September 23, 2007
Figure 1 The attendance and diversity of professional backgrounds was fantastic.
Figure 2 It was like being a kid in candy shop with so many opportunities to capture moments from the conference.
Figure 3 Dan and Bryan congratulating each other on successful completion of their presentation.
Figure 4 I was able to share more detail around the design of the issue tracking application such as sketches and wireframes.
Webmaster Jam Session 2007
Conferences are invariably a good time, and Webmaster Jam Session is no exception. This year was a little more fun for me because I was able to share real examples from the issue tracker design process as well as capture some pictures for posterity.It should go without saying that the conference was great. Jared Spool always gives an engaging and interesting keynote, and the guys from Coffeecup do an amazing job of organizing the conference. With the exception of a few presentations that were book-ended a little too close, the execution was essentially flawless.
Figure 1 The attendance and diversity of professional backgrounds was fantastic.
Figure 2 It was like being a kid in candy shop with so many opportunities to capture moments from the conference.
Of course, for me, part of the reason Webmaster Jam Session is such a great conference is that it’s here in Dallas. Not being on the west coast, there are times where we lament the lack of exciting things going on here in Texas. However, after attending the Jam Session, I’m reminded that’s not the case and truly encouraged about the number of great people we have here in Texas and Oklahoma.
A Little on Photography
While the conference was fantastic, there was a whole new level of fun for me since this was my first conference with a nice camera. I’ve started to really enjoy photography, and it’s even more fun when there are so many potential subjects and I’m surrounded by activity.
I’ve recently started forcing myself to use the camera in full manual mode and usually find myself using a 50mm lens that I can’t recommend highly enough. I’m just getting started, but the more I shoot, the more I enjoy it. It’s been incredibly rewarding, and I don’t know how I went so long with just a point-and-shoot. Of course, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t post the photos to a Flickr gallery.
Figure 3 Dan and Bryan congratulating each other on successful completion of their presentation.
Application Interface Design
Figure 4 I was able to share more detail around the design of the issue tracking application such as sketches and wireframes.
Another particularly important aspect of the conference was that I was finally able to present and share ideas with real examples behind them unencumbered by any sort of NDA. In the past, it was always incredibly difficult to communicate and share my ideas and experiences when I couldn’t share the context of the ideas. However, that’s all changed since I’m now so heavily invested in creating my own software.
It’s not often that I’m satisfied with my work, but this presentation felt good. When I initially decided to develop an issue tracker, I was incredibly concerned that I was choosing a very opinionated and contentious arena. However, the more I share, the more encouraged I am that it’s worth pursuing. I’ve still got a lot of work ahead of me, but I think it will be a pretty enjoyable journey.
I’ve uploaded the slides to Slideshare and have also provided a PDF download if you’d like something that’s a little higher resolution. I definitely want to thank everyone who attended and especially those that asked questions and provided feedback.
Hi. I’m Garrett Dimon, a freelance designer/developer in Dallas, TX. This is my site about people, design, and technology. I also write a column about web design and development for Digital Web Magazine. Still have questions? Feel free to .
Comments
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Well done, sir.
September 23, 2007 at 04:41 PM by Rob WeychertGreat job with your presentation, Garrett, and your photos look fantastic! Thanks for being such a shutterbug; I always wind up being too lazy to document this stuff, and your shots look ten times better than mine would have anyway.
Any speaker notes?
September 23, 2007 at 06:52 PM by Kenneth ScottDo you have any sort of speaker notes to go along with the slides? I’d love to have a little more meat to go over with my team.
Thanks for the slides!
First time
September 23, 2007 at 07:09 PM by katy LavalleeYour presentation was enlightening and I appreciate all the photos. Do you plan to continue updating your progress on the tracking application here on your blog?
This was my first conference. My colleague and I sat near the front for every session. I was surprised how engaging it was, considering a lot of the information had already been exposed to me via the various speakers’ blogs. The sessions I went to on day 2 were more about the development and project management aspects of our work. My head is still kind of spinning with ideas.
At the end, I didn’t want the conference to be over. I hope our Refresh Dallas meetings really get started up again so I can have more live conversations with people in this industry.
Thanks for sharing
September 23, 2007 at 08:09 PM by Travis IsaacsThanks for sharing your process Garrett, and the tracker will be great when you finish it.
The tough decisions you made around simplifying the workflow were particularly interesting as were the slides explaining the thought behind radio buttons for changing the status of an issue.
Thanks!
September 24, 2007 at 07:51 AM by Garrett DimonRob - Thanks. The picture-taking was completely my pleasure.
Kenneth - I’m not planning on releasing any notes, but the Webmaster Jam Session crew might be posting podcasts. I’d advise keeping an eye on the “WJS web site”:http://www.webjamsession.com.
Kay - Thanks. I absolutely plan on continuing to share the updates and progress on tracker. In fact, with the presentation behind me, I imagine I’ll actually be sharing more. As for Refresh, we’ve got some stuff underway to breathe some new life into it, and we shoudl be sharing that here pretty soon.
The forgotten steps
September 24, 2007 at 12:06 PM by Geof HarriesFascinating stuff. It was fun to go behind the scenes as so many of these design decisions and iterations happen without formal documentation; they just morph and evolve as the project moves along. To have each step laid out and described in a presentation like this was very enjoyable.
Wish I had been there...
September 24, 2007 at 02:00 PM by Patrick HaneyIt sounds like it was a fantastic event, too bad I couldn’t make it. At least now I can dispel the myth that I’m at every web-related conference.
PS. Dan & Bryan, BFF.
Damn, I missed it!
September 24, 2007 at 03:30 PM by Josh WalshThis looks like it was spectacular. The slideshow from the presentation is teasing me…
Do you do private sessions?
Wow
September 25, 2007 at 11:30 AM by Nathan BorrorWish I could have attended but honestly, the slides speak volumes. Great work man.
Beta Testers
September 26, 2007 at 07:24 AM by Ryan MerketGarret,
The software looks amazing. Remember, we’re your team when you need beta testers ;)
Ryan
Thanks!
September 28, 2007 at 04:49 PM by Jake BehrensGarrett,
Your presentation gave me lots of ideas that I can apply to my own systems. Thanks so much for the great presentation. I received my Dot Grid Book today and it’s pretty awesome. :)
Slides
October 01, 2007 at 08:37 PM by AngielskiThanks for the slides! They look fantastic
Thanks 4 the slides
December 05, 2007 at 11:04 AM by Sam ZennerI immediately downloaded the slides. I liked the different quotes btw. Maybe I should consider going to more conferences. Thanks for putting your material online!
Slides
December 11, 2007 at 03:32 AM by MarcThanks that we can download the slides, they look very interesting, hope that i don´t miss the next conference!
Great presentation
December 27, 2007 at 02:37 PM by MartijnEven without being there the presentation is understandable and concise. Thanks for sharing.
Good stuff and it sounds like it was a good event.
Thanks man !!
June 20, 2008 at 12:57 AM by Gaurav_MThanks man for the web vision 2007 wrap up. Nice presentation and this one is nice too. Thanks a Ton.