12:00- 6:00 PM Income Tax Extensions In recognition of the impending deadline of April 15 (actually, this year the deadline is Tuesday, April 17), Cyon Research has arranged for a tax specialist to be on hand to help file an extension for those that couldn't quite get it done before COFES. 8:00 AM Breakfast 8:45 AM Morning Kickoff Your hosts will set the stage for the day’s activities.  9:00 AM Keynote: Brad Holtz Brad Holtz Cyon Research Industry Update Your host, Cyon Research Corporation, will present an update on the engineering software industry.   9:45 AM Keynote: Jesse Devitte Jesse Devitte Borealis Ventures Is the engineering world really flat? The challenges and opportunities of globalization 10:30 AM Break   10:45 AM Discussions, Roundtables, and Appointments We have set up rooms for meetings with a tight focus directed at specific groups of attendees. These 90-minute focused discussions are by the pool and near vendors' Technology Suites. Discussions and Roundtables   Vendor Appointments Meeting rooms set up in suites around the pool, each with a different issue to discuss. Also, meetings among groups with a common interest.    Cyon Research investigates issues in engineering and design. That research forms the basis for the issue topics for these group discussions. The discussion topics for the COFES are:   Where’s My Innovate Button? No CAD software offers an Innovate Button. Yet. So how does innovation occur? Where does it occur? Can innovation be taught? Can software tools really facilitate innovation? If so, how? What role does CAD or engineering software play in developing truly innovative products? Should we expect our tools to help us innovate processes too? Are we stuck with Joy’s law, that “Innovation will happen, but that it won’t happen here”? BIM. What does BIM really mean for the design profession? What does it mean for the rest of the AECO community? What’s with all the standards? How will this affect the practice of design and construction? What role do the software vendors play here? Lessons From the Past. During World War II, records were set that still stand: records for time to market for such things as aircraft, aircraft carriers, tanks, etc. And they were achieved without CAE, CAD, collaboration software, PLM, ERP software, etc. Granted, the regulatory environment was simpler, we didn’t care about consequences of how we got things done, and the products themselves were much less complex than they are today, but even with those caveats what they accomplished was impressive. What was it that enabled such achievements? There are still some of us around who participated in that era. Let’s discuss what we can apply today from what was learned then. Managing Simulation. As CAE moves to earlier portions of the design process, it is morphing into simulation and becoming more of a “what-if” tool. Simulation is ultimately what we are trying to achieve – a working model for exploration at the front end of design. For complex products, to achieve the benefits of this “what-if” tool, large numbers of parts and assemblies and configurations present a big challenge when assessing the potential impact of a proposed change. Even for not-so-complex products, the amount of information that needs to be analyzed after the simulation is large and must be managed. MSC, Ansys, Dassault Systemes, UGS, and others are starting to address this need with a new class of tool. Who needs it? What are the issues involved? The Evolving CAD Market. “Mid-range” and “high-end” used to be valid and useful labels to differentiate the major CAD market segments. As predicted by Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma, what was the mid-range has acquired properties formerly limited to the domain of the high end. There are still distinct markets, but the difference between the segments is no longer accurately described by the old labels. What is the difference today? Does it matter? All Things SOA and SaaS. Service-oriented architectures (SOA) and software as a service (SaaS) are the next big thing. Why do we care? What are the issues that need to be addressed? Are there strategies that we, as an industry, can address jointly rather than individually, to move forward more quickly? Does anyone have any idea where this will take us? Is this also a path to reduce the interoperability problem, or just another way to complicate the issue? Second Life. Second Life is stepping out from being a novelty and into the domain of business reality. Where we are today with Second Life is probably not dissimilar to where we were with the Web in 1997 – We know it’s special and might have a big impact, but mostly we haven’t a clue as to how it will affect the way we do business six years from now. In the meantime, we want to jump in while there is an “early-mover” advantage. Are we in position to be the prospectors, or the “jeans and shovels” suppliers, of this coming “gold rush?” User-Group Roundtable. Meeting among representatives of major user groups to discuss common issues and providing customer benefit. Representatives from boards of COE, PLM World, PTC/USER, AUGI, etc. Closed session – User-group representatives only.   COFES 2007 will set up appointments in the Technology Suites for attendees, based on the information you provide in the registration form, to match you with the suites that hold the technologies and companies that will interest you. Your schedule will be given to you when you arrive. There are a limited number of pre-assigned appointments. During the Thursday evening reception you will have the opportunity to expand your schedule. The following vendors are participating in COFES 2007 with Technology Suites: Adobe Systems  Apple Arena Solutions Ashlar-Vellum Autodesk Dassault Systemes Dell IBM PTC Rapidform Seemage UGS Appointment times: 10:45 11:20 11:55 12:30   1:05   1:40   2:15   2:50 Lunch will be served in the Technology Suites for the 12:30 appointments   12:15 PM Lunch   1:45 PM  Discussions and Roundtables Similar to the morning sessions, with different topics. The Globalization of Engineering. Some strong Indian development companies are acquiring more and more US and European companies. China has several independent CAD development firms, making 3D CAD products and selling them in the US. We all need to know what to do to remain competitive and viable in a market that has expanded beyond our geographic borders. Globalization of engineering is NOT synonymous with outsourcing. Outsourcing is a related issue, but one does not require the other.       Globalization of engineering is the reality that we are operating in an environment where our competitors can come from anywhere in the world, and our products need to serve a market that could be anywhere, the products need the ability to be sourced from anywhere, and that engineering, as a team sport, no longer implies single, co-located teams. Knowledge Navigator and Drafting Dan Revisited. CAD software first appeared in print in Robert Heinlein’s 1956 The Door into Summer. The aptly named “Drafting Dan” had much of the characteristics of the best 2D systems on the market today. Apple’s 1987 concept piece, the “Knowledge Navigator,” projected the nature of interaction with a 2010-era computer – that‘s only three years away. How close are we to those visions from 20 and 50 years ago? What are the visions for 20 and 50 years from now? Generational Change and Corporate Knowledge. Ask any architect or engineer—graduates of our current education system haven't a clue how the “real world” works. Schools teach theory, not reality. Add to that the fact that the baby-boomer generation is turning 60 and they are starting to retire in droves. How do we stop the corporate loss of deep knowledge and experience? How do we transfer it to those coming out of school with theory but no practice behind them? How do we make a difference? Open Source. Are we open to Open? Is there leverage there? Risk? Opportunities? 3D Ubiquity and Interoperability. While DWF, PDF, JT, 3DXML, eDrawings and others are all about communicating, they serve slightly different masters – each has tasks at which it excels and others at which it doesn’t. All seem to be trying to meet a Swiss-army-knife-like array of capabilities. Because the market space is broad and the value of optimization is high, it is likely that each will be around for some time.    That said, some of the toolsets based on these formats (Autodesk Design Review, Adobe Acrobat 3D, and others) are attempting to play a role in addressing interoperability. Can this be the route to finally getting the bulk of our interoperability issue unclogged, or is it just a small improvement in the flow? Best Practices and Infrastructures for Global Projects. Within the context of operating globally, software developers, hardware manufacturers, and users of hardware and software, are peers. This roundtable is an opportunity to share your best practices and learn from your fellow COFES participants. Crawling Out of the Box. It used to be that mechanical design was the domain of innovation. Today’s products are a complex web of mechanical design, electronics and controls, software, etc. The Segway and any cell phone are good examples of this. Unfortunately, our design automation tools have evolved to solve the problems of partitioned disciplines that reflect that past (our universities are similarly departmentalized). We have great products for mechanical design, for software design, etc., but we have yet to develop a great tool set that addresses the full spectrum of design. We’re beginning to see that change as we crawl out of our boxes. Where will it go from here? Brilliantly Dumb/Absurdly Ideal.  Here are some Brilliantly Dumb ideas: • Post-It Notes • Bubble-wrap • Bent toothbrush • Glow-in-the dark condoms • Velcro • Bottled water.  And some Absurdly Ideal ideas: • What if we had a saw that cuts wood and not people? • What if we could have a hospital wherever there was a patient? • What if you could carry your record collection and your stereo in your pocket? • (circa 1920?) What if we could carry our airport with us? • (circa 1910) What if everyone was their own switchboard operator? They represent different types of innovation. Brilliantly Dumb ideas are straightforward to execute but difficult to conceive of. Both Brilliantly Dumb and Absurdly Ideal ideas are also what I would refer to as “obvious after the fact,” but Absurdly Ideal ideas add a second level of complexity in that the solution is NOT intuitively obvious. Is there a way to find Brilliantly Dumb or Absurdly Ideal ideas? How do we recognize them?   3:15 PM Break   3:30 PM Second Congress: The Business of Design and Engineering This working congress is an open forum for examining the issues surrounding technologies expected to have an impact on design and engineering before 2012. The purpose of these discussions is to form a consensus on the issues faced, consider approaches, and promote further dialog.   On Friday we explored what is on the horizon for engineering software and how it will affect us. Saturday's Congress brings the discussion back to the reality of the business issues that face us today and the preparations we need to make to be ready for an ever-changing future.    Mechanical and Manufacturing Congress   AEC Congress     Moderated by Brad Holtz Cyon Research       Moderated by Joel Orr Cyon Research   5:00 PM Free 5:30 PM Reception *Guests of COFES Attendees must be registered and have paid a supplemental registration fee in order to attend this event  6:30- 9:00 PM Dinner and Awards Dinner and the closing session of COFES 2007, and The CAD Society Industry Awards. *   *Guests of COFES Attendees must be registered and have paid a supplemental registration fee in order to attend this event

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