Chair: Peter Smith
Redback Networks

The OOPSLA DesignFest is about design and creativity. The DesignFest is a free event (for conference registrants) that was created to give OOPSLA attendees the opportunity to learn more about design by doing it. DesignFest is not about passively sitting and listening to experts talk about design. DesignFest is about sharpening your design skills by rolling up your sleeves and working on a real problem with others in the field. You can expect to interact with everyone from total beginners to textbook authors!

DesignFest participants work in small groups to solve a particular design problem, bringing to bear their experience and skills in object-oriented design and/or working on similar problems. The goal is to learn new techniques from each other and to uncover and articulate the analysis and design patterns that we already use subconsciously. DesignFest is an increasingly popular event at OOPSLA and many participants choose to return year after year. If you don’t have much knowledge about design, this is probably a great way to get some first-time experience.

Even if you haven’t already registered for DesignFest, we are sometimes able to accommodate new participants at the last minute. If you are interested in participating, speak to one of the DesignFest organizers at the beginning of a DesignFest session.

In recent years, the CodeFest teams have become a regular part of DesignFest. These teams of student programmers will implement some of the designs created during the DesignFest. In this way, the DesignFest participants will be able to see how good their designs really are. During the conference, you’ll be able to see the CodeFest students hard at work, and you are welcome to ask them questions. On Sunday and Monday, they will be located near the Registration area, and on the remaining days you can find them in the OOPSLA Courtyard.

In addition, the AnalysisFest has now become an integrated part of DesignFest. In the same style as DesignFest, AnalysisFest is neither an analysis class nor a tutorial; it is an opportunity for analysts to sharpen and measure their skills by interacting with their peers. Appropriate analysis of a system's problem domain increases the understanding of requirements and leads to better, more robust design solutions. Participants in the DesignFest will be in an Analysis group, a Design group, or a combined group.

Design teams will be provided with a timetable, process hints, and a list of deliverables. During the session, teams will get the opportunity to improve their designs by periodically comparing their work with that of other teams solving the same problem independently. Each team will be asked to produce a poster or two that summarizes their work. These posters will be presented at a panel session on the final day of the conference where participants can review the work of other teams, and view the results from the CodeFest teams.

This year, the following new problem descriptions are being used:

1. The Viking – A Direct Marketing System
2. MultiBatt – The Outer Space Battle Game
3. Virtual Computer Science Laboratory
4. Digital X-Ray Detector Control

The fifth problem is a repeat of a popular description from previous years:

5. An Order Matcher for an Electronic Stock Exchange

The DesignFest Committee and Team Mentors appear in the OOPSLA 2000 Committees section of the Program.

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