BCS SPA2015

Software Practice Advancement Conference

28th June - 1st July 2015

Conference Themes

We organise our conference sessions according to four broad themes: technology, people, process and practice.

Technology

Technology is often where theory meets reality. Typical SPA technology sessions will be a hands-on exploration of a programming language, framework or technique. Sessions might explore emerging technologies or novel aspects and uses of established technologies.

  • Languages, libraries and frameworks (e.g. Java, C#, Smalltalk, Ruby, Javascript, Python, Scala, Clojure, Haskell, ObjectiveC... etc).
  • Novel technologies for designing and testing software (e.g. Continous Integration, Automated Testing)
  • Novel architectural technologies (e.g. grid computing, caching, P2P, hardware acceleration, business rules)
  • Enterprise Development Platforms (e.g. J2EE, .Net)

People

Software is an intensely human activity and sessions in this area typically explore how to organise and support people engaged in software development. Sessions might deal with:

  • Dynamics of software development
  • Communication, motivation and reflection
  • Problem solving and thinking models

Process

Understanding how software can be developed and delivered predictably is a central issue. Sessions might examine:

  • Software and system architecture
  • Requirements capture
  • Modelling techniques
  • Lean vs. Agile vs, plan-driven lifecycles
  • Stakeholders' needs
  • Software product lines

Practice

Do you have a valuable experience to share, be it positive or negative? Sharing experience is an important part of improving the state of practice. Sessions might deal with experience reports and case studies that:

  • Highlight the lessons learned
  • Patterns and pattern languages
  • Comparative experience (what we have learned or can learn from other disciplines)
  • Management of complex and changing environments