Ask me how I architect Drupal websites or why my dog is named after a cat or really ask me anything!

amykhailova · February 17, 2021, 1:31pm

Hello Pantheon community!

My name is Anna and I am hosting #AMA Wednesday today.

I am a passionate Drupal professional with over 7 years of Drupal specific agency experience. I live, breathe and dream Drupal.

I am currently working as a Senior architect at Kalamuna and we are a friendly bunch over there, come and say hi . We are a mission-driven web agency.

In my day job I do a lot of architecture planning, estimates, back-end and front-end development.

My hunger for knowledge made myself Drupal 7 and Drupal 8 Grand Master. I love solving difficult Drupal problems.

Ask me about the architect role, module development, recurring imports and migrations, Drupal themes.

Or ask me anything development or team leadership!

Looking forward to engaging with all of you today.

McKennaR · February 17, 2021, 6:06pm

Hi Anna!

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I would love to learn more about how you got into Drupal? Out of curiosity, I am also interested in learning what you enjoy most–front-end or back-end development & why! As a marketer, I am always interested in learning more about each respective space.

Ohhhh and I must know why your is named Bonus points for adorable photos!

amykhailova · February 17, 2021, 6:54pm

Hi McKenna,

Well my dog is a golden doodle. He practically looks like a lion. So his name is Simba

I like back-end and front-end but really enjoy tough back-end challenges because I like solving difficult puzzles and just building the hidden architecture that nobody will see but hopefully will still appreciate.

david.needham · February 17, 2021, 7:49pm

+1 to photos of Simba!

Do you still remember the first Drupal website that you built? Why did you build it in Drupal?

Are there any big changes planned for future releases of Drupal 9 that you’re excited about?

Thanks for being part of our community! <3

katie.richards · February 17, 2021, 7:53pm

Hi Anna! I spent most of my childhood and adolescence wanting to work in PR, which isn’t exactly where I ended up! Did you grow up wanting to work on the web? How did you discover Drupal?

sparklingrobots · February 17, 2021, 7:55pm

Hi, Anna! Thanks so much for participating in our AMA series!

I obviously need to ask about why your dog is named after a cat (and can we get some pictures)?

Also, I’ve been thinking a lot about legacy projects lately – when you take on a Drupal site that’s been around a long time and has gotten a little long in the tooth, you might say. What’s your advice for getting a legacy project into a good place?

Thanks!!
Tara

amykhailova · February 17, 2021, 8:13pm

Hi David,
I built a small brochure website for a conference it was pro-bono when I just started at my first Drupal job. It wasn’t a choice to build it in Drupal it was the technology my company used. I built it in 24 hours start to finish and themed it. I was very proud of myself haha.

For Drupal 9 I am excited for the adoption of the workspaces module. I think it will help our clients a lot with their editorial process.

amykhailova · February 17, 2021, 8:14pm

Hi Katie,
No I wanted to be an astronaut. Haha. Building sites and sending them to the cloud is as close as I got to this dream But I am happy with it.

amykhailova · February 17, 2021, 8:18pm

Hi Tara,
Thank you for asking. Great question. I liked to perform a thorough audit and analyses of the site and make sure I uncover all Easter eggs and identify all potential areas for improvement. I do performance, security and Drupal architecture audit as well as accessibility. I like to then outline path for improvement and work closely with the client to see what’s possible.

But first thing of course if possible get the site on the latest core and contrib modules so it is secure.

McKennaR · February 18, 2021, 5:54pm

OH MY GOSH! Simba is the cutest!! I rescue pups on the side and have one of my own, so naturally I am drawn to animals of all kinds! Thank you for sharing!

And interesting! I also like challenging tasks, or at least ones that keep me busy for a while and yield really stellar results. The more time I spend in marketing, the more I realize just that! I am not sure I am ready to dip into Drupal quite yet, but what kind of advice might you give to someone who is looking to get their feet wet in Drupal?

amykhailova · February 18, 2021, 6:07pm

I think Pantheon’s Getting started with Drupal webinar is a fantastic starting point. So I’d recommend joining it if you haven’t attended it already. Drupalize.me is also a good start. Or in general attending a camp or meetup to get to know the community and maybe visit some sessions of interest.