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The Heart of EllisLab: Why we do what we do

The Heart of EllisLab: Why we do what we do

This is the keynote I gave that the ExpressionEngine CodeIgniter conference in Brooklyn NY, 2011.

Leslie Camacho

October 27, 2011
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  1. Popularity Contest • Currently #10 for Top million • Currently

    #6 for Top 100,000 • Currently #5 for Top 10,000 • #1 Full Commercial Platform in all categories Thursday, October 27, 11
  2. EllisLab as UX/CX Company • Full commitment to making the

    change from all staff. • Reviewed everything from top to bottom, with the only the human element as sacred. • Invested in formal training for all staff • Retooled our development practices Thursday, October 27, 11
  3. Meet James • More than just the “CP Guy” •

    Responsible for training and implementing UX/CX company wide Thursday, October 27, 11
  4. Empowering our Team • Implemented Scrum • Executive team “let

    go” • Our staff stepped up big time - the old ways were holding them back. Thursday, October 27, 11
  5. 10 Months... • Reliable 12-14 shipping schedule • Significantly improved

    communication, including company newsletter • Significantly improved feedback loop • More code shipped than all of last year, including three major updates to EE Thursday, October 27, 11
  6. 10 months continued! • Invested heavily in public facing tools

    like GitHub & Beanstalk • Improved “out of the box support” • Private Support Beta • Enterprise Services Beta Thursday, October 27, 11
  7. 10 months part 3 • Tangible improvements to EE’s UI

    • Focus on features people need • Developer Preview Program • Major improvements to CodeIgniter & working with the CI Community Thursday, October 27, 11
  8. OSL 3 Benefits • Certified by the Open Source Initiative

    • Compatible with most BSD-style licenses • Legal friendly • Protects your IP while encouraging wide adoption Thursday, October 27, 11
  9. We’re building a platform that enables web professionals to build

    anything on the web. Thursday, October 27, 11
  10. EE 2.4/5 • Editor focused on writing/content creation • Continued

    File Manager improvements • Gallery Conversion Thursday, October 27, 11
  11. EE 2.x Overall • Stability is a feature • Performance

    is a feature • “Low hanging fruit” features • EE 2.x Continuous incremental improvements to existing UI • Major UI refresh in EE 3 Thursday, October 27, 11
  12. Lessons from EE 2. • Internal structure is critical to

    productivity, especially during dramatic growth • Tried to do too much at once. • Talked about it way too early in development • Can’t outsource design/ux, even under the best of circumstances Thursday, October 27, 11
  13. End of Life for EE 1.x • December 5th, 2011

    - EE 1.x no longer included with new purchases. • April 23rd, 2012 - EE no longer publicly supported • Download access will remain if you own a license. • EE 1.x supported via Private Support Contracts for businesses and projects that need it Thursday, October 27, 11
  14. Current version vs. Future version Transparency • Current version =

    Very open communication • Future version = Quiet mode • We always want to hear from you Thursday, October 27, 11
  15. Design/UX Position Open • Talk with James if you’re interested

    or know someone who is. Thursday, October 27, 11
  16. How does it work? • Can contribute to EE directly

    via GitHub • Uses the “lieutenant model” of contribution • Final contributions vetted & tested just like the rest of EE prior to inclusion • Just one version of EE. Thursday, October 27, 11
  17. The EE Reactor Team • Brian Litzinger, The Nerdery •

    Erik Reagan, FocusLab • Greg Ferrell, Solspace • Jack McDade, Build with Structure • Leevi Graham, Newism • Rob Sanchez, Barrett Newton Interactive Thursday, October 27, 11
  18. Rest of the year • Focus on services going from

    private beta to public services • Advertising campaign • Promotional opportunities for the professional community • “Industry Partner Opportunities” Thursday, October 27, 11
  19. Recap • We retooled EllisLab to be a UX/CX company

    to better serve you. • Translate feedback into real improvements, shipped every 12-14 weeks • CodeIgniter now licensed under OSL v3 • Design/UX opening - Apply with James • EE Reactor Team Experiment now Live Thursday, October 27, 11
  20. Dr. Who 2005+ Companions, Ranked • Martha • Rory •

    Amy • Donna • Rose Thursday, October 27, 11