A Unique 2 Day Swift Conference in the Heart of Leeds

Opening Ceremony 🏟️

Adam Rush will be hosting your SwiftLeeds this year and hear some thoughts about what is in store for you this year and a glimpse into some of the amazing talks we have lined up.

From Side Project to Going Indie

Turning your passion into independence. Antoine went Indie this year after turning his side projects into six-figure revenue and shares his journey, strategy, and learnings to inspire you to make the most out of side projects.

Antoine van der Lee

Founder of SwiftLee & RocketSim

Introduction to WebAssembly for Swift Developers

WebAssembly support in Swift started as a community project and over the years evolved into an ecosystem of libraries and developer tools. The talk provides an introduction to Wasm, showing how it works under the hood. It answers frequently asked questions about this target architecture, highlights the opportunities it brings for Swift developers, and includes a demo of plugins built with Swift for WebAssembly.

Max Desiatov

Software Engineer, Apple

Refreshment Break ☕️

Building an Accessibility Culture, One Step at a Time

Accessibility is an interesting part of building a project. Arguably easy in some areas, and incredibly difficult in others. Touching product, design, engineering and testing. Everyone can play their part — or not.

From dealing with not knowing what you don’t know, to organizational buy-in, to having enormous impact on your users. In this presentation I want to share how we (started) overcoming these challenges at [company], from iOS to web, and how we’re seeing that path ahead.

Bas Broek

iOS and accessibility at WeTransfer

Attendee Group Photo 📸

Lunch 🍕

Speeding up protocol conformances in Swift

This talk is about the slowest operation in Swift: protocol conformance checks (myVar as? MyProtocol). We'll start by profiling some of the top apps on the App Store and observing that protocol conformances are some of the slowest operations.

Then we'll look directly at the runtime source code to see why it's so slow. In recent OS versions it has been made much faster in special cases, but there are now many paths through the runtime that developers need to keep track of.

We'll conclude by looking at some proposed solutions to speed this up that are being discussed on the Swift forums (https://forums.swift.org/t/pitch-speed-up-protocol-conformance-checks-on-first-launch-using-bloom-filters/70225), as well as methods I use to hook the runtime which speed it up without even waiting for anything to change in Swift. During this talk you will learn how to speed up your own apps, how to quickly debug performance issues, and how to read source code from the Swift runtime and dyld to have a detailed understanding of app performance.

Noah Martin

Co-founder, Emerge Tools

Hidden engineering challenges of A/B Testing

In this talk we'll take a critical look at the often overlooked engineering challenges and hidden costs of A/B testing. We'll explore how A/B testing increases code complexity, introduces risks of data corruption, expands the testing matrix, challenges debugging, etc. We'll shed light on the real impacts on developer experience and user satisfaction. I will provide real-life insights that might reshape your perception of A/B testing and convince you that it's a tool that needs to be wielded responsibly and requires a high engineering discipline.

We'll cover the following topics related to often overlooked costs of A/B testing:

• Code complexity: Introducing variations and experimentation logic into the codebase can increase complexity, making it harder for developers to understand and maintain the code. Removing A/B test code and related infrastructure once a test is completed requires careful cleanup to avoid introducing technical debt or unnecessary complexity into the codebase. Failing to remove redundant code can clutter the codebase and make future development more challenging.

• Debugging Challenges: Debugging issues related to A/B test variations can be more challenging, especially when trying to diagnose discrepancies in behaviour across different test conditions.

• Expanded Testing Matrix: A/B testing expands the testing matrix, requiring QA teams to test multiple variations of features across different devices, platforms, and user segments, which can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.

• Complicates Test Environment Setup: QA teams may need to set up and maintain separate test environments to accurately test A/B test variations, adding overhead in managing and synchronising test environments with production.

• Data Corruption and Loss: Improperly managing the addition or removal of A/B tests could lead to data loss or gaps in the data stream. Adding and removing A/B tests can challenge user data integrity. Experiments can manipulate data that can't be undone once the experiment is removed.

• User Consent and Opt-Out: Ensuring that users are informed about A/B testing activities, their data usage, and providing mechanisms for users to opt-out of participation in tests if desired, to respect user preferences and maintain trust in data integrity practices.

...and more...

Anastasia Petrova

iOS Engineer at Depop

Refreshment Break ☕️

Swift Concurrency is new and different and hard and you can do it

We’re going through the most significant change since Swift itself was introduced. In some ways, it may be even more profound. Swift concurrency will have an enormous effect on how you structure your code and projects. Virtually every API you use will be affected in some way.

Understandably, this has caused enormous amounts of confusion and frustration, and I want to help you avoid both. I’ll share my own mistakes, misunderstandings, and lessons I’ve taken away from them. Make no mistake, the transition to Swift concurrency will be difficult. But it is happening, and you can develop the intuition you need to successfully adopt Swift 6's concurrency system.

Matthew Massicotte

Apple Platform Developer

Crafting better App Icons

An App Icon is the initial point of contact between users and applications, and it contributes significantly to first impressions. It has to be a distinctive and memorable graphical representation that serves as the visual identity for an app or a game.

In this session will be covered both technicalities about the design, export and correct displaying and loading of your App Icon based on the Apple platform you are developing for.

Also, the creative process takes a crucial role in elevating your App Icon aesthetics and functionality: learn key aspects to take in consideration when you design it.

A well-designed app icon goes beyond mere aesthetics; it aids users in quickly locating and identifying the app while also playing a crucial role in the competitive app marketplace, where standing out is key.

Flora Damiano

👩‍🎨 Product Designer | 🗣️Junior Mentor Design @Imaginary Institute s.r.l.

How LEGO can inspire us to build better UI Libraries

Every App needs a consistent design system and a set of base UI elements to speed up development and ensure consistency between screens.

Often teams build a library of UI elements that are too rigid and don't allow for experimentation and growth. Sometimes these custom library ignore a lot of concepts, like accessibility, that will render the experience for some users even worse.

In this talk we are going to explore how at GetYourGuide we build UI Libraries and how the LEGO block concept help us shape our elements in a more modular and standardised way.

Joseph El Mallah

GetYourGuide - Senior iOS Engineer

Opening Ceremony 🏟️

Adam Rush will be hosting your SwiftLeeds this year and hear some thoughts about what is in store for you this year and a glimpse into some of the amazing talks we have lined up.

The Roast of your App's Design

Let's try something new! Submit your app with a form and I will pick a few screens from submitted apps to re-design. During the talk I will show what I did, how I did it, and why I think it's better.

You'll get a look inside of a designers mind and learn some handy SwiftUI tricks along the way.

Want to get your app roasted? Complete the form: https://tally.so/r/wbObq6

Hidde van der Ploeg

I build apps that keep things simple.

From Quantum to Code: A Teacher's Journey into Mobile Development

With a decade-long background in physics teaching and the responsibilities of motherhood, this talk delves into my personal experiences of navigating the shift to the dynamic world of mobile development.

Unveiling the challenges, triumphs, and insights gained along the way, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the transferable skills, adaptability, and resilience required for such an unconventional leap.

Furthermore, it sheds light on breaking into a male-dominated industry and thriving within it. Through engaging anecdotes and practical advice, this presentation aims to inspire the audience to embrace their own paths of career transformation and open their minds to the untapped potential of individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Chloe Jenner

Victvs, Junior mobile app developer

Refreshment Break ☕️

Cut costs, not corners - Master modularization with SPM

In this talk, you will go through 4 chapters (origins, maze, metamorphosis, legacy) my team and I faced while we refactored our Monolith iOS project using SPM and afterward figured a way to revolutionize the way we integrate Kotlin Multiplatform code with iOS code.

And the craziest part - no feature development was put on hold along this process. That's kind of impressive, but I lied about it being the craziest part. The results we achieved are even crazier:

• 55% local clean build time • 43% local incremental build time • 73% CI/CD build time.

You will walk away with specific steps on how to modularize your Monolithic project with SPM, which traps to avoid, and how to maintain it moving forward. And if you are using KMM in your iOS project, you might just find out how to drastically improve the integration of it.

Whether you're an engineer, a team lead, or a CTO, this talk promises not only to enlighten but also to inspire your next big move.

Antonio Markotić

iOS Engineer @ Endava

Lunch 🍕

The Art of Functional State Management

The talk will provide a practical guide to functional state management for iOS apps. I will demonstrate how to build iOS apps that are predictable and maintainable. The talk will draw upon functional programming, provide hands-on examples to help attendees implement functional state management in their own iOS apps and compare it to implementation without usage of it.

Araks Avoyan

Senior iOS Engineer

Fixing Image Performance for The Worst iPhone

New iPhones get ridiculously faster every year, yet apps seem to keep freezing and drop frames (hitches)… But in practice, even older phones can achieve incredible performance.

Recently my team at Adobe worked on creating a brand new feed. We needed to fetch, cache, and render hundreds of high res images on cold-start. Our goal was to provide a smooth experience on any iOS device, going all the way back to the iPhone 6S Plus.

During this talk, we will go through the performance challenges we faced and how we resolved them. We’ll see real world examples of choking the CPU, OOM crash, frame drops in SwiftUI, and overcoming all of these, to keep 60 FPS and make sure we can smoothly scroll through photos of cats and sunsets!

Aviel Gross

Staff iOS Engineer, Meta

Refreshment Break ☕️

Scalable Continuous Integration for iOS

Continuous Integration on iOS has posed challenges over the years due to the strict requirement for Apple hardware. Companies often rely on external services for their CI, but when reaching a certain level of maturity, teams consider in-house solutions as an alternative to avoid relying on external vendors.

In this talk, I will describe how to create a stack of Mac Minis in the Cloud that is scalable and easy to maintain. I want to get you excited about breaking away from the comfort zone of Swift, showing how some DevOps tools can be used to rock the scene on CI and bring innovation to your company and your team!

We step up our game by moving away from ClickOps to a mature Infrastructure as Code approach. I’ll show you examples of using AWS EC2, Packer, Terraform, and ultimately GitHub Actions to implement a control centre for your team.

You’ll learn what implementing an in-house stack of runners entails, what technologies allow you to define your infrastructure as code (IaC), and, ultimately, you’ll gain insights on how to evaluate the right solution for your team, with an eye on costs and resources.

This session is for those who manage CI for their iOS teams, are looking to expand their skills beyond Swift, or are interested in the intersection of iOS development and DevOps.

What you’ll see reflects the journey of innovation the iOS team at JET (Just Eat Takeaway.com) has embarked on in 2023.

Alberto De Bortoli

Principal Software Engineer @ Just Eat Takeaway.com (London, UK)

What Not to Do: Rocky Road to Banner View

If you are struggling with designing an app-wide component - this talk is for you. The speaker will share ups and downs of their journey in designing a custom banner system for the first time.

Join in to find out:

• why Stack Overflow didn’t provide a straightforward answer,
• what to consider when designing a component for SwiftUI and MVVM,
• which approaches were a dead-ends and how that become clear.

You will leave this session with a few ideas on how not to design your custom components, along with inspiration to make your own mistakes and, inevitably, components.

Maria Kharybina

Junior iOS Developer, BBC

SwiftLeeds Champions’ Quiz: Go for Gold Here! 🥇

Refactoring Fear

Has feared ruled your life? Has it prevented you from doing things you've wanted to do? Come along with me on my journey about how I refactored my fear from something that was working against me to something that was working with me.

Fear had strong control of my life for the first 25 years. I let it stop me from doing things I wanted. I let it stop me from sharing everything I could offer. I let it stop me from being who I was. It took a lot of introspection but I realized I could refactor my fear to my benefit. Fear allowed me to see things differently and play into my strengths. This talk aims to be inspiration on others on how to conquer their fears and turn them into unique strengths.

Josh Holtz

Lead maintainer of @FastlaneTools