Message from the Industry Programme Chair
Ashley M. Aitken · Australian Software Engineering Conference · 2008
The nexus between research and practice is nowhere more important than in the arena of software development where both groups (academics and practitioners) have the opportunity to learn so much from each other. The industry program aims to stimulate the discussion of good and bad results, obstacles, and lessons learned in applying software development practices in the “real world.” Within academia there is time to reflect, experiment, and theorize about software development—tasks often not possible within the high pressure and tight schedule of real-world software development projects. And yet, the goal of academic work is primarily to improve the outcomes of these very same software development projects, so it would be mostly vacuous without real-world data and constraints. My particular goal for the industry program within the 19 th Australian Software Engineering Conference (and hopefully going forward) was for it to be as strong and vibrant as the research program. I believe the experience reports to be presented at the conference and documented in the industry proceedings demonstrate that this goal has been achieved. We received a large number of high-quality experience reports from authors within academia, industry (including small, medium and large companies), and government organizations. In particular, there were roughly 30 experience reports from Australia (all around the country) and nearly 20 experience reports from overseas locations (including India, Germany, Libya, France, Turkey, UK, and USA). As a result, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all the authors for their effort and contribution— often over and above that required and acknowledged within their work place, and to all the (often very busy) external reviewers who particularly gave up their time during the festive season or around travel arrangements to review and provide feedback on the experience reports. And finally, I would also like to thank very much the other Industry Program Committee members, Judy Bamberger (Process Solutions), Kevin Vinsen (Thales Australia), and Rodney Kirk (Motorola Australia), as well as the full Organizing Committee of ASWEC 2008, for their assistance in bringing to fruition this exceptional industry program and for working so hard to make this conference a great success. Congratulation on a job well done! So, please enjoy the presentations, enjoy the discussions, enjoy the networking, and enjoy the wonderful city of Perth as you participate in ASWEC 2008.