Shiny in Production will take place over two days, split into an afternoon of workshops and a day of
conference talks. Tickets are available for either the conference only, or for the
conference and one of the day one workshops.
We will also be hosting a drinks reception on the Thursday evening, which is included in the price of your
ticket!
R Dev Day
Heather Turner
and Ella Kaye will
be running an R Dev Day as a satellite event to Shiny in Production! This will take place
on 8th & 9th October, before the start of the conference.
Interested in getting involved? Sign up here.
Wednesday 9th October
Day 1 will consist of an afternoon of workshops run by some of our very own Jumping Rivers R pros,
as well as guest presenter Cara Thompson.
All Workshops will run from 13:30 to 17:00 with a refreshment break.
Workshop 1: Level up your plots: Tips, tricks and resources for crafting compelling
visualisations with R and ggplot2 (Cara Thompson)
Summary
Data visualisations are a great asset in getting people talking about your findings. From making the
patterns in the data easy to see, to making a big visual statement and keeping people talking beyond the
end of your presentation, transforming your plots from functional to aesthetically pleasing and visually
compelling is about so much more than making things pretty.
In this workshop, we'll explore how we can make the most of colours, different plot types, text, and
interactivity to maximise the impact of our visualisations. Here's where we're looking to boost your
dataviz confidence:
- crafting intuitive dataviz-friendly colour palettes without compromising on accessibilty (or
creativity!)
- selecting the right type of dataviz for your data and your story
- making the most of typography to optimise text hierarchy and readability
- using annotations wisely to both help interpretation and declutter the visualisations
- turning your ggplot into an interactive plot for additional data exploration
- packaging up your decisions easy reuse across plots (and projects!)
This is intended as a hands-on workshop, so bring along a laptop, a plot you're working on or a
research
question, and some data. Throughout the workshop, I will highlight free resources for each of these
aspects of dataviz development. The aim is for you to leave with a plot that you'd be happy to publish,
and with some resources you can continue to build on.
Learning Outcomes
- crafting intuitive dataviz-friendly colour palettes without compromising on accessibilty (or
creativity!)
- selecting the right type of dataviz for your data and your story
- making the most of typography to optimise text hierarchy and readability
- using annotations wisely to both help interpretation and declutter the visualisations
- turning your ggplot into an interactive plot for additional data exploration
- packaging up your decisions easy reuse across plots (and projects!)
Workshop 2: Building Responsive Shiny Applications
Summary
The diverse range of devices used for modern web browsing presents challenges when designing
an application that works well for all users. Enter responsive design: the practice of building
fluid web pages that “work” on huge 4k and 5k monitors, tiny smartphones and all things in between. This
course will look at responsive design principles and best practices for Shiny developers, covering page
layout, easy-to-add widgets and some simple CSS tricks for when built-in solutions don’t quite cut it.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, participants will…
- know what responsive web design is
- know how to use flexible grids to adjust page layout for mobile, tablet and desktop
- be able to use HTML5 elements and Shiny Widgets to use limited space efficiently and effectively
- know how to add CSS and JavaScript snippets to an app for finer customisations
- understand how to test Shiny apps on various screen sizes from desktop to mobile
Workshop 3: Asynchronous Shiny
Summary
Imagine you couldn’t register to attend “Shiny in Production” if someone else was in the process of
registering, and you had to wait until they had finished before you could click to “Buy tickets on
EventBrite”. This kind of “blocking” shouldn’t happen in modern web applications but is surprisingly
common in Shiny applications. It happens because a single R process handles all of the server-side
processing for multiple users—one long-running task can prevent any other task from proceeding,
hampering interactivity both between and within user-sessions.
Fortunately, Shiny’s support for asynchronous programming can alleviate this problem. In the
asynchronous approach, you start tasks running without having to wait for them to complete. But, this
requires a change in mindset for many programmers and there are a few concepts to understand before you
can take advantage of this approach. So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for this workshop!
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, participants will…
- understand how within-session and between-session blocking can arise in a Shiny app
- understand the basics of asynchronous computation
- solve between-session blocking with future/promise
- solve blocking the modern way, with ExtendedTask
Workshop 4: Building Apps for Humans
Summary
Frameworks like Shiny and Dash can help those with a scientific or mathematical background communicate
their research in a way that’s interactive and engaging. But while these tools can make constructing a
graphical user interface quicker and easier, there’s no guarantee that the end product is going to be
optimised for human use.
This workshop is aimed at scientists (and the curious) that are interested in learning some basics of
human-computer interaction and gaining an understanding for how science itself can assist with the
development of better user interfaces that, in turn, lead to improved user experiences.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, participants will…
- understand the benefits that come from designing applications with the human mind in mind
- know how the layout, colour, size and motion of interface and graphical components can be used to
enhance (or detract from) a user’s experience
- understand the importance of providing users with feedback so they can tell both whether their
actions have been successful and what the current state of the application is
- be able to identify some common problems found in web applications
Drinks Reception - Time: 17:00 - 19:30
All tickets include entry to the drinks reception on Wednesday night. Hosted in the atrium of the Catalyst
building, this will be a great opportunity for networking and relaxing before the following day of
talks!
Thursday 10th October
Day 2 will consist of a range of talks from experts across industries. Registration begins at 9:00,
followed by the first talk session at 9:30. The final session is scheduled to conclude by 16.15. To
learn more about the speakers take a look at the lineup below!
