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.

In partnership with the Intel Agile Conference, Rose City SPIN is proud to present this panel discussion on “Agile and the Enterprise”

This will be an open discussion with the panel speakers around the topic of Agile and the Enterprise. Some questions will be facilitated but bring your burning questions about Agile as the audience will be able to ask questions of the panel. This is your opportunity to generate discussion about Agile and Lean topics with some of the top minds in the industry!

About Our Speakers

Mary Poppendieck (poppendieck.com) teaches and consults worldwide on Lean principles for software. Her approach identifies real business value and enables product teams to realize that value.

Ron Jeffries is one of the 3 founders of the Extreme Programming (XP) software development methodology circa 1996, along with Kent Beck and Ward Cunningham. He was from 1996, an XP coach on the Chrysler Comprehensive Compensation System project, which was where XP was invented. He is an author of Extreme Programming Installed, the second book published about XP. He has also written Extreme Programming Adventures in C#. He is one of the 17 original signatories of the Agile Manifesto.

Chet Hendrickson specializes in assisting software organizations become more effective through the use of agile software techniques. A co-author of Extreme Programming Installed, Chet has taught Extreme Programming's values and practices around the world

How to Register

No need to register! This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. But you can help us plan by registering at: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3127126319

About the 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.

November 8th Rose City SPIN Seminar

Mindful Engineering

Presented by Lindsay Van Driel

Dates/Times: Thursday, November 8, 2012: Networking @ 5:30-6:30 PM; Seminar 6:30-7:30 PM

Location: OTBC (Oregon Technology Business Center), 8305 SW Creekside Place, Suite C, Beaverton, Oregon, 97008, 2nd floor

Abstract:

Mindfulness refers to one’s ability to sustain attention, in a particular way, in the present moment and non-judgmentally. Although it may sound easy, five minutes of practice proves how tricky this can be. The conditions of modern life and the modern work place, with our hyper-connectivity, continue to erode our ability to willfully focus our attention. Mindfulness is based in the wisdom of ancient traditions, but modernized and secularized to reach its contemporary corporate audience. With academia leading the way, some 180 business schools across the world offer education and training in the field of mindfulness, most notably at Harvard, Stanford and the University of Michigan. Google created a program as a part of their employee development offerings dedicated to mindfulness and emotional intelligence. It is now accompanied by a NYT best-selling book of the same name as the course, Search Inside Yourself, as well as an industry wide conference pulling top tech CEO’s, innovators, authors and philosophers together for two days a year to discuss the importance of mindfulness. Intel’s Awake Inside program seeks to deliver the mindfulness teachings to employees, to relieve stress and build emotional resiliency and competency. As the technology industry continues to shape-shift, large firms are forced to constantly reinvent themselves to stay relevant. Intel’s program, dedicated to Mindful Engineering, is designed to teach employees the skills to look deeply within themselves for the answers to today’s most pressing issues. The program has proven to yield results in both personal and professional contexts, with the ultimate goal of promoting an overall sense of well-being in the individual.

Bio:

Lindsay Van Driel is a Business Operations Manager inside the Business Client Platform Division of Intel Corporation. She holds a Masters in Business and Administration from Arizona State University. Additionally, she is a registered Yoga and Meditation Teacher with the International Yoga Alliance. She joined Intel in the Fall of ’99 and has been there since, holding various positions inside the company’s vast engineering structure. Coinciding with her duties in Business Operations, she currently teaches both Yoga and Meditation on site at Intel and has founded Intel’s Awake Inside Program. This program is dedicated to realizing mindfulness in the midst of the corporate work experience and specifically in the field of engineering.

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://www.eventbrite.com/event/4689946757

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.

Choose Your Own Journey: How to Make Every Change Better

Presented by April Mills

Open free to the public!

Dates/Times: Monday, March 30th, 2015: Networking & Food: 5:30-6:30, Talk: 6:30-7:30 PM

Location: HF3 Auditorium, Intel Hawthorne Farms 3 (HF3) Campus, 5200 NE Elam Young Pkwy, Hillsboro, OR 97124

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. The best parking will be to the left.

Abstract

Some changes you start. Others you’re one of many travelers, sometimes by choice and sometimes by force. Regardless, how can you make the change journey successful? April Mills will discuss the important difference between driving people and driving change. Then she’ll describe four archetypes of change journeys and strategies to make every one more successful. Come listen and learn quick tips to improve your change and the changes around you.

Bio

April led a guiding coalition for change at the U.S. Navy Naval Shipyard in Puget Sound based on Dr. John Kotter’s Leading Change 8-step model. She has a passion for creating positive change, highlighting how anyone can drive change for themselves and for their organizations and communities. April has struggled with and fought against the inertia and bureaucracy of large entrenched organizations and has practical advice for change agents based on the lessons she has learned. Today she is a Change Coach and Community Steward for Intel Corporation.

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. Please help us plan food and drinks by registering at: http://rosecityspinmarch2015.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.