So We Must Have Got Something Right!!

A compendium of messages received by Peter Robson post INCOSE 99

"I just returned from Brighton and want to tell you I thought it was one of the finest symposia I’ve ever attended -- of any organization. The arrangements, etc., were very well done. But even more important was the nature of the papers and the people I met. I came away energized and charged up beyond the level I’ve felt in a long time and hope to accomplish some good things as a result of this "re-charge" of my batteries. And I’ll be there in Minneapolis and in Sydney to get re-charged again!

"My respect for INCOSE grew enormously as a result of the symposium."

From Bill Schoening, Past President:

"I am proud to be an officer of INCOSE. All of you did a terrific job."

From Sarah Sheard:

"And of course thousands of thanks to you and your committees! We who go to the symposium every year have higher and higher expectations, and each year we learn that more and more can be accomplished. This year, we learned that a symposium can be planned a very long way from the people and places where symposia have been before.

"Those of us who have been around for a while have learned that, like much of systems engineering, the things we work hardest on to make them go well are invisible and unappreciated, and those that have problems stick out like sore thumbs, for people to complain about. Frankly, from this vantage point of a few days and a few thousand miles, I can’t remember a single thing I found appalling or even persistently annoying. Yet I feel fairly confident that whatever people were annoyed with is what found a way to your ears and those of the committee during symposium week, whether they were things under your control or not.

"Allow me to enumerate some of the things I found went well:

The hotel was in a beautiful location, truly easy to get to via train and taxi. The hotel had a room for me when I arrived at 08:30! almost 8 hours before the advertised time. The chambermaids were efficient and invisible. The rooms for the working groups were well-signed, of appropriate size, and had the right equipment in them.

We were not bothered by requests to clear out now so they could set up for the next group -- someone had arranged enough set-up time between events. Audio-visual equipment was where it needed to be, at the right time, and generally worked, and when there were problems, staff were there to fix the problems within minutes. The registration area was fully functional and staffed by people who had clearly made appropriate preparation -- boy, do I know what it takes to stuff all those bags and envelopes. At the last conference I attended, people received tickets that didn’t match what they had paid for or had no information on them -- yours were correct and informative. The speaker prep room had computers running for each presentation room so it was a no-brainer how to put my presentations on.

Session chairs were well prepared. There was water for the speakers. Food was ready when due for breaks and lunch. The banquet ran smoothly. A waiter even inquired about "special food needs", which reminded me to caution about my allergies to mushrooms. Keynote speakers knew where to be when, and in all the cases I saw, were relevant and interesting. There was plenty of informative information available on the web in advance of the symposium.

"In general, I can’t remember a symposium that was clearly better run, and I have been going since 1992. In addition, you were working with new challenges. Three cheers for a job well done!"

From Jerry Lake, Past President:

"I second everything that Sarah has said. Thanks for a job well done. Most enjoyable event!"

From Peter Brook (INCOSE Director at Large), cc Ken Ptack

"I see that you and the committee are rightly receiving multiple accolades for the quality of the conference last week. Let me add mine, and relay the comments made at the closing BoD meeting on Friday morning.

"There was a real feeling that the UK had ‘pulled it off’ in a big way. Specific comments related to the quality of the organisation, and the way in which everything ran to time, including the papers. (Briefings to presenters and chairs certainly clearly had an impact.) It is clear that Cass and her team, and members of the UK Organising committee, served us very well indeed. There was praise too for the quality of the technical programme, which must again reflect well on Allen’s efforts.

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"On a purely personal level, I was immensely proud to have been associated with event. Everything, from the quality of British public speaking to the charm and character of Brighton itself, added to the feeling of a  ‘class event’. Above all, the technical quality of INCOSE has been raised a notch, and its reputation enhanced."

From a message sent to the BoD:

"May I add my thanks to the many I am sure you have already received for a splendidly managed conference."

I came away surprised at how the INCOSE ‘99 conference showed the scope of INCOSE, immersed one in theory and practice, and gave some useful lessons to take home (Does anyone else’s arm still ache from carrying two volumes of Proceedings?).

The tutorials were quite good value training. Jeff Grady’s whole day on "verification and validation" was particularly interesting. Some of the tutors needed to trim their material to suit their billing, avoiding the temptation to spend too long on their personal definition of "systems engineering".

Perhaps papers could be graded "beginner", "intermediate" or "advanced", or list some recommended prior reading. The quality of the presented papers was variable, ranging from the detailed and thought-provoking, to unabashed plagiarism of government standards! As a gross generalisation, European presentations tended to concentrate on "what is Systems Engineering?" while American ones took "what" for granted, and explored "how?", "how better?", and "what next?" The conference provided a way of learning about subjects related to one’s immediate experience. For example, having worked with Yourdon techniques for some time, I learnt a good deal about using object-oriented methods as a complementary technique. The openness of many of the presentations was refreshing, with many world class companies willing to share some of their processes and techniques in detail.

INCOSE Interest Groups and Working Groups are a good way to meet people working in related fields. Sadly, there wasn’t enough time allotted to the Groups to spend "quality time" with more than one Group.

The exhibition had a relaxed and friendly atmosphere; it was well suited to swapping "war stories" over coffee. It was very enjoyable wandering around asking "Who are you, and what do you do?". The Marconi stand was particularly well stocked with examples of process as well as products.

INCOSE ‘99 opened my eyes to what INCOSE has to offer. It provided a useful benchmark of world class SE processes and practices. The quality and detail of the papers provides a route map to some of those world class standards. The organisers can be justly proud of their achievements. INCOSE 2000 has a class act to follow.