Like many of you, the AdvoTeam hit Austin a coupe of weeks ago for DrupalCon 2014. Now that we’ve had some time to digest all the knowledge dropped (pun intended), we’re sharing our favorite DrupalCon takeaways. We’ve even included links to the DrupalCon sessions, so you can share in the joy.
Amanda, Front-End Developer:
Design and front end are figuring out how to fit together. Do designers need to know how to code? Should they really uninstall Photoshop? And while front-enders are benefiting from all the dev work coming down the pipe, we’re a bit overloaded waiting to see what emerges when the dust settles.
Despite our gripes, it is pretty satisfying that our teams now recognize that the front-end is infinitely more complex than it was just a few years ago.
Lastly, I was blown away that the conference attendance was 20% women! For me, that’s an indication that the community is doing something right in terms of attracting women in ways that other softwares don’t. Kudos!
Monica-Lisa, Director of Web Development
Loved the session on running a shop of remote workers. The big takeaways: Be in constant, positive, fun communication with one another. Find the best tools to keep in touch. If you can’t work all the same hours, choose a few hours a day, every day to overlap. Have a lot of trust in your people. And of course, don’t forget to take a shower every once in a while.
Dave, Web Development Technical Manager
This was one of the best DrupalCons I’ve been to. Top of the list of sessions: Adam Edgerton’s talk on scaling a dev shop. This year was also one of the best DriesNotes (keynote by Dries Buytaert, founder and lead developer of Drupal.)
And in past years, I’ve spent a lot of time hanging out with anyone I bumped into. But this year, I spent almost all my time with the Advoteam; going biking and swimming – we even went to Monica’s mom’s house for fajitas one night.
Jim, Senior Web Developer
The Core Sprint was inspiring, because everyone was getting the help they needed while also giving help to others. Everyone knew different things, so as a group, we were all able to share our collective knowledge to get people set up on Drupal 8, review patches, and to commit new ones.
Jack, Front End Developer
Once again, Drupalcon has shown me that it’s not safe (or fun) to get comfortable. The tools we use to make our work go faster and smoother are constantly changing. What’s all the rage this year will probably be obsolete next year. Don’t fall in love with any one way of doing things.
Front-end development and theming has never felt more “sink or swim”, and that’s probably a good thing. However, as things get more and more complicated, the single front-end developer that knows everything becomes more of a mythological creature. As new worlds of specialization open up, it becomes more important to have new specialists available.
Lastly, it was awesome to get some face time with the Advoteam. It’s good for the remote team’s morale, and also nice to be reminded you work with other human beings that have other things to talk about besides technical Drupal talk.
Did you make it to DrupalCon? What sessions did we miss?