HotSoft

Agile is getting big. The Agile2008 conference in Toronto this year had something like 1700 people, and it felt like it. I was there 3 days and there were some people I wanted to talk to that I never found. And it was diverse. We had a UI track this year for the first time, and it was only one of about 14 parallel tracks. Overall, the feeling was good, if a little disconnected at times. I was especially happy to talk to people from many companies who were just hearing about the ideas for the first time. I had a great conversation with Steve Freeman about Test-First Development, and how coming up with a test framed ideas about the implementation differently. I had hoped the closing keynotes by Alan Cooper would better connect UI work and Agile Development. Cooper said many things that might lead that way, but I heard lots that confused me too. For two processes that have so much in common, I am always puzzled how often UI and Agile manage to remain out of touch with each other. -Robert Biddle