Tess Gouws treating empathy as a practical tool. A framework for gathering signals, reducing ambiguity, lowering the "WTF?" factor in human interactions. #DevConf2026 🎤 From the Time Traveler arcade in 90s Cape Town to AI avatars that appear as holograms. Allan Pead showing how classic illusions work and why they feel magical. #DevConf2026 🎤 Fadzayi Moyo demonstrating how to build "secure-by-design" pipelines that developers actually love. Field-tested framework being shared right now. #DevConf2026 Frikan Erwee energetically showing how combining objective performance data with subjective experience creates feedback loops that drive sustainable improvement. #DevConf2026 Abed Matini is comparing local vs. cloud RAG, hybrid retrieval pipelines, and offline-friendly approaches for teams with strict data controls. Real solutions for resource-constrained environments. #DevConf2026 🎤 "Version bumps are easy. Breaking changes are the challenge" - Renette Ros showing how OpenRewrite codifies complex, repetitive upgrade steps. #DevConf2026 Zach Smith sharing lessons from reimagining MeerKAT Archive. What started as fixing bugs became revealing assumptions and identifying non-obvious user workflows. #DevConf2026 💡 Every dictator needs an army. Dale Nunns showing how to build one using signal sniffing, hardware modification, and custom software. Through ducks. Obviously. Standing room only at #DevConf2026 #GetDucked 🎤 Despite WCAG standards and accessibility laws, many still face significant barriers. Samuel Femi Taiwo sharing strategies for improving compliance and fostering inclusion. #DevConf2026 🎤 Three major cloud outages in 28 days, hundreds of millions in losses. Schalk Venter examining our relationship with massive cloud structures. #DevConf2026 💡 Handling sensitive data, ensuring reproducible results, building user trust. Graeme Harris is unpacking what it takes when security and trust are non-negotiable. #DevConf2026 ⚡ Fiona McCarthy went viral by accident, built a platform from scratch, failed to get analytics to answer what actually matters, and learned massive lessons. #DevConf2026 ⚡ African solutions to solve African problems. Warren Fletcher demonstrating why local talent is exceptional and how juniors became the best tool for impossible challenges. #DevConf2026 🎤 Jessica Randall bringing abstract mathematics to life using Kotlin, Multik, Kotlin DataFrame, and Jetpack Compose. The story of data's shape unfolding. #DevConf2026 💡 Practical, culturally aware, context-specific security. Precious Mamotingoe Lesupi (They/Them) equipping developers to build systems that work for South Africa's diverse landscape. #DevConf2026 Georgina Armstrong is sharing the weird realities of building recommender systems, customers offended by math, odd products dominating, code becoming ethical flashpoints. #DevConf2026 ⚡ Johan Van Rooyen unpacking systematic debugging: a disciplined way to narrow the search space and choose the next step with highest chance of success. #DevConf2026 💡 Legacy systems aren't just technical debt—they're repositories of customer trust and knowledge that took years to build. William Brander showing how to work WITH them. #DevConf2026 ⚡ Candice Grobler speaks on networking through issues, PRs, and Discords; the prep-the-room playbook for IRL events; becoming known for one specific thing. #DevConf2026 💡 Taking GitHub Actions offline isn't about isolation, it's about freedom and control. Steve Yonkeu transforming workflows into something faster and more reliable. #DevConf2026 ⚡ 200+ South African founders, one pattern: clean architecture, zero revenue. Renier Kriel sharing how to look for the real pain people will pay to fix. #DevConf2026 ⚡ Nhlanhla Lucky Nkosi sharing shower thoughts and showing how modern Web APIs enable systems that observe environment, make decisions, safely take action, all while respecting user permissions. #DevConf2026 🎤 At 19, Veer Gosai found unauthenticated APIs, demographic irregularities, KYC inconsistencies across major banks. Investigation made national headlines. Now sharing the lessons. #DevConf2026 ⚡ Rob Urquhart consolidating real-time data on ICT supply and demand in South Africa. Concrete insights for planning careers, hiring, designing training. #DevConf2026 🎤 "When systems fail at 2 AM, the engineers who built them get the call" - Heila Botha on why quality isn't a phase but shared responsibility. #DevConf2026 💡 Making "deploy on a Friday" a calm, repeatable practice, Rory Preddy☕️sharing practical patterns for systems that return time and restore dignity. #DevConf2026 🎤 "We obsess over end-user interfaces but design libraries that frustrate developers" - Omer Elgoni on creating code interfaces so intuitive you barely need docs. #DevConf2026 Seale Rapolai on building fast in the startup Wild West. Informed trade-offs, ruthless prioritization, maintaining velocity without sacrificing stability. #DevConf2026 🔥 Carike Blignaut-Staden is sharing with us how GreenOps metrics are calculated, practical resources to integrate sustainability into your development process. #DevConf2026 Andrew Paul gets personal when he explores why traditional testing blind spots become genuinely dangerous when systems learn and adapt. #DevConf2026 ⚡ Bruce Richards showing how enterprises start with applications and let data models fall out as afterthoughts, costing millions in rework and endless transformation projects. #DevConf2026 Alex Pryor breaking down how to create teams that run themselves, where autonomy isn't a reward but a delivery engine. The manager's playbook revealed. #DevConf2026 Anand Naidoo is sharing what it took to migrate an entire fintech platform in 3 months, with customers actively transacting and money in accounts. Survival engineering. #DevConf20 Tonisha Govender is tackling the overwhelm many developers quietly experience when AI tools arrive faster than teams can evaluate them. Strengthen, don't replace. #DevConf2026 🎤 "After running out of clever ways to improve performance, I did what any good programmer would do: add more compute" - Cayden de Wit on building a cluster from old laptops. #DevConf2026 "Success isn't defined by being right. It's defined by how quickly we learn and adapt."
Chris Tite dropping the keynote truth at #DevConf Cape Town. The winners won't have the most AI tools, they'll be the ones who learn to work with AI best. 🎯 The energy is unreal! 🔥 We are so excited for today's lineup, we hope you are too. Which talks are you planning on attending? #DevConf2026 Barista magic in action! ✨ DVT and BBD is keeping you fueled with the good stuff today. Great coffee + great devs = great conversations. Thank you! #DevConf2026 #CommunityFuel" GOOD MORNING CAPE TOWN! 🌅
Today's the day! Century City is ready. Developers are gathering. Registration is open and coffee is flowing.
Let's make this one for the books!
#DevConf2026 Conversations continue around a special speakers dinner thanks to Comotion! 🍽️ Thank you for honoring the voices that make DevConf possible! #DevConf2026 What a DAY, Johannesburg! 🙌
Thank you to every speaker, sponsor, organizer, and attendee who made today incredible.
Cape Town: see you in 2 days!
Safe travels!. 💙 #DevConf2026 💡 Building trustworthy AI without enterprise budgets or breaking compliance rules. Abed Matini showing how to design RAG systems that work in real-world South African conditions. #DevConf2026 💡 Structured training, protected flow time, adjusted feedback mechanisms.
Frikan Erwee demonstrating how metrics guided specific, meaningful interventions. #DevConf2026 🎤 "Sometimes humans have undocumented behaviors, unpredictable responses, no helpful error messages" - Tess Gouws on how to troubleshoot and decode behavior. #DevConf2026 ⚡ Zach Smith demonstrating how upgrading systems improves more than interface, new architecture, usage metrics enabling quick support and deeper user understanding. #DevConf2026 Fadzayi Moyo mapping the four horsemen undermining AppSec programs: Visibility Gaps, Fragile Toolchains, Culture Wars, Uncontextualised Risk. #DevConf2026 🎤 "Ever wanted to validate automation pipelines without waiting for cloud runners?" Steve Yonkeu simulating GitHub's environment locally, even offline. #DevConf2026 💡 License fee extortion, zero community libraries, pure frustration. Warren Fletcher sharing false starts and how they ultimately led to success building backup power systems. #DevConf2026 ⚡ From upgrade dread to automated bliss. Renette Ros sharing successes, failures, hard-won lessons from testing and deploying recipes at scale. #DevConf2026 
