From Events to Actions: Building Apps That Respond to Users Instantly

Most engineering talks start with buzzwords like “AI” and “personalization.” This one stMarts with a question: How do you implement in-session actions in your application?

This session explores the fundamental programming principles behind real-time, event-driven architectures and how developers can design in-session actions that respond instantly to user behavior. We’ll unpack what it takes to pre-calculate and serve fundamental signals at scale, manage identifiers across sessions, and ensure your event pipeline can handle live interactions without added complexity.

Using Snowplow Signals and customer data infrastructure (CDI), we’ll work backwards—from real-time outcomes to the data foundations that make them possible. You’ll walk away with a developer-first understanding of how to bridge the gap between data engineering and software development, plan the evolution of your data structures with solid governance controls, streamline cloud operations with automated deployments, and reduce your cost of acquisition by designing smarter, more efficient event systems, that respond to and customize your customer interactions while still using your application.

Whether you’re a software engineer, product developer, or DevOps practitioner, this talk will help you see how to make your apps think, and act, in real time.