In a single week, we covered object-oriented analysis, object-oriented design, many XP processes, CRC cards, UML notation for object relationships and interactions, and even patterns. It was a whirlwind. But it was also a powerful, eye-opening experience.

It was also a painful experience, at times, because it was a "learn by doing" workshop. That's a lot more interesting than sitting around listening to someone preach, but it means that you hear "don't do that", a lot of the time -- many more times than feels good for your ego, if you know what I mean.

But the result is that you *really* learn. Interestingly, this is exactly the same way that writers learn -- as a result of the editing process. When an editor points out things that need to be fixed -- and you make the same fix in a few hundred places, you learn what your strengths and weaknesses are -- and you definitely learn to avoid your weaknesses.

It hurts to be edited, actually. Your carefully chosen words are chopped up, and in a way your efforts are invalidated. But the end product improves as a result, and you get better in the process. It's like weight training or any other kind of training, in that it hurts -- but it hurts in a good way because you grow from the experience.

Allen's workshop was a lot like that. Your "design instincts" are brought to light, and in the process both your strengths and weaknesses are exposed. So even more important than the familiarity with UML notations and design patterns you come away with, is the practice and feedback you get on your design thinking.