practice this tenant of agile isn't a first class practice. This is dangerous! Discover the patterns and anti-patterns of feedback systems, and how to properly execute so we can build better products (and better teams).
Takeaways:
* Types of feedback loops
* Concept of Build, Measure, Learn
* Build meaningful relationships with users that improve our products & grow the org
* Numerous experiment patterns & metrics
* Persuade product stakeholders w/ feedback

Every system of two or more people has a culture based on the beliefs, thinking, and behaviors associated with the members of that system. Whether culture is clearly stated and followed or not, it will form. Left untended to form on its own, teams and organizations must endure or benefit from the behaviors that result. Just as Agile methodology and the various supporting processes have a structure of beliefs to drive behavior towards working software, so too does a system need beliefs that drive towards a goal.
Creating culture can be intimidating since it is fraught with beliefs that are seen and unseen. This workshop will walk you through a system for identifying and forming cultural norms for teams, groups, and organizations. Attendees will get to practice building a culture together and be able to take the process back to the systems they are part of whether that be business, family, or other volunteer organizations.
Learning outcomes:
Define what makes up culture in an organization
Identify actions in your organization which are counter to the spoken culture
Discuss strategies for intentionally creating culture
Design a culture including at least one value, principle, and practice among your table group
Explain possible risks to cultural implementation and strategies for mitigating them

This room is closed in preparation for an evening event.

Attendees will receive a meal card which they may scan in the dining hall for full breakfast and lunch meals.

Attendees will be issued a card which may be redeemed in the Rand Dining Center for an entree, two sides and a drink from the American grill, international cuisine, specialty salad bar, Tex-Mex, chef-crafted grain bowls, made-to-order hot or cold deli sandwiches, or hot gourmet entrees from Chef James Bistro!