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Independent Consultant Steve Freeman, Agile Pioneer, JMock co-author

Independent Consultant Steve  Freeman

Steve was a pioneer of Agile software development in the UK, he has built applications for banks, ISPs, financial data providers, and specialist software companies. He has given training courses in Europe, America, and Asia.

Previously, he worked in research labs, software houses, earned a PhD, and wrote shrink-wrap software for IBM. Steve also teaches in the Computer Science department at University College London. He is a presenter and organizer at international industry conferences, and was conference chair for the first London XpDay.

Presentation: "Introduction: Technical Skills for Agile Development"

Time: Friday 10:00 - 10:10

Location: Stanford

Abstract: This track is about the technical essentials you need to know to make Agile software development reliable and sustainable. It will include "refresher" topics, for those who are just starting or have been getting a bit rusty, and some of the new ideas and practices that have come out of a decade of experience in the discipline.

Presentation: "Sustainable Test-Driven Development"

Time: Friday 11:30 - 12:30

Location: Stanford

Abstract: This talk is about the qualities we look for in test code that keep the development "habitable". We want to make sure the tests pull their weight by making them expressive, so that we can tell what's important when we read them and when they fail, and by making sure they don't become a maintenance drag themselves. We need to apply as much care and attention to the tests as we do to the production code, although the coding styles may differ. Difficulty in testing might imply that we need to change our test code, but often it's a hint that our design ideas are wrong and that we ought to change the production code. In practice, these qualities are all related to and support each other. Test-driven development combines testing, specification, and design into one holistic activity.