ICU 2002 Guide to the Conference
Welcome
Welcome to the 2002 edition of the International 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 Cadence users together to share information, ideas, and solutions. We are all more productive when we better understand the features, limitations, and applications of (Cadence) electronic design tools. Some examples:
- Shortcuts that accelerate design cycle time
- Learn about software bugs or problems that other users have already found and solved
- Find out about changes in the tools you use, and how they will affect your design methodology
- Insights into Cadence priorities and technical directions, and provide feedback to keep Cadence on track
- Network with Cadence employees and other users to put faces to the names of people you have worked with
The annual conference is organized by users for users and boasts a comprehensive program that includes:
- Technical papers by user and Cadence experts
- Five parallel tracks covering 24 themes and 101 papers!
- Low cost half day tutorials on Sunday and Thursday
- Third party Vendor Fair on Tuesday night
- Technical Panel Sessions
- Q&A forums with Cadence Application Engineers
- Cadence product demonstrations on Wednesday night
- Interaction with Cadence R&D, Executive, AE and Marketing staff
Meeting Organization
This year, the conference has both general sessions and Special Interest Themes. General Sessions include keynote addresses, the executive panel, and other events that meet the common interest of all attendees. We have continued the use of themes and have expanded from the 19 last year to 24 themes divided into 5 concurrent tracks. Typically, there are two concurrent sessions each for IC and PCB. The fifth track encompasses Systems Administration and additional IC topics. Again this year, we have returned to covering both front-end and back-end design issues in the PCB and IC interest areas. Be sure to let the ICU Board know what you think of this structure.
The ICU Board
The planning team for this conference includes ten user volunteers, meeting planners that work for the Board, and three Cadence employees whose job includes assisting us with the International Usergroup meetings. These people include:
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Executive: Joe Morrison – Conference Chair |
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IC: Sue Strang – IBM |
PCB: Carl Musetti – Infinicon Systems |
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Cadence: Geoffry Brown – Director of Customer Advocacy |
System Administration / SOC: Jacob Skolnik - Motorola |
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Also essential to the success of this conference are the Cadence Champions. These Cadence employees serve as the primary interface between the board and their corresponding Cadence business units. As area experts, they assist in securing the technical and marketing presentations for the SIG tracks. For 2002, this group includes:
- Dave Desharnais - Synthesis Place & Route
- Steve Durrill - PCB Front End
- Saverio Fazzari - IC Front End
- Ed Hickey - PCB Back End
- Winston Jung - Custom IC
- Gary Mace - Services & Customer Support
- Marc Polito - IC DFM / Physical Verification
- Abby Robertson - Tutorial Coordinator
- Dennis Rockwood - Specctra
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
This year we are continuing with the five-day program organized as one/three/one - Sunday Tutorials at the hotel, three days of technical sessions, and one day of tutorials at the Cadence campus. Attendees can thus customize their conference attendance based on the needs of their companies and the applicability of conference content to their careers.
Please be sure to wear your conference badge at all Conference events so that other attendees can read your name and to validate that you are a legal and valid conference attendee.
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 presentations developed by experts - both user and Cadence employees. 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 Wednesday's Product Demos 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.
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.
Keynote speakers are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday mornings. Monday will open with welcoming remarks from Joe Morrison, ICU Chairman and Ray Bingham, Cadence President and CEO. Several Cadence executives will briefly describe how Cadence is strategically planning its role in the future.
A Cadence Executive panel will follow. Audience members get to ask questions on such high level topics as Cadence direction, strategy, policies, and research directions, 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 during the Technical Panels within the appropriate SIGs.
Monday afternoon's focus is on Cadence Product Roadmaps and Directions. 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. Many of the new features discussed during these sessions will be displayed during the Product Demos on Wednesday night. Concurrently, there will also be tracks devoted to Skill API, ACPD, Pcells, and Education.
Monday night is a Cadence Customer Appreciation event. Details are still pending, but be assured that Fun, Food, and Entertainment will be hosted by Cadence. Full details and schedules will be included in the registration packet
Tuesday opens with breakfast and a keynote sponsored by Sun Microsystems. Dr. Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, a faculty member at University of California, Berkeley and Cadence's Chief Technology Advisor, will provide the keynote address.
Tuesday focuses on SIG presentations on the following themes: AMS Front End, Physical Verification, Synthesis Place & Route, Hi Speed Design, Concept HDL, VXL, Assura, Board Level Verification, Front End Libraries, and Orcad. 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 continues with a full day of Expert presentations in the SIGs with these themes: Synthesis Place & Route, IC Front End, IC Signal Integrity, Systems Administration, Flow, Front to Back, Allegro, Specctra, DFM, and APD. Please be sure to complete the speaker voting and comment sheets.
Wednesday night will be Product Demo Night, held at the DoubleTree hotel. Please refer to your registration packet for a list and detailed descriptions of the demos. Entertainment and Refreshments will be available. We will recognize the Most Valuable Presentations from the conference, and introduce the new ICU Board for the 2003 conference.
The second day of 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 lecture and hands-on classes lead by Cadence experts.
The ICU 2002 and ICU 2003 conference boards will also meet on Thursday morning to wrap-up the 2002 conference and start the planning process for next year.
Have a safe trip home… see you in Manchester, New Hampshire next year - September 14-18, 2003