Learn and Boost Skills at Dreamforce 15 Dev Zone

Dreamforce has had a Dev Zone for the past several years and consistently ups the bar for developer related sessions and workshops that are available to conference attendees. Its allure brings executives looking for art of the possible, seasoned developers looking to continue pushing the bar of their platform apps, and admins interested in learning more about development. I have found the Dev Zone offers me inspiration about what can be built on the Salesforce Platform, and helps me build my skills as a developer. Here are a few sessions that I am excited about over the 4 days of Dreamforce ‘15.

Tuesday

Lightning is sure to play a major role across Dreamforce ‘15 as Salesforce’s new UI has officially launched. Learning about the new Lightning Design System (LDS) is a great session to understand how to leverage their new CSS framework for custom applications. LDS is packed full of great UI components including its own grid system for responsive design, so this will be an excellent first step into learning more about this new design framework that is approaching its v1 release.

Being mobile first is a need at Dreamforce since laptops are heavy and there’s a ton of walking, and learning about how to tie Salesforce’s Mobile SDK with Ionic Framework is a session that can explain how to build a consumer facing app that ties into Salesforce and leverages cutting edge UI framework built with Angular.

Salesforce is also committing to build a developer community that embraces diversity, and these evening meetups in Moscone West are a great way to get involved if you’re a woman, black, latino, LGBTQ, or have a disability. Dreamforce is a great opportunity to meet and discuss your experiences, share advice, and continue to raise awareness about diversity in tech.

Wednesday

Dev Zone offers topics for developers that are transitioning from other platforms to Salesforce, and an introduction to Apex’s nuances is always a good way to start the morning. Another great way to get started is living in a virtual reality display of Salesforce data using Google Cardboard, which may not be the future of analytics, but is certainly an amazing highlight of how to combine the power of Salesforce with physical space.

Integrations help fuel the power of Salesforce as a platform of engagement, and Lightning Connect gains support for two-way integration to its External Objects. Learning about this powerful feature of the platform is also possible with a hands-on training to become familiar with the OData protocol.

Thursday

With 2 days of great sessions beforehand, Salesforce saves their Developer Keynote for Thursday to highlight new features and amazing use cases that the platform helps developers build for their employees, customers, and partners. Thursday sessions that are helpful for developers and development team managers to build their soft skills, such as implementing a mentor program to build junior resources and help senior resources share their knowledge.

Developers can also learn to write articles and blog posts that highlight their technical solutions from a particular lens that can appeal to a broader audience, and offer a structural pattern for writing about their interests and experiences for their dev brand. Speaking is another challenge for some developers, as the excitement about a topic or depth of knowledge may leave an incomplete message. There’s a session to help turn knowledge into meaningful presentations for tech conferences and meetups.

Friday

As the conference winds down and people head back to get ready for post Dreamforce building, there are sessions set up nearly every hour that can be useful for developers, designers, and technical staff that are looking for advice. It may be worth having a code consultation on existing customizations or something built over the first 3 days, or talk to a team about assessing career growth within the Salesforce (and general cloud-based) ecosystem.

The Dev Zone has tons to offer, and there are hundreds of sessions every day that appeal to developers, architects, and admins. If you have a session that you’d love to highlight, leave comments and questions below, on our Facebook page, directly @RogerMitchell on Twitter, or in the Success Community!