#4: "Dunelm's Digital Journey" by Tom Keeber and "Designing for LLM's (or how to make ChatGPT suck less)" by Rob Hough
On our fourth event, we will explore how Dunelm scaled from an unwieldy Websphere site managed by a single software developer to one of Europe's largest AWS serverless infrastructures. We will also look into the paradigm shift introduced by LLMs and their potential to enhance the user experience.
Details #
Schedule #
- -Meet and Greet
- -Intro
- -"Dunelm's Digital Journey" by Tom Keeber
Back in 2015, Dunelm had just one software engineer, an unwieldy Websphere site, and more challenges than solutions. Fast forward to 2024, and we’ve grown into one of Europe’s largest users of AWS Lambda with a technology department numbering 100s. Having joined the company in 2018, I’ll take you on a candid, behind-the-scenes tour of Dunelm’s transformation—from success to the problems moving at pace and scale mean for technology and organisational design.
- -Break
- -"Designing for LLM's (or how to make ChatGPT suck less)" by Rob Hough
Since 2022, when ChatGPT first launched, we've been living in a completely different world. LLM's represent a complete paradigm shift for software. But over time we've seen it shoehorned into every product going, leaving us with something interesting but often not useful and even annoying. In this talk, I'll show you how, when designed right, LLM's can contribute to a delightful user experience without relying on goofy gimmicks, confusing chatbots, or harrowing hallucinations.
Accessibility #
Our venue is wheelchair accessible, and we provide on-site assistance for anyone requiring additional support during the meetup. While we currently do not offer live captioning for talks, we are committed to creating an inclusive environment and welcome all participants. Please contact the organisers with any specific accessibility requirements.
Food and drinks #
Learning new things and socialising with others is a lot easier when you are properly energised. Pizza, some sweets and beverages are on us. There is something for everyone: pepperoni pizza, vegan ones, fizzy drinks, water and a selection of beers. You are welcome!
Speakers #
Tom Keeber
Head of Quality (Technology) at Dunelm
A software professional since 2002 with a proven track record in delivering complex engineering projects and products.
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-keeber/
Rob Hough
Lead Product Designer
Rob is a product designers from Nottingham. For around 10 years, he's worked with early-stage companies, particularly in the B2B and healthcare spaces. He also enjoys riding motorcycles and cheese and pickle sandwiches.
- Website: https://www.heymynameisrob.com
- GitHub: https://github.com/heymynameisrob
- Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@heymynameisrob
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heymynameisrob/