Software Crafters Cambridge

We are delighted to welcome back to Software Crafters Cambridge a fantastic guest speaker - Carl Farmer, Cloud and AI Solutions Engineer from Microsoft.

In this interactive session to be held in the auditorium, Carl will discuss:

The Smart AI Adopter: Value, Precision, and Craftsmanship

As organizations rush to adopt AI tooling, many teams find themselves battling rising costs, arbitrary productivity metrics, and the hidden technical debt of AI-generated code. The Smart AI Adopter: Value, Precision, and Craftsmanship cuts through the hype to deliver a practical roadmap for sustainable AI integration.

This session explores how to align engineering realities with business goals by measuring true ROI instead of vanity metrics, shares tactical strategies for minimizing token costs through precise context management, and reveals why foundational software craftsmanship—especially Test-Driven Development (TDD) and strategic human-in-the-loop reviews—is the ultimate safety net.

Whether you are driving business strategy or architecting the codebase, you will leave with actionable techniques to ensure your AI adoption is efficient, cost-effective, and engineered for long-term success.

The session will be delivered in 3 parts;
Part 1: The Value Equation – Measuring Real ROI in the AI Era
Part 2: Precision Engineering – Maximizing Context, Minimizing Cost
Part 3: The Craftsmanship Renaissance – Quality and the Human-in-the-Loop

About Carl:
Carl Farmer is an Azure Apps & AI Solution Engineer. With deep expertise in cloud platforms, AI solutions, and enterprise integration, Carl helps organisations innovate through technologies like Microsoft AI Foundry, Copilot Studio, GitHub Copilot, cloud native/serverless and multi-agent architectures. Carl collaborates with leading companies in manufacturing, aerospace, semiconductors and automotive sectors, delivering technical strategies and solutions that drive AI transformation. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlfarmer/

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This is a great opportunity to learn, share and discuss some of the most important topics related to software engineering we are facing, so come along with your thoughts, concerns, questions and ideas to make this talk as interactive as possible.

All levels welcome - no need to bring your laptop as this is a non hands-on session.

Apply to speak using this form https://forms.gle/WXmKpF5UwjAYP3JcA

This month we are in the auditorium where you get to take centre stage and flex your public speaking muscle!

Join us in at The Bradfield Centre for a series of lightning talks discussing technology, practices or whatever else takes our fancy.

If you're using some new technology you think others would be interested in, if you've got a design or some code you'd like to discuss, if you'd like to discuss a specific practice, a problem you are having at work, something new you have discovered or you'd simply like to see what others have got to say - come along and join in the conversation.

How does it work?

If you've got a cool demo, some new technology or just something you think the group might find interesting, controversial or just plain funny, bring it along and share with the group!

Don't worry if you've never given a lightning talk before - this is a great opportunity to give a talk in a friendly environment. You'll be able to present slides from your laptop on to the auditorium screens if you wish and all talks are restricted to no more than 10 minutes (less than 10 minutes is fine, just don't go over or you'll be told time is up!)

There'll be an interactive Q&A process where the most upvoted question will be posed to the speaker at the end of their talk. Any unanswered questions can be discussed during the networking.

You can use slides or not - whatever you feel comfortable with. Some of the Software Crafters organising team will be on hand to get things kicked off and provide friendly support and feedback.

This is your chance to give public speaking a try - or brush up your skills if you have a presentation coming up that you want to practice - anything goes.

APPLY TO SPEAK USING THIS FORM https://forms.gle/WXmKpF5UwjAYP3JcA

Please note submissions are on a first come, first served basis. We may close the form once full.