The Agile2009 conference program has been announced. It is the Agile Alliance's largest annual event, held this year in Chicago from August 24-28. New themes include: Coaching and, Manifesting Agility. Back again: Open Jam, Programming with the Stars, Live Aid, Muzic Masti, AAFTT (Testing) Workshop, and 15 other "stages" organized by theme, not job description. This year the PLoP conference (Pattern Languages of Programs) follows right afterward, also in Chicago.
Using a "music festival" metaphor, the conference consists of "stages" proposed by members of the community. In December of last year the Agile Alliance solicited research papers, experience reports, panels, workshops, tutorials, and activities, and for three months those proposals were available to the public via a collaborative submission system, where proposals could be rated, questions asked, and improvements made. Overheard on Twitter: of 1600 submissions, 240 were selected. Subsequently, for each stage, its "stage managers" - practitioners passionate about their subject area - plan and execute the stage in their own style.
Agile2009 registration is open, with prices ranging from $1399-$1999 USD, with special pricing for academics.
This year's stages are: (follow the links for details)
| Agile Adoption |
Producer: Greg Smith
Assistant: Amr Elssamadisy |
| Main Stage |
Producer: Robin Dymond
Assistant: Bill Wake |
| Agile Frontier |
Producer: Olav Maassen
Assistant: Eric Willeke
|
| Manifesting Agility | Producer: Dan Mezick Assistant: Dan Caron |
| Agile & Organizational Culture |
Producer: Mitch Lacey |
| New to Agile |
Producer: Steven "Doc" List
Assistant: Ola Ellnestam |
| Agile Product Management |
Producer: Rich Mironov
Assistant: Steve Johnson |
| Open Jam | A freeform space where participants are encouraged to meet informally to chat or create their own sessions and invite others. Producer: Esther Derby |
| Coaching |
Producer: Chris Sterling
Assistant: Gil Broza |
| Research |
Three tracks: Research papers, Research-in-progress workshops, PhD symposium. Organizers: Yael Dubinsky,Tore Dyba, Philippe Kruchten. |
| Customers & Business Value |
Producer: Greg Goodman
Assistant: Jen Kintzle |
| Muzik Masti | Believes everyone is an artist / musician / performer and sets things so that everyone can join in, with music / sound activities for musicians and non-musicians alike. Producer: George Platts, Assistant: Henrik Kniberg
|
| Developer Jam |
Producer: Kirk Knoernschild
Assistant: Nayan Hajratwala |
| Telling Our Stories |
Producer: Steve Adolph
Assistant: Geoff Hewson |
| Distributed Agile |
Producer: Tamara Sulaiman
Assistant: Monica Yap |
| Testing |
Producer: Lisa Crispin
Assistant: Bob Galen |
| Leadership & Teams |
Producer: Pollyanna Pixton
Assistant: Alida Cheung |
| Tools for Agility |
Producer: Michael Hüttermann
Assistant: John Smart |
| Live Aid | Learn new skills by participating in a real agile project for a Not for Profit organization, in a lab will be staffed with experienced mentors. Producer: Bob Payne, Assistant: Sanjiv Augustine |
| User Experience |
Producer: Angela Martin
Assistant: Lane Halley |
The conference will again be preceded by an Agile Alliance Functional Test Tools (AAFTT) Visioning Workshop, Sunday, August 23rd, 9:00 - 17:00.
And, once again, the Programming with the Stars event pairs conference attendees with legendary agile programmers to perform live on stage before a panel of famous (and outspoken) judges.
The PLoP conference (Pattern Languages of Programs) starts right on the heels of Agile 2009 and is designed to promote development of pattern languages on all aspects of software, including design and programming, software architecture, user interface design, domain modeling, software processes, project management, and more.