In 2012 she presented BEM as a way to modularize the development of pages. By breaking things into Blocks, being able to break those into Elements, and then use Modifiers on them, we get a neat TLA and a methodology where each part can advance rapidly and independently, instead of having to get the CSS done, and then have everyone wait for the Javascript guy, only to have the project return to the HTML guy and have to run through the whole development cycle again.

This time Varya was showing what a great difference BEM makes to the process of development. Building independent interface components, rather than separating the HTML, CSS and Javascript development, we get unified terms (the frontend dialect) for all the project guys, reusable code and scalable teams More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/divide-impera

Front-end web development is about HTML, CSS and JavaScript, right? Wrong! It's about HTML, CSS and JavaScript and HTTP. You might think that the protocol that has been serving us and our pages since the early nineties is showing its age, but I still has some surprises in store for us developers. This talk was about the path from browser to server and back, and the distractions and attractions along the way. More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/talking-heads

A short talk about writing programs that generate source code for other programs, a technique advocated by X-Zibit, Christopher Nolan, et al. More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/metaprogramming

Testing webpages is the inglorious bastard of our time. After we tamed this beast called 'Unit testing' it is now time to shift our frontlines to another topic. This times its all about your UI. And no, we did not going to penetrate our old enemy Selenium, no we were not fighting in the ruby-ish fields of Watir, no my friends, this time it was JavaScripts move to exterminate your bugs once and for all. More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/dalekjs

One of our bigger problems at the moment is finding good developers.

But instead of finding the best of the best, we should find the motivated and make them the best.

How can you be a great coach, and help new developers trancend even your own skills? More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/developing-developers

When does slow actually feel fast? And vice versa? Steve provided examples from the Web and the real world that show it's not all about metrics - sometimes altering the user's perception of speed is the best path to a better user experience. More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/the-perception-of-speed

It doesn't always have to be an expensive tool from Adobe. Especially if you're working for the web exclusively. More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/sketching-sketches-with-sketch

Javascript has become the most popular language of the world. Unfortunately, we rely on it too much and forget that we write for an open and accessible web. Building single page apps without a proper fall back isn't helping our users. More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/javascript-is-evil

As a designer working with (front-end) developers in a technology filled world, my frustration rises to unprecedented levels. In this short session, he shared between 2 and 20 frustrations. More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/blowing-off-steam

This year the keynote speaker for our Jam Session was Brenno de Winter.

Brenno is a journalist specialized in IT security and privacy. An advocate of a transparent government, he was proclaimed “Dutch journalist of the Year” in 2011. A straightforward champion for freedom of speech and freedom of information, he is not only a pain in the backside for governments but also a warm and inspiring man.

We were proud to welcome him to our Jam Session! More info at: https://fronteers.nl/congres/2013/jam-session/keynote