The mission of the Hillside Group is to improve the quality of life of everyone who uses, builds, and encounters software systems-users, developers, managers, owners, educators, students, and society as a whole.

Developing software is one of the most difficult human activities, and it affects every aspect of modern life. Understanding and helping the human element is critical for achieving success. The Hillside Group believes that software systems and software development can be made more humane by paying attention to real people and existing practices. 

The Hillside Group promotes the use of patterns and pattern languages to record, analyze, and improve software and its development, and supports any new practices that help achieve its mission. 

The Hillside Group sponsors a variety of activities to achieve this mission-organizing workshops, conferences, and publications for discussing, recording, and documenting successful software practices.