Navigating Friction
Calling all engineering leaders, innovators, and systems thinkers! The ShipItCon 2026 Panel is locked in, and we are ready to dive headfirst into the core mechanics of our overarching theme: Friction.
In an industry obsessed with speed and optimization, friction is often viewed as the enemy. But is it always a drag, or is it sometimes the exact traction we need to ship safely? Get ready for a dynamic, high-velocity discussion led by our returning moderator, Damien Marshall. Damien will guide our brilliant panel through the essential technical, structural, and human friction points that occur when scaling modern engineering teams and complex distributed systems.
We are thrilled to announce our first confirmed panelists:
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🎙️ Andreea Wade, CEO of UniVec
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🎙️ Patrick Kua, Renowned Tech Leadership Coach, Author, & Former CTO
This panel promises to equip you with critical perspectives on:
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Drag vs. Traction: Identifying when process and structural constraints are slowing you down versus when they are serving as essential guardrails for quality and safety.
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The Physics of Scale: Navigating the inevitable cultural and organizational friction that surfaces when scaling teams, architectures, and automated workflows.
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Engineering Flow States: Strategies for reducing developer friction and cognitive overload to help your teams find their optimal momentum.
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The Human Element: Embracing constructive friction—such as healthy debate, diverse viewpoints, and code verification—as a catalyst for genuine innovation and robust engineering cultures.
