Michael Carducci

The Linked Data Revolution is here, are you ready?

Tuesday, 8:30 AM CDT

The web is arguably the single most impactful revolution in human history (to date). By agreeing on a simple set of standards, we have collectively unlocked all the world's information. Documents can be discovered, retrieved, published, and shared so easily we don't even think about it.

Data, on the other hand, is a different story. Our data remains stuck in the 1980s. Locked in silos, each with a different format, interface, and conventions that must be interpreted by a human, parsed, mapped, and converted. Data is at the heart of many problems we solve today, and we produce data exponentially faster than we can consume it.

Today I can request any document from any server on the web. I need to know nothing about the underlying technology the server uses, nothing about how the information is stored or retrieved, and consume it instantly. We've been evolving those same capabilities with data over the past 20 years and the standards, tools, and technologies are reaching critical mass. The linked data revolution is now one that you can no longer ignore. Join us to see what you've been missing.

Completely Rewritten for 2023

Understanding Resource-Oriented Architecture

Tuesday, 10:30 AM CDT

Although the Resource-Oriented Architecture is one of the oldest and most successful distributed architectures, it remains poorly understood and often completely overlooked today.

Much of the microservices architecture pattern is focused on taking applications apart although seemingly everyone has different ideas on how to put things back together again.

In this session, we will start with a summary of the resource-oriented architecture along with it's strengths and weaknesses. Michael will share hard-earned, real-world experience applying ROA concepts to complex microservice environments to successfully build an infinitely scalable, extensible, and understandable system.

Mob Mentality Collaborative coding and problem solving

Tuesday, 1:00 PM CDT

Mob Programming is a style of programming in which the entire team sits together and
works on a single task at a time. Teams that have worked this way have found that
many of the problems that plague normal development just melted away, possibly because communication and learning increases. Teams also find that the quality of their code increases. They find their capacity to create increases. However, the best part of all this is that teams end up being happier and more cohesive.

In this session we introduce the core concepts of mob programming and then get handson mobbing on a coding kata.

An Architect's Approach to API Strategies

Tuesday, 3:00 PM CDT

Integration, once a luxury, is now a necessity. Doing this well, however, continues to be elusive. Early attempts to build better distributed systems such as DCOM, CORBA, and SOAP were widely regarded as failures. Today the focus is on REST, RPC, and graphql style APIs.

Which is best? The goto answer for architects is, of course, “it depends.”

In this session, we look at the various API approaches, how they attempt to deal with the challenge of decoupling client from server, evolvability, extensibility, adaptability, composability.

The biggest challenge is that needs change over time, and APIs must necessarily evolve. Versioning is challenging, and breaking changes are inevitable. You'll leave this session with a highlevel understanding of these approach, their respective tradeoffs and ultimately how to align your API approach with your architectural and organizational goals.

Six Essential Soft Skills for the Software Architect

Tuesday, 5:00 PM CDT

The difference between a junior and a senior dev isn't coding skills. A developer's coding skills are just their ante; necessary to get into the game but, like an ante, they only get you into the game.

Everything that happens from that point on depends on what else you bring to the table.
In this session, we explore the key skills necessary to make an impact, be effective, and will ultimately pave the way to grow into senior/principal level developers and architects.

Finding Signal in the Noise: The art of Execution

Wednesday, 9:00 AM CDT

In tech teams it's a constant firefight. We react. Then we react to the reaction… the cycle continues. In all this noise, in all this chaos, how do we move forward. How do we remain proactive?

A great leader must be an enabler for the team. At times this means insulating the team from the noise. At other times it means improving the environment for the team. At all times, however, it requires setting clear priorities and conditions for success.

This session is focused on the art of moving forward in even the noisiest environments.