Software Engineering Institute

July 3, 2018—The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) hosted its fourteenth annual SEI Architecture Technology User Network (SATURN) Conference May 7 through May 10 in Plano, Texas. Participants in the conference, who represented 74 organizations and 17 countries, shared ideas, insights, and experiences about effective software architecture practices for developing and maintaining software-intensive systems.

The conference opened with three one-day SEI courses on cloud computing, essential microservice architecture, and launching and sustaining Agile architecture. The technical program spanned three days and included keynote addresses by Rebecca Parsons, CTO of ThoughtWorks on The Whys and Hows of Evolutionary Architecture; Ricardo Valerdi, professor at the University of Arizona onVirtual Reality for Concussion Education; and Michael Nygard, Cognitect, Inc. on Uncoupling.

“SATURN attendees care deeply about delivering high-quality software in more efficient ways. The presentations, the hallway conversations, and the discussions every evening were about sharing experiences about what works and what doesn’t work, and working on new ways to deliver better and faster,” said SATURN 2018 Technical Co-chair John Klein.

Technical Co-chair Paulo Merson concurred. “Beyond the knowledge dispensed in the talks, SATURN provides a unique environment for participants to discuss technical challenges they are facing in their organizations,” said Merson. “During ‘office hours,’ breaks, and social events we see participants picking the brains of their peers and speakers.”

This year’s technical program featured more than 40 peer-reviewed talks, training courses, and the Software Architecture Boot Camp sessions presented by SEI staff members. The conference sessions explored a wide range of topics relevant to practicing architects including DevOps, microservices, containers, serverless architectures, legacy systems, agility and architecture, cloud computing, continuous delivery, refactoring, technical debt, architecture evaluation, ethics for architects, and technical leadership. There were also sessions from a stellar set of invited speakers, including Chris Richardson, Eventuate, Inc.; James Lewis, ThoughtWorks; Aroop Pandya, IBM Watson; Vaughn Vernon, for Comprehension Inc.; and independent consultant, Daniel Bryant.

Attendees welcomed the opportunity to network with others in the field while learning about current trends. Transaction management, microservices, and weaving design into Agile development were among the topics generating the greatest buzz. “You have real talent and veteran representation at SATURN,” said one attendee. “I was impressed with the quality of speakers.”

The Linda Northrop Software Architecture Award was also presented at SATURN 2018 to Eoin Woods, chief technology officer of Endava who gave a talk on Software Architecture as Systems Dissolve.
SATURN attendees voted for the best presentation based on three criteria: innovation, usefulness, and quality. This year’s Best Presentation award winners were Eltjo Poort of CGI and Michael Keeling of IBM Watson for their presentation, The Ethical Software Architect. The runner-up award went to Eltjo Poort for his presentation, Shorten Your Architectural Feedback Loop.

Major sponsors of SATURN 2018 included Raytheon, SoftServe, Inc., and Hello2Morrow.
SATURN 2019 will take place May 6-9, 2019, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

For more information about SATURN 2018, to download conference presentations, or watch videos, please visit the SATURN 2018 website.