X World 2026
25-26 AUGUST • NAARM | MELBOURNE
Yes, and: Improv, IT, and the Partnership Between Admins and Users
IT is a demanding gig, and we're all expected to get more done with fewer resources year after year. It's easy to get stressed, and to get seriously annoyed every time you get yet another ticket from That One Helpless User. (We all know the grumpy IT admin glowering at their desk, discouraging any who might seek their assistance. Sometimes we *are* that grumpy IT admin.) But what if we reframed IT as a partnership? What if we learned to say "Yes, and" to our users and make them part of the team? The "rules" of improv comedy don't just make for a good joke, they can also help you build rapport, solve problems, and hate your ticket backlog a little less. This is not a technical topic; this talk is about finding affinity between admins and the users they support while we're all trying to get our jobs done.
About the presenter
Katie is a career Apple admin with experience ranging from technical support and professional services to product development and delivery, and has presented on tech topics around the globe. As Principal Product Manager at Jamf she focuses on customer value and workflow validation for new Apple management features. She occasionally dabbles in podcasting and has absurdly strong opinions about microphones.
Interview
We asked Katie a few questions about where Apple's heading and what she's working on.
What are you most excited about in Apple's upcoming OS releases?
I'm most excited about the continued evolution of declarative management (our new standard!), with new device insights and configuration options.
Is there new hardware you're hoping Apple ships?
A MacBook Neo with more RAM, at a magically-reasonable price!
The rise of AI: excited, scared, intrigued, or something else?
Skeptical; the claims are wild, the expense is outrageous, and the value is... meh?
What's the best thing you've built that nobody's heard of?
A Hypercard tour of the Starship Enterprise, complete with sound effects from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
What do you wish you'd known when you started building admin tools for Apple platforms?
That certain commands require a flag to disable interactive mode, which is especially useful when running a script remotely and you'd rather not slowly fill the hard drive with logs about waiting for user input (oops).
Finish this sentence: "You should come to my talk if…”
... you're trying to figure out if what the deal is with declarative management, and aren't sure if you're ready for the new hotness.
