DrupalCon Lille: Our Insights

Top Presentations from DrupalCon, October 2023

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Key takeaways

Last week, part of our team had the opportunity to participate in the DrupalCon in Lille, France. We have to say, it was even more insightful and inspiring than usual, so we’d like to share some impressions!

Below are our team's insights. Now, we have included links to the descriptions of the presentations. In a month, their videos will be available, and we will add related links to this report!

Table of contents

  1. Hanna Haurylenka
  2. Angelina Kapitanchuk
  3. Dzmitry Sidarenka
  4. Volha Tsiamliak
  5. A couple of moments from our trip

Insight 1

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Hanna Haurylenka

Hanna Haurylenka

CPO

There were a number of sessions and useful discussions for developers, businesses and Drupal users. I was glad to see contributions in the progress of not only developers but also heads of various departments and clients.

We attended two very relevant sessions:

  • one on the problems of fixed projects
  • and another on how the changing world requires a change in the approach to contracts.

In addition, a lot of attention has been paid to how to improve the internal Drupal experience, including:

  • enhancements to the admin panel,
  • suggestions for changing user profiles,
  • and other aspects that contribute to a more convenient and efficient use of Drupal.

► Next Drupal admin UI improvements

► Gin Admin Theme

► So I logged in, now what? The Dashboard initiative welcomes you

For effective collaboration, it is suggested to involve the client 50% of the time, helping them understand the technical aspects and the value of regular discussions, which become a key point in aligning expectations.

► Project management in the age of agile: where did everything go wrong?

► For good or for worse: making happy client relationships

And of course about leadership. It was unusual that a person from another field shared their experience and gave examples from the same area. The speaker was a helicopter pilot, and her presentation was really valuable for us, managers, and developers.

► Fly Higher - How to lead fearlessly

What she recommended:

  • Share your experience, including failures, with everyone.
  • Take responsibility for your own or others' mistakes or actions. We are all human and make mistakes, but those who accept them, draw conclusions, and take steps to avoid repeating them are winners.
  • Embrace new challenges without fear and see stressful situations as opportunities for growth.
  • Accept criticism and be open to change.

Additionally, I would like to highlight a couple of reports on sustainability. During a meeting with our client Nestlé, they emphasized their interest in and contemplation of environmental responsibility. They expressed a desire to promote some basic sustainable habits in the digital sphere, such as turning off lights as part of their everyday routine.

► Our joint sustainability journey: reducing emissions and technical learnings

► Sustainability and Drupal - How can our community reduce our CO2 Footprint

Insight 2

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Angelina Kapitanchuk

Angelina Kapitanchuk

CHRO

I would like to highlight 2 presentations.

► How to onboard the next generation of Drupal engineers

My insights:

  • There are not many new people coming to Drupal. There is a stereotype, the myth “PHP is dead” and there are hype technologies like RUST and Golang, if you don’t learn to build a training system in order to scale.
  • We need to implement standard onboarding projects lasting 1-2 months. These projects should closely resemble real projects, with mentors reviewing and demonstrating best practices. The same mentor has to provide guidance on the first project, offering support and even overprotection.
  • The primary indicator of successful training is when mentees become more independent.
  • We need to find a way to praise and reward those who help a lot, and build a culture where everyone is helpful and involved.
  • It is important to train and mentor new potential mentors: help, guide, give feedback; organize rallies where an experienced mentor leads, and new mentors watch, learn, and then try themselves.
  • It is necessary to allocate time at the company level for help, mentoring, and reviewing newcomers.

► Project management in the age of agile: where did everything go wrong?

Almost the entire report was a lively dialogue between managers of different companies and owners:

  • Is it worth taking fixed price projects, is it possible to win and make money on such projects? 
  • Does pure agile exist?
  • Why does everyone talk about Agile and sell Agile, but in the end they offer a fixed price?
  • How to educate a client so that he is IT mature, ready to take 50% of the responsibility, and by changing the scope on his part, he understands that deadlines and budget will change?

Insight 3

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Dzmitry Sidarenka

Dzmitry Sidarenka

PM

It was truly wonderful!

I'd like to highlight three presentations that I found the most interesting:

► How to onboard the next generation of Drupal engineers

From a technology point of view, this seems a very promising project for the global migration of large corporation websites!

► Improving Layout Builder user experience (sponsored by Evolving Web)

► Project management in the age of agile: where did everything go wrong?

Insight 4

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Volha Tsiamliak

Volha Tsiamliak

Frontend developer, Team lead

I share my impressions:

Our approaches and knowledge are very relevant! I was glad that everything they talk about in lectures is clear to me and we have already used it in some projects.

Storybook, Emulsify, packaged solutions and quick project turnaround — this is what is very popular now.

I'd note the presentations:

► Design System in Drupal : Build your website without coding! (sponsored by Smile)

► Design in Figma and deploy a pixel perfect Drupal website in days, not weeks!

The essence of the project: a boxed solution for quickly deploying a website with a Drupal theme, including a design system in Figma, and Storybook for visualization (not related to Drupal templates).

The idea is great, but Storybook and Drupal have different templates. It would be more useful to use the same. And a level of customization is small. I.e.  three sites will differ in colors and fonts. There are not many options for elements, mostly "slots" are left for customization: small pieces of custom code that can be remade for yourself.

In general, we also really want to get such a quick site launch (in 4 days), but we need to optimize the templates and increase the degree of customization or add component options.

► Fly Higher - How to lead fearlessly

Very impressive and inspiring, helps to look at the bright side of things. "Fear is contagious and so is bravery." I really liked it.

A couple of moments from our trip

DrupalCon, October 2023

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drupalcon

Article Authors

Hanna Haurylenka
Hanna Haurylenka CPO
Proactive and empathic. In the company since it was founded. Manager even at home: maintains a list of household chores in Trello.
Angelina Kapitanchuk
Angelina Kapitanchuk CHRO
Drives a positive work culture with a passion for employee well-being, leveraging a strategic approach to talent management, and ensuring the company's human capital aligns with its long-term goals.
Dzmitry Sidarenka
Dzmitry Sidarenka PM
Super positive. Idea's generator. Technically equipped. PWA and mobile app expert.
Volha Tsiamliak
Volha Tsiamliak Frontend developer, Team Lead
Superorganised. Fan of new frameworks. Mother of 4 boys.

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