Expert Panel on Agile Software Development
Monday, March 14, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Moderated by David Hecksel, Senior Java Architect, Sun Microsystems
Panelists include Scott Ambler, Ronin International, Inc.
Dan Rawsthorne, Net Objectives
Joshua Bloch, Principal Engineer, Google Inc.
Granville Miller, Microsoft

-Agile software development doesn’t work. Agile software development is the new Silver Bullet.

-Agile development is a frantic free-for-all. Agile development requires far greater discipline than traditional development.

-Agility is just another excuse to hack out indifferent code. Agility results in higher-quality code.

-Agility is only about programming. Agility results in software that meets the highest-priority requirements of its users.

-Agilists don’t do documentation. Agilists write agile documents that maximize stakeholder investment.

You’ve heard the arguments—now it’s time to hear the truth. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t in the real world. More importantly, we’ll discuss what works within a given context—one process doesn’t fit all, just as one technique isn’t right for every job. Discover how agilists approach documentation, modeling, architecture, project management and quality assurance. Find out which agile process, if any, is right for you, and how they can be tailored together. Come prepared to ask questions of—and get answers from—the experts on the front lines of agility.

Dr. Dobb’s Journal Excellence in Programming Award - 10th Anniversary Panel
Tuesday, March 15, 7:15pm - 8:45pm
Moderated by Jonathon Erickson, Editor in Chief, Dr. Dobb’s Journal

Join Alexander Stepanov, Guido van Rossum, Don Chamberlin, Larry Wall and other recipients as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the software industry’s premier award. For 10 years, Dr. Dobb’s Journal has honored the best and the brightest in the world of software development for their contribution to the programming community. Don’t miss this exciting panel of industry luminaries!

Plenary Session: Greatest Common Measure: The Last 2500 Years
Wednesday, March 16, 1:45pm– 3:15pm
Alexander A. Stepanov, Principal Scientist, Adobe Systems

The talk explores development of Euclid's algorithm from early Pythagoreans to modern times. This development shows gradual evolution of a notion of abstract (or generic) algorithm. While the term generic programming was introduced by Musser and Stepanov in 1988, the notion of algorithmic genericity goes back to remote centuries and is one of the main driving forces of mathematical progress. Study of mathematics develops an architectural ability for organizing large body of knowledge, which is still lacking in Computer Science. Euclid's Elements (with a good modern guide such as Robin Hartshorne) is a wonderful textbook for software engineers. The sense of history is very important for a scientist in order to be able to evaluate what is, and is not, important. To understand something we need to know its history.

Fireside Chat with Joel Spolsky on Software
Thursday, March 17, 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Joel Spolsky, author of world famous blog www.joelonsoftware.com

Joel on Software has become the canonical blog by the canonical software pundit: Joel Spolsky. Thanks to his engaging, comprehensive opinions on everything from methodology to usability, venture capital, hiring smart people, various technologies and even his own company's content management product, the cyberworld has come to depend on this author, entrepreneur and former Microsoftie for insight into the software industry's myriad facets. Join Software Development Editor in Chief Alexandra Weber Morales for an intimate interview with Joel Spolsky.

An Evening with .NET Legends and Luminaries
Thursday, March 17, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Presented in conjunction with Bay.NET
Panelists: Dan Appleman, David Chappell, Rockford Lhotka, Juval Lowy, Jeffrey Richter, Rob Howard and Michele Bustamante

Smart clients? Web services? Indigo? VSTS? Generics? My? No remoting? Avalon? Since its debut some five years ago, almost every aspect of .NET, its application framework, its underpinning, languages and impact on the industry has been either over hyped, misunderstood or ignored. Add to that a myriad of new technologies right around the corner, and you have most everybody confused. Come to this open discussion with the SD .NET speakers, the selection of the world's top .NET experts, to hear what they think about the present and future of .NET and its accompanying technologies.

Panel: Be A Good Scout — Secrets for Evaluating Development Tools
Friday, March 18, 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Moderated by Rick Wayne, New & Noteworthy Editor, Software Development Magazine
Panelists include: Scott Ambler, Senior Consultant, Ronin International, Inc.
David Dossot, Vice President of Technology, Agile Partner SA Luxembourg
Joel Spolsky , Founder, Fog Creek Software
Alan Zeichick, Editor in Chief, SD Times
Paul Tyma, Chief Scientist, PreEmptive Solutions, Inc.

Shelfware. Lock-in. Dead-end tools. Schedule slip. Pick the wrong tools and the impact on your development team can be painful, yet many teams base these critical decisions on one person's quick walk through a UI, with no formal process whatsoever. In this panel discussion, you will learn how Software Development reviewers and other scouting pros do it, and how to adapt their methods to your organization to improve your evaluation process. You will learn to recognize and avoid crucial antipatterns when it comes to choosing the tools your team needs.