Sometimes, relational tabular databases just don't quite cut it. When describing relationships, and networks; you might find yourself grasping for a traditional database but could a Graph database may allow you to describe and query your data in a easier more efficient way? Let's find out! --- In this talk, we will discuss how Grakn, a database to organise complex networks of data and make it queryable, provides the knowledge graph foundation for intelligent systems to manage complex data. We will discuss how Graql, Grakn's reasoning (through OLTP) and analytics (through OLAP) query language, provides the tools required to do the job: a knowledge schema, a logical inference language, a distributed analytics framework. And finally, we will discuss how Graql’s language serves as unified data representation of data for cognitive systems.

Norfolk Developers - nor(DEV):

Introduction to Knowledge Graphs with Grakn and Graql

Online event

At this time of "Physical Distancing", let's not become socially distant! Join us at the nor(DEV):SocialClub, every Friday at 17:30. BYOB, bring your fine self. We may play some games. We may invent some cocktails. And we'll definitely put the world to rights.

Virtual Social Club

In January, our #WednesdayStreams return with "Let's Go Build a Bot" and your host Dom Davis! We'll be exploring the GoLang programming language and using it to build a Chat Bot. [...] --- ## About your Host Dom Davis is a veteran of The City and a casualty of The Financial Crisis. Not content with bringing the world to its knees he then went off to help break the internet before winding up in Norfolk where he messes about doing development and devops. Dom has been writing code since his childhood sometime in the last millennium – he hopes some day to become good at it. Dom is an enthusiastic and impassioned speaker [read: he gabbles] who uses a blend of irreverent sarcasm and flippant humour to bring complex subjects to a broad audience. Whether or not they understand him is up for debate, but he likes to believe they do. --- ## About Norfolk Developers You might want to try something new or wish to take your software development up to the next level. We want to jump into the detail and bring you practical value. We want to make it easy for you to access knowledge, progress and prosper in the highly specialised and valuable field of software engineering. Our community goes beyond our regular events, we're a thriving support network. Our membership include those that are just starting out, juniors, seniors, and the curious. Read more at <a href="https://www.norfolkdevelopers.com/" class="linkified">https://www.norfolkdevelopers.com/</a>

🔴 Let's Go Build a Bot [Part 2/4]

🔴 Let's Go Build a Bot [Part 3/4]

The UBIO automation toolset can be used to interact with any website or API and can then be integrated into your existing toolchain. Instead of our Automation Team managing the service in our niche verticals you’ll be free to power whatever you need, no matter your automation application.

How I cheated at my son’s homework!

🔴 Let's Go Build a Bot [Part 4/4]

SaveTheDate - We'll have more details soon!

[SaveTheDate] Building a real-time serverless app in Blazor using AWS


Festive Tidings to you, one and all!

2020 has been a tough year for everyone, and one that has tested the very technology on which we rely, and the software we build. Norfolk Developers has weathered the pandemic with the mantra:

> Physically distant, not socially

Our Virtual Social Club has been a bastion for some, and a significant chunk of my life since March. On behalf of the committee and myself I’d like to say a massive thank you to all those who have contributed to the community throughout 2020. The Virtual Social Club will continue throughout December including [a Christmas](https://www.meetup.com/Norfolk-Developers-NorDev/events/pfdncsybcqbhc/) and [New Years Day](https://www.meetup.com/Norfolk-Developers-NorDev/events/pfdncsycccbcb/) special hosted by Dom Davis. All are welcome.

We’ve also run a huge number of virtual tech events this year on subjects ranging from Testing to Git, Data Science to Policing, and more. We’ve learned a tonne about streaming and virtual events and the remote aspect of the audience means Norfolk Developers has gone truly global with attendees from around the world.

On top of this we’ve introduced our regular Lean Coffee discussions, and the Wednesday Streams, where our members build something live on YouTube every month. We’ve already seen projects in [Laravel](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc8-tQY65nvVoYQcZhnRXZQSUmfsW-0_S), [Blitz.js](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc8-tQY65nvWAxfHamYQE9fhMabRkhMnL) and [Statamic](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc8-tQY65nvVBgHax3em4ywCzl4HVx5Qp), and **in January we’re continuing with GoLang.**

![#WednesdayStreams with Norfolk Developers](/static/images/pages/posts/2020-12-21-2020-retrospective-and-thanks/wednesday-streams-hero.jpg)

All this has been backed by our [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/WQwrYrS) server which opened its doors in February as a place for NorDevCon attendees to chat, and for staff to relay messages. When the Lockdown was announced in March we saw messaging increase substantially and we knew it was going to be a valuable resource, but who knew it would be so bustling with conversation over a wide range of topics, both tech and non-tech.

As for NorDevCon, wow, what an experience! For Shaun and I it was truly a baptism of fire having taken over from Paul in October. Thank you to the Speakers from across the UK and globe, who joined us to share their wisdom, exploits and stories. And thank you to the community for attending and your understanding at the lack of refreshments 😃. And to our sponsors as well ❤️, without whom Norfolk Developers wouldn’t exist!

Of course, it wouldn’t be 2020 without bad news. **In August we made the sad decision to cancel NorDevCon 2021**. Not only was this a blow to the community, but it was a massive blow to our finances. The conference is the sole source of income for Norfolk Developers and it is how we fund events and expenses throughout the year. The future of Norfolk Developers was looking bleak.

Thankfully the community stepped up.

They requested we open a [Patreon page](https://www.patreon.com/NorfolkDev) and their support so far has been staggering! We now have 16 Patrons, without whom NorDev would’ve likely been forced into closure. Our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you.

[The User Story](https://www.theuserstory.com/) also stepped up and became our first Corporate Sponsor. They got our finances out of the red and, along with our Patrons, will help keep the lights on this winter.

We decided everyone deserves a rest in December (the Zoom fatigue is real!) and our last event of the year was a [relaxed exploration of The Webb Telescope](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ExIJzUQMJY). **It was incredible, well worth a catchup on YouTube if you missed it!** We’re still about though, so head on over to [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/WQwrYrS) if you want a chat, or join Dom on the Social Club!

Who knows what 2021 has to bring, but the NorDev calendar is already filling up. We’ll be back again with a vengeance in January, but until then stay safe, and be physically distant, not socially distant.

### TL;DR: What a year! Thank you! Really, we mean it. I look forward to seeing what you all create in 2021 and seeing you all at our first event next year.

2020: Retrospective and Thanks!

### Norfolk County Council’s (NCC) Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) is in the news and Norfolk Developers recently had a chat with Kate de Vries,an NCC Economic Development officer and Kurt Frary, Deputy Director of the Information Management and Technology (IMT) dept, CTO and Chair Socitm (East) to learn more.

## The background.

Kate is a passionate advocate of this technology and she explained the network’s beginnings.

> “The project started from a local community venture in 2018. Norfolk has a thriving tech community and this is evidenced from the annual Tech Nation reports. Together with Paul Foster from Microsoft, a team approached the council and this started the ball rolling with a gateway to be placed on County Hall.”

Once the local community put the idea to Kurt in the IMT department he became an enthusiast and saw that the Internet of Things, (IoT) had masses of potential for Norfolk and he could also see how far behind Europe we were and needed to catch up by using this cost effective technology. This was when NCC decided to work in partnership with Suffolk Council and gained financial backing from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. £440,400 was the sum awarded in 2019.

![](/static/images/pages/posts/2020-11-25-the-best-connected-county-in-the-uk/new-anglia-lep-innovation-network.jpeg)

## What is LoRaWAN?

Launched in Norfolk in September 2020, the Norfolk and Suffolk Innovation network is the largest free to use LoRaWAN in the UK. This ambitious project aims to connect LoRaWAN with 220 gateways, 110 in Norfolk and 110 in Suffolk.

And it’s not simply the network itself that’s important, the sensors that are connected to LoRaWAN play a crucial part in improving connectivity throughout Norfolk. These are the ‘things’ that comprise the IoT. The sensors collect data in a variety of situations, that data is fed into LoRaWAN where it can be monitored, assessed, managed and reported.

Working in partnership with Capita, the company has supplied Norfolk with 130 gateways in order to speed up the council's IoT. And, in February 2020, Capita received a £6 million contract to upgrade Norfolk’s fragmented network to full fibre connectivity.

When asked about the project, Kurt Frary said, “it’s going to be better than we ever thought.” There are two main facets to the project, the first of which is getting the innovation project out and about across Norfolk and Suffolk and we already have 50 gateways across Norfolk alone”.

“Ultimately this project will allow us to use IoT devices/sensors wherever you go in the counties.”

“The second part of the project is expanding the use of the network. It’s not just for the county council’s use, it’s for the public to use, for businesses, and start-ups if people want to innovate.”

## "Practical applications"

Kurt went on to explain that one very vital use of the technology can be applied to the perennial problem of gritting the roads and making sure the actual grit can be deployed on time and where necessary.

As he said, “Before the introduction of the network, NCC normally had sensors/weather stations around the county, they cost around £30,000- they tell you the temperature and give out a whole plethora of scientific information.”

“However, the sensors that we’re now using as a result of the IoT innovation network cost about £120. So where previously we had five or six of the expensive sensors around the county, we can put five in a single area costing us £hundreds rather than £thousands.”

## Local tech involvement


Local tech company, Uniotec, deployed a number of bespoke sensors around Great Yarmouth to measure the road surface temperature. The firm’s dev team created a visualisation platform that gives realtime analysis of road temperatures together with an API that feeds both metadata and accurate road temperatures to NCC.

> As a result of this we’ve been able to double the data we’re receiving at a marginal cost. Interestingly the data we’re getting from the cheaper sensors measures up to the previous information from the expensive sensors.

And with over 6,200 miles of road across the county that need monitoring the innovation network can produce savings of £8,000 per grit run as the information received from the sensors will be up to date and provide crucial information for when a road needs gritting.

<div class="iframe"><iframe width="768" height="432" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AiWyeG03t6w" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

## Innovative uses

Kate is also excited about future possibilities for the project. “We aspire to support our local business communities, and we hope they’ll develop new possibilities that will be created in Norfolk and sold to the world.” NCC developed its own network, despite the existence of many fee charging others, because the council has always intended that the network is free to use.

Another use of the sensors is in the field of social care. The sensors are unobtrusive and can be placed in a vulnerable person’s house to allow a carer to check remotely whether the client or relative has got up in the morning. By building up a record of usual activities a carer will easily be able to see if something unusual is happening.

## Endless possibilities

By talking to both Kurt and Kate it’s easy to see that the possibilities for this project are immense. Local agricultural machinery supplier, Ben Burgess, uses the field weather station sensors to monitor the effect of weather conditions on crops. The data is fed into the network and gives a farmer an accurate and contemporaneous record helping the agricultural industry create risk models for potential diseases. This practice has already cut down the use of chemical sprays and fungicides.

<div class="iframe"><iframe width="768" height="432" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P8GEkm_jMo0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

## Doing differently

Kurt highlighted how, by using a LoRaWAN on other projects can save money. Uniotec has also worked with NCC at Gressenhall museum. As the museum is outside it’s difficult to monitor exhibit popularity, how long does the public stay at the museum, and numerous related questions. NCC installed a LoRaWAN GPS tracker to be used by the staff and the general public in a bid to answer these questions.

Talking about the network Kurt stressed, “the joy about this project is that the sensors are cheap - very cheap and easy to use.” He added that “the network is about small packets of data, you can’t use the network to make calls, even though it’s radio, or browse the internet. You can collect a lot of data from small centres that send different pieces of information.”

The limitless potential of LoRaWAN using the IoT marks a new era of innovation across Norfolk. And, this fits in well with NCC’s ambition to improve its services through the use of technology.

The best connected rural county in the UK - Norfolk

## We've been exploring a range of new formats with our community, in part this has come with the new virtual requirements but it also comes as part of a drive to make our events more accessible and engaging. We're here announcing one of those new formats today:

Norfolk Developers would like to explore the stacks that drive our fine county. We’d like to explore your process and
how you go from A to B.

In short, we’re looking at how you:

- Analyse business/user requirements & translate those into user stories (or similar)
- Project manage the delivery of those requirements
- Deliver them
- And, Test/QA & gather feedback

The format for this will be a 15min lightning talks and we invite organisations (or makers) to join us and talk us
through their process. We'll invite 2-3 organisations to each event, and will then bring them together at the end as a
panel for Q&A.

These events will (can) also tie directly into a directory we will establish here, where we will list those
organisations and the stack they use.

## Suggested Talking Points

- What tools and/or methods do you use to gather user requirements?
 - Do you have “user groups”?
 - Regular meetings with customers?
 - Accept enhancement requests via GitHub, or with a product like Uservoice?
 - Dogfooding?
- What tools and/or methods do you use to translate user requirements into actions or user stories? And what methods do you use to prioritize these?
 - Regular meetings with account managers, support teams, or tech teams to explore user requirements, and or their own requests?
- What tools and/or methods do you use to manage the delivery?
 - Are you using PM tools (e.g. Jira, Trello etc)?
 - Methodologies like:- Agile, Scrum, Shape Up?
 - What aspects of the methodology do you find work best, and, perhaps what do you think is unique about your own version?
 - Is your team remote? Office based? Are you using standups?
- How are you delivering?
 - What’s your tech stack? (from back to front, or from schematic to consumer hardware)
 - What’s your local dev environment look like?
 - Are you using a UAT or staging environment?
 - VMs, Docker, Kubernetes?
 - Monorepo? Private package repositories?
 - Continuous Integration, Continuous deployment?
 - What’s your strategy for deployments (release branches, tagging, artifacts?)
- How are you testing, gathering QAs, or user feedback
 - This may be answered in part within the first question if relevant.
 - Do you operate unit, feature, e2e, or integration tests?
 - Live Chat for Customers?
 - Metrics (New Relic etc)

## Join Us?

If you're an organisation (or maker) and would like to show us your process and the tools of your trade please get in
touch, we'll get you booked into the next cohort.


 <a href="/static/images/pages/posts/2020-10-04-introducing-whats-the-stack/norfolk-developers-whats-the-stack.pdf" download>
 Download the PDF
 </a>
 
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 Email Alex
 </a>

Going straight to the ♥️ of software development practice and process

Local, national and international speakers and workshops for Norfolk Developers.

Upcoming Events

📆 Introduction to Knowledge Graphs with Grakn and Graql

📆 Virtual Social Club

📆 🔴 Let's Go Build a Bot [Part 2/4]

📆 Virtual Social Club

📆 🔴 Let's Go Build a Bot [Part 3/4]

📆 How I cheated at my son’s homework!

📆 Virtual Social Club

📆 🔴 Let's Go Build a Bot [Part 4/4]

📆 Virtual Social Club

Latest posts

2020: Retrospective and Thanks!

The best connected rural county in the UK - Norfolk

Introducing "What's the Stack?"

Latest Magazine

February 2020 Conference Edition