Alan Cooper, the father of Visual Basic, best-selling author, and voice for radical change in software design, will headline COFES 2006 as keynote speaker.
Cooper is co-inventor of the idea of personas as a software design tool, in which the work habits and requirements of a specific real person are mirrored in the user interface. He created a programming environment which became an essential ingredient of Microsoft Visual Basic, which for years was the leading tool of PC software development and still enjoys a strong following.
Cooper is the author of the best-selling books About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design and The Inmates Are Running the Asylum. Cooper is head of the eponymous consulting firm Cooper, which helps companies streamline development and build customer loyalty through design. Clients include HP, Microsoft, Charles Schwab, Sony, and NBC.
In recent years he has advocated the abandonment of the web browser as a basic user interface, and argues that code should not be considered as an asset:
One of my assertions is that code is not an asset. A lot of companies say their job is to maximize the revenue from our code base. That reflects a kind of an Old World, industrial-age thinking. What's interesting is the open-source movement is kind of our first proof that code in fact is not an asset. What is your company's asset is the experience and knowledge that the people who have built your code have gathered during the construction of that code. But the code itself doesn't have a lot of value. In fact, the code kind of anchors you down.
“Alan Cooper's background and experience in both the software development and product design communities makes him the perfect person to take on the topic of innovation at COFES," says Rick Stavanja, VP and CIO, Cyon Research, and a long-term follower of Cooper's vision. "He is a pioneer of innovation, and his unique forward thinking has influenced an entire generation of designers of software, products, and business processes."
COFES, the Congress on the Future of Engineering Software, annually brings together executives from engineering, design, development, architecture, and technology companies to discuss and explore engineering technology and its effects on business and the future. Hosted by Cyon Research, COFES offers unparalleled opportunities for in-depth and open discussion among industry participants without distraction.
Held in Scottsdale, Arizona, COFES 2006 is the forum for the business and technology of tools and processes for the engineers and architects who design the world around us. COFES is an exclusive invitation-only event with limited attendance. Information about COFES can be found at www.cofes.com.
--RSN