A Retrospective of WeAreDevelopers 2024

Attending WeAreDevelopers in Berlin was nothing short of inspiring. The three-day conference, held from July 17-19, 2024, at the CityCube, brought together over 15,000 developers, tech enthusiasts, and industry leaders from around the globe. With 500 speakers across 20+ stages covering topics from backend to frontend, soft skills to recruitment, the event was a melting pot of innovation and knowledge-sharing. Here’s a look back at my top 5 favorite talks and key takeaways from this incredible conference.

1. Soft Skills for Engineers by Pierluigi Meloni

The conference kicked off with a powerful talk by Pierluigi Meloni on “Soft Skills for Engineers.” It was a timely reminder that we often forget we build for people by people. Pierluigi highlighted that only 30-40% of an engineer's time is spent coding, and this percentage decreases as companies grow larger. Shockingly, over 70% of IT projects fail to meet deadlines. His key message was that enhancing our soft skills can significantly boost our IT careers.

2. What's New and What's Next in Web UI by Cleyra Uzcategui

One of the standout sessions was on emerging trends in web UI. Here are some advancements discussed:

Container Queries: CSS rules that allow components to be responsive to the parent's dimensions rather than just the viewport size.
:has Selector: A powerful CSS selector enabling parent, child, and sibling selections.
Text-wrap: balance: A new way to achieve better text alignment across multiple lines.
Color-gamut: Extending beyond sRGB for a richer color palette.
CSS Nesting: Similar to SCSS nesting but native to CSS.
Customizable Form Controls: Enhanced styling for elements like <select> and <option>.
Popover: A native popover implementation with built-in accessibility features.

These features promise to make our web development experiences more flexible and robust.

3. Are Code Reviews Worth It? by Sven Amann

The session on code reviews was a deep dive into their value. The conclusion? Yes they are. Code reviews improve code quality, facilitate personal growth, and enhance knowledge transfer. The discussion centered on measuring the cost in developer time versus the benefits, ultimately affirming the positive impact of code reviews.

4. Why HTMX is Crushing React, Vue & Svelte by Felix Eckhardt & Benedikt Stemmildt

HTMX was the focus of another interesting talk. Unlike the typical JSON responses, HTMX returns pure HTML to the client, enabling backend-driven components. While this approach might not suit every organization (like ABN AMRO), it’s an intriguing alternative for those looking to simplify their front-end architecture.

5. Native Federation: The Future of Micro Frontends in Angular by Manfred Steyer

The session on Native Federation was fascinating. Originally part of Webpack, module federation is now evolving independently due to the rise of other builders like esbuild and Vite. Native Federation enables integration of micro frontends using ESM and import maps, making it a powerful tool for modern web applications.

Posing with a group of four colleagues in front of the WeAreDevelopers mascot, a large rubber duck.

Conclusion

In conclusion, WeAreDevelopers Berlin 2024 was a treasure trove of knowledge, innovation, and inspiration. From the latest web technologies to the importance of soft skills and documentation, the conference had something for everyone. These top five moments encapsulate the diverse range of topics covered and the impact they had on attendees. I left feeling eager to implement these insights in my work.