The 9Inspiration IT conference, organized for the second time by Levi9, has already been recognized as an excellent opportunity to learn the latest and most important developments in their field from renowned experts.
Held at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre at the end of September last year, the conference attracted everyone interested in following the lectures of domestic and international IT experts. This conference is gradually becoming a traditional platform for knowledge exchange, experience sharing, and networking among IT professionals who wish to stay updated with global trends.
If you asked Levi9 employees, they would tell you that learning and networking are key factors for achieving personal and professional success. Therefore, the goal of the 9Inspiration conference is to provide the broader IT community, especially IT professionals such as developers, DevOps engineers, IT and Product managers, the opportunity to enrich their knowledge, enhance their skills, and establish valuable connections within the community.
Experts Share Their Experience
How exactly did it look? The series of lectures, where speakers shared their practical experiences, was accompanied by numerous networking and entertainment opportunities. Participants of the 9Inspiration conference could also use a mobile app specially prepared for the event, adding a new twist to networking.
One of those responsible for the development of iOS & Android mobile applications in the Levi9 team is Mirko Tomić, a Mobile Developer. He has worked at Levi9 on one of the most popular services in the Netherlands for listening to radio stations, podcasts, audiobooks, and music. We spoke with Mirko about the 9Inspiration conference, and he shared key insights from each lecture.
Among the key messages, this Levi niner highlights those from Kevlin Henney. As the keynote speaker, he opened the 9Inspiration conference with the lecture: “Software is details.”
– The main focus of the presentation was on details, which, according to this speaker, must not be overlooked. This often happens when we are “seduced” by the big picture of what software can do for us. Kevlin mentioned the case of a massive traffic jam at a British airport last summer when the National Air Traffic Service software was unavailable. Thousands of flights were canceled, hundreds of thousands of people lost connections, and the chaos lasted for several days. The cause of the problem? One incorrect data entry made by an unnamed airline in the flight plan. When the software was written, the assumption was that the data entered was always accurate. This was the presumption, and data entry validation was not implemented – Kevlin explained to the audience, adding:
– Assumptions are like Lego bricks on the floor in the dark – joked Henney. – If you have never stepped on them barefoot, well, give it a try.
He also drew a beautiful parallel with using ChatGPT and CoPilot concerning creating legacy code.
– As he said, he often asks participants at his workshops what legacy code means to them. Although he has heard many definitions, his favorite is: “Legacy code is code written by someone else,” no matter what that someone else is called – Mirko relays the impressions from this keynote lecture, which you can watch in full here.
Organizing Teams for Efficiency
The 9Inspiration conference also brought new insights on how to best organize teams. Their efficiency was the subject of a lecture by Jelena Pavlović, founder of the Coaching Center and Associate Professor of Work Psychology at the University of Belgrade.
Effective Teams are Synergy of Collaborative Work
Jelena first explained that with the development of the business environment, the focus has shifted from an individual approach to organization to a team approach. With a vivid analogy to a sports team, she pointed out that effective teams are not a collection of individuals with excellent skills but a synergy of collaborative work.
– It is nice to have an employee who is a superstar, but organizations should not promote team leads based solely on individual performance or achievements – Jelena Pavlović illustrated.
She pointed out that shared responsibility acts as the “glue” that holds the team together.
– Each member needs to understand the team’s common goals and rely on others to achieve those goals – she explained.
– In a good football team, a player passes the ball to the teammate in a better position to shoot, thus sacrificing personal interest for the team’s success. But is this always the case in a business environment?
Company culture greatly influences how much a leader will contribute to team effectiveness. Therefore, it is important to study the organization’s culture before selecting a leader.
– Earlier conclusions suggested that an extroverted type is an excellent choice for a team lead. Empirical data showed that this type of leader contributed the most to efficiency. However, in “flat” teams, a leader who is always ready to collaborate, empathetic, and friendly will fare much better – says Jelena Pavlović.
Perspectives from a Levi niners
Mirko notes that at Levi9, regardless of seniority, learning at all stages of a career is essential, as is sharing knowledge. This is one of the main benefits recognized by Levi9 employees. The company organizes traditional events such as Secure9, Hack9, and the 9Inspiration conference – says Mirko, highlighting them as excellent examples of supporting knowledge sharing.
As he says, knowledge is multiplied through project work and conferences, and he is glad that Levi niners could share their perspective at this conference.
Marina Zvicer and Jovana Milanović shared their experiences at Levi9, where they built careers as Test Developers. From the positions of Test Lead and Test Consultant, respectively, they emphasized the importance of asking questions, mutual understanding, and writing detailed reports and documentation.
Based on career examples, as Mirko Tomić notes, they demonstrated how quality can be insisted on in every part of software development. This significantly contributes to efficiency and the development of the best software. Their presentation conveyed the message that quality is the responsibility of the entire team, and you can watch the lecture in full by clicking here.
It's No Longer Hard to Determine Successful Teams
Radovan Baćović, Staff Data Engineer at GitLab, tried to predict what the development of technology will bring.
– DevOps and DevSecOps are like team sports in the world of software development. Instead of everyone working for themselves, everyone works together, adapts to changes faster, and focuses more on innovations than the old way of working – this is how Radovan Baćović began his lecture “When nimble is not fast enough: Will AI and Data leverage your DevSecOps journey.”
He explained that it is no longer difficult to determine precisely which teams are more successful than others. DORA metrics serve this purpose.
– Deployment frequency, lead time for changes, time to restore service, and change failure rate are standardized indicators of the efficiency and performance of DevOps teams. And DORA will show the difference between successful and unsuccessful teams – said Radovan, emphasizing:
– In the future, based on data sets and artificial intelligence, we will receive metrics that will help us approach more agilely and gain an even better picture of our process. Things will keep changing, and Radovan underlines that it is very exciting that we are part of the tech scene right now and that we will be able to participate in progress – Mirko Tomić summarizes his message.
Where Will AI Development Lead Us? A Million-Dollar Question
Many questions were discussed during networking breaks.
During coffee and lunch breaks between lectures, attendees could be heard saying they love this conference because they always have the chance to meet new experts, ask for advice, get concrete insights, and leave the conference “smarter than they were.” Supporting NURDOR, an organization to which the ticket proceeds were donated, is also a significant motivation for all participants. Through joint efforts, more than 1,200,000 dinars were collected this year, which will be invested in a Parent House for families with children suffering from cancer seeking treatment in Belgrade.
We are pleased that in collaboration with Levi9, we can offer you recordings of some lectures, so if you missed the opportunity to follow the conference directly, here is the chance to review the key conclusions at the beginning of the year.
Soon, you can expect the second part of the 9Inspiration conference report, where you will find the most important insights from other lectures, along with links to them.
