Talks
Conference talks and workshops on testing, refactoring, and software craftsmanship. From live coding sessions on TDD to practical refactoring techniques, each talk shares real-world experience in an accessible way. Explore the topics below or browse the timeline for past and upcoming events.
Featured Topics
bashunit
Testing your bash scripts
Inspired by PHPUnit, Jest, and others, bashunit is a testing framework for bash scripts. Every developer, at some point, has needed to make a bash script, even the scripts in our pipelines. Now you can write automated tests for them. However, this talk is not simply about bash but about building up a project with standards, strong documentation, and an open roadmap, always keeping quality in mind. We can go from a simple function to an entire OSS project in weeks, thanks to the power of disinterested collaboration.
Hands-on Refactoring and TDD
Live Coding in Pair/Mob Programming
What are code katas? Have you ever wondered what a pair/mob programming session truly looks like? Join us for a live coding session that dives deep into test-first development and refactoring techniques, where you’ll witness collaborative problem-solving firsthand. Together, we’ll tackle a code kata from scratch, navigating the challenges and rewards of building cleaner, more robust code as a team.
Phel Lang
A native Lisp for PHP
Phel is a functional programming language that compiles into PHP. It is a dialect of Lisp inspired by Clojure and built on PHP’s ecosystem. Among other features, it has persistent data structures (Lists, Vectors, Maps, and Sets), macros, recursive functions, and a REPL. This talk covers the basics of Phel and includes a live coding demo showing its potential.
Timeline
2026 #
October #
- 2026-10-27 | International PHP Conference [Munich, Germany] (EN)
- Running DOOM in PHP with Phel [slides] Running the classic DOOM in PHP through Phel: a playful showcase of how far a Lisp that compiles to PHP can go.
- 2026-10-26 | International JavaScript Conference [Munich, Germany] (EN)
- Full-day Workshop: Modernizing Legacy Code with Pair Programming A hands-on, full-day session working through real legacy code with TDD, refactoring patterns, and collaborative pair programming.
June #
- 2026-06-09 | International PHP Conference [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- Writing Lisp in PHP: A Journey with Phel [slides] Exploring functional programming through Phel, a Lisp dialect that compiles to PHP with persistent data structures and macros.
- From Denial to AI-Native: The Developer Adoption Ladder [slides] Practical strategies for integrating AI tools into your daily coding workflow while keeping the human developer in control.
- 2026-06-08 | International PHP Conference [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- Full-day Workshop: Modernizing Legacy PHP with Pair Programming Hands-on workshop where participants tackle real legacy code using TDD, refactoring patterns, and collaborative pair programming.
2025 #
November #
- 2025-11-26 | Symfony User Group [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- bashunit: PHPUnit Meets Bash A testing framework for bash scripts inspired by PHPUnit, bringing quality testing practices to shell scripts and CI pipelines.
October #
- 2025-10-27 | International PHP Conference [Munich, Germany] (EN)
- Full-day Workshop: Modernizing Legacy PHP with Pair Programming Full-day workshop tackling legacy codebases with TDD and pair programming techniques.
- From $this to (this): A Gentle Introduction to Phel A gentle path from PHP’s OOP to Phel’s functional world, with live coding demos bridging both paradigms.
August #
- 2025-08-21 | International PHP Conference [Remote] (EN)
- Preview 1h: Refactoring Workshop A condensed preview of the full-day refactoring workshop, showcasing TDD and collaborative refactoring in action.
- 2025-08-07 | Alby Community Call
- Satscribe
June #
- 2025-05-03 | International PHP Conference [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- Solving a Testing & Refactoring Kata: Live Coding in Pair/Mob Programming Live coding a kata from scratch, showing how pair and mob programming drive better testing and refactoring.
2024 #
November #
- 2024-11-21 | Internal talks at Purpose Green [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- How to improve your Tech Talk - Applies to any presentation Tips on getting on stage and sharing knowledge, from content structure to engaging an audience of 5 to 500.
October #
- 2024-10-29 | Berlin Hack & Tell [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- bashunit in 5 min (Video) Lightning talk at Berlin’s 100th Hack & Tell showcasing bashunit’s approach to testing bash scripts.
June #
- 2024-06-18 | Internal talks at HeyJobs, invited by the CTO [Remote] (EN)
- How to improve your Tech Talk - Applies to any presentation [slides] Practical tips on improving your presentations, from storytelling to stage presence.
May #
- 2024-05-27/30 | International PHP Conference [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- Practical TDD Workshop: Collaborative Pair Programming (imgs) Hands-on pair programming workshop building tested code step by step with practical TDD techniques.
- Bashunit: Testing your bash scripts, inspired by PHPUnit (imgs) From a simple idea to an award-winning OSS project through quality standards and open collaboration.
March #
- 2024-03-14 | devm.io [Remote] (EN)
- Test Driven Development: A Hands-on Crash Course From TDD theory to practice in a hands-on crash course with live coding exercises.
2023 #
December #
- 2023-12-15 | Live interview with Manfred Awards [Remote] (ES)
- Winner in the category of Side Project, 2023: bashunit Interview about winning the 2023 Side Project category for bashunit.
November #
- 2023-11-14 | Live interview with CodelyTV [Remote] (ES)
- Live coding with the team behind bashunit Live coding session with the bashunit team, building features and exploring the framework’s internals.
October #
- 2023-10-24/26 | International PHP Conference [Munich, Germany] (EN)
- Building modular applications in PHP with Gacela (imgs) How Gacela simplifies module communication in PHP with clear entry points and dependency management.
- Introducing Functional Programming in PHP with Phel Bringing functional programming to PHP through Phel: persistent data structures, macros, and a REPL.
July #
- 2023-07-28 | WeAreDevelopers World Congress [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- Phel, a native Lisp for PHP [slides] (imgs) Live demo of Phel showing how functional programming concepts translate to the PHP ecosystem.
- An Introduction to Extreme Programming [slides] (imgs) How internal tech talks, katas, and continuous feedback help teams embrace change and grow together.
May #
- 2023-05-27 | PHPers Summit [Poznan, Poland] (EN)
- Phel Language, a native LISP for PHP Presenting Phel and its Lisp-style approach to functional programming on the PHP platform.
- 2023-05-24/25 | International PHP Conference [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- Building modular applications in PHP with Gacela Normalizing module entry points and inter-module communication for cleaner PHP architectures.
- Phel Language, a native LISP for PHP A native Lisp for PHP: persistent data structures, macros, and a REPL on top of the PHP runtime.
April #
- 2023-04-19 | PHP Madrid Community [Remote] (ES)
- Programación funcional en PHP (presentando Phel Lang) Introducing functional programming to the PHP Madrid community through Phel Language.
March #
- 2023-03-30 | Spryker Digital User Group [Remote] (EN)
- Gacela Framework 1.0 (Video) Announcing Gacela Framework 1.0 and its vision for modular PHP application architecture.
- 2023-03-28 | Berlin Hack & Tell [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- Phel in 5 min (Video) (imgs) Lightning intro to Phel’s functional programming world in just five minutes.
February #
- 2023-02-08 | Symfony User Group [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- Lazy Objects by Nicolas Grekas & FP with PHP by Chema (imgs) Functional programming with Phel, presented alongside Nicolas Grekas’s Lazy Objects talk.
January #
- 2023-01-19 | devm.io [Remote] (EN)
- An introduction to Extreme Programming How Extreme Programming practices strengthen team collaboration and embrace continuous change.
2022 #
December #
- 2022-12-21 | IES Ginés Pérez Chirinos [Murcia, Spain] (ES)
- Actualiza tu equipo para ser más extremo Adapting XP practices for aspiring developers, presented to students in Murcia.
November #
- 2022-11-10 | Software Crafters Madrid [Remote] (ES)
- Phel, a native LISP for PHP Introducing Phel to the Software Crafters community: Lisp meets PHP.
October #
- 2022-10-26 | International PHP Conference [Munich, Germany] (EN)
- Update Your Team to be More Extreme Practical ways to help your team embrace change through pairing, katas, and collaborative learning.
September #
- 2022-09-16 | Code Talks [Hamburg, Germany] (EN)
- Update Your Team to be More Extreme (imgs) Encouraging continuous improvement through internal tech talks and team rituals.
June #
- 2022-06-26 | International PHP Conference [Berlin, Germany] (EN)
- Update Your Team to be More Extreme How internal tech talks and katas help teams get out of their comfort zones.
- AMA (Ask me anything) session: State of PHP (with Sebastian Bergmann) Open Q&A session on the state of PHP, alongside Sebastian Bergmann.
- 2022-06-23 | DesarrolloWeb [Remote] (ES)
- Phel Language ¿Programación funcional para PHP? Exploring whether Phel can bring functional programming to the PHP ecosystem.
February #
- 2022-02-24 | PHP Madrid Community [Remote] (ES)
- Gacela Framework 0.1 First public presentation of Gacela Framework and its modular architecture vision.
January #
- 2022-01-25 | Spryker Digital User Group [Remote] (EN)
- Gacela Framework 0.1 Introducing Gacela’s modular approach to PHP development for the Spryker community.
2021 #
April #
- 2021-04-28 | PHP Madrid Community [Remote] (ES)
- Open-Source Software - The power of contributing to OSS The impact and opportunities of contributing to open-source software projects.