Your engineering team wants to dive deeply into the newest programming tool or next generation technology for a mission critical project. How do you balance the promised rewards of a new language, software tool, or hardware technology with the risks of unstable software, hardware that does not work as promised, or new tools that are abandoned? Ellen Shapiro describes how the iOS and Android teams at Vokal approach all the new tools and technologies they evaluate. Discussing manufacturer-built and supported languages like Swift, cutting-edge projects like JetBrains' JVM language Kotlin, Functional Reactive Programming, and the Realm database, Ellen shares how Vokal decides to pursue and test new technologies—and the consequences of those decisions. Once a new tool is ready to test, explore how to take it for a test drive without going down a rabbit hole. Once you’ve decided to try something in production, see how to select the best pieces of your app to work with a new technology—or when to simply rip off the Band-Aid and go all in on the new hotness. Finally, Ellen shares some of Vokal’s mistakes in adopting new tools and technologies, so you and your team can avoid the same problems.

1. K4
Keynote Session
4/21/2016 10:00 AM
"Balancing New Tools and
Technologies vs. Risk"
Presented by:
Ellen Shapiro
SpotHero
Brought to you by:
350 Corporate Way, Suite 400, Orange Park, FL 32073
888-268-8770 · 904-278-0524 · info@techwell.com · www.techwell.com

2. Ellen Shapiro
SpotHero
Ellen Shapiro is the former Director of iOS Engineering at Chicago-based
agency Vokal, which helps companies develop and build their vision for taking
advantage of a mobile world. When not working, Ellen partners with designer and
fellow singer-songwriter Aaron Shekey of Github to create the leading
songwriting app Hum. Ellen also writes tutorials for leading iOS tutorial site
RayWenderlich.com and will talk your virtual ear off on Twitter as
@DesignatedNerd

3. BALANCING NEW TOOLS
AND TECHNOLOGIES VS. RISK
ELLEN SHAPIRO | MOBILE + IOT DEV + TEST | APRIL 2016
SPOTHERO.COM | JUSTHUM.COM | DESIGNATEDNERD.COM | @DESIGNATEDNERD
EMBRACING THE NEW HOTNESS,
GENTLYELLEN SHAPIRO | MOBILE + IOT DEV + TEST | APRIL 2016
SPOTHERO.COM | JUSTHUM.COM | DESIGNATEDNERD.COM | @DESIGNATEDNERD

4. ENGINEERS ARE REALLY
EXCITABLE

6. SHORT-TERM EFFORT
VS.
LONG-TERM BENEFIT

7. http://xkcd.com/1319/
MAINTAINABILITY

9. THREE STRATEGIES FOR
BETTER INTEGRATION
OF THE NEW HOTNESS

10. STRATEGY THE FIRST:
STARTSMALL
SMALLER PIECES
OF A LARGER PROJECT

11. REACTIVE PROGRAMMING
PICK A BORING
PART OF A PROJECT

12. FORMS

14. EVALUATE THE
BENEFITS
CODE REVIEW:NOT JUST FOR CATCHING SCREW-UPS

15. CODE REVIEW:
SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE

16. SOMETIMES THE BENEFIT
DOESN'T COME IN
PIECES
STRATEGY THE SECOND:
INTERNAL TOOLS / PROJECTS

17. RISK IS SHARED
BY THE ENGINEERING TEAM

18. VOKAL.IO
+ `

20. ( °□°

21. STRATEGY THE THIRD:
HACK DAYS /
20% TIME
SOFTWARE ENGINEERS
ARE
CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVERS

22. SOFTWARE ENGINEERS
ARE
CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVERS
SOFTWARE ENGINEERS
ARE
CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVERS

23. TAKE AWAY RISKAND
WATCH IDEAS BLOOM

25. KOTLIN
&&
SWIFT

26. FIND OUT WHAT'S READY
AND WHAT'S NOT
ಠ_ಠ

27. BONUS:
WORK WITH DIFFERENT
MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM

29. "INTRAPRENEURSHIP"
"INTRAPRENEURSHIP"

30. CREATING A
PERMANENTSPACE FOR RISK-TAKING

32. DON'TBE AN IDIOT OVERLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT
DEADLINES
DON'T
FORGET TO ACCOUNT
FOR THE LEARNING CURVE

33. DON'T
LET JUNIOR ENGINEERS FLAIL
DON'T
BE AFRAID TO CUT BAIT
AND TRY AGAIN

34. MANDATORY SUMMARY SLIDE
> Break off small pieces of larger projects
MANDATORY SUMMARY SLIDE
> Break off small pieces of larger projects
> Try something internally first

35. MANDATORY SUMMARY SLIDE
> Break off small pieces of larger projects
> Try something internally first
> Find times and places to experiment
MANDATORY SUMMARY SLIDE
> Break off small pieces of larger projects
> Try something internally first
> Find times and places to experiment
> Be mindful of timelines and deadlines

36. MANDATORY SUMMARY SLIDE
> Break off small pieces of larger projects
> Try something internally first
> Find times and places to experiment
> Be mindful of timelines and deadlines
> If at first you don't succeed, that's OK
MANDATORY SUMMARY SLIDE
> Break off small pieces of larger projects
> Try something internally first
> Find times and places to experiment
> Be mindful of timelines and deadlines
> If at first you don't succeed, that's OK
> you can always try again

37. SPECIAL THANKS
QUESTION TIME!
(or bug me on Twitter @designatednerd)

38. LINKS! (PT. 1)
> Reactive Forms with RxAndroid: https://www.vokal.io/
labs/reactive-forms-with-rxandroid
> The New vokal.io: https://www.vokal.io/labs/the-new-
vokalio
> Hack Your Way To Great Ideas: https://
blogs.dropbox.com/dropbox/2015/08/hack-your-way-
to-great-ideas/
LINKS! (PT. 2)
> 20% Time vs 120% Time http://qz.com/116196/google-
engineers-insist-20-time-is-not-dead-its-just-turned-
into-120-time/
> The Innovator's dilemma http://www.amazon.com/The-
Innovator-s-Dilemma-Technologies-Management/dp/
1633691780/

39. PHOTO CREDITS (PT. 1)
> Miscellaneous cool toys by thotfulspot https://
www.flickr.com/photos/thotfulspot/6151593033/
> Broken Toy by Michael Coghlan https://
www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/6082137401/
> Reinventing The Wheel by Thomas Guest https://
www.flickr.com/photos/thomasguest/5491482766/
> 2011-0320 by VGB.Studios https://www.flickr.com/
photos/vgb-studios/6605405287
PHOTO CREDITS (PT. 2)
> Share by GotCredit https://www.flickr.com/photos/
jakerust/16639834358/
> You Break It You Buy It by Gregg Tavares https://
www.flickr.com/photos/greggman/235884548/
> What's Next? by sean hobson https://www.flickr.com/
photos/seanhobson/4380105315/

40. PHOTO CREDITS (PT. 3)
> Lego Dungeons and Dragons - Action Points by Marco
Hazard https://www.flickr.com/photos/
42405591@N02/11013256715/
> Little flower sprout grows through urban asphalt
ground by https://www.flickr.com/photos/
138615660@N02/
> Ahchan and iPad by Hajime NAKANO https://
www.flickr.com/photos/jetalone/4694902742/
PHOTO CREDITS (PT. 4)
> 235/365 ...somewhere there is a boundless universe
waiting to be discovered by Iryna Yeroshko https://
www.flickr.com/photos/mandarina94/6267475924
> Edge of the falls by Mig Gilbert https://
www.flickr.com/photos/mig-gilbert/26182478906