ICU 2000 Guide to the Conference
Welcome
Welcome to the annual Cadence Usergroup conference, where our focus is Users helping Users. The usergroup is an independent, not-for-profit organization of users of Cadence products who meet annually at a conference in the fall and interact throughout the year, sharing frustrations, solutions and ideas. It is independent of Cadence but maintains strong ties at all levels into the company in order to conduct its business. Membership to the Usergroup is open to any and all people involved with the use of software produced by Cadence Design Systems.
The goal of the conference is to bring together users so they can share ideas and share solutions to problems. A company employee is significantly more productive when s/he more fully understands the features, limitations, and applications of (Cadence) electronic design tools. Some examples:
- Novel use of software products accelerates design cycle times
- Advance notice of software bugs reduces costly employee downtime.
- Early access to information on tool changes allows planning for them
- Improved insight into Cadence and communication with key Cadence employees allows customers to air their issues and keep Cadence “on-track”
- Cadence system administration tips optimize use of available resources.
The annual conference is organized by users for users and boasts a comprehensive program that includes:
- Technical papers by user and Cadence experts
- Four parallel tracks – SCD, SA, PCB & IC
- Low cost half day tutorials
- Free training classes on Thursday
- Third party Vendor Fair on Tuesday night
- Technical Panel Session
- Q&A forums with Cadence Application Engineers
- Cadence product demonstrations on Monday night
- Interaction with Cadence R&D, Executive, AE and Marketing staff
Meeting Organization
The conference is composed of both general sessions and Special Interest Groups (SIG). The PCB SIG concentrates on Printed Circuit Board, MultiChip Modules, and> Advanced Packaging physical design. The IC SIG concentrates on physical design of Digital, Analog, and Mixed Signal Integrated Circuits. Systems and Circuit Design SIG deals with schematic design, high level design synthesis, and simulation for both PCBs and ICs. The Systems Administration SIG deals with the essential infrastructure of platforms, operating systems, licensing, and environments that need to be in place to effectively design using Cadence products.
The ICU Board
This conference was planned by an Executive Board of eleven user-volunteers, a meeting planner that works for the Board,
and a Cadence employee whose full time job is to help with the International and Regional Usergroup meetings. These
people include:
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Also essential to the success of this conference are the Cadence Champions that serve as area experts to the SIGs. This group includes:
- Steve Durrill – SCD
- Jon Sanders – SCD
- John Gianni – IC
- Winston Jung – IC
- Mark Lasky – System Administration
- Dennis Rockwood - PCB
All of the Board positions are filled each year at the conference. If you would like to help plan next year’s conference or to get more information, please talk with any of this year’s Board.
Guide to the Program
Over the past few years, many attendees have indicated that this conference was too long and required too much time away from work. To work around this problem we have divided the five-day program into one day of Tutorials, three days of Technical Program and one day of Free Classes on the Cadence campus. Please let a Board member know what you think of these changes.
Detailed schedules and room assignments are included in your registration package and posted near the registration desk. Late breaking changes will be announced during breakfast and lunch. Further questions can always be asked at the registration desk.
Conference attendees are welcome to attend activities from any SIG track throughout the week. In general, SIGs will be held in the same room throughout the conference.
Scheduled throughout the bulk of the conference are user-written and user-delivered papers. The ICU Board believes these are one of the most valuable components of the conference and shapes the program accordingly. Attending paper presentations and reading the conference proceedings can provide a wealth of information for attendees. The MVP (Most Valuable Presenter) awards during lunch on Wednesday recognize the best presentation in each SIG. Please take the time to vote and comment on the presentations you attend, in order to reward this presenter.
Also scheduled in each SIG are time blocks where hot issues are discussed. Items from the previous year are reviewed, along with Cadence’s response. Items for this year’s hot issue list are also collected. If you have specific issues with a tool or methodology, this is the right time to discuss it with other issues and suggest it for the hot issues list. If necessary, see the SIG Chair and Co-Chairs to discuss this process.
Sunday, September 10, 2000
Tutorials offered at this conference are courtesy of Cadence (instructors, instructional materials, content). With user input, the ICU selects Tutorial topics and the Cadence Champions do the rest. The tutorial fee is set to subsidize room and food costs. Feedback is generally very positive for this training that is valuable and rarely this inexpensive.
You must be registered for a tutorial in order to attend it. See the registration desk for space availability. Generally, instructional material and handouts from the tutorials are not available for purchase.
Sunday evening is conference registration and the Registration Reception. Renew friendships with colleagues from past conferences and other industry events. Review the schedule and abstracts that will be presented. Revive yourself with food and drink.
Monday, September 11, 2000
Keynote speakers are scheduled for all three mornings and Monday afternoon. Monday will open with a brief address by Ray Bingham, Cadence CEO, describing how Cadence is strategically planning its role in the future. Following Ray will be Peter Schwartz, author of the Long Boom, presenting a view of the next 20 years.
A Cadence Executive panel will follow. Audience members get ask questions on Cadence direction, strategy, policies, research directions, etc, which are then answered by the Executives responsible for that business area. Congratulate the Executives on jobs well done, or invite them to improve certain areas of the business. This forum is best for generic issues and directions that cut across Cadence business areas. Tool specific questions and issues are best discussed within the appropriate SIGs.
Monday afternoon, a Cadence Executive will be speaking on a relevant topic to the Electronics Design Automation world and users of Cadence software. This address will be followed by Marketing track presentations in the SIGs. The product managers responsible for various Cadence tools will discuss the directions and new features to be included in the next release of the software. New products will also be discussed.
Monday night will be Product Demo Night on the Cadence campus. Buses will transport attendees from the conference hotel to the nearby Cadence campus for demos that will be held “Under the Big Top”. Please refer to your registration packet for a list and detailed descriptions of the demos. Entertainment and Refreshments will be outside, at the front of the tent.
Tuesday, September 12, 2000
Tuesday opens with breakfast and a keynote sponsored by Sun Microsystems. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Sally Ride, America’s first woman in Space.
Tuesday focuses on SIG presentations. Come hear the experts and find out how to better use Cadence tools and improve the design effort at your company. Preview the schedule and abstract information provided in your registration packet to guide you in selecting the most appropriate presentations for you. Please also think about presenting at next year’s conference.
Tuesday night is the annual Vendor Fair, co-sponsored by Sun Microsystems. Representatives of 45 companies will be present to show you products that extend and improve your investment in Cadence software. A complete list of vendors and their locations are included in the registration packet. Food and Drink are provided as you stroll Vendor booths looking at their offerings.
Wednesday, September 13, 2000
Wednesday’s keynote is Steve Mangelsdorf of HP. Steve is a Senior Engineer/Scientist who is responsible for the HP PA/RISC processor design and architecture. Steve will be providing first hand experience on the direction of IC Processor design and the implications for PCBs and Systems.
Wednesday morning continues the Expert presentations in the SIGs. Please be sure to complete the speaker voting and comment sheets.
At lunch, we will award the MVP for each SIG, and introduce the new ICU Board for the 2001 conference.
The afternoon sessions will include technical discussion panels and ask the expert sessions. Here is your opportunity to find out how to do or improve those difficult steps in your design process.
Wednesday night is a Cadence Customer Appreciation event, to be held at the San Jose Museum of Modern Art. Buses will be available to shuttle attendees between the hotel and this event.
Thursday, September 14, 2000
Free training and classes will be held at the Cadence campus, with Buses to transport attendees between the hotel and the campus. If you did not sign up when you registered for the conference, please check with registration desk to see if space is still available. Training available includes both classes lead by Application Engineers and free use of the new Internet-based Internet Learning Series.
The ICU 2000 and ICU 2001 conference board will also meet on Thursday to wrap-up the 2000 conference and start the planning process for next year.
Have a safe trip home… see you in Nashua, NH next year – September 16-19, 2001!