2007 Keynote Speakers
 

Software Craftsmanship
Robert Martin, Object Mentor

The software industry is preoccupied with speed. We need to go fast to be first. We need to go fast to make our deadlines. We need to go fast to be competitive. But is speed all there is to it? And what does it mean “go fast” anyway? In this keynote, Robert Martin will expose some of the secrets that true software craftsmen use to go fast.

Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) has been a software professional since 1970 and is founder and president of Object Mentor Inc., in Gurnee, Illinois. Object Mentor, Inc., is an international firm of highly experienced software developers and managers who specialize in helping companies get their projects done. Object Mentor offers process improvement consulting, object-oriented software design consulting, training, and skill development services to major corporations worldwide.

Mr. Martin has published dozens of articles in various trade journals, and is a regular speaker at international conferences and trade shows.

Mr. Martin has authored and edited many books including:
-Designing Object Oriented C++ Applications using the Booch Method
-Patterns Langauages of Program Design 3
-More C++ Gems
-Extreme Programming in Practice
-Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices.

A leader in the industry of software development, Mr. Martin served three years as the editor-in-chief of the C++ Report, and he served as the first chairman of the Agile Alliance.

Beautiful Software
Patrick Foley, Microsoft

We need to bring visual designers into the software development process as first-class citizens. With the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft has made a commitment to enabling rich user experiences, and with the release of Expression Studio, we now have the designer tools needed to enable viscerally stunning software. But while platform and tool support are critical to this goal, it is people – designers – who will ultimately change the way we think about and build software over the next few years.

My instincts tell me that we are on the cusp of a disruptive change in the way we build software, and who we consider part of the development team. What will happen when we as developers allow graphic designers to be responsible for the visual aspects of software – really responsible, using tools and checking visual assets directly into source control – while we retain responsibility for the functionality? What will happen when both parties are in the same room together much more frequently, maybe even pairing? How will this affect users and usability? How do we even separate the concepts of functionality and usability and beauty? Will corporate software have skins? What opportunities will this create for software vendors? These are the questions we need to start asking. No one knows the answers yet, but I believe the results will be – beautiful.

Patrick is an “ISV Architect Evangelist” with Microsoft Corporation, which means he “helps software vendors be successful building on the Microsoft platform”. Patrick taught himself to program C and C++ in the early nineties. Before joining Microsoft last year, he worked as an independent consultant for companies of various sizes and industries, including banks, insurance companies, nonprofits, and small software vendors. Patrick has architected and led the implementation of internal corporate systems using ASP.NET and SQL Server and also has experience with competing technologies such as Java/J2EE, Oracle, LAMP, and Ruby on Rails. He cut his teeth on several years of VB, C/Win16/Win32, and C++/MFC coding with lots of application database design and architecture work as well. He has taught seminars and mentored developers on various programming topics and architecture techniques. In recent years, Patrick has developed a special fondness for various types of software “glue”, such as workflow systems, portal and composite application interfaces, and dynamic programming.