Software Development

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Success by code

03.10.25

About the conference

DiSH MCR, Heron House
9am Registration, 9:40am Conference Opens, 4:30pm Closing Remarks & Evening Social

Sponsored by AO.com, this full-day conference is designed specifically for those working in the engine room of tech — software developers, engineers, architects, and technical leaders.

We dive deep into what truly makes software succeed — from technical choices and architectural strategies to team dynamics, tooling, and process. We’ll also examine the common pitfalls that slow teams down or cause projects to fail. Whether you’re shipping code at a startup or managing systems at scale, this is your space to uncover the patterns, practices, and principles that build better software.

What to expect

Our software development conference includes:

Topical Talks & Panels

You’ll hear from AO’s engineering leaders on how they build platforms at scale — systems that power everything from internal logistics to seamless customer experience. Expect honest, practical stories from software teams across the spectrum — from nimble startups to massive multinationals — all tackling the same tough question:

How do you build software that actually works and scales?

Workshops

Our breakout workshops are built for real devs solving real problems. Get your hands on code in guided sessions exploring new frameworks, performance tuning, emerging tools, and better development practices.

These smaller sessions offer the chance to ask deep questions, experiment with solutions, and learn shoulder-to-shoulder with peers facing the same challenges.

Evening Social

Wrap up the day — and the festival — with our final evening social. A relaxed gathering where developers, speakers, and tech enthusiasts connect, share insights, ask the hard questions, and build lasting connections. Whether you want to unpack a talk over a drink or find your next collaborator, this is the space to do it.

Event App

New for 2025! The MTF event app is a virtual environment which puts you in the centre of the festival! Log on, explore sessions and choose your own agenda. Plus! Interact with other guests, access pre-conference content, pose questions to our speakers and more! The best part? You get access to the app for upto 6 months after the festival where all of our talks will be posted so you don’t need to worry about missing a thing!

SPEAKERS

Discover this years speaker bio’s by clicking the images below!

AGENDA

We’re still busy pulling together this year’s agenda, so check out the talks below and sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear when new talks go live!

09:00am - Arrival & Registration

Have your QR Code to hand and head on over to our registration desk to grab your pass!

09:40am - Take Seats in Conference Hall

Take your seats ready for the day

09:45am - Opening Remarks

Join us as we open the day

10:00am - Talk to be announced

10:30am - Change Management: The Avengers vs. The Status Quo

Lee Buckley
Tech Business Partner
AO

SESSION OVERVIEW:

Tech teams love to think of themselves as The Avengers — bold, brilliant and saving the business one deployment at a time. But what if we’re not the heroes of the story… and sometimes, we’re the problem?

We’ll explore why tech-led change often fails despite good intentions — and how teams unintentionally become agents of chaos, not change.

You’ll get a dose of real-world examples, insight into the psychology of “hero bias” and, most importantly, a simple habit to take back to your team: “3 Before Me.”

Whether you’re a developer, product owner or digital leader, this talk will challenge how you see your role in change — and leave you with a new superpower: collaborating before coding.

11:00am - Break & Networking

Take a break, grab some refreshments and meet our sponsors

11:30am - The Unseen Influence: Reclaiming Your Voice in the Age of LLMs

Elizabeth Osanyinro
Business Analyst
Carbonnote AI

SESSION OVERVIEW:

LLMs are subtly but profoundly shaping how we write, think, and code, often without us realising it. This talk explores how these powerful tools, through their inbuilt preferences and feedback loops, influence our core thought processes, decision-making, and creative output. We’ll use real-world examples and interactive Python demos to reveal how even small prompt tweaks dramatically impact tone, clarity, and framing.

Finally, we’ll expose common traps that stifle learning and diminish originality, and most importantly, share practical techniques to help you stay in control of your unique voice and independent thinking. This session is vital for anyone regularly using LLMs, such as developers, writers, and educators, who want to collaborate with AI more intentionally and prevent its pervasive, unseen influence.

12:00pm - Lightning Talks

Take to the stage and have your say for 99 seconds!

12:15pm - Lunch & Networking

Take a break, grab some lunch and meet our sponsors

1:15pm - Welcome Back Remarks

Grab your seat as we come back for this afternoons talks

1:30pm - Firefighters to Product Builders: Transitioning to a Customer-First Mindset in Platform Engineering

Claire Reckless
Engineering Manager
MONY Group

Jen Ngo
Lead Engineer
MONY Group

SESSION OVERVIEW:

In this paired talk, we – an Engineering Manager and a Lead Engineer from our Platform Engineering team at MONY Group – will share our journey of transforming from an operations-focused team to a product-centric organization.
The last year has seen us go on a big journey in terms of the new products we’ve been building, coupled with a dash of migration fatigue. This transition required a fundamental shift in our mindset, from merely solving technical issues and pushing tickets across the board, to building valuable products for our internal customers – the developers within our company.
We’re still a work in progress, but we’ll talk about the challenges faced, how do we balance delivering while supporting our own products ? Strategies employed, and the impact of adopting a customer-first approach on our team’s productivity and developer satisfaction.

2:15pm - The AI-Augmented Engineer: What 2025 Really Looks Like for Software Developers

Olatunji Sikiru
Software Engineer
Wakanow

SESSION OVERVIEW:

Forget the AI apocalypse hype. As a practicing software engineer, I’ll share what’s happening in our industry. While 80% of programming remains human-centric, AI tools are transforming how we work – not replacing us, but making us more strategic. I’ll reveal the real productivity gains (and gaps), the skills that matter most, and why the future belongs to engineers who embrace AI as a powerful teammate. From GitHub Copilot to architecture decisions, discover practical strategies to thrive in an AI-augmented world. Perfect for developers wondering “What’s next?” – with real examples, honest insights, and actionable career advice.

2:45pm - Break & Networking

Take a break, grab some refreshments and meet our sponsors

3:15pm - Sowing Quality: One Seed at a time

Maria Kourtesi
Software Engineer II
Kraken

SESSION OVERVIEW:

Change doesn’t happen overnight – and in the world of software engineering quality, it rarely happens without resistance. This talk aims to share the emotional and strategic journey of leading a team through a year-long quality transformation, told from the perspective of the team’s Quality Champion.

What began in chaos – with conflicting opinions, exhausting meetings, and no shared understanding – slowly evolved into a culture of ownership, clarity, and collaboration. Using a visual metaphor of planting and nurturing a garden, this talk aims to reflect on the human side of change: the self-doubt, the breakthroughs, the storms we weather, and the relationships we build along the way.

Because in the end, building quality isn’t just a technical challenge – it’s a human one. And once you get the people part right, the tech becomes the easy part.

3:45pm - Are we all doing too much? The significance of Cognitive Load

Cristan Massey
Head of Service Management
Pearson Education

SESSION OVERVIEW:

In today’s Tech landscape, we as professionals wear many hats. From managing incidents and changes to leading innovation and supporting users, we’re constantly switching contexts. Add personal responsibilities, continuous learning, health and wellbeing, we’re faced with an overwhelming mental load. This presentation explores how Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) can support this & how IT Service Management (ITSM) professionals may not be able to solve your personal problems, but they can support with workload, and you should let them….

Our working memory has a limited capacity. When we exceed this limit, our performance, decision-making, and well-being suffer. In tech roles, we’re often so inundated with tasks that all three loads (Intrinsic, Extraneous & Germane) will pile up. This results in stress, errors, and burnout. Understanding these loads can help us create strategies to better prioritise, delegate, and simplify our work.

4:15pm - Lightning Talks

Take to the stage and have your say for 99 seconds!

4:30pm - Closing Remarks & Evening Social

Retire to the evening social and network with the days attendees & speakers

Purchase your Tickets

Tickets for the Software Development Conference are £26 and include entry to the conference, early access to the event app to build your own agenda, entry to the evening social and access to conference recordings and content for up to 6months following the festival! Your ticket also includes refreshments throughout the day and lunch.

Don’t forget, MTF is a two week festival so check out our other events and once you’re ready to book your tickets, follow the links below!

Tickets

Know which events you want to attend and ready to purchase your tickets - head on over to our checkout.

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TEAM TICKETS

MTF is ideal for upskilling your tech team. Find out more about how MTF can benefit for your team and how to bulk purchase tickets.

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FUNDING

Many of our attendees have their costs covered by their employer, find out more about how to ask for funding.

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AFTER PARTY

DiSH MCR, Heron House

Our evening social offers the perfect setting to forge new connections, exchange insights, and build valuable relationships within the tech community.

With a vibrant atmosphere, delicious refreshments, and opportunities to engage with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and like-minded enthusiasts, this evening social is the ideal platform to relax, unwind, and expand your professional network.

I’ve never seen a conference with such a high level of visible diversity and inclusion, and I’ve never seem so many delegates that were positively BUZZING from all of the inspirational talks and stories. What a brilliant, brilliant day.

Thank you to all the organisers, I can’t wait for next year!

Paul O'Donnell

Attendee

So many ‘WIT’ events focus on how women need to lean in. They are all focused on how women need to change. My biggest takeaway from today is that we need to talk more about changing the system. Not about changing women in under-represented groups. Honestly the best conference I’ve been to for a long time.

Holly Donohue

Attendee

The unfiltered requirement did not miss. Each speaker brought their authentic selves to that stage and very moving stories. Thank you all for your honesty and openness. Thank you for the most inclusive agenda I’ve seen.

You understood that representation would matter, and rose to the challenge!

Natalie Navickas

Attendee