Conference Goals

Agile Software Development is an emerging and dynamic discipline. The overriding objective of the Agile Development 2004 Conference is to spread knowledge about the state-of-the-art in Agile Development practices and provide a forum for advancing the modern technology.

The conference will accomplish this objective by providing a forum for the following:

• Create a sense of community in the Agile Development movement
• Share experiences and research across disciplines
• Welcome new members to the world of Agile Development
• Consolidate data about Agile Development to aid future research and implementation

Who Should Attend

The conference is designed to benefit individuals with different experience levels and objectives.

• Beginners receive value from tutorials
• Experts receive value from sharing experiences and exploring new frontiers
• Practitioners receive value by listening to other practitioners' experiences and learning the latest thinking in Agile Development
• Researchers and educators receive value by exchanging ideas with other academics and hearing real-world practitioner experiences

In addition, an international perspective will be represented by the diverse nationalities of the speakers and educators.

Conference Content

Conference content will fall into the following primary formats:

1. Tutorials

Tutorials provide entry into a topic for newcomers to a subject as well as individuals wishing to round out their knowledge in an area. Tutorials will be presented in both lecture and hands-on workshop environments.

See Tutorials for more information.

2. Peer to Peer

The Peer to Peer format allows experienced people to trade notes and learn from each other. An objective of the sessions is to gather many viewpoints on a given discipline in a short period of time.

Peer to Peer sessions are designed to be very interactive and encourage participation. Formats include goldfish bowls, debates, and problem-solving workshops.

See Peer to Peer for more information.

3. Experience Reports

Experience reports contain first-hand information and reflection: "We saw this, did that, and consider this-and-that about our experiences." If you are interested in adding to your research data or are a practitioner looking to avoid problems and focus on success, these presentations will provide valuable knowledge gained through hands-on experience. Each report will create a portal through which attendees can glimpse what works, what doesn’t and why in employing agile methods in projects. Specialists in computer engineering, business analysis, programming, sociology and management as well as other essential disciplines will round out the list of presenters.

See Experience Reports for more information.

4. Research Papers

Research papers reveal the aspirations and advance the framework of thought in the field. Come listen to the questions and conclusions from the members of our diverse community. Trade notes and discover where the thinkers are heading. Learn from those who are applying complex systems theory to organizations, reflective practitioners proposing new forms of agile development and dissidents who feel that "agile" is hot air.

See Research Papers for more information.

5. Executive Summit

The Agile Executive Summit brings agile development to executives and managers. CIOs, CTOs, interested CEOs, and managers will hear presentations from senior executives and have a chance to relate that information to their own experiences. Executive Summit participants will talk, discuss, and share the challenges of understanding, justifying, and implementing agile methods in a small-group, collegial atmosphere.

6. Open Space

By popular request, the Agile Development conference will host an “Open Space” workshop.

"Open Space" is a dynamically organized workshop format. In "Open Space" meetings, participants create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions around a central theme of strategic importance, such as: “What are the main challenges facing the propagation of Agile Development practices and how can they be overcome?”

"Open Space" was recently used at XP/Agile Universe in 2002 to provide a forum for putting relevant issues “on the table” and letting conference attendees dynamically organize to discuss the topics and create a new content source for the conference-goers.