Workshop Prerequisites

Attending the KCDC pre-conference workshops? We will provide prerequisite tools, software, skills, or general knowledge you should have before attending each of our half- and full-day workshops on offer this year. Check out the full schedule of sessions on our agenda page.

FULL-DAY (8am – 5pm)

One Day, Four Architectures: Hands-On with Monolith, N-Tier, Modular Monolith, and Microservices

Chad Green — Room 2102A

Prerequisites: This is a hands-on workshop — bring a laptop and power adapter, and complete setup before arriving, since conference bandwidth is shared and large downloads may be difficult on site. Before the workshop, visit the workshop repository: https://github.com/TaleLearnCode/OneDayFourArchitectures-KCDC2026. The root README includes the prerequisites checklist.

For step-by-step help, follow Lab 0 - Environment Setup & Verification, which walks through installation and validation. All hands-on labs run locally on your machine; Azure deployment is discussed conceptually during the presentation portions.

If you're on a corporate-managed machine, make sure you have local admin rights for installation and that your VPN/firewall does not block GitHub access, package restore, Docker Desktop, or local development ports.

•••

AI-First Engineering with Spec-Driven Development

Robert Ocel, Jonathan Fontanez — Room 2104A

Prerequisites: This workshop will be performed within GitHub Codespaces, so you'll only need a computer and a GitHub account to participate — no local downloads required. An Anthropic AI key will be provided for use during the workshop, so you will not need to (and should not) use your own API keys or subscriptions. Everything happens in the cloud and requires only low local bandwidth.

•••

Beyond the Prompt: Data Engineering for AI-Powered Applications

Nathan Loding — Room 2202

Prerequisites:

  • A laptop (Windows, macOS, or Linux)

  • Docker (Podman may work, untested)

  • IDE/editor (e.g., VS Code)

  • Working terminal/command prompt

  • Python 3 installed with your preferred virtual environment (not required — available in a container if you'd rather skip it)

  • AI subscription of your choice (Claude, Codex, GLM, OpenRouter — free tiers or local models are viable too)

  • AI coding harness that supports MCPs (Claude Code, OpenCode, Crush, etc.).

Please check the repository before the conference and follow the setup instructions in the README, since the Docker images aren't pre-built. Repo: https://github.com/nloding/beyond-the-prompt-ai-data-workshop

•••

Production-Ready Azure Functions: Build, Tune, and Scale High-Performance Serverless Apps

Karl-Henrik Nilsson — Room 2210

Prerequisites:

Full setup instructions: https://bit.ly/kcdc-workshop.

You'll need an Azure subscription where you can create resource groups and deploy services freely (Pay-As-You-Go or Visual Studio subscription works well; a heavily locked-down corporate subscription requiring approvals for every resource does not). Heavily locked-down computers can work but may require extra patience — running a Windows VM in Azure is a good fallback if you have budget. Linux and macOS both work fine, though budget a little extra patience translating some Windows-specific steps. Workshop material stays available for at least a week after the event, and Karl-Henrik is happy to be contacted directly with setup questions before or after.

•••

From Idea to Production: Real-World Development with ASP.NET Blazor, EF Core, .NET Aspire & AI

Mitchel Sellers — Room 2211

Prerequisites:

Admin permissions recommended for Docker setup. VPN usage should be fine as long as NuGet is reachable. A full source code repository with examples and final implementation will be available to all attendees, including those who prefer not to follow along live.

HALF-DAY MORNING (8am – 12pm)

Building Resilient Microservices with Spring Cloud

Spencer Gibb, DaShaun Carter — Room 2201

Prerequisites:

  • Laptop; Docker and docker-compose

  • Java 21 or newer

  • IDE

Workshop repo: https://github.com/dashaun/building-resilient-microservices-with-spring-cloud

•••

You Don't Know What You're Shipping

Steve Poole, Brian Vermeer — Room 2102B

Prerequisites: Coming soon — check back closer to the event.

•••

DevOps Foundations: From Code Commit to Production Confidence

Vaibhav Gujral — Room 2104B

Prerequisites:

Bookmark the source of truth for this workshop and check it again the week of the event: https://github.com/vaibhavgujral/kcdc-devops-foundations/tree/main/pre-requisites .

Setup takes 30-45 minutes and should happen before you arrive. Bring a laptop (Windows/Mac/Linux) and charger, with admin rights to install tools (bring a personal laptop if your work one is locked down).

Corporate VPNs are the most common thing that breaks this workshop — you'll need github.com, *.azurewebsites.net, login.microsoftonline.com, and management.azure.com reachable; Azure Cloud Shell (shell.azure.com) works as a browser fallback.

Accounts needed (both free): GitHub (github.com/signup) and an Azure subscription able to create resource groups and an Entra ID app registration (a personal subscription works; many company ones can't) — total spend during the workshop is under a dollar.

Required installs: Git 2.47+, VS Code (latest stable), Azure CLI 2.80+. Optional (builds run in GitHub Actions): .NET SDK 10.0, Terraform 1.9+. Before arriving, confirm git --version, az --version, and az login all work. Basic command line and git (clone, commit, push) expected — no GitHub Actions, Terraform, or Azure experience needed.

•••

Beyond the Blind Spot: Mastering App Visibility with OpenTelemetry

Joshua Angolano — Room 2204

Prerequisites:

Laptop with the following installed:

  • Git

  • Java 25

  • OpenTofu

  • .NET 10

  • AWS CLI or Azure CLI

  • IDE for .NET or an IDE for Java.

Examples will be provided in both .NET and Java, so follow along with whichever you prefer (or both).

•••

Modern Front-End Mapping with JavaScript: Build a Real App in Half a Day

Courtney Yatteau — Room 2205

Prerequisites: Coming soon — check back closer to the event.

•••

Build Your First Agent Workflow

Heather Wilde Renze — Room 2215A

Prerequisites:

Bring a laptop, a GitHub account, and a paid Claude account (Pro is fine, $20/mo) with Claude Code installed and signed in — set this up beforeWednesday.

Accounts to create beforehand (~10 minutes total):

Software to install before arriving:

Claude Code (desktop app or CLI) at https://claude.com/claude-code, and Git (v2.23+) at https://git-scm.com/downloads. No IDE, language SDK, Node, Python, or Docker required. The night before, open Claude Code signed in and confirm it can create and read back a file, and confirm you can log in to github.com. Corporate/VPN laptops: your machine needs to reach claude.ai, claude.com, api.anthropic.com, and github.com — test this on the network you'll use at the conference. Workshop repo: https://github.com/heathriel/first-agent-workshop

•••

Data Modeling for Software Engineers: The Lab

Scott Sosna — Room 2206

Prerequisites:

  • IDE — use whatever you're most comfortable with.

  • Java development: Java 21 or later; JetBrains IntelliJ recommended (Eclipse, Netbeans, VS Code also fine).

  • .NET development: .NET 10 or later; Visual Studio or VS Code recommended.

  • Git required to clone the repository from Bitbucket.

  • Local MongoDB recommended to avoid wifi issues (Community Edition v8 tested, v7 should work).

  • MySQL Workbench optional (current version v8).

  • Installing tools may require admin/sudo permissions.

Should work fine on VPN or firewall — everything runs locally, no external access needed.

•••

Stop Starting, Start Finishing

Troy Tuttle — Room 2215B

Prerequisites:
1. A laptop that has Chrome or Safari. 

2. I would suggest a machine that isn't required to connect through a corporate VPN.

3. Something to write with: pen and paper. 

•••

Code was Never Enough: Business Skills you need in an AI-World

Jennie Ocken — Room 2215C

Prerequisites: A way to take notes; pen or pencil for worksheets; curiosity and willingness to learn about the business side of software.

HALF-DAY AFTERNOON (1pm – 5pm)

Build Your Own VoiceAI on the Edge: A Hands-On Workshop with ASR, Local LLMs, and Speech Synthesis

Hussain Abbasi — Room 2102B

Prerequisites:

Bring your laptop and a power adapter (optional: external USB mic if your laptop's mic is low quality).

Hardware: at least 16GB RAM (8GB may struggle with some models), Modern multi-core processor (M1+ MacBook, i7/i9, Ryzen 5+ or equivalent), 10+ GB free storage for models, and a microphone for audio input.

Install before arriving:

  • Ollama (ollama.ai)

  • .NET SDK 8+ (dotnet.microsoft.com/download) — the client app is built with .NET MAUI

  • An IDE for .NET (Visual Studio Community, VS Code with the C# extension, or JetBrains Rider)

  • Git (git-scm.com, or just download the workshop repo as a ZIP if you'd rather skip git).

  • Optional: Xcode for macOS/iOS or Android SDK if you want to target those platforms for the client.

On the day, setup instructions, model download links, and troubleshooting support will be provided — arrive 10-15 minutes early if these tools are new to you.

•••

Coding Effectively with AI

Cory House — Room 2104B

Prerequisites:

We'll learn how to use agentic coding tools effectively by building a React and TypeScript app from scratch. 

If you want, you just sit back, watch, join the conversation, and take notes on good ideas that you hear. 

That said, if you want to follow along, install:  

  1. Node LTS

  2. Git

  3. I'll use Claude Code CLI with Opus, but you're free to use whatever agentic coding tools you prefer. The info I will share is generally applicable to all agentic coding tools.

•••

State Management in Front-end Web Development

Abbey Perini — Room 2201

Prerequisites:

Familiarity with at least one widely-used JavaScript framework: React, Angular, or Vue. Bring something that requires global state management — either an app you're working on, or at least an idea for one (e.g., a todo list needs a list of todos in state). Install: your preferred text editor, and download/install packages for at least one of the example repos (React, Angular, or Vue) — repo links to follow.

•••

Big Data and AI Architecture: Apache Iceberg, Spark and LLMs

Pratik Patel — Room 2203

Prerequisites: A laptop is required. Have ready: Docker Desktop (to run the Big Data stack locally); shell access (WSL + WSL2 integration in Docker Desktop on Windows; iTerm/Terminal on macOS); Git; your favorite code editor; a coding agent (Claude Code, Open Code, etc.). You'll also need ONE of: Java 21, Node 26, or Python 3.13, to do the exercises. Everything runs in about 3GB of RAM.

•••

Creating the Creature: When Code Gets a Body (Phidgets & Arduino)

Vanessa Shultz, Devin Kelly-Collins — Room 2204

Prerequisites:

Read this list fully — it's unlikely you already have everything installed. Please have everything downloaded and installed before arriving, as venue WiFi isn't reliable enough for these downloads.

What to bring:

  • Laptop (Windows/Mac/Linux) with admin/install rights (no laptop? email vanessa.shultz1@gmail.com to make arrangements)

  • USB-A port to connect to the hardware (data-transfer cables provided — bring a USB-C adapter if you don't have USB-A); optionally a small clip-on or standing light for wiring small components.

  • On a work laptop with VPN/firewall restrictions, consider bringing a personal laptop instead. All Phidgets and Arduino hardware, inputs/outputs, and wiring will be provided.

Knowledge: no prior programming experience required — hands-on practice in C/C++ (Arduino) and JavaScript (Phidgets), with answer keys available.

Install before arriving:

  • Arduino IDE 2.3.10 (arduino.cc/en/software)

  • Separate code editor (VS Code is common) — must be different from the Arduino IDE; Phidget22 drivers and Control Panel (confirm the Control Panel opens and the Network Server starts successfully)

  • CH340 driver (sparks.gogo.co.nz/ch340.html, may not be needed)

  • Node.js LTS (20+) and npm

  • Modern Chromium-based browser (Chrome or Edge)

  • Git. Repo: git clone https://github.com/vanessashultz/creating-the-creature-kcdc

•••

Building Figma Components

Ash Banaszek — Room 2205

Unfortunately, we have had to cancel this workshop.

•••

Preparing for the Java 25 Certification with Hands on Training (or learning about new features)

Jeanne Boyarsky — Room 2206

Prerequisites:

  • Basic knowledge of any version of Java — you should be comfortable creating a class, writing a loop, and compiling/running code.

  • Bring a laptop with Java 25 or later installed: https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/‍ ‍

  • If you only have a work laptop and can't install Java 25+, parts of the labs will work in a browser, but installing Java 25 is recommended for the best experience.

•••

Systems Thinking for Engineering Leaders: Fixing the Problems That Keep Coming Back

Preston Chandler — Room 2215A

Prerequisites: No prerequisites!

•••

Architecting a Secure, Scalable, and Cost-Effective Health system

Javiera Laso — Room 2215B

Prerequisites: None provided!

•••

AI Security Engineer Foundations

Micah Silverman — Room 2215C

  • Prerequisites: None provided!

Contact us.

staff@kcdc.info