This document discusses providing constructive criticism and reviews. It begins by discussing the presenter's background growing up in a family where her father taught woodworking and emphasized the importance of critique as a way to improve one's skills. The presenter then discusses how critique is an important skill in design and code development, allowing people to separate themselves from their work and learn from feedback. The rest of the document focuses on how to provide useful reviews and critiques, emphasizing that a framework is needed, the reviewer must be objective, and the creator must not take criticism of their work personally. Key elements of good and bad feedback are also outlined.
9 Key P's for Proactive Knowledge - Digital Citizenship in 2016Vicki Davis
Digital citizenship for the modern age is often best taught with students researching and learning about the nine aspects of digital citizenship. Presented at GAETC by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher
Differentiating Instruction with TechnologyVicki Davis
How do we reach every child with technology? How do we select the tools and build a framework so that we can reach every child. Here are the slides with the differentiating instruction with technology presented in Akron in June 2018
50+ Ways to Use Technology in the ClassroomVicki Davis
Some of the favorite tips and tricks of Cool Cat Teacher. Get ideas for slides and ideas for your classroom. And remember, pick your big three - the next three things you're going to learn. And innovate like a turtle - pick 15 minutes once or twice a week to learn and try something new. You can do it!
9 Key P’s for Proactive Knowledge (Digital Citizenship)Vicki Davis
You can keep students safe. This simple system of teaching digital citizenship is based on the 9 Key P's for proactive Knowledge from my (Vicki Davis') book Reinventing Writing. In this presentation, I give you an overview of the 9 Key P's and a system for teaching digital citizenship to students of all ages. A Workshop I did at TICAL in Iowa in June 2016
9 Key P's for Proactive Knowledge - Digital Citizenship in 2016Vicki Davis
Digital citizenship for the modern age is often best taught with students researching and learning about the nine aspects of digital citizenship. Presented at GAETC by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher
Differentiating Instruction with TechnologyVicki Davis
How do we reach every child with technology? How do we select the tools and build a framework so that we can reach every child. Here are the slides with the differentiating instruction with technology presented in Akron in June 2018
50+ Ways to Use Technology in the ClassroomVicki Davis
Some of the favorite tips and tricks of Cool Cat Teacher. Get ideas for slides and ideas for your classroom. And remember, pick your big three - the next three things you're going to learn. And innovate like a turtle - pick 15 minutes once or twice a week to learn and try something new. You can do it!
9 Key P’s for Proactive Knowledge (Digital Citizenship)Vicki Davis
You can keep students safe. This simple system of teaching digital citizenship is based on the 9 Key P's for proactive Knowledge from my (Vicki Davis') book Reinventing Writing. In this presentation, I give you an overview of the 9 Key P's and a system for teaching digital citizenship to students of all ages. A Workshop I did at TICAL in Iowa in June 2016
In this session I will show you how to create a small business network on a multi-site Drupal installation. I will be using the small business network within my own community as an example.
In small-town Canada we have seen an increase in the \"cottage industry\" as people in their 50s cash out of urban centres and move to the country. These micro-enterprise businesses often have only the owner (and their partner) as staff. Although the businesses offer a huge range of services, they have one thing in common--very small budgets. Individually these businesses can rarely afford expert technical support, sophisticated Web sites and beautiful Web design--but with a Drupal-based business network, small businesses can now afford to look like pros on-line.
These slides were prepared to introduce district leaders to the design thinking process. The design challenge we worked on during this day-long introduction was to redesign high school media centers. These slides were used to step participants through each phase of the design thinking process.
The elements of product success for designers and developersNick Myers
All software, whether it's for consumers or workers, needs to meet the ever growing demands people have in today’s world. Greater user expectations and influence are forcing companies to create and deliver better products, but not every organization has a rich heritage in software creation like tech giants Apple and Google. Most companies need to be more customer-focused, become design specialists, and transform their cultures as they shift to become both software makers and innovators.
Myers, head of design services at Cooper, will share the elements of product success that companies need to possess and be market leaders: user insight, design, and organization. Myers will share principles and techniques that successful innovative companies use to truly understand their customers. He’ll also discuss the methods effective designers use to support their customers and create breakthrough ideas and delightful experiences. And he’ll finish by sharing the magic formula organizations need to deliver ground-breaking experiences to market.
This talk was given at UX Day.
Beyond Question Stems: Critical Thinking in the 21st Century ClassroomJennifer Jones
I developed and delivered this presentation for South Mebane Elementary School in Alamance County. The focus was higher order thinking and critical thinking skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Language, Comprehension and Vocabulary standards were highlighted from the Common Core with a special emphasis on the 3 shifts of the Common Core for ELA.
Steve Portigal: Disciplinarity and Rigour?Steve Portigal
The opening keynote to the Design Research Society 2008 conference in Sheffield, UK. For audio as well, go to http://www.portigal.com/blog/disciplinarity-and-rigour-my-keynote-from-design-research-society-conference/
Steve describes his career path and his key concerns as a practitioner and consultant.
have you ever considered the questions you use and how you use them? When and what for? Why \'why\' is such a difficult concept yet poorly used and often out of sync?
As a UX designer, Joe Bond is interested in using peer-to-peer mentorship as a primer for creating inclusive, active local design communities. He talks about his own experiences in creating communities to meet and learn from people that are solving meaningful problems in a variety of design disciplines and methodologies.
In this session I will show you how to create a small business network on a multi-site Drupal installation. I will be using the small business network within my own community as an example.
In small-town Canada we have seen an increase in the \"cottage industry\" as people in their 50s cash out of urban centres and move to the country. These micro-enterprise businesses often have only the owner (and their partner) as staff. Although the businesses offer a huge range of services, they have one thing in common--very small budgets. Individually these businesses can rarely afford expert technical support, sophisticated Web sites and beautiful Web design--but with a Drupal-based business network, small businesses can now afford to look like pros on-line.
These slides were prepared to introduce district leaders to the design thinking process. The design challenge we worked on during this day-long introduction was to redesign high school media centers. These slides were used to step participants through each phase of the design thinking process.
The elements of product success for designers and developersNick Myers
All software, whether it's for consumers or workers, needs to meet the ever growing demands people have in today’s world. Greater user expectations and influence are forcing companies to create and deliver better products, but not every organization has a rich heritage in software creation like tech giants Apple and Google. Most companies need to be more customer-focused, become design specialists, and transform their cultures as they shift to become both software makers and innovators.
Myers, head of design services at Cooper, will share the elements of product success that companies need to possess and be market leaders: user insight, design, and organization. Myers will share principles and techniques that successful innovative companies use to truly understand their customers. He’ll also discuss the methods effective designers use to support their customers and create breakthrough ideas and delightful experiences. And he’ll finish by sharing the magic formula organizations need to deliver ground-breaking experiences to market.
This talk was given at UX Day.
Beyond Question Stems: Critical Thinking in the 21st Century ClassroomJennifer Jones
I developed and delivered this presentation for South Mebane Elementary School in Alamance County. The focus was higher order thinking and critical thinking skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Language, Comprehension and Vocabulary standards were highlighted from the Common Core with a special emphasis on the 3 shifts of the Common Core for ELA.
Steve Portigal: Disciplinarity and Rigour?Steve Portigal
The opening keynote to the Design Research Society 2008 conference in Sheffield, UK. For audio as well, go to http://www.portigal.com/blog/disciplinarity-and-rigour-my-keynote-from-design-research-society-conference/
Steve describes his career path and his key concerns as a practitioner and consultant.
have you ever considered the questions you use and how you use them? When and what for? Why \'why\' is such a difficult concept yet poorly used and often out of sync?
As a UX designer, Joe Bond is interested in using peer-to-peer mentorship as a primer for creating inclusive, active local design communities. He talks about his own experiences in creating communities to meet and learn from people that are solving meaningful problems in a variety of design disciplines and methodologies.
Week 4 Using The Social Web For Social Change - Elluminate (#bgimgt566sx)Christopher Allen
Presentation for the live Elluminate session for week two of the BGI (Bainbridge Graduate Institute) course "Using the Social Web for Social Change". Topic "Personal Brand, Profiles, Social Networking & Blogging", including Social Network Theory, Basic Concepts, Dunbar Number, Social Network Services, Types, Demographics, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ning
You're organised, you love spreadsheets, you're a great cheerleader, you handle a backlog with superhero skills, and now you're faced with managing a Drupal project and everything just feels foreign. It's not you, it's Drupal. The mix of site building, front end development, backend development, and over 20,000 contributed modules makes project management for Drupal exceptionally frustrating for people who've not worked with Drupal before.
This session will cover:
- the basic Drupal development workflow (from a developer's perspective, but without using developer jargon)
writing useful tickets which developers can accomplish
- estimation tips for multi-discipline tickets (design / back end / front end)
- ideal team structures -- and what to do if you can't get them
Updated from DrupalCamp London to include the truisms I've learned about being a first-time project manager.
Bug reports, standups, issue queues, retrospectives, pull requests, code reviews, flame-outs. We're constantly communicating and if we don't take the time to stop and think about what state of mind will be most productive, we can sometimes say things that put us further behind. Nothing disrupts flow like unproductive communication! In this session Emma Jane Hogbin Westby will show you a new way of thinking about how people behave in the workplace. She will walk you through three types of thinking strategies; and show you how to apply these strategies to create more productive interactions with your co-workers.
Many of the new fangled front end development efficiency tools require you to drop into the Command Line. For those who are accustomed to using a Graphical User Interface, this can be a frustrating and demoralizing experience. The Command Line User Experience (CLUE) may be archaic, but it is also a very efficient way to work.
This session will uncover some of the mysteries of the command line, and unpack the psychology behind your frustrations with it. We'll dive into details necessary to enhance your appreciation of this simple tool by touching on the following topics:
why you're right to hate the command line (and how you can get over your hatred and get on with your job)
the features of a well-written command line utility (so you can distinguish between the good ones and the ones that ought to make you curl your toes in frustration)
the benefits of working at the command line when things are going wrong (and why things are more likely to go *right* when working from the command line for certain kinds of tasks)
and finally, some simple tips to make your time at the command line more bearable
By the end of this session you should be equipped to tackle command line tasks. Specifically, you will be able to:
create a mental model of the tasks you need to complete while at the command line
locate the command line on your computer
complete tasks using relevant commands
identify and apply troubleshooting techniques if things go wrong
safely exit the command line when your tasks are complete
Yes, this is an introductory session. This is for people who feel shame that they don't know how to "just see Dee into yer root durrr" and get mad when people say "just diff me a patch" as if it's as easy as playing with a kitten. No, you don't have to have Git, or Grunt, or Sass installed to attend (you don't even need to know what they all are--bonus marks if you do though). You don't even need to know where the command line is on your computer.
You've just been handed a gorgeous, static Photoshop file. By tomorrow it needs to be a flexible, extensible, and compatible Drupal theme for some Web site you've never seen. Oh and they said something about it needing to be responsive to 508 or something like that? *gulp* The problem with creating a Drupal theme is —once you know how—it becomes intuitive. Themers spontaneously transform design files into complete Drupal themes without realizing all of the little steps their brain takes to achieve the final solution. It's sort of like those “learn to draw a cat” books where it takes you from a basic circle to a cat with beautiful fur in four simple steps. It's never four complete simple steps though. It's two steps of making circles and then some kind of crazy artist voodoo that makes a complete cat by the last step. In this session Emma Jane Westby (of Front End Drupal fame) will walk you through the steps ... all the steps ... of converting a design into a theme.
Without missing any steps, Emma will walk you through:
the benefits of theming by component
what you need to have in place before you start
what's worth keeping from SMACSS (and what's just overhead)
how to refine her simple procedure so it works for your team, and with any version of Drupal
You are a clever and talented person. You create beautiful designs, or perhaps you can architect a system that even a cat could use. Your peers adore you. Your clients love you. But (until now) you haven't *&^#^ been able to make Git bend to your will. It makes you angry inside that you have to ask your co-worker, again, for that *&^#^ command to share your work.
It's not you. It's Git. Promise.
We'll kick off this session with an explanation of why Git is so freaking hard to learn. Then we'll flip the tables and make YOU (not Git) the centre of attention. You'll learn how to define, and sketch out how version control works, using terms and scenarios that make sense to you. Yup, sketch. On paper. (Tablets and other electronic devices will be allowed, as long as you promise not to get distracted choosing the perfect shade for rage.) To this diagram you'll layer on the common Git commands that are used regularly by efficient Git-using teams. It'll be the ultimate cheat sheet, and specific to your job. If you think this sounds complicated, it's not! Your fearless leader, Emma Jane, has been successfully teaching people how-to-tech for over a decade. She is well known for her non-technical metaphors which ease learners into complex, work-related topics that previously felt inaccessible.
Yes, this is an introductory session. No, you don't have to have Git installed to attend. You don't even need to know where the command line is on your computer. Yes, you should attend if you've been embarrassed to ask team-mates what Git command you used three weeks ago to upload your work...just in case you're supposed to remember.
If you're a super-human Git fanatic who is frustrated by people who don't just "git it", this session is also for you. You'll learn new ways to effectively communicate your ever-loving Git, and you may develop a deeper understanding of why your previous attempts to explain Git have failed.
The bigger the company, the more likely you are to get dragged into meetings that waste your time, waste your talent, and waste your company's money. Sure, it's great to be included in the process, but wouldn't it be even nicer if the process didn't waste your time? In this session Emma Jane Hogbin show you five simple tips to make your time in meetings more efficient. Want to dig deeper? She'll explain why these five tips work and show you how to make more of your interactions with (difficult) people more efficient and enjoyable.
Does Git make you angry inside? In this workshop you will get a gentle introduction to working efficiently as a Web developer in small teams, or as a solo developer. We'll focus on real world examples you can actually use to make your work faster and more efficient. Windows? OSX? Linux? No problem, we'll get you up and running with Git, no matter what your system. Yes, this is an introductory session. This is for people who feel shame that they don't know how to "clone my github project", wish they too could "get the gist", and get mad when people say "just diff me a patch" as if it's something as easy as making a mai thai even though you have no rum. No, you don't have to have git installed to attend. You don't even need to know where the command line is on your computer.
Is your theme folder filled with files like this: page.old.2.bak.php? Does Git make you angry inside? Do you resent that everyone except you regularly visits the magical place referred to as "The Command Line"? Are you afraid of the vagrant who stole your puppet? In this workshop you will get a step-by-step introduction to working efficiently as a Drupal developer in small teams, or as a solo developer. We'll focus on real world examples you can actually use to make your work faster and more efficient.
Full workshop available at: http://designtotheme.com/workshops/work-flow-solo-developers-and-small-teams
The handout and video are also available for this presentation.
http://munich2012.drupal.org/program/sessions/evaluating-base-themes http://munich2012.drupal.org/sites/default/files/slides/basethemes-handout-munich_1.pdf
One of these themes is not like the other: Mothership, Zen, Omega, Bartik, Fusion. Since writing my first book, Front End Drupal, Drupal base themes have matured significantly. Some of these base themes have evolved to the point of having the learning curve of a theming engine rather than a set of preset markup defaults. In this session we'll explore the base theme ecosystem. You'll get a biased view of how I evaluate base themes and which themes come out on top for the "themer experience". You'll find out why there can be no single base theme to meet the needs of every themer and why the base theme you're using might not be right for you.
Bring your questions (and your flame thrower) as we romp through the valley of Drupal base themes.
The theme of your website has the capacity for beautiful, semantic markup...and also the hacky HTML soup. You can build a new theme by downloading a free theme and tearing out its guts--or you can learn how to become a theme surgeon.
In this session you will learn two key techniques needed to build a successful theme: crime scene investigation (identifying Drupal page elements in your design files) and power tools for copy-cat theming (things you need to recreate your design using Drupal). From start to finish we will transform a design file into a Drupal theme. With special attention given to your all-important questions: how do I save time with grid-based design? Should I use Panels? How do I make this bit of stuff appear next to that bit? Yah, but how do I start?
[This presentation was given at DrupalCon Chicago but the recording failed. Slides are available from http://www.slideshare.net/emmajane/forensic-theming-for-drupal]
About The Presenter
Emma Jane Hogbin is well known in the Drupal community for her engaging presentations and kickass theming book, Front End Drupal. She is currently working on her second book, Drupal: A user's guide which is due out shortly after DrupalCon. Through her training company, Design to Theme, emmajane has empowered thousands of people to create the Drupal site of their dreams.
Intended audience
Small business site builders who partner with graphic designers but have no idea how to make Drupal look like a design file. Intermediate themers who start with a free Drupal theme that looks "close" to the final site and then start hacking to make their theme. The audience currently does not use base themes and are frustrated at how complicated all of the code is. They are looking for shortcuts and some quick-fix solutions to make theming faster and more profitable.
Questions answered by this session
What are the key tools I need to use to make themeing Drupal easier?
How can I make Drupal markup less yucky?
Where should I start when building a new theme?
Yeah, but how do I theme *that thing*?
I want to see how you build a theme: show me!
Presented at: http://london2011.drupal.org/conference/sessions/forensic-theming-key-techniques-building-effective-drupal-themes
Let's dive deeper into the world of ODC! Ricardo Alves (OutSystems) will join us to tell all about the new Data Fabric. After that, Sezen de Bruijn (OutSystems) will get into the details on how to best design a sturdy architecture within ODC.
Search and Society: Reimagining Information Access for Radical FuturesBhaskar Mitra
The field of Information retrieval (IR) is currently undergoing a transformative shift, at least partly due to the emerging applications of generative AI to information access. In this talk, we will deliberate on the sociotechnical implications of generative AI for information access. We will argue that there is both a critical necessity and an exciting opportunity for the IR community to re-center our research agendas on societal needs while dismantling the artificial separation between the work on fairness, accountability, transparency, and ethics in IR and the rest of IR research. Instead of adopting a reactionary strategy of trying to mitigate potential social harms from emerging technologies, the community should aim to proactively set the research agenda for the kinds of systems we should build inspired by diverse explicitly stated sociotechnical imaginaries. The sociotechnical imaginaries that underpin the design and development of information access technologies needs to be explicitly articulated, and we need to develop theories of change in context of these diverse perspectives. Our guiding future imaginaries must be informed by other academic fields, such as democratic theory and critical theory, and should be co-developed with social science scholars, legal scholars, civil rights and social justice activists, and artists, among others.
Kubernetes & AI - Beauty and the Beast !?! @KCD Istanbul 2024Tobias Schneck
As AI technology is pushing into IT I was wondering myself, as an “infrastructure container kubernetes guy”, how get this fancy AI technology get managed from an infrastructure operational view? Is it possible to apply our lovely cloud native principals as well? What benefit’s both technologies could bring to each other?
Let me take this questions and provide you a short journey through existing deployment models and use cases for AI software. On practical examples, we discuss what cloud/on-premise strategy we may need for applying it to our own infrastructure to get it to work from an enterprise perspective. I want to give an overview about infrastructure requirements and technologies, what could be beneficial or limiting your AI use cases in an enterprise environment. An interactive Demo will give you some insides, what approaches I got already working for real.
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with Parameters
Was It Something I Said? The Art of Giving (and getting) A Critique
1. Building Bridges, Connecting Communities
Emma Jane Westby
Community Track
May 22, 2013
Was It Something I Said?
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Session Description:
There is a lot happening in the Drupal community. It's easy to get overwhelmed. As a
community we've seen flame-outs and rage-quits. And yet, overall, we have a very healthy
community which supports its fellow participants. Most of our participation happens in a
text-based environment: in IRC, or in the drupal.org issue queue. It's difficult to read the
intention behind words, but very easy to misinterpret what someone is saying.
In this session we'll explore how to give, and receive, useful critiques of our work. We'll talk
about the different kinds of critiques that are necessary as an idea develops. The emphasis
will be on reviewing subjective work, not the easy stuff like white space at the end of a line.
Attendees will come out of this session with tips on:
- a framework for giving useful, and actionable criticism
- critiques of critiques, examples from our own issue queue of what's useful, and what's
harmful
- making your reviews easy to implement (making your time investment worth while)
- writing useful reviews outside of your area of competence (i.e. how to review design when
you're not a designer; and how to review code when you're not a coder)
- creating a better "ask" that results in the kind of feedback you actually want to receive
Getting better reviews makes us better at our job--and makes Drupal a better product. If
you're ready to take your reviews to the next level...if you're ready to help others lift their
work out of mediocrity with their head held high...if you're ready to take Drupal to the next
level, be sure to attend this session with your friends *and* your nemesis.
3. Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Hi, I’m emmajane! I wrote what might be one of your favourite Drupal books. I’m the
education development coordinator for Drupalize.Me, and we’re currently having a sale invest
in your Drupal education. You can talk to me after the presentation if you’d like more details.
4. Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Hi, I’m emmajane! I wrote what might be one of your favourite Drupal books. I’m the
education development coordinator for Drupalize.Me, and we’re currently having a sale invest
in your Drupal education. You can talk to me after the presentation if you’d like more details.
5. Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Hi, I’m emmajane! I wrote what might be one of your favourite Drupal books. I’m the
education development coordinator for Drupalize.Me, and we’re currently having a sale invest
in your Drupal education. You can talk to me after the presentation if you’d like more details.
6. Growing Up Hogbin
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Now ... I’m going to break every rule in the book about presentations and start with a story
about myself. I’m the daughter of a hacker. But not a computer hacker: a craft hacker. This is
a picture of my dad standing in front of a lathe he built. Yes, that’s a tree trunk on the lathe.
My dad revolutionized wood turning in the 1960s and 1970s.
7. Wednesday, 22 May, 13
This was our living room growing up. The chairs and the table are solid wood and turned on a
lathe. These chairs are now in the permanent collection at the Yale University Art Gallery
and Minneapolis Institute of Art. Growing up, the design process--and especially the
design REVIEW process--was a big part of my life. And today, as many of you know, I will
give honest, thoughtful feedback when asked.
8. Wednesday, 22 May, 13
These are a few of the pieces my father and I have collaborated on. Growing up, I learned at
that good feedback wasn’t about saying “Oh that’s nice.” In fact I learned at a pretty young
age that there were different kinds of feedback. When I wanted positive affirmation, I’d ask
my mum what she thought; but when I wanted a review of my work, I’d ask my dad for a
critique. Through his feedback, my dad taught me how to give feedback as well.
Left: hand bound books (covers by Stephen). more photos at www.stephenhogbin.com
Right: Pink Cymbella (electron microscope photography by Emma)
9. The crit is an exercise in
critical thinking.
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
So what is a critique? “Crits”, as they’re known in design school, are group reviews of a
work-in-progress. The critique helps students to separate themselves from their work and
trains them in the important skill of explaining the reasons behind their solutions. The
critique is a basic exercise in critical thinking.
When someone says “critique”, we sometimes hear “critical” and assume that it has to mean
something negative. But that’s not the case!
http://www.aiga.org/guide-whatgoeson/
Another aspect of design education is the group critique. “Crits” take place at different stages
in a project and provide an opportunity to step back and reflect on the project, to exchange
critical or supporting ideas, to clarify intentions, and to develop the ability to discuss or even
defend one's own work—a necessary skill that will later be important with clients. The
critique helps students to deal openly with criticism while it trains them in the important
verbal skills of explaining the reasons behind their solutions. They must go beyond “I like it”
or “That stinks.” Critiques help students to internalize standards of excellence, to develop a
shared vocabulary for discussion, to learn to incorporate useful suggestions from others, and
to evaluate their own and others' performances. This process helps students to separate work
from self and to acquire the maturity and perspective needed in order to benefit from
intelligent criticism. The critique is a basic exercise in critical thinking.
10. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is reflective reasoning about
beliefs and actions. It is a way of deciding
whether a claim is always true, sometimes
true, partly true, or false.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Critical thinking hasn’t always been purely negative.
11. Critical thinking can be
traced back to Socrates
and the socratic
method.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/puregin/2313540645
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicmcphee/1337901239/
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
In fact critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic method of Ancient
Greece and, in the East, to the Buddhists (kalama sutta and Abhidharma).
eaton’s photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/puregin/2313540645
philosopher photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicmcphee/1337901239/
Left to right: chrysippos, antisthenes, socrates, eaton
12. from craft to code
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
I grew up with design crits. I’ve had most of my life to practice giving and getting reviews. It’s
a skill and one that can be developed over time.
Drupal has grown immensely in the last couple of years. Its review framework is quite
mature. Let’s take a quick look at our review process.
13. identify the crux
of the problem
generate
ideas
organize
ideas
generate
ideas
conclude on
best option
plan and
organize
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
15. Drupal uses templates
to structure the
feedback process
Using the issue queue: http://drupal.org/node/317
Issue queue etiquette: http://drupal.org/node/1839650
Reporting problems: http://drupal.org/node/314185
Issue templates: http://lb.cm/tmplt-drupal
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Using the issue queue: http://drupal.org/node/317
Issue queue etiquette: http://drupal.org/node/1839650
Reporting problems: http://drupal.org/node/314185
Templates:
LaunchPad - http://lb.cm/tmplt-launchpad
Drupal - http://lb.cm/tmplt-drupal - Problem/Motivation; Proposed resolution; Remaining
tasks
Symfony - http://lb.cm/tmplt-symfony
16. Core Gates
• Documentation
• Performance
• Accessibility
• Usability
• Testing
http://drupal.org/core-gates
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Gates are essentially "checklists" that can be used to evaluate a patch's readiness, by both
developers and patch reviewers/core committers.
18. critique is a positive verb
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
We know that code reviews are a good thing. Reviewing code makes us better communicators
and better coders. Our strong review process makes Drupal a stronger product. For the
critique to be a POSITIVE experience though, three elements need to be in place.
1. There must be a framework
2. The reviewer must be objective
3. The creator must separate themselves from their work.
19. critique is a positive verb
Framework
must be present
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
We know that code reviews are a good thing. Reviewing code makes us better communicators
and better coders. Our strong review process makes Drupal a stronger product. For the
critique to be a POSITIVE experience though, three elements need to be in place.
1. There must be a framework
2. The reviewer must be objective
3. The creator must separate themselves from their work.
20. critique is a positive verb
Framework
must be present
Reviewer must
be objective
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
We know that code reviews are a good thing. Reviewing code makes us better communicators
and better coders. Our strong review process makes Drupal a stronger product. For the
critique to be a POSITIVE experience though, three elements need to be in place.
1. There must be a framework
2. The reviewer must be objective
3. The creator must separate themselves from their work.
21. critique is a positive verb
Framework
must be present
Reviewer must
be objective
Creator must
uncouple from
their work
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
We know that code reviews are a good thing. Reviewing code makes us better communicators
and better coders. Our strong review process makes Drupal a stronger product. For the
critique to be a POSITIVE experience though, three elements need to be in place.
1. There must be a framework
2. The reviewer must be objective
3. The creator must separate themselves from their work.
22. Framework
must be present
Reviewer must
be objective
critique is a positive verb
Creator must
uncouple from
their work
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
We will spend most of our time as reviewers, not creators. So let’s start here.
23. “in a culture of optimism
good honest criticism
seems to be dying out”
Tim Brown
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
http://designthinking.ideo.com/?p=18
The dilemma we face today is that in a culture of optimism good honest criticism seems to be dying out.
24. Caring (just enough) is hard
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Giving good feedback is hard. You need to be able to care just enough to take the time to
give a review, but not care so much that you aren’t able to give an objective review. It is
exceptionally difficult to not let our biases get in the way.
25. Good Feedback
• Is limited to the scope of the work.
• Is actionable.
• Is specific.
• Is timely.
• Acknowledges the time spent by the coder.
• Is thankful the issue is getting attention.
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
26. Bad Feedback
• Extends the scope (“while you’re there...”)
• Has unclear outcomes (“this is ugly”)
• Confuses personal preference with
objective worth (“I prefer....”)
• Is outside of the issue scope (“you’re
solving the wrong problem”)
• Prolongs discussion (“what if ...”)
• Lags (“if I want a review, I have to sleep”)
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
30. Green: Creativity
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Green is creativity. We have two mindsets: Creative Thinking and Creative Intuition. Creative
thinking involves “muscling through”. It includes: brain storming, challenge, reframe,
envision. Creative intuition “just happens”. It includes: flow and flash of insight.
31. Yellow: Understanding
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Yellow thinking is understanding. The two mindsets are Understanding Situations (analytical
thinking); and Understanding People (compassion). Analytical thinking breaks down into:
scan situation, structure information and clarify understanding. Compassion breaks down
into: tune-in, empathize, express feelings.
32. Red: Decision-Making
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Red thinking is decision making thinking. There are three mindsets this time: Critical
Thinking, Values-driven thinking (belief-based decisions); and Intuitive thinking (gut-instinct
decisions). Critical thinking includes: getting to the crux, conclude, validate the conclusion,
rely on experience. Belief-based thinking and Gut-based thinking are single strategy mind-
sets.
33. Take my feedback with a
grain of (yellow) salt.
These are me
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
This screen shows you my personal operating style and preferred mindset profile. You can
see from the charts that I prefer to gather information. I’m a “yellow” thinker, followed by
“red” and then “green” and then “white” (think of the white as my amplifier..I don’t go to
‘eleven’ very often). Within the four dimensions, I am more likely to use creative intuition
than creative thinking. (I don’t enjoy muscling into new ideas; but solutions often JUMP out at
me.) Given a choice, I’d rather analyze data than people. And finally, you can see I’m more
likely to rely on gut-instinct when it comes to decision making. In other words: I spent
forever analyzing a situation and then I JUMP to a conclusion. Some people might interpret
this as “impulsive”. It’s interesting, isn’t it?
34. Have you seen these
preferences at play in
our issue queue?
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
35. Framework
must be present
Reviewer must
be objective
Creator must
uncouple from
their work
critique is a positive verb
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
When I give feedback, and I don’t have a framework, I’ll probably give you “yellow” feedback.
I’ll restructure your data. I’ll ask for more information. And if I’m unclear, and you’re not also
a yellow, you’ll probably get irritated with me. This is because of a little term known as
“hostility bias.”
Hostility Bias is the tendency to perceive unclear actions by others as aggressive.
References: http://not-a-jerk.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/fighting-for-no-reasonhow-were-
hard.html
38. Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Our experiences affect how we see things...and when things are unclear, we assume they are
hostile or broken.
Here’s a real world example of hostility bias.
In my original tweet I missed adding an adjective for the resource. “here’s a GREAT buzzword
compliant”... and take a look at how the author responded. The tweet got nine favourites on
twitter and seven likes on Facebook. People liked the resource, but the author assumed we
were being hostile.
Link: http://www.phptherightway.com
40. critique is a positive verb
Framework
must be present
Reviewer must
be objective
Creator must
uncouple from
their work
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Drupal has a lot of frameworks already in place. Let’s take a look at those first.
41. “I’m no expert, but I think opera sucks.”
http://www.coc.ca/PerformancesAndTickets/1213Season/LaClemenzaDiTito/PhotoGallery.aspx
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
When we ask for non-expert reviews, we must tell the reviewer how to frame their feedback
otherwise we end up with your classic opera review “I’m no expert, but I think opera sucks.”
http://barczablog.com/2013/02/25/pageants_of_powe/
“When a reviewer makes a strong statement I believe there are usually two conversations
going on, that are inter-connected. The reviewer is telling us about something. The reviewer
is telling us about themselves.”
44. Without a framework,
chaos ensues.
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
What state are we in?
Where do we want to go?
What are the blockers?
- creating a better "ask" that results in the kind of feedback you actually want to receive
Seeking (Family) Feedback : When I wanted affirmation, I’d ask my mom. When I wanted a
critique, I’d ask my father. Are asked in a timely manner. (Don’t start writing code until you
have buy-in on the direction.)
45. Frameworks allow us
to work from the same
state.
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
What state are we in?
Where do we want to go?
What are the blockers?
46. Red Outcomes
• Advice and recommendations
• Critical assessments
• Conclusions and decisions
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
47. Ideas to Action
Use It When:
Time is tight and you want a few ideas
before deciding.
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Brainstorm; Make decision
How to use this process:
- select the type of outcome (advice, recommendations, decision)
- share information on the problem for one minute.
- brainstorm ideas.
- eliminate ideas or recombine to ensure the best option is selected
48. Facts to Action
Use It When
You’ve presented information (e.g. a report)
and you want a critique, advice,
recommendation, or decision.
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Share information; Make decision.
Decide ahead of time what type of “red” you need. e.g. advice, recommendation, decision.
49. Green outcomes
• Idea generation
• Reframing problems
• Future scenarios
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
50. Use It When:
You need fresh input and a broader number
of options, alternatives, or ideas on how to
solve a problem before you choose which
one is the right one.
Information to Options
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Describe the situation; reframe + brainstorm.
51. Use It When:
A team member needs fresh ideas on how
to deal with a challenge.
Crux to Options
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Determine crux; brainstorm ideas.
52. Yellow outcomes
• Information and clarification
• Analysis and a plan
• Appreciative understanding
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
53. Use It When:
People need to understand the situation
better.
Facts to Understanding
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Share information; clarify understanding
54. Possibilities to Structure
Use It When:
You have a complex problem and want to
start by looking forward with fresh thinking
and end with a plan.
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
Envision possibilities; scan the situation; conclude; plan and organize.
56. critique is a positive verb
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
We know that code reviews are a good thing. Reviewing code makes us better communicators
and better coders. Our strong review process makes Drupal a stronger product. For the
critique to be a POSITIVE experience though, three elements need to be in place.
1. There must be a framework
2. The reviewer must be objective
3. The creator must separate themselves from their work.
57. critique is a positive verb
Framework
must be present
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
We know that code reviews are a good thing. Reviewing code makes us better communicators
and better coders. Our strong review process makes Drupal a stronger product. For the
critique to be a POSITIVE experience though, three elements need to be in place.
1. There must be a framework
2. The reviewer must be objective
3. The creator must separate themselves from their work.
58. critique is a positive verb
Framework
must be present
Reviewer must
be objective
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
We know that code reviews are a good thing. Reviewing code makes us better communicators
and better coders. Our strong review process makes Drupal a stronger product. For the
critique to be a POSITIVE experience though, three elements need to be in place.
1. There must be a framework
2. The reviewer must be objective
3. The creator must separate themselves from their work.
59. critique is a positive verb
Framework
must be present
Reviewer must
be objective
Creator must
uncouple from
their work
Wednesday, 22 May, 13
We know that code reviews are a good thing. Reviewing code makes us better communicators
and better coders. Our strong review process makes Drupal a stronger product. For the
critique to be a POSITIVE experience though, three elements need to be in place.
1. There must be a framework
2. The reviewer must be objective
3. The creator must separate themselves from their work.
60. Building Bridges, Connecting Communities
Evaluate this session at:
portland2013.drupal.org/schedule
Tell me on Twitter: @emmajanehw
#crit #drupalcon
What did you think?
Wednesday, 22 May, 13