NHQ at DDD South West 2023
Richard Jackson, Cloud Software Engineer here at Nightingale HQ (NHQ), gave his first ever conference talk at DDD South West 2023. “.NET, Azure & Umbraco: The First Twelve Months” saw Rich reflect on his past year working in the Microsoft tech stack, informed largely through his experiences at NHQ.
DDD South West has garnered a reputation as a warm and welcoming conference and this year’s event was no exception. Held at The Engine Shed, Bristol, who also provided the exemplary catering, the one-day event saw twenty speakers present a variety of talks on tech-based subjects, such as Eli Holderness’s “User testing in production: how to run a public beta” and Dylan Beattie’s “There’s No Such Thing As Plain Text”.
Rich’s own talk received a warm reception, with an eye-opening and constructive Q&A session afterwards. Using the “hard skills” of the Microsoft technical infrastructure as its starting point, the talk primarily focused on developing “soft skills” such as empathy, compassion and communication, with its central intention that of improving the on-boarding experience for new starters within the industry.
DDD South West continues to be a special event. A huge NHQ “Thank you!” has to go to the organisers for working tirelessly to create such a smooth experience for all involved, and we’re already looking forward to the next one!
FAQs
Why does conference speaking matter for a manufacturing AI company?
Richard Jackson’s first conference talk at DDD South West is significant for reasons beyond the personal milestone. For a company like GoSmarter, having engineers who contribute to the broader technology community — sharing knowledge, publishing insights, participating in peer conversations — builds the credibility and visibility that matters in a sector where trust in technology is hard-won.
DDD South West’s reputation as a warm, inclusive conference for technology professionals reflects the best of the UK’s regional developer community. Presenting there, and receiving a constructive Q&A, is a form of peer validation that is distinct from commercial success or press coverage.
What is the "soft skills in tech" theme?
The focus of Richard’s talk — using the Microsoft technical stack as a starting point to explore empathy, compassion, and communication in software development — reflects something important about GoSmarter’s culture. Building AI tools for manufacturing is a deeply human endeavour. The production managers and quality engineers who use GoSmarter are not developers. The tools need to work for them, communicate clearly to them, and be implemented with care for the change they represent to their working day.
Empathy in software development — understanding and caring about the experience of the people using the software — is not a soft topic. It is central to building products that get adopted rather than rejected. Richard’s talk at DDD South West put that principle at the centre of a technical conversation, which is where it belongs.