---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Fazel Mayet <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Jun 29, 2005 2:50 PM Subject: RE: Software expert could stir debate To: Fazel Mayet <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Software expert could stir debate BY WARWICK ASHFORD, ITWEB TECHNOLOGY EDITOR [Johannesburg, 28 June 2005] - An influential software engineer is in SA for the next two weeks to promote debate around software development practices in the country at the invitation of the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE). Kent Beck is known to many internationally as the father of eXtreme Programming (XP), a set of software development values, principles and practices aimed at enabling software development teams to expand capacity and increase efficiency. "eXtreme Programming is about achieving the seemingly impossible, while remaining totally in control," says Beck. "XP enables individuals in a team to work in concert with others for the good of all." Photo: Three Rivers Institute eXtreme Programming is about achieving the seemingly impossible, says Kent Beck, founder and director of Three Rivers Institute. Beck is to conduct the first of a series of lectures and master classes planned by the JCSE with the intention of exposing the local development community to a range of innovative ideas and personalities in the world of software engineering. JCSE academic director and Wits professor, Barry Dwolatzky, says Beck represents a major strand of thought around software development that will help spark a process directed at developing local software engineers as future thought leaders in the field. The JCSE was officially launched in May and is a joint venture between Wits University, the city of Johannesburg, and various partners comprising suppliers and users of IT services to support the development of software engineering capacity. Beck's visit has been sponsored in part by software development company, Psybergate, whose CEO Fazel Mayet says debate and discussion around software practices and development skills form an important part of the JCSE's goal of establishing a platform for collaboration in the local industry. "Software developers who attend the lectures and master classes on XP and future sessions presented by the JCSE will have the opportunity of meeting up with their peers, sharing experiences, and exchanging information in way that will gather momentum to make SA more competitive," says Mayet. "This process forms part of JCSE's aim of building a community that will work together for the good of SA and help secure the future of the country's software development industry by establishing it as a destination for IT outsourcing along with India, Russia and other emerging economies," adds Dwolatsky. During his visit, Beck is to meet representatives of government departments, several large companies and banks, universities, and IT incubators with the purpose of raising issues around the local software industry and exposing policy-makers to a development methodology based on collaboration. -- Brian Silberbauer Consultant +27 (0)83 566 2705 skype: brian.silberbauer
