Two Events to put on your calendar

   Dec 15^th and Jan 11th

   Introduction to Maven and Continuous Integration presented by Ken Rimple

 The upcoming Philly SPIN meeting on December 15th  6-8PM at Chariot Solutions in Fort Washington, PA -  Free

An overview of the Maven platform, how it is used to build applications, and tips and tricks for constructing good build processes. And continuous integration, using Jenkins, and how to automate key reports.  Code coverage, test results, and code quality metrics.

Maven is an application development lifecycle tool that is often misunderstood. It has been called an "overly complicated build tool", "completely uncontrollable" and "inflexible" by many.

Complex build problems, organized source code, developers on your team have to know this.

(As an added attraction and advert blurb, attending gets you to $150 off list price of a full day Introduction to Maven course, normally a $595 course, down to $345 per seat. Discount code given at the talk.)

About the Presenter Ken Rimple:

He is Director of Education Services for Chariot Solutions. He and his team deliver training and mentoring in a variety of subjects, including the Spring Framework,MVC, Webflow, JPA/Hibernate, Maven, Flex, Grails and other frameworks and tools.

Besides leading the Groovy and Grails User Group here in the Delaware Valley, he leads Chariot's training partnerships with Typesafe, VMWare and Sonatype

Ken has co-chaired a number of Chariot conferences, including ETE 2009- 2011, Cloud-Con East in 2008, and the Philly Grails Conference in 2009.

Ken is an author of Manning's Spring Roo in Action. He is also the host and creator of the Chariot TechCast podcast series.

Agenda for the meeting includes:

6:00 - 6:30 Check-in,lite dinner, and networking

6:30 - 7:30 Presentation

7:30 - 8:00 Networking

REGISTRATION:   RSVP to mailto:Philly_Spin@...

Attendance is free, to register e-mail philly_spin@...

Directions to Chariot Solutions

515 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 202

Fort Washington, PA 19034

Chariot is located right off exit 339 of PA Turnpike.

After Exit 339 tolls, proceed straight (this road will turn into Pennsylvania Avenue).

At the 2nd traffic light, make a right onto Commerce Drive. You will pass our building which is located on the corner of Pennsylvania & Commerce.

Make a right at the first driveway and find a parking spot.

 You are now located at the back of our building. Walk around to the front of the building to enter. Take the elevator to the 2nd floor.

   Functional Testing Patterns, with Premanand Chandrasekaran' on Agile Philly and SPIN on Jan 11th

See more details and RSVP on Agile Philly:

http://www.agilephilly.com/events/event/show?id=3783271%3AEvent%3A20502&xgi=4eBr7XIKGkMdSZ&xg_source=msg_invite_event

About Agile Philly

The group is to provide an environment where you can exchange ideas and meet with individuals involved in agile community.

Agile Philly Meeting Schedule

so reserve the dates Dec 15, Jan 11, Feb 8

And remember to RSVP for these events, too.

TOPIC: Introduction to Maven and Continuous Integration presented by Ken Rimple

Joint Meeting with SPIN (Software Process Improvement Network) at Chariots Solutions
Philly SPIN meeting on December 15th  6-8PM at Chariot Solutions in Fort Washington, PA

RSVP to Philly_Spin@...   http://www.agilephilly.com/events/intro-to-maven-continuous-integration

Abstract:

An overview of the Maven platform, how it is used to build applications, and tips and tricks for constructing good build processes. And continuous integration, using Jenkins, and how to automate key reports.  Code coverage, test results, and code quality metrics.

Maven is an application development lifecycle tool that is often misunderstood. It has been called an "overly complicated build tool", "completely uncontrollable" and "inflexible" by many.

Complex build problems, organized source code, developers on your team have to know this.

(As an added attraction and advert blurb, attending gets you to $150 off list price of a full day Introduction to Maven course, normally a $595 course, down to $345 per seat. Discount code given at the talk.)

About the Presenter Ken Rimple:

He is Director of Education Services for Chariot Solutions. He and his team deliver training and mentoring in a variety of subjects, including the Spring Framework,MVC, Webflow, JPA/Hibernate, Maven, Flex, Grails and other frameworks and tools.

Besides leading the Groovy and Grails User Group here in the Delaware Valley, he leads Chariot's training partnerships with Typesafe, VMWare and Sonatype

Ken has co-chaired a number of Chariot conferences, including ETE 2009- 2011, Cloud-Con East in 2008, and the Philly Grails Conference in 2009.

Ken is an author of Manning's Spring Roo in Action. He is also the host and creator of the Chariot TechCast podcast series,

Agenda for the meeting includes:

• 6:00 - 6:30 Check-in,lite dinner, and networking
• 6:30 - 7:30 Presentation
• 7:30 - 8:00 Networking

REGISTRATION:

Attendance is free, to register e-mail philly_spin@...

Directions to Chariot Solutions

515 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 202

Fort Washington, PA 19034

Chariot is located right off exit 339 of PA Turnpike.

§  After Exit 339 tolls, proceed straight (this road will turn into Pennsylvania Avenue).

§  At the 2nd traffic light, make a right onto Commerce Drive. You will pass our building which is located on the corner of Pennsylvania & Commerce.

§  Make a right at the first driveway and find a parking spot.

 You are now located at the back of our building. Walk around to the front of the building to enter. Take the elevator to the 2nd floor.

-=============================================================-

TOPIC:  Functional Testing Patterns by Premanand Chandrasekaran

Jan 11^th at Microsoft Offices in Malvern

RSVP at http://www.agilephilly.com/events/functional-testing-patterns-with-premanand-chandrasekaran

Software teams mostly find themselves working with three broad categories of tests - unit, integration and functional (excluding technology verification test categories like performance, load, stress etc.). Unit tests indicate whether the code is doing things right. Functional tests are complementary to - but quite different from unit tests. Functional tests tell whether the completed application is working correctly and providing the proper functionality. Simply put, unit tests are written from the code developer's perspective, while functional tests are written from the end user's perspective. When they work reliably, functional tests give users, stakeholders and developers confidence that the software meets agreed upon requirements.

In reality, a lot of teams find themselves grappling with perennially failing, hard to understand, slow running tests, which take herculean efforts to maintain while inspiring low confidence in the reliability of the end product. In this talk, we will examine recipes on how to create and maintain a smoothly running suite of functional/acceptance tests that can be reliably used to verify that the software is ready for release.

-=============================================================-

Mike Cox of NetObjectives on Feb 8^th, 2012

The Basics of Agile Software Development
This presentation is for those who want to understand what Agile software
development is about but do not have any experience with it. You will learn:

·        The business case for Agile software development

·        How Agile methods can improve the bottom line

·        Why Agile projects are less risky

·        The essence of Agile software development

·        The different approaches to agility

http://www.netobjectives.com/free-seminar-schedule/biz-mgmt-team-webinar-lean-agile-software-development-start-2011-12 for their most recent free webinar

-=============================================================-

And tell us what topics you would like to see covered in 2012 by shooting a comment to the meeting coordinators at mailto:AgilePhillyCoordinators@yahoogroups.com

Agile Philly Meeting Schedule

so reserve the dates Dec 15, Jan 11, Feb 8

And remember to RSVP for these events, too.

TOPIC: Introduction to Maven and Continuous Integration presented by Ken Rimple

Joint Meeting with SPIN (Software Process Improvement Network) at Chariots Solutions
Philly SPIN meeting on December 15th  6-8PM at Chariot Solutions in Fort Washington, PA

RSVP to Philly_Spin@...   http://www.agilephilly.com/events/intro-to-maven-continuous-integration

Abstract:

An overview of the Maven platform, how it is used to build applications, and tips and tricks for constructing good build processes. And continuous integration, using Jenkins, and how to automate key reports.  Code coverage, test results, and code quality metrics.

Maven is an application development lifecycle tool that is often misunderstood. It has been called an "overly complicated build tool", "completely uncontrollable" and "inflexible" by many.

Complex build problems, organized source code, developers on your team have to know this.

(As an added attraction and advert blurb, attending gets you to $150 off list price of a full day Introduction to Maven course, normally a $595 course, down to $345 per seat. Discount code given at the talk.)

About the Presenter Ken Rimple:

He is Director of Education Services for Chariot Solutions. He and his team deliver training and mentoring in a variety of subjects, including the Spring Framework,MVC, Webflow, JPA/Hibernate, Maven, Flex, Grails and other frameworks and tools.

Besides leading the Groovy and Grails User Group here in the Delaware Valley, he leads Chariot's training partnerships with Typesafe, VMWare and Sonatype

Ken has co-chaired a number of Chariot conferences, including ETE 2009- 2011, Cloud-Con East in 2008, and the Philly Grails Conference in 2009.

Ken is an author of Manning's Spring Roo in Action. He is also the host and creator of the Chariot TechCast podcast series, Agenda for the meeting includes:

• 6:00 - 6:30 Check-in,lite dinner, and networking
• 6:30 - 7:30 Presentation
• 7:30 - 8:00 Networking

REGISTRATION:

Attendance is free, to register e-mail philly_spin@...

Directions to Chariot Solutions

515 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 202

Fort Washington, PA 19034

Chariot is located right off exit 339 of PA Turnpike.

§  After Exit 339 tolls, proceed straight (this road will turn into Pennsylvania Avenue).

§  At the 2nd traffic light, make a right onto Commerce Drive. You will pass our building which is located on the corner of Pennsylvania & Commerce.

§  Make a right at the first driveway and find a parking spot.

 You are now located at the back of our building. Walk around to the front of the building to enter. Take the elevator to the 2nd floor.

-=============================================================-

TOPIC:  Functional Testing Patterns by Premanand Chandrasekaran

Jan 11^th at Microsoft Offices in Malvern

RSVP at http://www.agilephilly.com/events/functional-testing-patterns-with-premanand-chandrasekaran

Software teams mostly find themselves working with three broad categories of tests - unit, integration and functional (excluding technology verification test categories like performance, load, stress etc.). Unit tests indicate whether the code is doing things right. Functional tests are complementary to - but quite different from unit tests. Functional tests tell whether the completed application is working correctly and providing the proper functionality. Simply put, unit tests are written from the code developer's perspective, while functional tests are written from the end user's perspective. When they work reliably, functional tests give users, stakeholders and developers confidence that the software meets agreed upon requirements.

In reality, a lot of teams find themselves grappling with perennially failing, hard to understand, slow running tests, which take herculean efforts to maintain while inspiring low confidence in the reliability of the end product. In this talk, we will examine recipes on how to create and maintain a smoothly running suite of functional/acceptance tests that can be reliably used to verify that the software is ready for release.

Now an advertisement for our sponsor in January . . .

Our Meeting Sponsor needs a User Story Writer!  This dovetails nicely into this month's topic, and I hope for lively input discussing the larger area of moving from User Stories to Executable Systems.

Our food sponsor, Chaikin PowerTools, the maker of personal investment tools, has an opportunity for one or more people experienced in User Stories.  Story writing is a serious bottleneck for their small company.  As they try to figure out how to make this role work inside an Agile approach, this contract opportunity may vary from 40 hours to part-time.  They are looking for talented individuals who might help them adapt this phase to better serve the way and speed which they would like to work.

Chaikin Stock Research is a Philadelphia-based startup, building apps based on institutional quality analytics that are easily understood by the individual investor.

The current suite of mobile, desktop and reporting products can be viewed at: http://www.chaikinpowertools.com  Based in Philadelphia, they have technologists, product, people and subject matter experts who contribute from all over the world. As a result, they are attempting to use Agile processes and tools in order to knit together a cohesive and efficient software development program.

Interested individuals can contact Topher Wurts mailto:Topher@... 

-=============================================================-

Mike Cox of NetObjectives on Feb 8^th, 2012

The Basics of Agile Software Development
This presentation is for those who want to understand what Agile software
development is about but do not have any experience with it. You will learn:

·        The business case for Agile software development

·        How Agile methods can improve the bottom line

·        Why Agile projects are less risky

·        The essence of Agile software development

·        The different approaches to agility

http://www.netobjectives.com/free-seminar-schedule/biz-mgmt-team-webinar-lean-agile-software-development-start-2011-12 for their most recent free webinar

Agile Philly Meeting Schedule

Weds Jan 11

Weds Feb 8

And remember to RSVP for these events, too.

-=============================================================-

TOPIC:  Functional Testing Patterns by Premanand Chandrasekaran

Weds Jan 11^th 2012 at Microsoft Offices in Malvern

RSVP at http://www.agilephilly.com/events/functional-testing-patterns-with-premanand-chandrasekaran

Software teams mostly find themselves working with three broad categories of tests - unit, integration and functional (excluding technology verification test categories like performance, load, stress etc.). Unit tests indicate whether the code is doing things right. Functional tests are complementary to - but quite different from unit tests. Functional tests tell whether the completed application is working correctly and providing the proper functionality. Simply put, unit tests are written from the code developer's perspective, while functional tests are written from the end user's perspective. When they work reliably, functional tests give users, stakeholders and developers confidence that the software meets agreed upon requirements.

In reality, a lot of teams find themselves grappling with perennially failing, hard to understand, slow running tests, which take herculean efforts to maintain while inspiring low confidence in the reliability of the end product. In this talk, we will examine recipes on how to create and maintain a smoothly running suite of functional/acceptance tests that can be reliably used to verify that the software is ready for release.

Now an advertisement for our sponsor for Weds January 11^th . . .

Our Meeting Sponsor needs a User Story Writer!  This dovetails nicely into this month's topic, and I hope for lively input discussing the larger area of moving from User Stories to Executable Systems.

Our food sponsor, Chaikin PowerTools, the maker of personal investment tools, has an opportunity for one or more people experienced in User Stories.  Story writing is a serious bottleneck for their small company.  As they try to figure out how to make this role work inside an Agile approach, this contract opportunity may vary from 40 hours to part-time.  They are looking for talented individuals who might help them adapt this phase to better serve the way and speed which they would like to work.

Chaikin Stock Research is a Philadelphia-based startup, building apps based on institutional quality analytics that are easily understood by the individual investor.

The current suite of mobile, desktop and reporting products can be viewed at: http://www.chaikinpowertools.com  Based in Philadelphia, they have technologists, product, people and subject matter experts who contribute from all over the world. As a result, they are attempting to use Agile processes and tools in order to knit together a cohesive and efficient software development program.

Interested individuals can contact Topher Wurts mailto:Topher@...

Or come to the Weds January 11^th meeting

-=============================================================-

TOPIC:  The Basics of Agile Software Development by Mike Cox of NetObjectives

Weds Feb 8^th, 2012 at Microsoft Offices in Malvern

RSVP at http://www.agilephilly.com/events/the-basics-of-agile-software-development-with-michael-cox

This presentation is for those who want to understand what Agile software
development is about but do not have any experience with it. You will learn:

·        The business case for Agile software development

·        How Agile methods can improve the bottom line

·        Why Agile projects are less risky

·        The essence of Agile software development

·        The different approaches to agility

http://www.netobjectives.com/free-seminar-schedule/biz-mgmt-team-webinar-lean-agile-software-development-start-2011-12 for their most recent free webinar

-=============================================================-

Site for Free videos on Agile

http://www.agilealliance.org/resources/learning-center 

Site for Free videos on Testing

http://agile.techwell.com/video/not-estimating-problem 

Due to the overwhelming response for the AgilePhilly - SPIN meeting on Wednesday night ( 6:00 pm ), we had to change the location to Bentley Systems in Exton / Lionville. 

Also note that we want to start a little earlier than our usual 6:30 pm start time.

This is a new location for AgilePhilly.  It is near the Lionville-Exton exit of the PA Turnpike.

(PA TP Exit 312, north on Rte 100 for 2 lights = This is the light before the PA Turnpike overpass.

Make the left onto Pennsylvania Drive, then after the U.T.I. Tech School Complex , make a right onto Stockton Drive.

Here is the Google Map location:

Bentley Systems

685 Stockton Drive

Exton, PA 19341

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=685+Stockton+Drive,+exton++pa+19341&hl=en&ll=40.064804,-75.688205&spn=0.018491,0.041199&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.099308,84.375&vpsrc=6&safe=vss&hnear=685+Stockton+Dr,+Exton,+Pennsylvania+19341&t=m&z=15 

The meeting is starting between 6 and 6:30 pm

6:00 - 6:30 Check-in,lite dinner, and networking

6:30 - 7:30 Presentation

7:30 - 8:00 Networking

 Any questions, mailto:AgilePhillyCoordinators@yahoogroups.com 

Agile Philly Meeting Schedule

Weds Jan 11

Weds Feb 8

And remember to RSVP for these events, too.

Final Reminder that the meeting location for tonight has been changed

to Bentley Systems in Lionville / Exton

Network and Food Time from 6 to 6:30

Presentation at 6:30

TOPIC:  Functional Testing Patterns by Premanand Chandrasekaran

Weds Jan 11^th 2012 at Bentley in Lionville / Exton

RSVP at http://www.agilephilly.com/events/functional-testing-patterns-with-premanand-chandrasekaran  

Due to the overwhelming response for the AgilePhilly - SPIN meeting on Wednesday night ( 6:00 pm ), we had to change the location to Bentley Systems in Exton. 

Also note that we want to start a little earlier than our usual 6:30 pm start time.

This is a new location for AgilePhilly.  It is near the Lionville-Exton exit of the PA Turnpike.

(PA TP Exit 312, north on Rte 100 for 2 lights = This is the light before the PA Turnpike overpass.

Make the left onto Pennsylvania Drive, then after the U.T.I. Tech School Complex , make a right onto Stockton Drive.

Bentley Systems

685 Stockton Drive

Exton, PA 19341

The meeting is starting between 6 and 6:30 pm

6:00 - 6:30 Check-in,lite dinner, and networking

6:30 - 7:30 Presentation

7:30 - 8:00 Networking

TOPIC

Software teams mostly find themselves working with three broad categories of tests - unit, integration and functional (excluding technology verification test categories like performance, load, stress etc.). Unit tests indicate whether the code is doing things right. Functional tests are complementary to - but quite different from unit tests. Functional tests tell whether the completed application is working correctly and providing the proper functionality. Simply put, unit tests are written from the code developer's perspective, while functional tests are written from the end user's perspective. When they work reliably, functional tests give users, stakeholders and developers confidence that the software meets agreed upon requirements.

In reality, a lot of teams find themselves grappling with perennially failing, hard to understand, slow running tests, which take herculean efforts to maintain while inspiring low confidence in the reliability of the end product. In this talk, we will examine recipes on how to create and maintain a smoothly running suite of functional/acceptance tests that can be reliably used to verify that the software is ready for release.

Now an advertisement for our sponsors . . .

(A)

Chaikin Power Tools needs a User Story Writer!  Chaikin PowerTools, the maker of personal investment tools, has an opportunity for one or more people experienced in User Stories.  Story writing is a serious bottleneck for their small company.  As they try to figure out how to make this role work inside an Agile approach, this contract opportunity may vary from 40 hours to part-time.  They are looking for talented individuals who might help them adapt this phase to better serve the way and speed which they would like to work.

Chaikin Stock Research is a Philadelphia-based startup, building apps based on institutional quality analytics that are easily understood by the individual investor.

The current suite of mobile, desktop and reporting products can be viewed at: http://www.chaikinpowertools.com   Based in Philadelphia, they have technologists, product, people and subject matter experts who contribute from all over the world. As a result, they are attempting to use Agile processes and tools in order to knit together a cohesive and efficient software development program.

Interested individuals can contact Topher Wurts mailto:Topher@...

 ___________________________________________________________

(B)

Frontline Technologies, Exton PA has an opening for a creative, talented software developer to join their team.   Frontline Technologies believes that quality people, practices and code are the foundation of success.

If you have a passion for coding, value integrity in the workplace, and thrive in a team oriented environment then we would like to speak with you.

 What you'll do:

-      Create useful solutions to real problems.

-      Seek out ways to continuously improve our software.

-      Help support our outstanding client services team.

-      Work with a team of people passionate about what we do.

What we'll do for you:

-      Offer a work environment that values a work-life balance.

-      Great benefits including health, dental, vision and 401(k)

-      An energized, yet casual work environment

What you will bring:

-      B.S. in Computer Science.

-      2-5 years of professional experience.

-      A true passion for coding.

-      A team oriented work demeanor.

-      A desire to continuously improve.

-      Strong understanding of .net C#, SQL and supporting web technologies

-      Ability to deliver high quality, tested code.

-      Experience with Classic ASP is strongly desired.

Interested individuals can contact Robert Shaw mailto:rshaw@... 

Robert Shaw | Quality Asssurance Manager, PMC, CSM

Frontline Technologies | 397 Eagleview Blvd., Exton, PA 19341

 p: 610.727.0342 | m: 484.868.1502 |  www.FrontlineTechnologies.com  

-=========The next meeting on Feb 8^th =============-

TOPIC:  The Basics of Agile Software Development by Mike Cox of NetObjectives

Weds Feb 8^th, 2012 at Microsoft Offices in Malvern

RSVP at http://www.agilephilly.com/events/the-basics-of-agile-software-development-with-michael-cox 

This presentation is for those who want to understand what Agile software
development is about but do not have any experience with it. You will learn:

·        The business case for Agile software development

·        How Agile methods can improve the bottom line

·        Why Agile projects are less risky

·        The essence of Agile software development

·        The different approaches to agility

http://www.netobjectives.com/free-seminar-schedule/biz-mgmt-team-webinar-lean-agile-software-development-start-2011-12  for their most recent free webinar

-----Original Message-----
From: d.andre.dhondt@...
Sent: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:36:20 -0500
To: agilephilly@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [agilephilly] Philly Event: James Shore, Arlo Belshee, Chad Fowler, Willem Larsen, Jim Weirich many others

 

The 7th Annual Philly Emerging Tech conference (a.k.a. Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise and Philly ETE 2011) is set for April 10 and 11 at the Society Hill Sheraton in Philadelphia.

The Early Bird rate, available through February 15, is $375 per person. If you can take advantage of the group discount (4 colleagues or friends, not necessarily from the same company, registering at the same time), the Early Bird price goes down to $281.25 per person.

The conference has sold out the last few years.

To register: http://phillyemergingtech.com/2012/register

Agile sessions include:

* Agile Tech Tree (Arlo Belshee, originator of Naked Planning)
 
* Kanban, Lean, and Large-Scale Agile (James Shore, author of The Art of Agile Development)

* Accelerated Team Learning and "Language Hunting" (Willem Larsen, President of Language Hunters)

* How GitHub Works: GitHub's Software Development Process (Zach Holman, Developer at GitHub)

* Management Innovation to Achieve Continuous Business Value Delivery (Naeem Hussain and Brian Barr, Managing Partners, Agile Trailblazers)

The keynote speakers are:

Chad Fowler (VP Engineering, LivingSocial)

Alex Payne (CTO, Simple Finance).

As always there will be more than 50 talks on a variety of technologies during the 2-day conference.

Session speakers include:

Yukihiro Matsumoto
creator, Ruby Programming Language

Douglas Crockford
Senior JavaScript Architect, Yahoo

Cliff Click
Chief JVM Architect, Azul Systems
 
Yehudo Katz
Ember.js and jQuery core developer

Jeff Brown
Grails core developer
 
Adrian Holovaty
Django co-creator

The list of confirmed speakers to date is here: http://phillyemergingtech.com/2012/speakers

More speakers and session abstracts will be added over the next few weeks.

--
D. André Dhondt

Executive/Agile Software Coach

www.Dhondt-Teams-Gel.com

mobile: 215-805-0819
skype: d.andre.dhondt

twitter: @adhondt   http://dhondtsayitsagile.blogspot.com/

Support low-cost conferences -- http://AgileTour.org/
If you're in the area, join Agile Philly http://www.AgilePhilly.com

Try FREE IM ToolPack at www.imtoolpack.com
Capture screenshots, upload images, edit and send them to your friends
through IMs, post on Twitter^®, Facebook^®, MySpace^™, LinkedIn^® – FAST!

To start with, I would say we need to have a schedule that does not conflict
with other events in the area. We also need to make the event useful, and add
value to the (professional) life of people who come to attend these events.

Few suggestions:
- I like the idea of Coach's corner. It could be a fixture in each event, and I
would love to head/man that corner :-) I have lot of coaching experience to back
me up on that.

- I would love to talk about Agile Release Planning (as I have a book published
on that topic)

- We should also hear from the folks who have been leading Agile/Scrum
implementation at various organizations.

Just my few cents!

Nimesh Soni
Author: Agile Release Planning
www.AgileReleasePlanning.com




--- In agilephilly@yahoogroups.com, D.André Dhondt <d.andre.dhondt@...> wrote:
>
> Recently our attendance has been dwindling; are you only interested in
> hearing from the rock star consultants / published agile authors? Or is
> there something else you're waiting for?
>
> In the past, we've had lots of voices chiming in regularly telling us what
> consultants might be available for an evening event because that consultant
> happened to be doing work for their company--but that hasn't been happening
> lately.  So we've been inviting people we think have a compelling story or
> something interesting to say. Is that valuable to you?
>
> What could we do to better serve your needs?  Fewer events? A coaches'
> corner for free advice? More advanced topics? Which ones?
>
>
>
>
> --
> D. André Dhondt
> mobile: 215-805-0819
> skype: d.andre.dhondt
> twitter: adhondt   http://dhondtsayitsagile.blogspot.com/
>
> Support low-cost conferences -- http://AgileTour.org/
> If you're in the area, join Agile Philly http://www.AgilePhilly.com
>

Agile Philly Meeting Schedule for February, March and April

Thursday Feb 16 – AgilePhilly Deadline to RSVP for IBM Rational Downtown is

This session by RSVP only

Deadline is Thursday Feb 16 noon

Space is limited, so RSVP now

Mon-Weds Feb 20-22 – Training Uncle Bob Martin doing TDD

Thurs Feb 23 9-2 – AgilePhilly Free Hands-on at IBM Rational downtown

by RSVP only = deadline Thursday Feb 16 noon

Space is extremely limited, RSVP now

Weds Feb 15^th - Training Philly ETE early bird rate ends

Changes from $375 to $450

Fri Mar 2nd - Training An advanced course in Rapid Agile Estimating and Planning  

Wed Mar 14th - AgilePhilly Kanban simulation by Daniel Vacanti at Microsoft Malvern

Wed April 11 - AgilePhilly-SPIN Sherie Revilla, Six Sigma in Financials MS Malvern

Tues May 8th AgilePhilly-SPIN joint meeting Jeff Dalton CMMI and Agile , Prudential in Ft Wash

Event: A plug for a great speaker Uncle Bob Martin invited to town by our sister group

Philly Alt Net http://phillyalt.net (which is why we pushed IBM back to Thursday).

A 3-Day Test Driven Development Session with Uncle Bob Martin in Conshohocken

9 to 5 on Monday, February 20 through Wednesday, February 22 $1800

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1804937617    

If you aren't familiar with "Uncle Bob", he is an original signee of the "AgileManifesto" (when agile development methodology was "born"), and an incredibly experienced and talented programmer, teacher, and speaker. He's written several popular programming books, including "Clean Code."
http://www.amazon.com/Robert-C.-Martin/e/B000APG87E

Event:  Hands-on Event using IBM Rational Team Concert

            Thursday Feb 23^rd at IBM, 14th Floor / Room 1416 ( 30 South 17^th Street )

            From 9am to 2pm

This session will be by RSVP only

Deadline for RSVP is noon Thursday Feb 16

Space is extremely limited, RSVP now

http://www.agilephilly.com/events/hands-on-workshop-think-all-agile-tools-are-created-equally

This Hands On Event using IBM Rational Team Concert provides the essentials of a lean collaborative lifecycle management solution with integrated planning, work-item tracking, version control, build management and reporting. IBM Rational Team Concert is well suited to increase individual and team productivity for teams following agile development processes.

Agenda

- Introduction to Rational Team Concert

- Module 1 Agile Planning and Backlogs

- Module 2 Change Management and Work Items

- Module 3 Software Configuration Management

- Module 4 Builds and Continuous Integration

- Module 5 Agile Dashboards and Reports (Burndowns, Velocity, etc.)

IBM Rational Team Concert software provides:

- Advanced planning capabilities for Scrum and other iterative, agile processes

- Process automation and guidance features that can help you enforce optimal processes to ensure predictable results

- Creation and tracking of progress of individual work items according to the team process and project rules

- Essential software version control, workspace management and parallel development support to individuals and teams

- Comprehensive build management features that can help your team schedule and execute software builds efficiently

- Automated data collection and reporting features for realtime insight to effectively govern your software projects, while reducing time-consuming reporting tasks

You can also evaluate Rational Team Concert on your own with a sandbox account. Create work items, deliver source code,  customize dashboards, edit plans and more. Get up and running in minutes. Visit  http://jazz.net/sandbox  or http://jazz.net/projects/rational-team-concert 

Rational Team Concert software is available at no charge for up to 10 developers!

Event:  The Philly ETE Early Bird rate ends February 15

http://phillyemergingtech.com/2012/register  when it raises from $375 to $450

Once again, the Philly Emerging Technology for the Enterprise Conference is the best way to learn about all the open source tools and products that are ready for prime time.  The conference is in Old City on April 10 and 11. 

There are also many learning venues, that include Agile subjects.  Nationally known speaker James Shore will join our own Andre Dhondt who is hosting a session on "Better Agile through Tribes", and longtime friends of AgilePhilly Dani Diaz of Microsoft and Ken Rimple of Chariot Solns will be speaking, too.

In line with that is a technology challenge = =The  Philly ETE Project of the Year Award

Chariot Solutions and Technically Philly are sponsoring the first annual Philly ETE Project of the Year Award.

"We want to spotlight great software made in the Philadelphia region! We're looking for the coolest, most innovative software developed in 2011 in the Philadelphia region. We want to celebrate the art of software development and how it makes a difference in how organizations can thrive and grow. "

The award will be given out in the afternoon of the first day on ETE, April 10th.  The criteria and nomination form are located here: http://phillyemergingtech.com/2012/award

So nominate your company or send it along to an organization you think deserves to be recognized.  It can be a specific team within a company or an entire firm.  Help us help celebrate Philadelphia's software developers.

Event: 7-PDU Class: An advanced course in Rapid Agile Estimating and Planning  

Friday March 2^nd 1pm-5pm

Conshohocken Free Library, 301 Fayette Street, Conshohocken, PA 19428

Come learn and practice rapid agile planning--this is a class for active agile practitioners only--leaders and developers alike.  This half-day workshop is based on a collaborative game designed to drive home advanced topics on road mapping, estimation, progressive elaboration, story mapping, agile risk management, research & spike management and story management (estimation, splitting, backlog grooming). You'll come out of this workshop ready to master your strategic and tactical planning for your own projects!

This class will count for 7 category B PMI(tm) PDUs.

Cost: $75 for PMPs, $199 for anyone else. Team discounts available.

RSVP mailto:andre@...

Advertisement from our sponsor . . .  

TRAINING OPPORTUNITY: Introduction to CMMI-DEV Ver. 1.3

in Philadelphia, April 4-6, 2012

Accelerated Quality Improvement, an SEI Partner, is offering Introduction to CMMI-DEV Ver. 1.3 Training (Official SEI-authorized Training) from April 4-6, 2012 at the Sheraton Bucks County Hotel in Langhorne, PA (30 minutes from Princeton, NJ and Philadelphia, PA).

Course Instructor is Henry Schneider, a SEI-authorized SCAMPI^SM High Maturity Lead Appraiser and an SEI-authorized Introduction to CMMI Instructor.

Training Cost: $1,295 (Early Bird Discount Rate is $1,150, Deadline March 7) - includes all materials, CMMI book, and a FREE copy of the book Six Sigma Software Quality Improvement – Success Stories from the High Tech Industry, McGraw Hill, 2011

Course pre-registration  & Course Flyer: http://www.aqionline.com/aqimain/schedulepaidevents.html

Contact AQI with questions Mailto:info@... 

Agile Philly Meeting Schedule for March and April and May

This spring, it is time to get your CMMI together.  . .

After a fun Kanban simulation next week at Navteq / Nokia,

we will have a some good sessions for you to explore Six Sigma and CMMI, and why our industry is abuzz with these terms.

Wed Mar 14th - AgilePhilly Kanban simulation by Daniel Vacanti at Navteq / Nokia

Wed April 4th - AgilePhilly-SPIN Sheree Revilla, Six Sigma in Financials MS Malvern

Tues-Weds April 10-11 - Philly ETE conference at the Old City Sharaton

April 23 to 28 - Philly Tech Week at various places around the city

Tues May 8th AgilePhilly-SPIN joint meeting Jeff Dalton CMMI and Agile , Prudential in Ft Wash

Weds March 11 Navteq / Nokia in Chesterbrook near Microsoft

RSVP - http://www.agilephilly.com/events/kanban-simulation-by-daniel-vacanti

Location NAVTEQ (shares the parking lot with Unisys) 1000 Cedar Hollow Road, Malvern

The Building requires card access, so be prepared to show ID

Directions – Get off Rte 202 at the Penn State Great Valley Exit. 

But there is construction.

If you want to avoid the construction and you are headed south from King of Prussia on Rte 202, get off at the ChesterBrook Exit.  Right at the top of the Exit Ramp, Left at the light onto Duportail Road, right onto Swedesford Road, Left onto Cedar Hollow

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1000+Cedar+Hollow+Road,+Malvern,+pa&hl=en&ll=40.055081,-75.510664&spn=0.017377,0.041199&sll=40.000054,-75.502703&sspn=0.008695,0.020599&gl=us&safe=vss&hnear=1000+Cedar+Hollow+Rd,+Malvern,+Pennsylvania+19355&t=m&z=15

Volunteer to be a Greeter. Couple of people are needed Task is when you are attending a meeting, arrive a bit early, man the doors  and direct them to the meeting room, please contact mailto:rebecca@...

Our speaker Daniel Vacanti is one of the founders of the Kanban methodology, who will lead a Kanban simulation.  His local experience was in getting Kanban started at Nokia/Navteq.

Bio

Daniel Vacanti is a 17-year software industry veteran.  In 2007, he helped to create the Kanban Method for software development with David Anderson. 

He managed the world's first project implementation of Kanban that year, and has been conducting Kanban training, coaching, and consulting ever since.  He counts several Fortune 100 companies as some of his current and past clients. 

In 2011 he founded Corporate Kanban, Inc., which provides world-class Lean training and consulting to companies all over the globe. 

Daniel holds a Masters in Business Administration and regularly teaches a class on lean principles for software management at the University of California Berkeley.

For more info on Kanban, http://www.corporatekanban.com   http://www.leanssc.org 

Weds April 4-6 Training in Philly – from our food sponsor

Advertisement from our sponsor . . .  CMMI Training  = Introduction to CMMI-DEV Ver. 1.3

Accelerated Quality Improvement, an SEI Partner, is offering Introduction to CMMI-DEV Ver. 1.3 Training (Official SEI-authorized Training) from April 4-6, 2012 at the Sheraton Bucks County Hotel in Langhorne, PA (30 minutes from Princeton, NJ and Philadelphia, PA).

Course Instructor is Henry Schneider, a SEI-authorized SCAMPI^SM High Maturity Lead Appraiser and an SEI-authorized Introduction to CMMI Instructor.

Training Cost: $1,295 (Early Bird Discount Rate is $1,150, Deadline March 7) - includes all materials, CMMI book, and a FREE copy of the book Six Sigma Software Quality Improvement – Success Stories from the High Tech Industry, McGraw Hill, 2011

Course pre-registration  & Course Flyer: http://www.aqionline.com/aqimain/schedulepaidevents.html

Contact AQI with questions Mailto:info@... 

Weds April 11 meeting of AgilePhilly, Microsoft in Malvern 6:30pm

Because of Philly ETE, we will be meeting one week early on APRIL 4^th.

Six Sigma applied to Banking is something that affects each of us every day. 

See how Six Sigma and CMMI intertwine, and why we need to know about both disciplines.

Sheree Louise Revilla is a Master Black Belt at ING DIRECT, with a global business background spanning Financial Services, Manufacturing, and Air Transportation in various Operations, IT, and Marketing management functions. Her six sigma leadership has resulted in savings and process improvements for multiple departments including IT, Marketing, Sales, and Operations.

Sheree currently mentors Black Belts and Green Belts in the US, Canada, and Europe and has conducted Black Belt training for the same. Sheree holds an MBA from the Wharton School in Entrepreneurial Management and Information Systems and can be reached at srevilla@...

Anyone attending Philly ETE, let us know – If there are enough people attending Philly ETE, we may change the meeting date of April 11^th

mailto:AgilePhillyCoordinators@yahoogroups.com?subject=MoveTheMeeting04.19 

Tues-Weds April 10-11  Philly ETE – IT IS SOLD OUT

On the Agile front, nationally known author James Shore, our own Andre Dhondt, and local Stacia Broderick Viscardi are speaking.  The technical speakers and subjects are just too numerous to cover…

Like we told you months ago, it is sold out.   http://phillyemergingtech.com/2012/speakers

Philly Tech Week - http://phillytechweek.com/

Digital Art, Digital Music, Social Media, Hackathons and TEDX conferences, all mashed together.  Most events are free. The weather will be nice.  Time for skip work and learn something new and fun.

May 8^th  Meeting of SPIN, Prudential in Ft Wash

Everywhere we look, Agile methods are taking hold. Whether it is Scrum or XP, Spiral or Crystal, we are all starting to see the positive effects that Agile methods are having on our work. But it's not all good news. Many "Agile" shops are not getting anything close to the results they were hoping for.  Management still waits for information and makes decisions based on perception. Projects are still late and over budget. People are not trained, and the same mistakes are being made time and time again.

But there is an answer.

The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), the leading framework for continuous improvement can ALSO be used to improve Agile methods!  CMMI is fully compatible with Scrum and XP, and it fills in the blanks in a way that makes the investment in agile both powerful and productive.

Jeff Dalton is Broadsword's President, Certified Lead Appraiser, CMMI Instructor, ScrumMaster and author of  "agileCMMI"  Broadsword's leading methodology for incremental and iterative process improvement.  He is co-Chair of the SEI's Partner Advisory Board and President of the Great Lakes Software Process Improvement Network (GL-SPIN). He holds degrees in Music and Computer Science and builds experimental airplanes in his spare time.

In closing, a big shout out to our newest member Trish Hejazi.  She succinctly captured the spirit of Agile Philly in her comment when she signed up at the www.AgilePhilly.com   website this week:

"Agile Philly as a venue for networking with fellow Agile practitioners in the Philadelphia area and a place to explore opportunities for further growth and knowledge sharing in the Agile disciplines"

Agile Philly Meeting Schedule for March and April and May

This spring, it is time to get your CMMI together.  . .

After a fun Kanban simulation this WEDNESDAY at Navteq / Nokia,

we will have a some good sessions for you to explore Six Sigma and CMMI, and why our industry is abuzz with these terms.

Wed Mar 14th - AgilePhilly Kanban simulation by Daniel Vacanti at Navteq / Nokia

Wed April 11th - AgilePhilly&SPIN Sheree Revilla, Six Sigma in Financials MS Malvern

Tues-Weds April 10-11 - Philly ETE conference at the Old City Sharaton

April 23 to 28 - Philly Tech Week at various places around the city

Tues May 8th AgilePhilly&SPIN joint meeting Jeff Dalton CMMI and Agile , Prudential in Ft Wash

Weds March 11 Navteq / Nokia in Chesterbrook near Microsoft

RSVP - http://www.agilephilly.com/events/kanban-simulation-by-daniel-vacanti

Location NAVTEQ (shares the parking lot with Unisys) 1000 Cedar Hollow Road, Malvern

The Building requires card access, so be prepared to show ID

Directions – Get off Rte 202 at the Penn State Great Valley Exit. 

But there is construction.

If you want to avoid the construction and you are headed south from King of Prussia on Rte 202, get off at the ChesterBrook Exit.  Right at the top of the Exit Ramp, Left at the light onto Duportail Road, right onto Swedesford Road, Left onto Cedar Hollow

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1000+Cedar+Hollow+Road,+Malvern,+pa&hl=en&ll=40.055081,-75.510664&spn=0.017377,0.041199&sll=40.000054,-75.502703&sspn=0.008695,0.020599&gl=us&safe=vss&hnear=1000+Cedar+Hollow+Rd,+Malvern,+Pennsylvania+19355&t=m&z=15

Volunteer to be a Greeter. Couple of people are needed Task is when you are attending a meeting, arrive a bit early, man the doors  and direct them to the meeting room, please contact mailto:rebecca@...

Our speaker Daniel Vacanti is one of the founders of the Kanban methodology, who will lead a Kanban simulation.  His local experience was in getting Kanban started at Nokia/Navteq.

Bio

Daniel Vacanti is a 17-year software industry veteran.  In 2007, he helped to create the Kanban Method for software development with David Anderson. 

He managed the world's first project implementation of Kanban that year, and has been conducting Kanban training, coaching, and consulting ever since.  He counts several Fortune 100 companies as some of his current and past clients. 

In 2011 he founded Corporate Kanban, Inc., which provides world-class Lean training and consulting to companies all over the globe. 

Daniel holds a Masters in Business Administration and regularly teaches a class on lean principles for software management at the University of California Berkeley.

For more info on Kanban, http://www.corporatekanban.com   http://www.leanssc.org 

Weds April 4-6 Training in Philly – from our food sponsor

Advertisement from our sponsor . . .  CMMI Training  = Introduction to CMMI-DEV Ver. 1.3

Accelerated Quality Improvement, an SEI Partner, is offering Introduction to CMMI-DEV Ver. 1.3 Training (Official SEI-authorized Training) from April 4-6, 2012 at the Sheraton Bucks County Hotel in Langhorne, PA (30 minutes from Princeton, NJ and Philadelphia, PA).

Course Instructor is Henry Schneider, a SEI-authorized SCAMPI^SM High Maturity Lead Appraiser and an SEI-authorized Introduction to CMMI Instructor.

Training Cost: $1,295 (Early Bird Discount Rate is $1,150, Deadline March 7) - includes all materials, CMMI book, and a FREE copy of the book Six Sigma Software Quality Improvement – Success Stories from the High Tech Industry, McGraw Hill, 2011

Course pre-registration  & Course Flyer: http://www.aqionline.com/aqimain/schedulepaidevents.html

Contact AQI with questions Mailto:info@... 

Weds April 11 meeting of AgilePhilly, Microsoft in Malvern 6:30pm

Because of Philly ETE, we will be meeting one week early on APRIL 4^th.

Six Sigma applied to Banking is something that affects each of us every day. 

See how Six Sigma and CMMI intertwine, and why we need to know about both disciplines.

Sheree Louise Revilla is a Master Black Belt at ING DIRECT, with a global business background spanning Financial Services, Manufacturing, and Air Transportation in various Operations, IT, and Marketing management functions. Her six sigma leadership has resulted in savings and process improvements for multiple departments including IT, Marketing, Sales, and Operations.

Sheree currently mentors Black Belts and Green Belts in the US, Canada, and Europe and has conducted Black Belt training for the same. Sheree holds an MBA from the Wharton School in Entrepreneurial Management and Information Systems and can be reached at srevilla@...

Anyone attending Philly ETE, let us know – If there are enough people attending Philly ETE, we may change the meeting date of April 11^th

mailto:AgilePhillyCoordinators@yahoogroups.com?subject=MoveTheMeeting04.19 

Tues-Weds April 10-11  Philly ETE – IT IS SOLD OUT

On the Agile front, nationally known author James Shore, our own Andre Dhondt, and local Stacia Broderick Viscardi are speaking.  The technical speakers and subjects are just too numerous to cover…

Like we told you months ago, it is sold out.   http://phillyemergingtech.com/2012/speakers

Philly Tech Week - http://phillytechweek.com/

Digital Art, Digital Music, Social Media, Hackathons and TEDX conferences, all mashed together.  Most events are free. The weather will be nice.  Time for skip work and learn something new and fun.

May 8^th  Meeting of SPIN, Prudential in Ft Wash

Everywhere we look, Agile methods are taking hold. Whether it is Scrum or XP, Spiral or Crystal, we are all starting to see the positive effects that Agile methods are having on our work. But it's not all good news. Many "Agile" shops are not getting anything close to the results they were hoping for.  Management still waits for information and makes decisions based on perception. Projects are still late and over budget. People are not trained, and the same mistakes are being made time and time again.

But there is an answer.

The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), the leading framework for continuous improvement can ALSO be used to improve Agile methods!  CMMI is fully compatible with Scrum and XP, and it fills in the blanks in a way that makes the investment in agile both powerful and productive.

Jeff Dalton is Broadsword's President, Certified Lead Appraiser, CMMI Instructor, ScrumMaster and author of  "agileCMMI"  Broadsword's leading methodology for incremental and iterative process improvement.  He is co-Chair of the SEI's Partner Advisory Board and President of the Great Lakes Software Process Improvement Network (GL-SPIN). He holds degrees in Music and Computer Science and builds experimental airplanes in his spare time.

In closing, a big shout out to our newest member Trish Hejazi.  She succinctly captured the spirit of Agile Philly in her comment when she signed up at the www.AgilePhilly.com   website this week:

"Agile Philly as a venue for networking with fellow Agile practitioners in the Philadelphia area and a place to explore opportunities for further growth and knowledge sharing in the Agile disciplines"

How good to hear from you, Naresh!

(For those who are new, Naresh is a mere mortal, but endowed with
unlimited energy and visionary insight. He is one of the founders of
AgilePhilly.)

Are you in Malvern on the evening of Weds April 11th 6:30pm, the date of
our scheduled monthly meeting?
(Let's start a conversation at
mailto:AgilePhillyCoordinators@yahoogroups.com to see what can be done
about logisitcs)

Meanwhile, Congrats on the AgileIndia conference 2 weeks ago.  The photos
look like it had some Open Spaces events . . . and I have to ask:  I see
the vendor booths and event banners at AgileIndia are in English.  How
much of the presentations and on-floor discussions were in Indian?  Is
English a preferred communication medium, due to regional differences?

And we would love to hear about the upcoming Simple Design and Testing
Conference http://www.sdtconf.com in Houston April 27-29. . . Has it
grown into a 2 day event ?

- John Voris



On 3/17/2012, "Naresh Jain" <nashjain@...> wrote:

>Group,
>
>I'll be visiting Malvern on 10th April. Would love to meet the group on 10th
evening.
> 
>--
>Naresh Jain (@nashjain)

Time to get your CMMI together.  . .

After a fun Kanban simulation last week at Navteq / Nokia, (you shudda been there), we have some good sessions exploring Six Sigma and CMMI, and why our industry is abuzz with these terms.

Upcoming events

Weds April 11 – AgilePhilly at Bentley in Lionville/Exton Intro to CMMI and Six Sigma

Tues-Weds April 10-11 - Philly ETE conference at the Old City Sharaton

April 23 to 28 - Philly Tech Week at various places around the city

Tues May 8th AgilePhilly & SPIN joint meeting Jeff Dalton CMMI and Agile , Prudential in Ft Wash

Weds June 13^th AgilePhilly at Microsoft Malvern - Kanban 2: Applying Agile Lessons Beyond Software Engineering

Followup from Weds March 11 Kanban Simulation at Navteq / Nokia

If you liked it, then give us a Facebook "Like" http://www.agilephilly.com/events/kanban-simulation-by-daniel-vacanti  And thanks to Daniel Vacanti for a fun & educational night.  And another Kanban exercise similar to the March 14^th meeting is here

http://blog.lithespeed.com/2012/02/exercise-in-flow-dice-game.html

For more info on Kanban, http://www.corporatekanban.com   http://www.leanssc.org 

Weds April 11 meeting of AgilePhilly, Bentley Systems in Lionville-Exton 6:30pm

Bentley is near the Lionville-Exton Exit of the PA Turnpike

RSVP http://www.agilephilly.com/events/six-sigma-in-financial-software-by-sheree-revilla

Sheree Revilla will show us how Six Sigma practices can be applied to software.  Six Sigma has revolutionized quality in the manufacturing arena, and it earns its practioners Green Belts and Black Belts.

After an introduction to Six Sigma, we will see some applications of Six Sigma in IT areas.
We will also see how Six Sigma converges with CMMI. ( "CMMI - Part 2" is the topic of the AgilePhilly - SPIN meeting on May 8th.)

There will be lots of samples of how these methodologies have changed the practice of building critical financial software.

Sheree Louise Revilla is a Master Black Belt at ING DIRECT, with a global business background spanning Financial Services, Manufacturing, and Air Transportation in various Operations, IT, and Marketing management functions. Her six sigma leadership has resulted in savings and process improvements for multiple departments including IT, Marketing, Sales, and Operations.

Sheree currently mentors Black Belts and Green Belts in the US, Canada, and Europe and has conducted Black Belt training for the same. Sheree holds an MBA from the Wharton School in Entrepreneurial Management and Information Systems and can be reached at srevilla@...

Directions to Bentley Systems

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Bentley+Systems,+Inc,+685+Stockton+Drive,+Exton,+PA+19341&hl=en&ll=40.065502,-75.687679&spn=0.004615,0.0103&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.047881,84.375&oq=Bentley+Systems,+685+Stockton+Dr,+Exton,+PA+19341&safe=vss&hq=Bentley+Systems,+Inc,+685+Stockton+Drive,+Exton,+PA+19341&radius=15000&t=m&z=17

Tues-Weds April 10-11  Philly ETE – IT IS SOLD OUT

On the Agile front, nationally known author James Shore, our own Andre Dhondt, and local Stacia Broderick Viscardi are speaking.  The technical speakers and subjects are just too numerous to cover…

Like we told you months ago, it is sold out.   http://phillyemergingtech.com/2012/speakers

And Naresh Jain (@nashjain) may be around to say hi.

Philly Tech Week - http://phillytechweek.com/ April 23-28

Digital Art, Digital Music, Social Media, Hackathons and TEDX conferences, all mashed together.  Most events are free. The weather will be nice.  Time for skip work and learn something new and fun.

Everywhere we look, Agile methods are taking hold. Whether it is Scrum or XP, Spiral or Crystal, we are all starting to see the positive effects that Agile methods are having on our work. But it's not all good news. Many "Agile" shops are not getting anything close to the results they were hoping for.  Management still waits for information and makes decisions based on perception. Projects are still late and over budget. People are not trained, and the same mistakes are being made time and time again.

But there is an answer.

The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), the leading framework for continuous improvement can ALSO be used to improve Agile methods!  CMMI is fully compatible with Scrum and XP, and it fills in the blanks in a way that makes the investment in agile both powerful and productive.

Jeff Dalton is Broadsword's President, Certified Lead Appraiser, CMMI Instructor, ScrumMaster and author of  "agileCMMI"  Broadsword's leading methodology for incremental and iterative process improvement.  He is co-Chair of the SEI's Partner Advisory Board and President of the Great Lakes Software Process Improvement Network (GL-SPIN). He holds degrees in Music and Computer Science and builds experimental airplanes in his spare time.

Weds June 13^th Applying Agile Lessons Beyond Software Engineering

Microsoft in Malvern

Presented by Paul Eisenberg of Applied Content, LLC.

·       This talk will illustrate how Agile/Lean Methods are now being applied beyond manufacturing and software development

·       Learn why and how a leading publisher has begun to adopt Kanban for editorial and mobile content development workflows

·       Gain insights from understanding the similarities and differences as compared to adoption in software development only environments

Answering those age-old questions

-        How do the lessons and advantages of Kanban apply to other intellectual, information era systems, which include software development?

-        Are areas like office flows, financial reporting deadlines, and other sequence and time-contrained areas in a workplace suitable - places where value and waste, hard to define and is not easily measured?

-        What is the resistance from non-assembly line workers who think Kanban does not apply to their information or service jobs ?

-        In a real life experience report, do Kanban methods help with the new paradigms of software as a service, cloud computing, and mobile apps?

One Other Thing: A good read . . .

To follow up with Kanban of Processes (and getting ready for CMMI maturity models), how about another measurement of Agility – Lead Indicators and Lag Indicators, which should show Cause and Effect.  But can they be mapped and measured in your process?

Don't stop with "We're agile!"  Drive directly to "We're agile, and you can tell, because the business is already better." 

http://pagilista.blogspot.com/2012/03/lead-and-lag-measures-for-agile.html

Volunteer to be a Greeter. A couple of people are needed Task is when you are attending a meeting, arrive a bit early, man the doors  and direct them to the meeting room, please contact mailto:rebecca@...