Obviously, I will be there.

Daniel Akenine, the IASA Sweden chairman, will visit Gothenburg to bootstrap a local chapter of the International Association of Software Architects.

If you happen to be in the Gothenburg area, I think you should join us this evening. November 4th at 18:00. Sign up at the IASA Sweden web page now.

The time has finally come for me to step down from my position as Chapter President for IASA Sweden, and yes, this is a good thing. Let me tell you why...

Up until now, my resources have been scarse. My current employer (which I've already mentioned that I'm leaving) didn't have the same vision of the International Association of Software Architects as I do. Instead, I'm turning the role as Chapter President over to Daniel Akenine, Chief AE at Microsoft DPE Sweden. Since Microsoft is one of our biggest global sponsors, I'm quite certain that Daniel will spend both the time and money neccessary to make IASA Sweden a huge success.

There will also be a new management team consisting of Per Björkegren, Sten Sundbland and Peter Tallungs to support Daniel in his new role.

Besides the benefits for IASA Sweden that this switch of leadership implies, there is also a personal gain for me in this. By stepping down from the Chapter President position, I liberate hours to spend in my role as VP of Content & Knowledge Programs instead. Now that IASA has made this most recent evolutionary step, I will need to put a lot more effort into assuring that our members are provided with the most valid and up to date information available. Besides opportunities to write material for IASA (which is really paying of now), I will also be able to provide opportunities for various assignments in the Knowledg programs in short. I just can't begin to describe how excited I am about all this!!! I assume that another post on IASA membership updates is in order...

Oh my...

After an extended timeout from International Association of Software Architects, I'm back in the loop. And what a comeback; The IASA offices are more busy than ever with a new web site scheduled for release by November 1, Architectural Training material being produced and the content repository virtually exploding with new material. The IASA Foundation Reference Model(s) is getting close to production (and there are yet news to be released in that area) with commitments to it being made all over the planet.

Except for the brand new site, which by the way finally is looking really good, there are news in the organization structure as well. We are more than 5000 associate members, being represented in 50+ chapters in more than 40 countries. In addition to Associate and  IASA Fellow, we will see some additional membership levels being introduced in the near future. I'm not sure if the entire membership structure is ready for publication yet but I can at least mention that there will be an opportunity to become a paying member with an astounding bunch of benefits attached to that level.

Obviously there are great news regarding IASA Sweden waiting for release as well. More on that topic soon...

This time, we will have the opportunity to enjoy Paul Preiss, the President of IASA, giving the key note. Venue will be centrally located at Cornerstone's in Gothenburg and the date is 7-8 April.

Momentum is building within IASA and I have been appointed VP of Content and Knowledge Programs. This feels great and is a turn in the right direction from an IASA perspective - grouping our content together with our upcoming Knowledge programs.

I have been given the opportunity to work with a group of the most talented people in the IASA content team:
* Marian Drumea, recently introduced as IASA VP of Chapter Activities
* The blogfather of Visual Studio Team System, Rob Caron (proud father of A Team System Nexus)
* Michael Confoy, Executive I/T Architect for Architecture, Process & Technology at IBM SWG Global e-business Transformation

These guys does an amazing job in editing material, keeping our site updated and finding all the architecture related information so our members won't have to. They also have first hand contact with our authors, a crowd that is turning out to be more and more impressive by the day.

Among our authors I would like to mention:
* Scott Ambler
* David Ing
* Simon Guest
* Lewis Curtis
* Nick Rozanski and Eoin Woods
* Cliff Berg
... and many more, no less impressive.

As a matter of fact, the IASA content team is a bit short on members at the moment. I you are interested in being part of this select team and have the opportunity to interact with some of the brightest minds in the industry, don't hesitate to contact me. At this moment we need experienced architects willing to help authors produce material that is of high enough quality to satisfy our demanding members.

IASA is also on a constant lookout for new material. If you have something to say, please drop me a line. Our editors are a great asset in guiding you to deliver above and beyond what you believe your capabilities to be.

I just took part of a presentation by Paul Preiss, President of IASA, on the upcoming F&T material. This is really going to rock the software development industry!

Terms under review at this moment, as stated on the F&T site:

• Architecture Style
• Architecture Pattern
• Architecture Methodology
• Architecture Toolset
• Architecture Framework

I have still only seen pre-alpha material but am nothing short of amazed! As it seems, the F&T working group have set their minds on providing the software industry with a complete taxonomy of software architecture. This means a glossary of terms, role- and object descriptions, definition of tasks and relations between all of these.

You will find both Microsoft, IBM and many other large corporations committing to the output of this IASA working group which means that the F&T definitions are terms that you eventually will be using in a not so distant future.

I suggest you keep an eye open when IASA releases this material on public review near the summer.

It's time for another meeting for IASA Sweden. As last time, Consignit will host the meeting, taking place in Mölndal, outside of Gothenburg.

Open up you calendar and note September 27, 16:30 in ink!

Lars Wiktorin, Software Architect extraordinaire of Swedish Computing Society will be talking about his view on software architecture.

We also have a common agenda:
* Swedish Architecture Summit
* News
-- IASA Membership
-- The revamped IASA Web site
-- Sponsors and sponsorship
* IASA and you

Most likely, there is more to come.

For planning purposes, I'd appreciate if you either register at the IASA web site or as a minimum write me a line at mfz[at]consignit.se.

This meeting is open for members and non-members.

Welcome!

Finally, the logistics again:
When: September 27 2005 16:30. Coffee etc is served from 16:00
Where: The Consignit office at Göteborgsvägen 97 in Mölndal
Cost: 0 kr/€/$

Last night, we finally had the kick off for IASA Sweden. It was a great evening with peer discussions as well as great presentation.

The meeting was started with an introduction to the purpose and vision of IASA on a global level. As usual, we got to a discussion fo the role of a Software Architect. Isn't that just typical?! It was great though, since that is one of the main reasons that IASA was founded in the first place. We really need to get that definition set and get that part over with. Most of the attendees prefer to be called System Developers rather than Software Architects for mainly two reasons:
1. Way to many coders has taken upon themselves to be rewarded the title Software Architect, which has caused the role to lose its value at a drastic pace.
2. No two people can agree on a common definition of the core requirements associated with the role.

One of the key focuses for IASA is to help define the requirements and the definition of the Architect role. I hope we will get there soon.

During the break, the 30-something attendees indulged in active discussions. I believe that we all enjoyed the company of like-minded, and used the moment to air some thoughts and questions on the topic

After the break, Jimmy Nilsson gave an interesting presentation on key techniques and mindsets of a Software Architect. He delivered a full 90 minutes of presentation mixed with demos, helping the attendees understand the points he wanted to make. The audience was listening and absorbing.

Following Jimmy's presentation, a small group stayed behind to further discuss parts from what had been said during the evening. This last discussion was as rewarding as any other bit, and a lot of ideas on where to go from here was presented.

I think that it was an over all superb evening, and at least I had the best of times.

Thanks, all of you guys that helped make this evening so great!

Finally, a date has been set for the inaugural meeting of IASA Sweden.

The meeting will take place at the Consignit office in Mölndal, June 30 2005 18:30. Coffee will be served from 18:00. If you have issues with your itinerary, don't hesitate to drop me a line.

There is a two-part agenda for the evening:
* I will give a in-depth presentation of goals and purpose of IASA as well as the benefit of joining as an individual architect.
(break)
* Jimmy Nilsson will give an interactive speach. Areas covered includes, but are not restricted to:
- Dependency Injection
- AOP
- UI Mapping
- Continuous Integration

The IASA memebership is free of charge. Sign up at once and become part of the fastest growing software architecture movement in modern time.

If you plan on attending the meeting, I urge you to email me at mfz[at]consignit.se in order to get the catering and seating right. A simple note saying that you (and maybe some of your best friends) will show up will do just fine.

You are all very welcome to attend!

Finally, the logistics again:
When: June 30 2005 18:30. Coffee is served from 18:00
Where: The Consignit office at Göteborgsvägen 97 in Mölndal
Cost: 0 kr/€/$

• I will provide an in depth presentation of the IASA organisation, mission and objectives - on international as well as on chapter level.
• There will be an opportunity to volunteer for active positions within the swedish chapter. We need:
  • Sponsors
  • Marketing
  • Presenters
  • Networking
  • General volunteer work