denise: Image: Me, facing away from camera, on top of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome (Default)
Denise ([staff profile] denise) wrote in [site community profile] dw_dev2012-07-23 12:33 pm
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Conference talks

If you've ever thought about submitting a talk to a technical conference -- or even if you haven't thought about it! -- I would like to encourage you to do so. Most conferences are always on the lookout for new blood to speak, since otherwise it winds up being the same two dozen people speaking at every conference. :)

I am happy to help people out by critiquing slides, brainstorming talk topics, etc!
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niqaeli: cat with arizona flag in the background (Default)

[personal profile] niqaeli 2012-07-23 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
*pokes at brain* Mostly my brain is useful for fiber arts and fannish crap when it comes to conferences.

But I wonder if anyone ever would be interested in hearing something about, "why your users aren't actually deliberately fucking with you when they report bugs to you, even though it feels like they are."

IE, I spent nine months doing tech support for four different PMS (property management software/systems), and these days I am the person on the front lines in front of the PMS, so I actually do know both sides of the story as it comes to PMS. (And other kinds of retail POS software.)
denise: Image: Me, facing away from camera, on top of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome (Default)

[staff profile] denise 2012-07-23 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Something like that would definitely fit in to most of the tech conferences I've been to! "Translating Userese" or something like that ;)
exor674: Computer Science is my girlfriend (Default)

[personal profile] exor674 2012-07-23 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I'd totally go to that session!
niqaeli: cat with arizona flag in the background (Default)

[personal profile] niqaeli 2012-07-23 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
It's possibly also known as, why your users sound fit to bite your head off just for asking for additional documentation of bugs encountered in any kind of retail/POS software. (It's because they are really goddamned busy trying to serve their actual customers and stuff is breaking and you want them to try and document stuff in the middle of that?? Also because they're not power users and have no idea what the fuck they're doing in the software except if things are going exactly according to their routine operations.)

I mean, I document kind of in absurd detail when I encounter shit but I'm former tech support and I did escalations as said tech support. I've got a pretty good memory when/where shit is going wrong and I'm good at taking quick notes when shit breaks on me in front of a customer, so I will sit down once I have downtime and document in detail including exactly how to replicate the issue where applicable. And... I am so far from a typical user it's not even funny.

Mind you, your users may be being complete dumbasses who do not understand basic concepts. But they're (probably) not actually fucking with you deliberately! They're managing it completely unintentionally. That fact, um, may or may not improve how you feel towards them, of course. *g*
foxfirefey: Fox stealing an egg. (mischief)

[personal profile] foxfirefey 2012-07-23 06:20 pm (UTC)(link)
After we do the mobile site I bet I would be qualified to do a talk on that!
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