Neurodiversity in Tech: Harnessing ADHD and Autism Strengths for Team Success

In the realm of software development and technology, the conversation around ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often leans towards perceived challenges. Yet, in many high-performance settings, neurodiverse individuals consistently demonstrate remarkable abilities that can be pivotal for team success. This session ventures beyond the traditional deficit-focused narrative, diving deep into the invaluable traits that individuals with ADHD and ASD bring to the table—such as unparalleled attention to detail, unwavering focus, and an innate knack for pattern recognition.

By adopting a strengths-based approach, we'll explore:
- How neurodiverse strengths align with effective product delivery processes and frameworks like Agile and Scrum.
- Strategies for fostering psychological safety and trust within teams, facilitating a more inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives.
- The role of mentorship and tailored career development strategies for neurodiverse technologists, emphasizing their unique value propositions.
- Enhancing team communication and collaboration by leveraging the innate skills of ADHD and ASD individuals.

Empower your teams by understanding, recognizing, and integrating the unique capabilities of neurodiverse colleagues. By doing so, we can create a more inclusive, innovative, and successful workspace that truly harnesses the full spectrum of human potential in tech.

Optimizing Your Workflow with AI Insights

Delve deeper into the insights offered by AI tools. Discover how to leverage these data-driven recommendations to refine your code, identify areas of enhancement, and optimize your entire development workflow.

Navigating Azure DevOps: Best Practices for Successful Software Delivery

Azure DevOps offers a wide range of customization options for managing software development, but these can be challenging to navigate. This session will provide insight into how professional consulting organizations use Azure DevOps to plan and deliver both short-term projects and ongoing deliverables. We will explore best practices for ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality software, and delve into the functionality and limitations of Azure DevOps. Attendees will learn how to configure the platform to support and enforce key process controls using useful extensions and advanced query techniques. Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to Azure DevOps, this session will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to navigate the platform with confidence.

Mastering Solutions Architecture with Design Katas

TLDR: Architects get relatively few opportunities to practice their craft, so we will group up to formulate architectural visions for "real world" business problems. Attendees will then evaluate each group's solution to gain insight into the pros and cons of different approaches.

Fred Brooks said, "How do we get great designers? Great designers design, of course." So how do we get great architects? Great architects architect, but architecting a software system is a rare opportunity for the non-architect. For this, we turn to an ancient tradition, born of the martial arts, designed to give the student the opportunity to practice more than basics in a semi-realistic way. The coding kata, created by Dave Thomas, is an opportunity for the developer to try a language or tool to solve a problem slightly more complex than "Hello world". The architectural kata, like the coding kata, is an opportunity for the student-architect to practice architecting a software system.

In this workshop, attendees will be split into small groups and given a "real world" business problem (the kata). Attendees will be expected to formulate an architectural vision for the project, asking questions (of the instructor) as necessary to better understand the requirements, then defend questions (posed by both the instructor and their fellow attendees) about their choice in technology and approach, and then evaluate others' efforts in a similar fashion. No equipment is necessary to participate--the great architect has no need of tools, just their mind and the customers' participation and feedback.

Live Demonstration: AI Tools in Action

Experience in real-time how AI-powered tools revolutionize the coding process. From intelligent code suggestions to proactive issue detection, observe the transformative capabilities of AI tools.

Introduction to AI-Powered Development Tools

Kickstart your journey into the realm of AI-enhanced software development. Discover the next-generation tools that are transforming the coding landscape, making development both efficient and insightful.

AI-Powered Coding: Next-Gen Tools and Demonstrations for Smarter Development

Ever paused mid-code and wished for a tool that not only expedites your process but also thinks alongside you, offering insights into potential pitfalls and improvements? Welcome to the era of AI-powered software development tools.

In this session, we will introduce you to the latest AI-driven tools designed for software developers. Experience firsthand, through live demonstrations, how these tools seamlessly integrate with your workflow, offering not just quicker coding solutions but also an intelligent analysis of your code. From pinpointing issues before they escalate to suggesting optimized code structures and even proactively highlighting areas for potential enhancement, these tools are set to redefine the coding experience.

Join us and witness the future of software development, where coding meets artificial intelligence, and every line of code becomes an opportunity for efficiency and advancement.

Boosting Productivity with AI: Tips and Techniques for Software Developers

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent, software developers are looking for ways to harness its power to increase productivity and accomplish more in less time. This session will provide an overview of the latest AI tools and technologies available to software developers, and discuss how they can automate repetitive tasks and improve workflow. Attendees will learn about various AI-based approaches such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, and how they can be applied to software development. We will also showcase real-world examples and provide hands-on demonstrations of AI-based tools and techniques to help developers save time and increase their productivity.

This presentation is based on actual usage of publicly available AI products, such as ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, to write code used in production solutions.

Navigating Azure DevOps: Best Practices for Successful Software Delivery

Azure DevOps offers a wide range of customization options for managing software development, but these can be challenging to navigate. This session will provide insight into how professional consulting organizations use Azure DevOps to plan and deliver both short-term projects and ongoing deliverables. We will explore best practices for ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality software, and delve into the functionality and limitations of Azure DevOps. Attendees will learn how to configure the platform to support and enforce key process controls using useful extensions and advanced query techniques. Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to Azure DevOps, this session will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to navigate the platform with confidence.

This workshop/presentation (available in all formats) is based on extensive efforts within our consulting organization to define best practices used across all of our projects with input from all departmental roles and levels of responsibility. By starting with a focus on process improvement, we have mapped key elements and handoffs to how they can best be accomplished on the Azure DevOps platform.

Content will continue to evolve as new functionality is released and our teams explore better ways of automating processes and facilitating collaboration.

Building a Slack Chatbot with Azure Functions

Chatbots have become an essential tool for businesses to improve customer support, automate tasks, and enhance engagement. However, building a chatbot from scratch can be challenging and time-consuming. In this session, we will show you how to build a chatbot for Slack using Azure Functions, a serverless computing platform.

We will start with an introduction to Azure Functions and how they work. Then, we will dive into building a chatbot for Slack, starting with creating a new Slack app and configuring the necessary permissions. We will then create a new Azure Function app and write the code to handle incoming messages from Slack. We will also cover how to authenticate users and respond to messages.

In addition, we will demonstrate how to integrate the chatbot with other Azure services such as SQL Server, Cosmos DB, and Azure Cognitive Services to enable natural language processing and sentiment analysis.

By the end of this session, attendees will have a better understanding of how to build a chatbot for Slack using Azure Functions and how to integrate it with other Azure services. They will also gain practical knowledge of how to handle user authentication, message handling, and responses, and how to ensure the chatbot is secure and reliable.

This workshop/presentation (available in either format) is based on my experience building a chatbot for internal company use and includes lessons learned with real-world examples.

7 Habits of Highly Successful Developers

Software and website developers are in extremely high demand and rates continue to climb, but many developers have not yet realized their potential. Being good at what you do is important, but it's equally important that you can communicate the value you bring to an organization and build a reputation that will provide opportunities for growth, both professionally and financially. We will work together to measure your accomplishments, establish a personal brand, and walk away with a resume that conveys your true value!

I began speaking at conferences on professional development for software developers in 2013 and this series of presentations and workshops have been incredibly well received over the years with some conferences inviting me back to present the same topic at future events. Past attendees have expressed appreciation for how the insight they gained benefitted their careers.

Some of the previous titles in this series were "How to be a Six Figure Developer" and "7 Habits of Highly Paid Developers".

An Engineer's Guide to Developing People

Making the leap to management isn't easy but, with the right skills and preparation, solving people and process problems can be incredibly rewarding and profitable. In fact, the experience and skills you've gained over the years may have prepared you for this new role without even realizing it!

In this session we will explore how software engineering principals and patterns can guide your journey to becoming a successful development manager. We'll cover what the role entails, common hurdles, and the mental shift required to do it effectively.

I've been working on a series of blog posts for over a year with the intention of publishing a guide on how to become a successful software development manager. Over time I began to notice a trend in the correlation of programming concepts to leadership strategies, so I decided to create a presentation which should resonate with developers and provide insight into how they might follow a similar path.

Succeeding with ADHD

The things that make us different are also often a potential advantage. People with conditions like ADHD must overcome challenges to conform and, in the process, often develop skills that make them exceptional leaders and entrepreneurs.

In this session we will explore how many of the most successful have turned these tendencies into an advantage and how you can do the same, regardless of your diagnosis.

This presentation is based on extensive research as well as personal experience. It is focused on techniques that, while they were developed as coping mechanisms, can be used by anyone with the desire to excel at achieving their goals.

How to Benefit from Employing Neurodiversity

The same traits that are viewed as problematic in certain environments can be a tremendous advantage for your organization. This talk will explore the topic of neurodiversity with a focus on how to utilize these special gifts and talents as a competitive advantage.

Not planning on hiring anyone new right now? You might be surprised to find that you're already working with differently abled individuals. Many of the most successful leaders and entrepreneurs exhibit ADHD tendencies such as wearing headphones to focus and getting into "the zone". Autistic individuals are known for being excellent at pattern recognition, mathematics, and memorization.

If this makes you want to add some superpowers to your team, keep in mind that with great power comes great responsibility. The neurodiverse can exhibit challenging eccentricities and may require special accommodations to realize their benefits. Your recruitment policies, interview process, and work environment may need to adapt for better access this untapped talent and innovative perspectives.

Whether you're looking to maximize the value of your existing team or tap into the vast pool of unemployed and underemployed neurodiverse population, there's opportunity waiting for those who can make the puzzle pieces fit.

I've designed this version of my presentation as an inspirational and informative keynote that will both introduce the topic of neurodiversity to a broad audience and provide insight into how it can be leveraged from a practical perspective.

Other versions are available which focus more on the science, psychology, and IT-specific applications.

Unleashing the Potential: Harnessing the Advantages of ADHD and Autism Traits

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often viewed as disorders with negative consequences. However, individuals with these conditions can exhibit seemingly superhuman abilities in the right setting. This session will explore the potential benefits of traits commonly found in individuals with ADHD and ASD, such as heightened attention to detail, strong focus, and an aptitude for pattern recognition. We will also discuss strategies for harnessing these advantages in the workplace and other environments. By understanding and utilizing these strengths, individuals with ADHD and ASD can achieve greater success and fulfillment in their personal and professional lives.

This session aims to shift the conversation from deficit-based thinking to a strengths-based approach, highlighting the unique and valuable contributions of individuals with ADHD and ASD.

This presentation has continued to evolve since I first started speaking on the topic of neurodiversity in 2019 and has become increasingly relevant as remote work has increasingly presented opportunities for adaptable work environments.