Meet the 2024 TAG Candidates: Christian

What is the most important problem the Web Platform faces that the TAG could reasonably address, and how will you start to address it if you're elected?

The web platform has become a key app development platform where developers can deliver extraordinary application experiences like Photoshop, Visual Studio Code, and Figma. With initiatives like Baseline and Interop, an ever-expanding set of APIs is now available across all major web browsers.

However, fragmentation remains an issue as developers encounter challenges with advanced capabilities that are currently limited to a certain set of browsers, making it difficult to provide application experiences across different browsers, operating systems, and devices.

I believe we haven’t reached the finish line, which is why I would like to resume and lead the Powerful Web Platform Task Force the TAG announced at TPAC 2023 as a collaborative hub wherein developers and vendors can showcase innovative apps and use cases, discuss concerns and seek consensus on the future of web apps—together.

The TAG has a lot of things it can do or is asked to do. What should the TAG prioritize in the coming year?

Beyond fulfilling its responsibilities as outlined in the W3C Process Document, I believe the TAG should prioritize critical and time-sensitive issues related to web architecture. This includes recent technological advancements like Generative AI which is already reshaping software architecture and software development processes.

If a single activity, such as carrying out design reviews, is consuming a disproportionate amount of the team’s time, I’ll take responsibility to ensure mechanisms are in place that allow the team to address its other responsibilities effectively.

What kinds of reviews should go to the TAG, how should the TAG triage reviews, and how can you help the group be more comfortable rejecting reviews it doesn’t have time for?

I consider the TAG a service organization that ensures all features coming to the web follow the proper web architecture and are of high quality. In my opinion, all serious requests deserve a review as long as they have followed the guidelines set out by the TAG (e.g., having an explainer, responding promptly to feedback, etc.).

When review resources are stretched or the TAG is in disagreement, this should be communicated transparently and promptly, so that editors are not left in uncertainty.

As design reviews are such a major activity for the TAG, I want to bring my experience with HTML, JavaScript, and OS integration. To increase review capacity, I could imagine expanding the TAG with additional seats or involving more (external) people in reviews. We should ensure that these people complement the TAG’s skill set.

Do you want the Team to release the anonymized ballots from this election? Why or why not?

I personally support releasing the election results in a manner that enhances transparency. However, the practice of sharing individual ballots, even anonymized, is relatively uncommon and could conflict with voter expectations regarding privacy. Since the election is currently underway, it may be too late to alter this process this time around.

I advocate for establishing a clear policy on this matter for future elections. This ensures that all parties, including members and candidates, are fully informed about and in agreement with the level of transparency being implemented.

The TAG has a problem with members failing to show up and do the needed work. How much time do you have to commit to TAG work? Do you have travel or scheduling constraints?

I am committed to meeting the obligations of the TAG and have set aside time to do so in accordance with my employer, Thinktecture. This includes traveling to the F2F meetings.

Ingo Rammer, CEO of Thinktecture, has stated: “All of us at Thinktecture 100% support Christian’s nomination, and we will provide the necessary time away from his work and the travel budgets to allow him to fulfill this possible role to the best possible extent.”

What skills, expertise, and perspectives do you have that the continuing TAG members and other TAG candidates lack?

I am eager to bring my experience and passion to the team that actively shapes the future of the web. At my job at Thinktecture, a consulting firm focused on web application development, I have worked with numerous app developers creating web experiences over the past decade.

This has given me many insights and made me aware of the major pain points that developers deal with every day and are hindering the adoption of web technology. Having a broad network of developers, I can always ask for their feedback and insights. As an experienced software architect and technical writer, I can contribute to the TAG’s ongoing work, including design reviews, findings, and evolving the API and privacy design principles.

My contributions to web standards and my vendor-neutral perspective gained from collaborating with various major browser manufacturers further complement my commitment to making the web a platform more relevant than ever.

If you disagree with a feature's design, how will you decide between just saying that it's bad versus trying to improve its design as much as possible?

If the core of the proposal obviously violates fundamental principles such as the Ethical Web, Privacy, or Web Platform Design Principles, I have no hesitation in rejecting it.

Apart from that, I believe the TAG should make an effort to review every serious proposal to satisfaction, treating every review with the respect it deserves. The TAG should refrain from using words like “bad” and instead articulate potential flaws or misalignment with web architecture in a neutral language. The TAG should give appropriate and actionable feedback, well-founded on arguments.

Can you show us an example of a time you found a way forward between people who initially disagreed strongly?

In one project, I mediated between two teams locked in a heated debate over the technology choice for the next version of their company’s graphics-heavy design application. The first team had exceptionally accurate calculations, but a subpar user experience as they relied on inefficient frontend technology. Conversely, the second team leveraged on-device web technology, offering a beautiful, fast, and fluid user interface, yet their calculations lacked precision.

Over the course of several collaborative sessions, spanning multiple months, I guided both teams in developing an architecture proposal that delivered the best of both worlds: Fast-and-fluid rendering on the client and server-backed calculations for full accuracy, meeting the requirements of the company.

What mistakes has the TAG made recently?

Design reviews, which take up most of the TAG’s time, are predominantly a communication channel between browser vendors and the TAG. This is a good thing, but I believe the TAG could make a positive impact by also having direct engagement with web developers.

I would like to organize developer outreach events and offer to bring in my network of conference organizers. As a speaker at various web conferences, I can educate developers about TAG’s work and how to reach the editors of the new upcoming specifications. I hope I can turn this into a broader and more global TAG effort.