Applying the Concept of Wicked Problems and 7 Principles for Dealing with Them presented by Bill Gilmore

Networking @ 6:00 PM; Seminar 7:00-8:00 PM This is a free seminar open to the public. Hosted by the Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN).

Abstract

Many of you may have heard about "wicked problems". For example, in many cases one can define the problem, then pursue a solution; but with wicked problems, one can't define the problem well until they finally have the solution. Wicked problems have several other interesting characteristics as well. An approach of "taming wicked problems" contradicts the wisdom of trying to make the nature and complexity of the solution fit the nature and complexity of the problem.

The concept of wicked problems can be used as a paradigm for understanding many real world situations, including many in software development, managing teams and leading projects, organizational change, strategic planning, and more. In this presentation, you'll hear about 7 principles that can be applied for dealing with wicked problems. We'll look at several examples of problems, some more wicked than others, and how to analyze and deal with them. We'll also look at several seminal ideas in software engineering and see how the principles were used. Finally, we'll gather some problems from the audience and practice characterizing the problems and applying the principles for planning how to cope with them.

Speaker Bio

Bill Gilmore has worked in software engineering for over 20 years in various development, management, process and consulting roles. He worked in two small companies, then worked at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon. He moved to Oregon in 1993 to head up the Software Process Improvement program at Tektronix. Most recently he worked at Intel for 10 years with several product teams and business groups on software product quality, product life cycles and several areas of software engineering. He led CMM and product life cycle assessments and organized and led follow-on improvement programs. Today, Bill is the President of the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC). Bill has a Ph.D. in Astronomy; has published papers in Software Engineering, Strategic Planning, and Astronomy; and has presented at several conferences.

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will have pizza provided by PNSQC beginning at 6:00 pm.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

About Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) Seminar

Dates/Times: Thursday, May 27th, 2010; Networking @ 6:00 PM with Pizza; Seminar 7:00-8:00 PM This event is free and open to the public.

Abstract

Retrospectives can be one of the most effective tools in process improvement. They allow projects and organizations to identify the key issues and improvements for success and provide a platform to create buy in and clear steps to implement positive change. Come join Debra Lavell from Intel Corp. as she shares a case study taken from a real project from Intel, where a project manager has been asked to gather and share key learnings from a very important software program. The twist – this team has zero travel budget, complex cross-organizational cultural differences, and a high level of resistance to change. Debra will discuss how a retrospective is different from other review practices such as post mortems, after action reviews, etc. She will explain the four phases of a retrospective process with emphasis on the role of the facilitator so when you leave, you can design and deliver an effective retrospective when you get back to your organizations.

Speaker Bio

Debra Lavell is the Organizational Learning & Retrospective Program Manager in the Corporate Platform Office at Intel Corporation. With over 10 years of experience, Debra has delivered over 300 Project and Milestone Retrospectives for Intel world-wide. Prior to her work in quality, Debra spent over 5 years managing an IT department responsible for a 500+-node network for ADC Telecommunications. Debra is a member of the Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) Steering Committee. She currently is the President of the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, Portland, Oregon. She holds a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Management with an emphasis on Industrial Relations

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will have pizza and soda provided by PNSQC beginning at 6:00 pm.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN.

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

Talk will be held at the World Trade Center, Portland, Mezzanine Level 2 in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC).

This is a free talk and open to the public.

Abstract

During a given workday, we either focus on testing activities or we have to focus on the things that interrupt testing activities. Some of us lament the interruptions, others find it energizing because it’s consistent with notions of Agile — like responding to change over following a plan. I’ve got an idea on how to use interruptions to focus on testing activities. Multi-tasking is not evil, nor does it have to torpedo your project, but it may require a management technique to help you stay sane. Enter Thread-Based Test Management — a way to let interruptions guide you to where you’re needed most. Using a kanban-style dashboard is one way to go with the flow without losing your way. Using a spreadsheet with rows to track topics you followed in a day is another. In this talk, Jon Bach describes his experiences with a new technique he and his brother James invented that might help you get rid of the shame of feeling undisciplined for letting yourself be interrupted while being more response-able to the important things that need your time and attention.

Speaker Bio

Jon has over 15 years of experience, including Fortune 500 and start-up companies, serving in the Quality Assistance and Software Testing domain. He is a co-author of a Microsoft Patterns and Practices book on Acceptance Testing (2010) and is an award-winning keynote speaker for major testing conferences (STAR, QAI, BCS SIGIST). He has served as the vice president of conferences for the Association for Software Testing; invented a method for managing and measuring exploratory testing; a method for coaching testers (Open-Book Testing) and categorizing risk (Color-Aided Test Design) and has published over 50 articles, whitepapers, and presentations about the notions of value of exploration and rapid, risk-based testing. He has been with Quardev for the past 6 years and serves as the speaker chairman for the acclaimed Seattle non-profit QASIG testing forum (www.qasig.org).

About Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

Monthly seminars are sponsored by the Rose City SPIN and the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference.

December 9th Rose City SPIN Seminar Announcement:

Beyond Acceptance Testing

Presented by BJ Clark

Dates/Times: Thursday, December 9th, 2010; Networking @ 6:00 PM; Seminar 7:00-8:00 PM Location: HF3 Auditorium, Intel Hawthorne Farms 3 (HF3) Campus, 5200 NE Elam Young Pkwy, Hillsboro, OR 97124 - View Map

Directions: From Cornell, head South on NE Elam Young Pkwy (near Costco). Take the first left to turn into the Intel parking lot. The HF3 campus will be directly in front of you. Parking is available on both sides of the building. Note that there are two NE Elam Young Pkwy streets that connect to Cornell. Use the west one, closest to Brookwood and Costco.

Abstract Fit, Fitness, and Cucumber have revolutionized development and brought the idea of acceptance-level testing and "Outside-in-development" to a whole community of developers, testers and product owners. But can we take the idea of acceptance testing to another level and test things other than the "correctness" of our software? What if we could also specify and test the quality of interaction in our applications? What if we could involve a whole other community of people, interaction designers and user experience professionals, in not just the ideation of our products, but the actual execution of the software itself? In beyond acceptance testing, we'll look into who could be writing acceptance tests and all the things that we could be testing that most of us currently aren't doing.

Speaker Bio

BJ Clark is a SE Portland based designer, "extreme programmer", and user experience professional. He works for Goldstar Events (goldstar.com) running skunk-works projects and working on the overall user experience. He has more than 10 years experience developing e-commerce platforms and working for numerous venture funded startups. You can read his blog at http://bjclark.me. He received his formal education in Fine Art and when not in front of a computer, likes to make furniture and wood-fired ceramics.

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will have pizza and pop provided by PNSQC beginning at 6:00 pm.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. Please RSVP to [email protected] so we know you’re coming!

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

For many years the Rose City SPIN (Software Process Improvement Network) has provided a forum for networking and industry speaker presentations to the software development community in the Portland, OR area. If you have enjoyed SPIN presentations in the past and want to see them continue, NOW is the time to step forward. We need your input and help. This meeting will discuss how this group will move forward. If you are interested in the Rose City SPIN and would like to help mold and support the future of the group, come on down and join the discussion! We are also looking for people who are willing to volunteer their time to help continue this organization. This will be an open collaboration - we want to hear your thoughts! Agenda:

• Introduction and short history of the Rose City SPIN

• Goals and purpose of SPIN and the needs of the community

• Open discussion of how this group should be organized to meet its purpose

• Call for SPIN volunteers

• If time allows, discussion on future topics, meeting locations, communications and more!

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC http://www.pnsqc.org) the SPIN meeting will have pizza and pop provided by PNSQC beginning at 5:30 pm. Meeting will start at 6:00pm

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. RSVP to [email protected].

Traversing the Canyon of Anarchy: Making Change Stick Presented by Tamara Sulaiman Runyon

Dates/Times: Thursday, January 12th, 2012: Networking @ 5:30-6:30 PM; Seminar 6:30-7:30 PM Location: Lincoln Center 2 Conference Room (2nd floor above the cafe/barista stand. Use stairs or elevators), 10220 SW Greenberg Rd., Portland, OR 97223.

Abstract Have you ever begun a process change, only to watch in dismay and puzzlement as the change fizzles out like a wet firecracker? Have you generated excitement for new ideas, seen them seem to take root and grow, only to find a year later that there is no discernible behavior change? If so, you are not alone. In this talk Tamara Sulaiman Runyon discusses some causes of why process change is so difficult to make stick in many organizations. Topics include: the key role that vision and leadership play in instigating lasting change, the potential iceberg of organizational culture as a change blocker, as well as the people aspects – the levels of discomfort caused by change and measuring the growth of competence as change is assimilated.

Presenter Bio

Tamara Sulaiman Runyon has been assisting teams in transitioning to agile methods both as a hands-on ScrumMaster and as an Agile Coach and Scrum trainer since 2003. Tamara is focused on coaching teams to effectively provide value to key stakeholders and customers through the frequent delivery of software. Her passion lies in helping organizations plan and implement Agile transformations.

She is a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) and Project Management Professional (PMP). Tamara is the co-originator of the AgileEVM materials and processes that integrate the traditional project management practice of Earned Value Management with the Scrum framework. As a thought leader she is currently serving on the Agile Alliance Board of Directors. Tamara continues to publish articles on Agile-related topics in industry publications such as Agile Journal, Methods and Tools, InfoQ, Projects@Work and gantthead.com. She also shares her experiences, ideas and expertise as a presenter and speaker at conferences.

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will have pizza and pop provided by PNSQC beginning at 5:30 pm.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. You can help us plan food and drinks by registering at: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/2694702929

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

A Case Study of “PDLC and an Agile Process”

Presented by Ira Hill

Abstract:

A review of implementing agile processes in a waterfall environment the presentation outlines the journey of guiding several ‘pseudo’ agile projects to completion in an environment that was structured for waterfall efforts. This presentation is intended for the practitioner that may be trying to adopt some agile concepts while functioning in a waterfall environment and was originally created as an introduction to agile processes for the PMO.

Bio:

Working at as a supervisor for two development teams (Linux OS and Windows Platform) at ADP Dealer services Ira has been a software practitioner for over 30 years. A former adjunct professor at Portland State University Ira taught OMSE 525 (Software Quality Analysis) in the Oregon Masters of Software Engineering program and focuses on adding quality into products early in their life cycle. A graduate of the University of Oregon (MS Software Engineering) and Eastern Washington University (BS Computer Science) Ira is a native of Portland and has held various positions around the northwest specializing in systems software development.

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will have pizza and pop provided by PNSQC beginning at 5:30 pm.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is toenable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

Thanks also to OTBC

We want to thank OTBC (http://www.otbc.org/) for providing the space for this talk.

How to Register

No need to register! This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. But you can help us plan food and drinks by registering at: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3710965598

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

Rose City SPIN Presentation in partnership with PNSQC

Agile Metrics – Velocity is Not the Goal

Michael “Doc” Norton, LeanDog

Velocity is one of the most common metrics used—and one of the most commonly misused—on agile projects. Velocity is simply a measurement of speed in a given direction—the rate at which a team is delivering toward a product release. As with a vehicle en route to a particular destination, increasing the speed may appear to ensure a timely arrival. However, that assumption is dangerous because it ignores the risks with higher speeds. And while it’s easy to increase a vehicle’s speed, where exactly is the accelerator on a software team? Michael “Doc” Norton walks us through the Hawthorne Effect and Goodhart’s Law to explain why setting goals for velocity can actually hurt a project’s chances of success. Take a look at what can negatively impact velocity, ways to stabilize fluctuating velocity, and methods to improve velocity without the risks. Leave with a toolkit of additional metrics that, coupled with velocity, give a better view of the project’s overall health.

A promoter and practitioner of agile since 1999, Michael “Doc” Norton (@DocOnDev) is an agile coach and a partner with LeanDog. Doc’s twenty-plus years of software development have provided him with experience on a wide range of topics. As a member of LeanDog, living in Wadsworth, OH, Doc provides coaching, mentoring, training, and delivery in agile/XP/lean software development techniques. Doc is immediately suspicious of anyone who declares expertise in a single programming language or methodology. He is passionate about helping others become better developers, working with teams to improve delivery, and emphasizing software craftsmanship.

About Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN. Monthly seminars are sponsored by the Rose City SPIN and the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference.

About PNSQC

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

Abstract:

How Do You Set a Collaborative Context? Encourage Pervasive Leadership

Why do we think collaboration is so hard, so complex? Well, one reason is that it’s largely antithetical to how we have been enculturated for generations. At the same time, it’s increasingly important for business survival and has long been important for personal happiness. February’s SPIN talk looks at what is needed to speed up and optimize opportunities for collaboration on project teams and in organizations from a leadership perspective. We’ll discuss what it means to have a “dialogic mindset” to “presence” leadership in the organization and discuss a model that leaders all across, up, and down the organization can use to foster collaboration. Principles around freedom and accountability as well as deep democracy will be covered and related to the workplace.

While this topic does not present a panacea for dysfunctional organizations it will provide attendees with new thinking and action-base tools for fostering collaboration wherever they lead. Come prepared to participate. While she respects “tourists” this speaker draws out audience interaction. Leadership is a conversation, not a presentation.

Bio:

Jean Richardson has been a software development professional since 1989, She is experienced in project management, writing, training, public speaking, and requirements and business analysis. During her career, she has designed and implemented a number of communications programs, managed dozens of projects, helped to assemble and led large and small co-located and distributed teams, led process improvement initiatives, and led professional development and education efforts for software developers in all specialties.

As a businessperson, she is firmly aware of the value, as well as the cost, of customer intimacy. She cautions fellow software professionals against too strictly applying the adage “it’s just business,” because business is done by human beings. She has learned that basic human issues are at the root of most business problems and most customer/vendor, employer/employee, or client/consultant disputes. Jean believes that if we ignore this fact we dehumanize ourselves and imperil our society.

Her experience and career path have spanned both traditional and agile methods, frameworks, and cultural perspectives. The Agile leadership model she espouses, Pervasive Leadership, is designed to help leaders set a collaborative context while still meeting their own stewardship responsibilities to the organization.

Jean teaches courses in Effective Conflict Engagement, Collaboration for Cross-Functional Teams, Setting Collaborative Context, Working Together When You Can’t Be Face-to-Face, and Facilitative Leadership.

As a consultant, her client list boasts a wide range of businesses including ADP, Chrome Systems, Intel, Daimler Chrysler, Kryptiq Corporation, Mentor Graphics, Oregon State Department of Human Services, Portland General Electric, The Regence Group/Cambia Health Solutions, and Tripwire. EPHT GEORGE, a project Jean led for the Public Health Division of Oregon State Department of Human Services, won the Project Management Institute 2009 Project of the Year Award for the Portland Chapter.

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will have pizza and pop provided by PNSQC beginning at 5:30 pm.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

Thanks also to OTBC

We want to thank OTBC (http://www.otbc.org/) for providing the space for this talk

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. But you can help us plan food and drinks by registering at: http://rosecityspin-feb.eventbrite.com

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

Networking at 5:30 PM, talk begins at 6:00 PM.

In partnership with the Intel Agile & Lean Conference and the Pacific Northwest Quality Conference, Rose City SPIN is proud to present this park bench discussion on “Escaping Velocity.”

Has Agile crossed the chasm and if so, what’s next? What will the industry look like in the next five years? This will be an open discussion with the speakers and audience about where we are and where we’re going in product development. Bring your burning questions about Agile as the audience will be able to ask questions during the park bench session. This is your opportunity to generate discussion about Agile topics with some of the top minds in the industry!

Speakers:

James Grenning trains, coaches and consults worldwide. James professional roots are in embedded software. His mission is to bring modern technical and management practices to embedded development teams. He is the author of Test-Driven Development for Embedded C. He is a co-author of CppUTest, a popular unit test harness for embedded C and C++. He invented Planning Poker, an estimating technique used around the world, and participated in the creation of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. His business website is http://renaissancesoftware.net.

David “The Dude” Hussman teaches and coaches agility in companies of all sizes all over the world. For more than 10 years, David has evolved the successful adoption of agile methods in medical, retail, legal, education, health care, control systems, digital audio, financial and more. Sometimes he is pairing with developers and testers, while other times he is helping product manager create product roadmaps. David believes in helping companies design processes that help them instead of simply teaching them to follow a process. In addition to working side by side with design and delivery teams, David works with leader and executives to promote the use of agile methods to attack the real challenges of their specific industry. In 2009, David received the Gordon Pask Award from the Agile Alliance. David’s company called DevJam provides coaching, coursework, development staff and product development. DevJam has seasoned mentors and builders who pragmatically match technology, people, and processes to create better products in more competitive cycles.

Diana Larsen is a founder of FutureWorks Consulting, LLC, Diana Larsen partners with clients in the software industry to create, guide, and fortify resilient workplaces and improve project performance. In addition to consulting with and coaching leaders and teams on adopting Agile work systems, she leads team, project, and whole system processes for collaborative learning, thinking and planning. Diana co-authored Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great! and Liftoff: Launching Agile Teams and Projects. She serves on the boards of directors of the Agile Alliance and the Agile Open Northwest non-profit, and is an associate of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute.

Please register at: http://www.eventbrite.com/myevent?eid=6157030845. (Registration is option, but it does help organizers plan).

Networking @ 5:30-6:30 PM; Seminar 6:30-7:30 PM

Abstract:

Automated testing in a hot topic right now in the QA space. But how do you get started in it? One step at a time. This talk is aimed at the beginner and hopes to provide some background in how to start to learn how to automate stuff. Stuff that can make your day to day job easier. Even if you think you don’t have any automation experience, you probably actually have something that you can build on. I’ll give you one path as a guide, but ultimately it will be up to you to complete the journey.

Bio:

Alan Ark is a Principal QA Engineer at Viewpoint Construction Software – a Division of Coaxis, in Portland, Oregon. Alan has gained tremendous experience working for Compli, Unircu, Switchboard.com, and Thomson Financial – First Call. Mr. Ark has previously presented ‘Euro: An Automated Solution to Currency Conversion’ at Quality Week ’99, and ‘Collaborative Quality: One Company’s Recipe for Software Success’ at PNSQC 2008 and YES! You CAN Bring Test Automation to Your Company! at PNSQC 2011. At Compli, he is using Ruby to solve problems both large and small. His LinkedIn profile can be viewed at http://www.linkedin.com/in/arkie

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will have pizza and pop provided by PNSQC beginning at 5:30 pm.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

Thanks also to OTBC

We want to thank OTBC (http://www.otbc.org/) for providing the space for this talk

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. But you can help us plan food and drinks by registering at: http://may-spin.eventbrite.com

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

Networking @ 5:30-6:30 PM; Seminar 6:30-7:30 PM

Abstract:

Anyone who has seen a few generations of computer technology knows that each generation brings in a whole new vocabulary. It seems like the same old thing but with all of the names changed. Why do they do that?

It helps us get unstuck. That's the short answer. Each generation brings with it unfamiliar capabilities. It takes serious effort to find application for those capabilities and hiding the good stuff among the familiar just makes doing new things harder.

In this presentation I'll describe my own lurch forward over the last two years. The web, which has been stuck in its own way, has busted free. Its a great time to try something new. Some of this is technology, some methodology, and some community. All of it impresses me. Let me tell you why it's important.

Bio:

Ward Cunningham programs every day at New Relic. He continues to develop the unique data handling capabilities of Federated Wiki, a project rooted in his service as Nike's open-data fellow. Ward co-founded the consultancy, Cunningham & Cunningham, Inc. He has served as CTO at CitizenGlobal and AboutUs, a Director of the Eclipse Foundation, an Architect in Microsoft's Patterns & Practices Group, the Director of R&D at Wyatt Software and as Principle Engineer in the Tektronix Computer Research Laboratory.

Ward is well known for his contributions to the developing practice of object-oriented programming, the variation called Extreme Programming, and the communities supported by his WikiWikiWeb. Ward hosts the AgileManifesto.org. He is a founder of the Hillside Group and there created the Pattern Languages of Programs conferences which continues to be held all over the word.

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. But you can help us plan food and drinks by registering at: http://june-spin.eventbrite.com

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will have pizza and pop provided by PNSQC beginning at 5:30 pm.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

Thanks also to OTBC

We want to thank OTBC (http://www.otbc.org/) for providing the space for this talk.

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. But you can help us plan food and drinks by registering at: http://june-spin.eventbrite.com

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

Waterfall to Agile: Flipping the Switch
Presented by Bhushan Gupta, Nike Inc.

Abstract:

Agile software development methodology is transitioning from a fad to a practice. More and more software development practitioners are contemplating to switch from Waterfall to Agile if not entirely at least partially. Terms like scrum, sprint, stand up, story points, and velocity are becoming the ‘Lingua Franca’. While enough light has been shed on the mechanics of creating a release and iteration plan, managing story development, and sprint retrospectives, the team dynamics and behavior for success has not been given the mindshare it deserves.

Although the rules of the game when moving from waterfall to agile development change substantially, the players and their goals do not. The player that, “product manager” now becomes “product owner” and need to very actively pursue customer interest as a customer surrogate. Test engineers who took pride in breaking the code are now urged to work side by side with the developers and ensure that the defects are resolved immediately for a successful completion of a sprint. The project managers who are supposed to drive the schedule take on a role of facilitators making every effort to see that the sprint is complete and the velocity is adequate. Requirements that are frozen rarely gel and the designs go through multiple refactoring cycles to make sure that the development progresses. The new product quality champions who were always looking for “the knee in the defect trends” now barely have any fluctuations in the defect find trends from sprint to sprint. Referring the game, there is a new character in the theatre, “scrum master”, who manages the delivery of the stories.

Can this change be achieved by simply creating a backlog, a release plan, and a sequence of iterations? No. It takes changes in people’s perspectives, the way they think, and the way they achieve their goals. Would a Type A “product owner” who is used to take a product to the market with all the bells and whistles be comfortable to do so with less than the planned functionality? Would a star developer forget about gold plating and would a test engineer who always took pride in finding errors in someone else’s work be able to stand by developers and work with them. Most of all, would the orchestra be able to perform without the precisely written music, the “requirements document”? This paper analyzes the transition of a waterfall team to an agile environment and how changing the perspectives of the players can make the transition a success when the switch from Agile to Waterfall is flipped.

Bio:

Bhushan Gupta has a M.S. in Computer Science from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM. Bhushan has 27 years of experience in software engineering, 17 of which have been in the software industry. Currently a senior member of the GSS QA team at Nike, Bhushan is deeply involved with the agile development. Prior to joining Nike, Bhushan worked at Hewlett-Packard for 13 years in various capacities and led his groups in product development lifecycles, development methodology and execution processes, and software metrics for quality and software productivity. Bhushan has published and presented numerous articles in various conferences and has participated in panel discussions.

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will have pizza and pop provided by PNSQC beginning at 5:30 pm.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

Thanks also to OTBC

We want to thank OTBC (http://www.otbc.org/) for providing the space for this talk

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. But you can help us plan food and drinks by registering at: https://sept2013spin-reg.eventbrite.com/?ref=estw

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

Your Path Through Agile Fluency: Making Agile Work for You

Presented by Diana Larsen and James Shore

Networking with complimentary hors d'oeuvres at 5:30pm
Presentation at 6:30pm

Abstract

The promise of Agile is simple and compelling: a team that effortlessly surfs the wave of business possibility, changing direction to meet the needs of a changing market. Transitioning to Agile confers many benefits to an organization, but all too often teams don’t (or can’t) deliver on the promise. Too few teams achieve the ideal.

Diana Larsen and Jim Shore developed a model of the ways agile teams deliver value. This model describes four conditions of Agile fluency, what you can expect from each condition, and how to increase your team’s fluency, so you can achieve what Agile promises.

Diana and Jim will demonstrate how the organization’s desire for benefits and willingness to invest make the real difference. From creating value, to delivering, optimizing, and beyond, you will learn the practices, techniques, and change necessary as teams stretch their understanding of Agile and achieve new levels of excellence. This talk is based on the ideas behind the article at www.agilefluency.com.

Bio

Diana Larsen is a founding partner of FutureWorks Consulting. She is considered an international authority in the areas of Agile software development, team leadership, and Agile transitions. Diana works with organizations in the western US and around the world. Deeply in tune with how work teams grow, adapt, and develop, she co-authored Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great, Liftoff: Launching Agile Teams and Projects, and most recently, with James Shore, “Your Path through Agile Fluency: A Brief Guide to Success with Agile” at www.agilefluency.com.

An active volunteer, Diana is a current board member for Agile Open Northwest and the Organization Design Forum, coordinating committee member for AgilePDX, and past board member of Agile Alliance and PNSQC. She is also an associate of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute. You can follow her on Twitter (@DianaOfPortland) or contact her directly at [email protected].

James Shore teaches, writes, and consults on Agile development processes. He led his first Agile team in 1999 and was an early adopter of Extreme Programming in 2000. Today, he focuses on helping people understand how all aspects of Agile, from technical, to business, to social, fit together to create successful software projects.

James is an inaugural recipient of the Agile Alliance’s Gordon Pask Award for Contributions to Agile Practice and is co-author of The Art of Agile Development (O’Reilly, 2007). In 2012, InfoQ named him as one of the “most influential people in Agile.” He writes about software development on his “Art of Agile” blog at http://jamesshore.com and he hosts the screencast series “Let’s Code: Test-Driven JavaScript” at http://www.letscodejavascript.com.

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will complimentary hors d’oeuvres and beverages beginning at 5:30 pm. This is a great opportunity for networking and knowledge exchange with other practitioners on the current state of software development.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. But you can help us plan by registering at: https://2013octspin-reg.eventbrite.com

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.

The presentation starts at 6:30.

Abstract:

What is your company’s culture? What is your org’s culture? What is your team’s culture? The three may be completely different, or have strong themes, but the point is that a culture exists with or without you. You don’t force a culture, you either invite or incite it to take on certain characteristics that are valued. For example, aspects such as learning, communication, and collaboration are three activities that may be rewarded on your team, but are they valued enough for the team to do it on their own? Culture is what an anthropologist sees if they observed you in action. Is it forced by another or is it organic? In this talk, Jon will share his thoughts and experiences about the cultures he has seen over the years and what you might take away to incite (and invite) in your culture when you get back to your desk.

Jon Bach from eBay

With almost 20 years of experience in software testing, Jon Bach has held technical and managerial positions at Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and eBay. His role as Director of Live Site Quality at eBay involves being on a team dedicated to building “end-to-end” tests (activity flows) to discover bugs on eBay’s sites that threaten its core business. Jon is most notable for being the brother of renowned testing expert James Bach, with whom he created Session-Based Test Management. He can usually be found wearing a ball cap, hanging out in conference hallways, talking about testing techniques and philosophy.

A Special Treat from PNSQC

Plan on coming early! In collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) the SPIN meeting will complimentary hors d’oeuvres and beverages beginning at 5:30 pm. This is a great opportunity for networking and knowledge exchange with other practitioners on the current state of software development.

PNSQC is the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference, a group of volunteers interested in Software Quality. The Mission of the PNSQC is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. As a non-profit, it seeks to promote software quality by providing education and opportunities for information exchange within the software community.

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. But you can help us plan by registering at: http://october-2014-spin-pnsqc.eventbrite.com

Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN.