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Conference Schedule
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The conference sessions begin on Monday morning. Each day will be quite
busy, but we hope that they will also be rewarding and fun. Information
on the individual events is linked at the bottom of this page.
Travel Plans
If at all possible, you should make travel arrangement so that you arrive
around dinner time on Sunday and fly out late Wednesday afternoon. The
shuttle running between Allerton House and the airport will usually require
you to leave 2-3 hours before your flight departs. This means that you
should aim for a scheduled departure time from the Urbana-Champaign airport
of 3:00 PM or later in order for you not to miss any part of the conference.
Menus
Check out the menus and let us know if you have
any special dietary needs.
Details on Some Activities
Games
Games are an integral part of the PLoP experience. This year, we are glad
to welcome back George Platts as our "tangential thinking coordinator".
George is a fixture at PLoP and EuroPLoP.
We encourage everyone to participate in the games as fully as they are
able. You'll find that they add a lot to your PLoP experience, in terms
of mental freshness, personal connections within the community, and just
plain fun!
Newcomer Orientation
PLoP veteran Steve Berczuk will lead an informal session for folks new
to PLoP or the software patterns community. Topics will include the history
of PLoP, the format of the conference, the nature of writers workshops,
and workshop moderation. Of course, Steve will entertain any questions
and maybe even answer some of them! And you need not be a newcomer to join
in--either to ask or answer questions...
Opening Ceremonies
This session will formally open the conference. We will introduce you to
the people and facilities you'll need to know for the conference, and answer
any questions you may have. We'll also present a short demonstration writers
workshop, so that newcomers will have a better idea of how they work and
so that veterans can refresh their memories.
Shepherding Award
At PLoP and EuroPLoP this year, the Hillside Group is inaugurating a new
award, the Neil Harrison Great Shepherd Award, to honor one or more shepherds
who provided exemplary service to their authors and thus to the software
patterns community. The award is named in honor of Neil Harrison, widely
acknowledged as perhaps the one person who has contributed the most to
our community to shepherd papers and to help the rest of us become better
shepherds. Neil was honored at EuroPLoP this year. The first recipient
of the award was Norm Kerth, for his exemplary work as a shepherd for EuroPLoP.
Who will receive the Neil Harrison Great Shepherd Award for PLoP-2000?
You'll find out at the opening ceremony!
Writers Workshops
The writers workshops are the heart of PLoP. If you are an author, you
will stay with your workshop group for all the sessions. Please prepare
for each workshop so that each author in your group has a valuable experience.
Your co-authors will do the same for you.
Non-authors are strongly encouraged to choose a workshop group
and work with it for all the sessions. Your workshop groups may invite
you into full particiapation and, if so, you should prepare to participate
just like another author.
Patterns Bookstore
We plan to have Borders Book Stores as a guest. Borders will set up a table
at which you can buy a selection of books on patterns, including some of
Christopher Alexander's books. More details on the days and times will
be made available soon.
Plenary Session: Moving the Patterns Community Forward
The software patterns community is almost a decade old now. We have grown
in size, in traditions, in talents, and in goals. People are beginning
to ask themselves and one another, what now? Where are we headed, and how
best can we arrive there? How can we best act as stewards of the gifts
we've been given by the folks who helped build this community?
Please come to our plenary session on Monday night to participate in
an activity that we hope will help facilitate our search for answers.
Shepherding Workshop
Bob Hanmer, a veteran pattern writer, shepherd, and instructor, will lead
a session aimed at helping us all be better shepherds. Those of you who
have written a PLoP paper know just how important shepherds are to PLoP.
They are the lifeblood of the community.
Even if your paper at PLoP-2000 was your first pattern-writing experience,
we encourage you to look toward being a shepherd for future pattern events.
This workshop will help you begin to contribute as a shepherd. If you are
a PLoP veteran, please join us, too, to work toward being a better shepherd.
Newcomer Session: What Next? On the Future of Your Patterns
The patterns community thinks differently about the life cycle of papers
submitted to its conferences. Those who have never been to a PLoP often
are not sure just what happens -- or can or should happen -- with a paper
after it has been workshopped at the conference. This session will help
newcomers especially figure out what to do next.
Closing Ceremonies
This session will bring the conference to its formal close. We will introduce
you to some of the folks who will be working on next year's PLoP. Then,
we will "workshop" the conference, to help next year's organizers improve
PLoP. Finally, we will close with a traditional end-of-PLoP game.
Eugene Wallingford ... July
15, 2000