This year, just like last year, Continuous Integration is proving to be a popular topic at Agile 2009.
- Implementing Scrum/XP Practices using Team Foundation Server, by Tommy Norman : how various practices, including CI, can be implemented using Microsoft tool
- Build and Test in the Cloud – CI and Cloud Provisioning for Agile Teams, by Darryl Bowler: demonstration of CI practices, with the twist of using cloud-based systems
- Java and Ruby Tools for Code Quality, by Steve Hayes: using Continuous Integration as a platform for code quality tools
- Top ten secret weapons for performance testing in an agile environment, by Alistair Jones and Patrick Kua: according to the session description, there will be a connection with CI; that could be really interesting
- Continuous Testing Evolved, by Ben Rady and Rod Coffin: CT will be presented as an extension to CI
- Killing the gatekeeper: introducing a continuous integration system, by Francis Lacoste: an experience report on applying a CI system
- Continuous Integration of the World, by Patrick Debois: integration of production environment using CI
- Agile Source Code Management using Stories, Agile Workflow, and CI, by Damon Poole: real-world techniques that allow change management of features, and synchronization with source code
- Executable requirements: BDD with easyb and JDave, by John Smart and Lasse Koskela: not directly related to CI, but it will mention how to integration BDD with your build process
- WANTED: Seeking Single Agile Knowledge Development Tool-set, by Brad Appleton and Peter Alfvin: this talk will, among other things, talk about applying agile practices, including CI, to non-code knowledge development
- Patterns of Agile Adoption Practices, by Amr Elssamadisy: CI is one of a set of practices that attendants will be asked to prioritize for discussion
- Large scale continuous integration, by Hannu Kokko: real life experience, with hundred of developers
- Automated deployment with Maven and friends – going the whole nine yards, by John Smart: how to automate deployment using Bamboo, JIRA and Nexus in a real-world multi-module Maven web application
- Build Engineer Bootcamp: Builds As Code, by Paul Julius & Jeffrey Fredrick: will discuss build systems, a topic very close to CI
- Removing Integration Delays with Collocated Whole Teams and Multi-stage CI, by Damon Poole: why and to implement multi-stage continuous integration in large distributed environments
- How to run 4.5 Million tests per day … and why!, by Mark Striebeck: how Google implemented a huge CI system for its own needs
- Enabling Agile Testing through Continuous Integration, by Sean Stolberg: how a CI system enables agile testing practices
- Continuous Integration: Your New Best Friend, by Howard Deiner: what CI is, and how is fits with unit tests, acceptance tests and development habits
- The 7 Deadly Sins of Almost Being Agile, by Bob Hartman and Richard Lawrence: never integrating is one of the sins discussed
- Creating Habitable Code: Lessons in Longevity from CruiseControl, by Jeffrey Fredrick and Paul Julius: not strictly about CI, but the tool discussed is the one that made CI popular, so this will be of interest to build experts
- Experiences Applying Agile Practices to Large Systems Development, by Harry Koehnemann: CI is one of the practices discussed
- Herding Cats: Managing Large Test Suites, by David Kessler and Tim Andersen: strategies to maintain automated test investments
- CI vendor cage-fight!, by Tom Sulston and vendors: 10 mins demos of all CI tools with representatives in the conference
- From Cowboys to Agilists – Organizational Change at Overstock.com, by Sean Landis and Kevin Steffensen: CI is described as one of the practices deployed to solve the software development crisis at overstock.com
- The Ogre and The Wimp: Clever Influencing Tricks – Help the Most Reluctant Teams, by Anda Abramovici: among other things, how to get the “I only run the build once a month” dev to do it every couple of hours, and how to get the “I only check in code once I’m completely done” dev to practice frequent check-ins
- Agile Infrastructure, by Andrew Shafer and Paul Nasrat: continuous deployment will be especially discussed
- Applying Agile Development Practices to Atypical Technologies, by Scott Dillman: CI is described as part of a case study
- How to be really awesome at Continuous Integration, by Tom Sulston and a panel of luminaries: discussion of the audience’s problems and questions
- Java Power Tools – getting it all together, by John Smart: use to how Hudson and other tools for a software development infrastructure
Phew! That’s quite a mouthful. Interestingly, there are many more talks listed here than I managed to get last year (and there are half as many talks this year). One reason could be that I was much more thourough this year, reviewing most of the sessions details — last year, I simply searched for keywords in the submission system.
To be honest, seeing as many sessions related to CI is rather a disappointment. I mean, CI is not a difficult practice, and you would think that many participants to Agile 2009 would be familiar with me. Plus, most sessions are introductions rather than advanced talks.
I guess I will content myself with Tom Sulston’s sessions (“Cage Fight” & “How to be awesome”).