Beyond Basics of Technical Agile Two-Day Workshop

This training is for Twig the Code - but it’s not a basics of programming. So if you have any experience & you have a clue about Object-Oriented Programming, this could be for you. If you are in a lead developer role, this definitely could be for you - because you can learn skills on how to help people to adopt these skills more widely.
Test-Driven Development has been around for the past 25 years. And the adoption rate of that is based on Aki’s experience very low. Some say they do, many don’t. Some talk mainly about test aspect of TDD, while TDD for others is mostly a design tool (that as a side-effect brings safety net of fast tests).
In this workshop, all coding is done pair-programming using TDD. Which means you can get a first-hand experience what it can be. How TDD can actually change the way you think coding - because it does. And you’ll see how TDD is just a tool that supports all the other knowledge and experience of yours. This means - this only is building next to your current skillset - a different tool/skill that is handy at times.
The workshop ‘Beyond the Basics of Technical Agile’ introduces some of the testing, refactoring, and emergent design skills that enable individuals and teams to write code that is easy to maintain and that is ready to embrace change. We learn the magic of how to test any piece of code, how to turn any hard-to-test code to easy-to-test code, and how to do refactorings that help to surface domain concepts into the code. You might even learn to love working with legacy code.
The workshop consists a set of pair-programming exercises with which you learn the following 4 core Technical Agile building blocks:
LEARN HOW TO TEST ANYTHING
- How to test any unit
- Writing easy-to-test code
- What not to test
LEARN TO LOVE LEGACY CODE
- Understanding what makes code hard to test
- Legacy code dilemma
- Tricks to change production code safely to be able to add tests
LEARN TO REFACTOR WITH CONFIDENCE.
- Transform the testable legacy safely
- Surface domain concepts out of a messy code
- How to gradually change a messy legacy into maintainable code.
LEARN THE BASICS OF EMERGENT DESIGN
- what exactly - Aki is still thinking on this part. Most likely there will be a session on
- 9 steps for better Object-Oriented Design, which brings into surface what Alan Kay did mean with the term ‘object oriented programming’ when he coined the term.
Because with these skills, together with your design skills you already have, you can keep on building software that does age well in the years to come. And you learn to take any piece of legacy code (a code that brings value every single day), and start cleaning it up, while adding value to the stakeholders without big refactoring efforts, but doing it gradually one small step at a time.
Not only that, these skills are also taught in a way that you can use yourself to bring the learnings to your teams. And in that, this is a transformative experience of what coding can be like.
Meet Your Instructors:
Aki Salmi
Aki does not believe in magic. He makes it happen. Being a programmer with very solid technical skills in testing, design and making code fun to work with, he gets stuff done. Someone once said ‘reading his code is like reading a good book.’
In addition to the techy side, he is also well known for the empathetic presence he has - the listening skills are well known and the Empathy@Work workshops he holds are highly valued by the participants.
This unique mix of solid technical skills and emotional IQ, he has lot to share to Software Crafters in the world. And he does that a lot in many unconferences, like the one he runs - Codefreeze.

Riikka Kuikka

Riikka has worked as a software developer a couple of years now, as an adult career shifter she started her internship at Wolt 2022 and stayed full time since. She's been mainly focusing on frontend development and has recently been taking steps to gain full stack skills as well while interested in overall product development regarding user experience and design too. In her free time she enjoys playing music, listening to audiobooks, crafts and hiking.

This workshop is free of charge. It is offered by:

• Twig the Code
• Rinkkasatiainen Oy
• Reaktor
  
  📅 Date: February 11–12, 2025 (Tuesday–Wednesday), 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  📍 Location: Reaktor, Helsinki (On-site only)

This workshop will be held at Reaktor’s office in Helsinki and is available exclusively as an in-person event. A salad lunch, snacks, and refreshments will be provided on both days.

❗ IMPORTANT ❗
Please note that your registration is binding, as spots are limited. Do not reserve your spot unless you are certain you can attend on the specified dates. If you are unable to attend without a valid reason, a cancellation fee of 50€ will apply.

We’d love to see you at the workshop and are excitedly looking forward to it!
Best regards,
Twig the Code Team

Host or Publisher Twig The code