Lets face it, the year is almost done.  Although I did get out and do a lot of traveling, I wanted to make sure I would not miss the major events of the year in 2007.  Therefore, I have made a list of the top Technology Conferences to attend in 2007!  I will be attending all of these conferences as we slowly reveal what the heck Anvil Digital has been developing for the last two years.  Feel free to add conferences you feel are full of passion, knowledge, and great networking by placing comments below!

• Web 2.0 Summit (November 2007)
  The Web 2.0 Summit focuses on emerging business and technology developments that utilize the Web as a platform and defines how the Web will drive business in the future. Now that the Web has become a robust platform with countless innovations driving its ongoing development, widespread disruptions in traditional business models are well underway. But within the chaos of disruption lies the seeds of opportunity. We’ll focus on the startups and financiers tending those seeds, of course – including the second annual Launch Pad. But we’ll also highlight how the incumbents are also taking advantage of disruption, or, at the very least, how they are responding to it so as to protect their market positions.
  
• Mix (April 30 – May 2, 2007, Las Vegas Nevada)
  MIX is Microsoft’s premiere conference for web developers, designers and business professionals. MIX07 will explore the next generation web technologies that help businesses unlock new revenue opportunities and lower development costs. MIX is a forum for discussing ways to bring technologies such as ASP.NET AJAX (“Atlas”), Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere (WPF/E), Media Center Edition, Internet Explorer, and the Expression suite, together in a way that enables developers and designers to deliver rich web experiences that drive business results.
  
• TED – Technology Entertainment Design (March 7 – 10, 2007, Monterey California)
  TED2007 will be different. Instead of a subject-matter theme, we are simply going to put on stage FIFTY REMARKABLE PEOPLE… …and let them share whatever it is they are passionate about. This, of course, is what TED has always been about. Bring together extraordinary people from every area of thought, work and culture, and lo and behold, astonishing connections are made, excitement and inspiration follow.
  
• Tech-Ed (June 4 – 8, Orlando Florida)
   Regardless of whether you service an IT infrastructure or write code, you’ll want to be at Tech·Ed 2007. Discover the tools, information, and resources you need to better manage your company’s infrastructure or develop new applications using current and upcoming products from Microsoft and our industry partners. You can personalize a Tech·Ed program to help you do what you do better.
  
• PDC (September 2007)
  Although not confirmed, there are some rumblings of .net 3.0, in which case, it could happen.  PDC’s only occur when Microsoft has a significant software development announcement to make. At the last event, Bill Gates discussed advances in the Windows Vista operating system and the next version of Microsoft Office – code-named Office “12″ – during his keynote address at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference, Los Angeles, Calif., Sept. 13, 2005.
  
• DreamForce (October 2007)
  Be the first to hear the latest industry updates at Dreamforce! This year’s conference features an incredible array of executives and visionaries who’ll give you an insider’s view on the future of business and technology. Whether you’re looking for trends, cutting-edge tools, mobile advancements, or more, we’ve got you covered.
  
• Inforum (September 2007)
  Amidst the buzz of the Las Vegas Strip, at the Sands Expo, Infor will host key speakers, breakout sessions, roundtable discussions and a full-blown technology expo as a forum to exchange ideas, share knowledge and strategies to overcome the essential challenges customers like you face in manufacturing and distribution.  If your company focuses on the manufacturing sector, and even supply chain, this is the conference for you!  Infor is now the third largest supplier of ERP Solutions, just behind the big two.
  
• VSLive! (March 25 – 29, 2007, San Francisco)
  You know that VSLive! provides the best mix of pragmatic, useful information, plus the context to understand where technology is headed. With Vista about to ship with .NET 3.0, our focus on giving you insight to help you do your job will be doubly important next year. Come to VSLive! San Francisco to put all of the pieces together – from Ajax to Vista, from ASP.NET to UI design, and from data access to .NET 3.0 fundamentals.
  
• MITX Awards (November 7th, 2006)
  The MITX Awards is the largest and most prestigious awards competition in the country for technology innovations and celebrates the best creative and technological accomplishments emerging from New England.

• JavaOne (May 8 – 11, 2006, San Francisco)
  JavaOne is an annual conference (since 1996) put on by Sun Microsystems to discuss Java Technologies, primarily among Java developers. JavaOne is held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California usually between April and June and typically runs from Sunday to Friday. Technical sessions on a variety of topics are held during the day. In the evening, Birds of a Feather (BOF) sessions are held at the Moscone Center and surrounding hotels. BOF sessions allow people to focus in on a particular aspect of Java technology.

These are the hottest Software Development events you will want to attend in 2007!  Please let me know if there are others we should be attending, or that you would like to see on the list!

Also, don’t forget to vote for this software development article on dzone!  If you haven’t seen dzone yet, check it out!

There are so many software development process’s, best practices, philosophies, and frameworks out there that I just wanted to create a complete reference list of valuable things to remember.  Note that some of these I recommend NOT using, however I have listed them so that we can ensure to remember what not to do.  However, you would be surprised how in some cases some of these practices are valid, even though they might see ridiculous.  Anyway, here is the list, and as always feel free to post your comments and I will try and review them and add the ones that are valid!

• Agile Software Development
• Extremely popular at the moment, Agile tries to minimize risk by developing software in short iterations.  Each iteration is a small project in itself.
• http://www.agilealliance.com/
• Agile Unified Process (AUP)
• A simplified version of the Rational Unified Process. It is based around four phases: Inception, Elaboration, Construction, Transition.
• http://www.ambysoft.com/unifiedprocess/agileUP.html
• Best Practice
• The best way to get a specific outcome your looking for.
• Constructionist design methodology (CDM)
• A methodology used to develop cognitive robotics, artificial intelligence systems, and communicative humanoids.
• http://www.mindmakers.org/projects/CDM
• Cowboy Coding
• Your screwed, well.. I guess unless your trying to learn something new, some quick solution for an extremely small problem, or seeing if something might work.
• http://www.monster.com
• Design by Use (DBU)
• A software development technique that helps if your working with multiple teams building components that will be integrated to build a larger system.  Communicate early and integrate immediately.
• Design-Driven Development (D3)
• An Agile process for creating really cool and innovative requirements to build awesome solutions.  Works really nicely with SCRUM and XP.
• Don’t repeat yourself (DRY) or Once and Only Once (O3)
• Process philosophy aimed at reducing duplication.
• http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?DontRepeatYourself
• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
• A framework based originally around Rapid Application Development, now an agile method based around continuous feedback from users and responds nicely to changing requirements.
• http://www.dsdm.org/
• Extreme Programming (XP)
• A set of rules to run a team based around:  Communication, Simplicity, Feedback, Courage, and Respect.  This is done by: Coding, Testing, Listening, Designing.
• http://www.extremeprogramming.org/
• Pair Programming
• An extreme programming practice, works great!  Two programmers working side-by-side, alternating turns on the keyboard and mouse, while the other watches and analyzes.
• http://pairprogramming.com/
• Iterative and Incremental Development
• The idea of developing software systems incrementally, giving time for developers to learn from earlier releases.
• http://c2.com/cgi/wiki/wiki?HistoryOfIterative
• KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
• Everything should be done as simple as possible.
• MIT Approach (Worse is better)
• Simplicity of the interface is the most important than anything else, even correctness, completeness, and consistency.
• http://dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html
• Open Unified Process
• Part of the Eclipse Process Framework, it’s just an implementation of RUP and UP.
• http://www.eclipse.org/epf/
• Quick-and-Dirty
• A crude solution or programming implementation that is imperfect, inadequate, but solves the problem, or masks the problem, at hand.
• Rational Unified Process (RUP)
• A well known refinement of the unified process, it is an iterative software development process created by Rational Software Corporation (now a division of IBM).
• http://www.rational.com/
• Scrum (management)
• Agile methodology wrapping extreme programming.
• http://www.controlchaos.com/
• Spiral model
• Combines top down and bottom down methodologies.
• http://www.sce.carleton.ca/faculty/ajila/4106-5006/Spiral%20Model%20Boehm.pdf
• Software Scouting
• Experiment before building (proof of concept, prototypes, mocks, simulations, etc.).
• Test-driven development (TDD)
• Write test case first, then write code that passes the test.
• http://www.nunit.org/
• Unified Process
• Iterative and incremental software development process framework that can and should be customized before use by any organization.
• Waterfall Model
• Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification, Maintenance.
• http://www.it-director.com/content.php?articleid=12686
• Worse is better (New Jersey style)
• Simplicity over correctness.
• http://dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html
• You Ain’t Gonna Need It (YAGNI)
• Never add functionality until it is necessary.
• http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?YouArentGonnaNeedIt