DevConf isn’t really over until all the photos are in and all the write ups are published. So here I am, doing my part to extend the wonderful feeling of community we build as speakers. From encouraging the first timers, to easter-duck-eggs in the talks and really bad puns the community of speakers is something beyond even the awesomeness of the community as a whole. If you didn’t already have a reason to get the creative wheels flowing, perhaps DevConf through my eyes will help.
More than one day
For speakers, DevConf begins long before the actual event. For our wonderful organisers, an entire year before (they’ve already locked in dates and locations for 2026). In November, you submit your proposed talk, this is already a tough challenge, and there is some chatter between frequent fliers about how to frame a session or write a good title. LLMs are disparaged and joked about, and we start second guessing if we really should have submitted that idea. Once it is in, you get the Christmas holiday without having to worry about any of it. The selection panel is hard at work, weeding out the really bad submissions (see submitting a talk) and enjoying the really good ones. At some point in January an email comes through, either you were accepted, or you were not. I’ve had both those emails, and honestly, I’m always more surprised when I do get chosen than when I don’t!
Having been accepted to speak, you begin the journey of writing a really good talk. Or, at least, procrastinating it. There are times when I think being selected late is a benefit, as then there isn’t time for procrastination. By the month before flights have been booked, and travel arranged, speakers are getting to know one another in Slack, and the excitement grows. There are those who are old-ducks, and winners of best-speaker, and there are fresh fluffy chicks, just dipping their toes into the waters of sharing their ideas with a larger audience in this way. The best piece of advice we give the newbies? Have fun. Enjoy the experience of DevConf. These are friends who will laugh with you through the stress, and will tell you that you’re being ridiculous about being freaked out that your room was filled afterwards.
Because speaking at DevConf is quacking stressful. I was light headed throughout the whole experience. I did eat. I did sleep (more than some folks). I also did my best not to make too many last minute changes. Knowing that this is a stressful, and high tension atmosphere, for a group of lovely neurospicy individuals, we are well cared for. The amazing Fizz team (mostly Judith and Michelle) keep us all on track. Yes, the organisers hire people to herd their ducks. The week before the conference, there is an email with a detailed itinerary. From what time to get to the airport, to where and when to find your dinner. Nothing is left out, and whether you’re a first timer, or you’ve done this before, you aren’t going to get lost at OR Tambo.
When does the fun start? The fun starts on Monday. We all gather at the Jo’Burg venue for the technical check. Devices are debugged, games break (yes, Dale discovered an issue for his talk at tech check), and people work out where the power sockets are. Then, we pick up speaker-swag (we’re ducking cool) and connect with new friends and old, before heading over to speaker dinner number one. If you wondered why speakers are always in groups around the conference, this is why. We have connected already the night before, and are offering support as we face the great crowd of attendees. Making friends and connections we might not have anticipated, but which will stay with us for the long haul.
Getting into talks
Speakers have the opportunity to attend the conference twice, which should mean we get to attend more of the talks, right? It should be possible for us to support our new friends, and also just go see the talks we wanted to originally? For the most part, yes. But it does mean that we have to use two agendas to make our decisions, and we still can’t get to everything.
Tuesday started with the wonderful Richard Campbell and his looking into the future of what software development will be. Not only is Richard a brilliantly engaging speaker (as a podcaster, I would hope he is…) he is a warm and caring human being. This shines through in the he speaks, and in the way he interacts with people around the conference. For those in the .Net community, having him attend was a huge deal. For others of us, he was just a wonderful new friend, with a depth of fun stories and insights. His keynote touched on issues and aspects of software which we all are aware of, but may not have thought about how they will impact us going forward. Explaining that AI is still in the first part of the hype-cycle graph (it hasn’t crashed yet), and looking at the possibilities and parallels of quantum computing. We may not know what the future holds, but the picture Richard paints is optimistic.
From there the tough decisions began. My first choice was Candice talking about side hustles. “What are you waiting for?” Well, I guess we are all asking ourselves that question, and if we aren’t self-aware enough to have an answer, maybe it is time to reflect. Her honest story-telling, and audience engagement really hit the spot, leaving people inspired to do something new. I already follow the Candid Collab blog, and if you want tips on getting your own side-hustle on the road, that’s a great resource for you. Moving from not-quite-marketing to maybe-mathematics, it was Johan with “Why did Turing study fish?” Diving into history, and looking at some of the less well known computational scientific enquiries, his gentle professor role on the stage had everyone paying close attention. Particularly when he had everyone clapping to find the emerging pattern in our own behaviours.
Just before lunch, it was time to meet “Bruno the robotic dog” as Russell took us through the process of adapting it to be able to get a drink from a fridge (including modifying the fridge door). After lunch the ducks returned as Dale launched us into a world of heavily constrained development, wild adventures in building a frontend and late night debugging, culminating in having the entire room try and play his game in parallel. No, we weren’t all raising our phones to scan a QR code!
A tough act to follow, my own talk was next. A small but engaged audience is never a bad thing in my book (although a full room does feel great). From there, tea time (with ice cream!) and then over to listen to Stephan talk about group dynamics and Conway’s Law. Maybe it is the fact that it’d been a very long day, but by this point I was starting to get tired. It’s a good thing Stephan is an engaging speaker, and I was able to absorb his words on how culture reflects in the code we write. Adding to my own sense of the importance of understanding a team culture before trying to bring about change.
The final talk of the day loomed. I stopped by the sponsored coffee stand for a shot of alertness (the coffee is always top notch), and headed up to listen to Tess speaking about “Hack the system, but hold the door”. I would never have guessed from her presence and composure on the stage that five minutes before she had confessed to being quacking nervous. Instead, she spoke with vulnerability about taking an unusual path into her career, and the ways in which we can help others to achieve great things rather than beating them down. She also encouraged naps.
The day closed with something new. Rather than trying to do prizes over the noise and bustle of networking and stands being dismantled, we all gathered once more in the keynote room for a close off. Prize winners and sponsors were celebrated, and then we dispersed to the final round of networking, drinks, and for the speakers, a celebratory dinner.
Cape Town ho
Wednesday was a relaxed breakfast, time to catch up on some emails and Slack messages, and then on the plane to Cape Town. Travelling with a group of highly strung people, no one thinks it odd that you want to get to the airport early, and you are able to keep the travel nerves at bay. Of course, being Jo’Burg, there was a delay due to traffic. Not on the roads, but at the runway! We eventually managed to take flight, and landed without issue in Cape Town. Following the same pattern as in Jo’Burg or tech check, followed by dinner. My tech check was a bit more critical as I had a device with me, and we really wanted to convince the Raspberry Pi it should mirror the screen over tot he HDMI.
Thursday was another full day of talks. I was quite happy to take in Richard’s keynote for a second time, before heading to the first track of the day. Georgina’s take on managing remote teams reaffirmed my belief that remote work is possible, and that how well collaboration goes is more to do with the effort people are willing to put in than where they are. Her analogy of the food-groups of work is something which applies well beyond remote team health, and hybrid or in-office leaders would do well to follow those too. From there, I couldn’t miss Tasmiah’s talking toaster. Her presentation was equal parts funny and insightful, diving into the emotional aspects of AI and the impact it is having on certain aspects of humanity. That and she truly did share the stage with a toaster.
Talk 3 was a regular speaker whom I knew not to miss. William’s security lessons for a modular monolith (with all the cat memes) was delightfully technical without assuming anything. Explaining all the boundaries and best practises. It may have said modular monolith, but if you squint you could apply the same lessons to micro-services. After lunch was another “known personality” as Rory talked us through teaching a computer about sarcasm, and the ways in which it helps to build a more realistic text-to-speech interface. He may be able to teach Tasmiah’s toaster a thing or two about sounding more human. His talk came with a warning about being hit in the feels, and I won’t spoil it, but it put a wonderful cap on the topic.
Once again, I found myself on the stage. This time knowing I was going to do a demo at the end. I frequently find that the second time I do a talk it is significantly better, and it held true once more. Bad jokes, a lively audience, face-palm moments, and then a demo which actually worked left me feeling great (if tired) at the end of my session.
I ended up spending session 6 chatting to people, and giving the ol’ brain a bit of a rest. Time well spent, but no talk attended. I ended the day with Lorraine’s take on what good code looks like. Her talk was pitched at a slightly more junior audience, so most of it I already knew. Having attended it, now I know that once it is out on YouTube I’ll have something to send to juniors when they need to learn how to write more readable code, and have them realise it is not just me who wants the to write quality. This meant I missed Cayden running doom on everything, but I’ll pick that one up on YouTube for sure!
Wrapping up
All in all, DevConf is (was, and will be) a whirlwind of stress, emotion, adrenaline, and relief. The bonds between speakers might be trauma bonds, but they stick around nonetheless. The friendships are not going anywhere, and we will continue to build one another up. Yet another brilliant conference, Robert and Candice as always bringing a diverse and knowledgeable group of people together to achieve remarkable things. Will I submit again? Of course. It is a bit like an addiction. Sure it is stressful, but the high is like nothing else. It is slightly healthier than some of the other options. So, we’re sad, glad, mad, that it is all over, and ready to make next year even more memorable.
Pippa Hillebrand 