Drupal projects often begin with good intentions and end in a blur of template overrides, scattered business logic, and “kitchen-sink” modules where every new feature gets dumped because no one knows where else to put it. Themes swell with one-off tweaks, modules become grab-bags of unrelated responsibilities, and no one wants to touch anything for fear of breaking everything.
Modern Drupal can—and should—be engineered like a real software platform. Whether you're working on a single site, a multisite installation, or an internal Drupal-based product, the secret to stability--and sanity--is the same: think in packages.
In this session, we’ll explore a practical, accessible approach to package-driven Drupal development. You’ll learn how to transform messy, sprawling features into clean, isolated, versioned packages using modules, recipes, and theme components. We’ll walk step-by-step through encapsulation, API boundaries, directory patterns, and safe evolution—without overwhelming teams who are new to modern Drupal architecture. We’ll also look at the real organizational challenge most teams face: how to track, maintain, and evolve shared packages across multiple products, projects, and backlogs.
This session is designed for everyone—from themers and site builders beginning to understand components, to backend developers looking for better structure, to architects responsible for evolving large Drupal platforms. You’ll walk away with a new mental model, practical patterns you can apply immediately, and the confidence to start building Drupal features your future self—and your teammates—won’t hate.
