Outpace Conf is a one-day technology conference for senior practitioners and leaders in the North West, taking place on Thursday 16th October in Manchester city centre.
Built by senior technologists, for senior technologists, it brings together up to 150 experienced practitioners for candid case studies, practical lessons, and quality peer-to-peer connections. Three tracks, 12+ speakers, and all tickets under £100. Learn more.
Product track
Talk #1 | 09:15 - 10:15 | Tim Benjamin - "The Beauty of a Beautiful Big Hairy Audacious Goal"
Tim presents a framework for implementing "Big Hairy Audacious Goals" (BHAGs), drawing on his experience with successful projects. Attendees will learn to transform conventionally-defined goals into breakthrough catalysts while maintaining measurability and implementation pathways.
Talk #2 | 10:30 - 11:30 | Thomas Inman - "Going all in on data products"
When Autotrader kicked off their digital retailing project they went all-in on the accompanying data product, committing to their most complete and complex event stream alongside a product launch. Thomas will cover how Autotrader came to this decision, their implementation journey, and where the investment paid off versus where the costs hit hardest.
Talk #3 | 12:45 - 13:45 | Clare Sudbery - "Ensemble Working: The ultimate in collaboration"
Clare dives deep into Ensemble Working (aka “mob programming”). When teams work well together, this can have a considerable impact on the quality of the software they deliver. But how can we help this to happen? Clare examines the benefits in detail, explains how she teaches the technique to new teams, and describes why it is her approach of choice in many different situations.
Talk #4 | 14:00 - 15:00 | Lola Raji - "Delivery with Backbone: How to Lead Product Teams with Confidence, Clarity, and Care"
Lola shares how organisations can empower both teams and leaders to deliver better products—not just faster, but with more clarity, confidence, and care. Drawing from her work as an Agile Delivery Manager and consultant, she explores the leadership shifts needed to move from reactive delivery to intentional, people-led progress.
The day wraps up with our closing panel and an after-party at Cloud 23, Deansgate. See the full programme.
Event details
Outpace Conf includes three tracks: Data & AI, Product, and Architecture & Dev.
Doors are at 08:30, with a welcome session at 09:00.
Tickets include a light breakfast on arrival, hot buffet lunch, refreshments during the day, and our after-party at Cloud 23 (16:30-18:30).
