High Tech Delight - Programming the 'Hard' out of Hardware • Suz Hinton • YOW! 2016

JavaScript is well-suited for hardware projects due to its event-driven nature, low barrier to entry, and ability to run natively on devices

Out-of-box experience is critical for developer tools - focus on making first impressions positive and reducing friction for newcomers

Error messages should be human-readable, descriptive and helpful rather than technical/cryptic to improve developer experience

Building and nurturing an inclusive open source community is vital - provide good documentation, mentorship, and make it easy/fun for others to contribute

Think about developers as users - apply the same UX principles and empathy to developer tools as you would consumer products

The NodeBots community demonstrates how JavaScript can make hardware more accessible to web developers by leveraging familiar tools and concepts

Having clearly defined community goals and transparent governance models helps grow sustainable open source projects

Abstractions and higher-level tools (like avrgirl-arduino) can reduce complexity and make hardware development more approachable

Testing hardware projects presents unique challenges - focus on making testing easier through automation and good tooling

Personal projects and art can be a great way to demonstrate technology’s capabilities while delighting users in unexpected ways

Community can’t be bought - invest time in relationships, celebrate small wins, and provide support to grow engagement organically

Consider internationalization and accessibility when building developer tools and documentation