Call for guides

On the 14th of September, we are running a software crafters conference that puts 'confer' back into 'conference'.

No presentations: just guided conversations and workshops on the hottest topics in software development, amongst a small number of your peers.

​We are looking for your help to run a guided conversation or a workshop.

How do I sign up?

Let us know you're interested and you're idea for a topic.

If you want to guide but are struggling to find a topic, please get in touch at contact@codecraftuk.org.

Call for guides closes on the 30th June.

How is CodeCraftConf different?

Traditional conferences feature talks where attendees consume the speaker’s thoughts and perhaps get a chance to ask a question at the end.

This conference will be different.

We've come up with an alternative format that puts attendees at the centre of the event.

What is the format?

We recommend you read through the Guided Conversations mini site for advice on being a guide.

We call our alternative format a Guided Conversation. A Guided Conversation is group discussion guided by a facilitator known as a Guide. The Guide picks a topic for the conversation and then creates a set of questions on that topic to ask the group. The Guide begins by giving a brief introduction of the topic and then starts the conversation with the first question. Each question is given 5 minutes.​

For example, last year we had a session on Behaviour Driven Development. The Guide asked these questions (which were written on a deck of index cards):​

  • What is Behavioural Driven Development?
  • Should you use BDD over TDD or are they most useful used in conjunction?
  • Should the BDD tests be quick to run?
  • Should developers write the feature files?
  • Should error conditions be handled within the tests?
  • Should you use BDD for integration testing?
  • How does BDD help a developer better understand the feature?
  • Who should be involved in an amigos (spec) session?
  • How many "And's" are too many?
  • Why would you use a scenario outline with examples table over a scenario with an examples table?
  • Should you mock your test data and if so what patterns can you use?
  • What use is the user story to the amigos?

You can see more example question sets on the Guided Conversations mini site

What topics are you looking for?

We are open to any topic that is of interest to developers in general. Topics like TDD, Databases and NoSql or Microservices are useful to all developers. Topics based on a single language or framework, like Migrations in Rails or What’s New in C# 6, would be inappropriate.

We would like you to come up with the set of questions around the topic. We have some suggested topics which we think people would like to hear about, but also welcome your own suggestions.

We'll give you everything you need to run a Guided Conversation and walk you through the format, so you're more than comfortable guiding your peers.

Topics we'd like to find guides to run:

  • Types: What are they good for?
  • Design Patterns: a better or worse world?
  • Technical Debt
  • Simplicity
  • Pair Programming
  • Do we need standards and charters?
  • Modern Agile Development
  • ... something you've thought of!...

We are here to help you too

As a guide you are entitled to a free ticket for the conference. You'll also receive mentoring from our team to make sure you are confident on the day. We'll work through your question set and advise you on how to facilitate your session.

Diversity is a key principle for our conference. We have a code of conduct and are committed to providing a safe event space.

We would also welcome leads if you know of someone who could run a session. Please reach out to us at contact@codecraftuk.org.

Expenses policy

CodeCraftConf will reimburse any stationary and travel expenses incurred for guides coming on the day. But unfortunately, we cannot reimburse hotel costs.

We are a non-profit conference and do not want to be a conference where presenters have to pay out of their pocket to speak. To avoid having guides pay for a hotel, we have a bias towards selecting people who can attend without needing to stay over in Glasgow.

I'm up for it. Where do I sign up?

Awesome. We'd love to discuss your proposal. Please send an email to contact@codecraftuk.org and we'll get right back to you.