Kirsten Hunter

Speaking Sessions

• Using Docker to Bootstrap Learning

  1:45 PM Saturday   Room: AD-123

  When teaching customers how to use your platform, system setup can take longer than the actual coding exercises. Specific language versions, dependency libraries and the quirkiness of different operating systems can consume precious time during workshops or while viewing online tutorials - even before the developer gets to the meat of the topic. Additionally, your specific manifest of libraries and language versions may conflict with a developer’s environment, requiring the developer to make irreversible changes to the system environment or preventing them from using your sample code all together. With Docker, it¹s possible to create a container that delivers exactly what the developer needs to start working with your code immediately. Boot2Docker makes setup on Windows and Macintosh simple, and on Linux the setup is even more straightforward. This simple use case can improve the first time developer experience for your platform and increase engagement with your developer community. This approach has the added benefit of avoiding impact on your developers¹ existing system and coding environment. Administrative privileges aren¹t required, and a Docker container acts as a sandbox to protect the main system from any ill effects. This will be an interactive workshop, and interested attendees will have a docker container up and running by the end of the class.

• Irresistible APIs: Creating Platforms with Developers in Mind

  9:15 AM Sunday   Room: AD-123

  When creating a new REST platform, the planning process frequently gets skipped (or is misunderstood) resulting in an ill-conceived API. I’ll walk you through the steps needed to create an API that developers love, and point out the common traps to avoid. The presentation will cover creating user stories, deciding on metrics, planning the API, design decisions, documentation and developer support. I will focus on creating a developer experience that will delight and amaze your developer partners and increase engagement with your platform. This talk will focus on higher level choices rather than HTTP architecture, and is appropriate for developers, product managers, or anyone else with an interest in achieving success for their API program. The Open API Ecosystem is an amazing opportunity for companies to partner with developers, but you really only get one chance to impress, so come learn how to make your company’s API an “A List” destination.