[🏫 In-Person] The subtle art of MCP with Phil Whittaker
Details
This event will be a single talk on The subtle art of MCP with Phil Whittaker
⚠️ This will be an in-person event, the venue is Sheffield Tech Parks.
- Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xm9z5Wr97QbefVCP7
- Parking: Sheffield Tech Parks have limited parking, however provide free parking to our guests! Once at the barriers phone 0114 221 1800 and they'll let you in.
Agenda:
- Pizza/Drinks (18:15 - 18:30)
- Introduction (18:30)
- Social @ Pub (after the talk)
The subtle art of MCP
This session looks at the Model Context Protocol (MCP) from a practical engineering perspective. Rather than stopping at “wrap an API,” we’ll explore how to design MCP servers that actually work in production—when to simplify schemas, how to shape tools and resources so models can use them effectively, and what to watch out for with context, model or host quirks. These lessons come directly from building the Umbraco MCP server, now used by hundreds of developers in the Umbraco community.
By the end, you’ll have a clear sense of the common pitfalls and a set of proven design patterns you can apply to your own MCP projects. Expect real-world examples, reusable templates, and a short checklist to help you standardise how your team approaches MCP.