Description for SDForum / SofTech Event by Ron Lichty

I'm finding myself the event producer for this July 27 San Francisco event jointly sponsored by SDForum, SofTech and my own Software Architecture and Modeling SIG of SDForum. The draft description sums up what I think the mandate is for the topic of...


Architecting Community & Collaboration Solutions

We predict virtually every business (as well as
every nonprofit, church, and political campaign) will
add at least one and probably several collaboration
and community solutions in the next five years.

It's been shown that users provide each other better
tech support than companies provide, and the more
progressive companies have already put discussion
software on their sites to enable their users to do
just that.

How long will it take before cruise lines and travel
sites give their guests the opportunity to plan their
trips, share best destinations and ports, and ask
earlier guests what to see via discussion boards and
wikis?

How long before ALL manufacturers enable users to
endorse their products (as well as share suggestions
and ideas) online? It had better not be long, because
many people do all their buying based on user
endorsements these days.

How long before health clubs let members form affinity
groups and find tennis, racketball and golf partners
through the club? It had better be soon, or they'll go
elsewhere where it's easier to get up a game!

Community and collaboration software is going to
be everywhere -- and already ought to be!

How to choose the right wikis, discussion boards,
community conversation and membership facilitation
tools and where to apply them is the topic. We will
show the impact of making those decisions well by
telling the story from the vantage point of
implementers -- organizations that have implemented
community and collaboration software and experienced
profound impact.

Join us at our panel discussion to hear how
implementers in business, politics (the Howard Dean
campaign!) and nonprofit groups made their
organizations successful with this software!