Andrew Blance
Innovation Consultant
Waterstons

SESSION OVERVIEW:Like “AI”, the “Metaverse” or “Industry 4.0”, the definition of a “Digital Twin” is woolly and mysterious. There’s a vague understanding it should include data, potentially a 3D model, and ideally, it should twin something from our reality. However, across different sectors and fields what counts as a “digital twin” varies wildly. This talk is about understanding Digital Twins through the lens of data, and creating a rubric to help you answer the question “Is this a Digital Twin?”

We will ground this all in an example built within Azure and Unity. A data modelling backend will be shown, created using a suite of Azure resources. Our front end will consist of a model created in Unity and demonstrated using the Meta Quest 3’s AR functionality. Finally, we will explore how these parts can be expanded within Azure, allowing a Digital Twin to become a base for AI models and decision-making within a business.

Connell Sharp
Senior Software Engineer
Stack Overflow

SESSION OVERVIEW: Deciding which things belong in which part of your system can make or break your architecture. To avoid creating a big ball of mud, we separate concerns and keep things organised. This talk takes us through different kinds of boundaries: What makes a good function? What makes a good class? A good service? We’ll discuss slicing vertically, building separate packages, and the trade-offs of splitting into many git repositories.

Then we’ll dive into the structure of a business problem domain. We’ll take tips from Domain-Driven Design about the types of subdomains we find, domain language, and how we can integrate between different Bounded Contexts.

Finally, we’ll look into the organisational structure of a company. We’ll look at Team Topologies, the types of teams, how they communicate, and how those human communication structures affect your architecture.

This visual presentation that brings these things together and aims to give you a different perspective on the structures we find.

Harry Duddridge
Client Partnerships Lead
WeShape

Graham Binns
Interim CTO
Tracr

SESSION OVERVIEW: WeShape are delighted to bring another fantastic talk to Manchester, where we delve into the transformative power of data in Diamond traceability. We have seasoned senior leaders from Tracr & WeShape discussing how they built market leading strategies across technology including Blockchain,  ML, DevOps & advanced data analytics to improve the global coverage of the traceability of diamonds.

Rob Mansfield
Head of Data
Accenture Next Gen Engineering

SESSION OVERVIEW: As the software development landscape rapidly evolves, staying ahead requires more than just adopting the latest tools—it demands a forward-thinking approach to technology, governance, and process optimisation. This session will explore how to prepare your organisation for the future of software development by building scalable and resilient technical infrastructures, implementing robust governance frameworks, and embracing innovative practices. We’ll discuss enhancing data handling and compliance while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and aligning teams across the value stream to maximise efficiency. Join us to discover key strategies for ensuring agility, quality, and innovation in an ever-changing technological landscape.