The discounted booking period for June’s Code Generation 2009 event closes at midnight on 31st March. Bedroom accommodation at the venue is also going fast. Save £110 by booking now and grab a bedroom before they all go.

Now that the Code Generation 2009 program has been finalised it’s been time to focus on details such as getting people to come to the event .

The first bookings came in within a couple of days of booking opening – thanks guys, you know who you are - so it seems that at least some people have heard of the conference…

All sponsor places are now sold out, this is also a good sign as many conferences are struggling to get sponsorship in these difficult times. Thanks to SoftFLuent, Microsoft, itemis, Kennedy Carter, NT/e and MetaCase for supporting the event.

We’ve been working with these sponsors and partners to get the word out about the event. Aside from bookings we have also seen a significant increase in traffic to the event web site from around the world. Again this is an indication that the event is relevant to developer’s day-to-day concerns.

Earlier in the week I also took the chance to revisit the venue to refamiliarise myself with the layout. This was also a good chance to meet with the conference organiser and discuss important things like the bar opening hours and catering

If you’ve ever organised a big event like this you’ll know that there are many small things to be done to make it a big success. This is where our focus now turns for the remaining few months ahead of June.

If you are thinking of coming – remember that our early-bird discount period closes on 31st March. Save £110 by booking on or before that date!

The Knowledge Industry Survival Strategy (KISS) aims to increase awareness about the role that domain specific modeling languages can play in capturing, preserving, and exploiting knowledge in virtually all industries.

As part of this initiative the group is organising a series of workshops including one at Code Generation 2009.

Workshop Objectives

• Reaching a strong consensus on fundamental values and principles for designing and using Domain Specific Languages
• Progress towards interoperability between tools

Topics of Interest

• Fundamental values and principles for designing and using domain specific modeling languages (DSMLs)
• Classification of the different kinds of DSML tool components, and the artifacts created and exchanged between DSML tool components
• Descriptions of existing or planned industrial projects that illustrate the need for improved DSML tool interoperability
• Evaluations of existing meta meta model implementations, comparisons of meta meta model implementations, and proposals of new meta meta models that are conducive for improving DSML tool interoperability
• Proposals for useful levels of DSML tool interoperability
  Case studies of attempts (successful or not) to increase interoperability between two or more DSML tools
• Concrete tool interoperability requirements from organizations that use DSMLs
• Building an open community that owns interoperability standards for DSML tools
• Approaches that can be used for practical certification of tools with respect to interoperability levels

The organisers prefer participants to submit a discussion paper for the workshop by 15th April. Visit the KISS CG2009 Workshop page for more information on the workshop and the submission process.

Software East’s March 19th event in Cambridge is themed around Product Management.

Tickets (including light buffet) cost £15 if booked on or before 12th March. £20 thereafter. ACCU members get 10% off these booking fees.

Synopsis

Product Management is an essential activity for any technology company but it is not always performed well. In this session we’ll share our product management experiences, discuss the key success factors (and what to avoid) and investigate the role of product manager. The session will follow a goldfish bowl format meaning that participants can join in the discussion to bring their own perspective.

We have invited several experienced product managers to share their expertise:

- Rufus Greenbaum is Director of Sales & Marketing at Simpol.
- Shaun Hughes is a product manager with Convergys.
- Colin Millerchip is Head of Product Management at Red Gate Software

The event takes place at Downing College, Cambridge. Free parking is available at the College – please let us know your vehicle registration number when booking.

Agenda

• 18:30 – 19:15: Registration, networking & light buffet
• 19:15 – 19:20: Welcome to Software East – Mark Dalgarno (Software Acumen)
• 19:20 – 20:30: Discussion session ‘Technology Product Management’
• 20:30 – 22:00: Networking

Visit the Software East web site for more information and to make a booking.

Lots of news on June’s Code Generation conference…

The conference program is now online – 30+ case studies, tutorials, hands-on sessions, panels, goldfish bowls and 2 keynotes from Steven Kelly (MetaCase) and Markus Völter (Independent / itemis). Other speakers include Stuart Kent (Microsoft), Kathleen Dollard (AppVenture), Sven Efftinge (itemis), Konstantin Solomatov (JetBrains) and Juha-Pekka Tolvanen (MetaCase).

An early-bird booking period runs until 31st March. Save up to £110 by booking before this date. Further discounts are available for OMG, IASA, ACCU, Cambridge Wireless and SkillsMatter members.

As in previous conferences we also have an associated exhibition showcasing the best tools and technologies in Model-Driven Software Development. Microsoft, Kennedy Carter & MetaCase have again signed up as event sponsors since my last update.

If all that wasn’t enough then you should also note that the conference venue Murray Edwards college has recently been voted to have the ‘comfiest chair’ in the recent Conference Cambridge awards.