Designfest '99

I have participated in DesignFests at several OOPSLA's and each time I have found it to be a rewarding experience. Each experience was different so I have found it to be worthwhile participating at each opportunity. The challenges include both technical (the domain problem) and interpersonal (adapting to the working styles of the other team members.) DesignFest is a great way to quickly expose yourslf to different approaches to designing systems. You get to collaborate with experienced object develoers and maybe even a "pattern guru"! You even get to benchmark your own design practices against other peoples' and assess your strengths and weaknesses. DesignFest is also a good way to get exposed to different kinds of problems from what you are used to solving. Gerard Meszaros Chief Architect, Solution Frameworks, Inc gerard.meszaros@acm.org