On January 25th, 2025, at the Wingspan Event & Conference Center, the Silicon Forest Tech Summit returns to Hillsboro, Oregon! We are bringing together the entire tech ecosystem, uniting emerging tech startups, established corporations, innovative technologists, and educational institutions.

Join us for Lightning Talks, Tech Demos, and Networking with thought leaders and industry pioneers.

This year’s summit is titled Advancing Technology and Building a Global Community. We aim to spotlight emerging technologies, demystify advanced manufacturing, and illuminate the future of work and career opportunities in the tech industry.

The upcoming Silicon Forest Tech Summit promises to be a transformative gathering, spotlighting cutting-edge tech companies and amplifying inspiring stories from across the industry. With a diverse agenda and dedicated spaces for career insights and resources, this year’s summit will offer attendees a unique opportunity to connect with industry leaders, explore the latest tech innovations, and gain insights into Oregon’s rapidly evolving tech ecosystem.

Key Highlights: 🚀 600+ attendees: a dynamic audience of tech enthusiasts and community leaders. 🚀 30+ expert speakers: thought leaders sharing valuable perspectives and new ideas. 🚀 40+ companies: a broad network of startups, local companies and organizations. 🚀 17 BIPOC-led organizations: showcasing tech demos and celebrating diversity and innovation. 🚀 1000+ registrations expected: reflecting the summit’s wide-reaching impact and appeal.

We will start 2025 off right with the Silicon Forest Tech Summit, advancing technology and building a global community. This event will unite visionaries, innovators, and community leaders to inspire, connect, and shape the future of technology. With a strong focus on inclusivity and collaboration, the summit is dedicated to strengthening the Pacific Northwest’s tech ecosystem and fostering ideas that drive meaningful change well beyond the event itself.

Website: www.STEAMcircuit.com Email: [email protected]

Please RSVP here: https://www.meetup.com/AgilePDX-User-Group-Portland-Metro/events/264541629/

As the Silicon Forest continues to grow, we turn to hiring authorities in the tech community for answer son how to navigate everything from IT management struggles like retention and hiring, to the effects of the latest technology trends on your career path. Our panelists have a combined 25+ years in tech and are excited to share their experiences and answer questions.

Panelists:

-- Neil Hefty, Talent Solutions Director at ProFocus Technology, an Inc. 500 Staffing and Consulting Company.
-- Chris Miller, VP of Human Resources at Smarsh, the leading provider of data archiving solutions. Helping organizations capture content, reveal risk and provide insights and opportunity for a proper response.
-- Lauren Shey, HR Generalist at Metal Toad, an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner providing cloud migration, AWS-based IoT, and Mobile solutions.

Agenda:

6:00-6:30 Networking/Food/Drinks/Door Prizes
6:30-7:05 Panelist Presentations
7:05-7:40 Breakout Discussions with Presenters
7:40-8:00 Report Out and Wrap Up

This special event is made possible by platinum sponsor ProFocus Technology (https://www.profocustechnology.com/) with space provided by Smarsh (https://www.smarsh.com/). Learn more about our sponsors at agilepdx.org or come chat with us at the event!

Additional Information:

Q: Is the space ADA accessible? A: Yes, the space is ADA accessible via the entrance to Pacific Center on 6th Ave.

Q: Will there be gender neutral restrooms? A: Contact an event facilitator for further information.

Q: Will there be food and drinks at this event? A: Food & Drink provided by ProFocus. GF/DF/V options available.

Q: What is the easiest way to get to the venue? A: If you can get to Pioneer Courthouse Square, you can get to this event! Trimet serves the area very well. Parking is available nearby in many paid lots. Parking validation will not be provided.

Q: How do I enter the building? A: Enter the Pacific Center building on 6th Ave, near Water Ave Coffee (in the adjoining building)

This event is inclusive and open to all.

This year’s theme for PNSQC is 2020 Vision: Quality Looking Forward. We chose this theme to inspire attendees and speakers to think of ways to learn from the past, and envision ways to achieve quality software in the future.

Just as lighting the Olympic flame before the games is a gesture of ceremony and inspiration, this kickoff of the call for proposals for PNSQC 2020 is a way to spark your imagination to contribute your own vision of quality.

Come hear a "full stack" of lightning talks on visions of quality. What’s in store for software QA in the future as it merges with DevOps. How will you adapt to changing organizational structures, roles and required knowledge? Find out what leaders in the field are thinking and doing.

Get inspired to see yourself presenting in October at PNSQC 2020 Networking afterward for ideas to achieve 2020 vision. Snacks and refreshments available during the talks.

Then prepare to share your own clarity of vision at PNSQC 2020 by submitting a proposal to present at the conference in October.

How do I get involved? To attend, please finish your RSVP here on meetup. If you wish to present at this event, please submit your ideas on PNSQC’s OpenConference site: https://www.openconf.org/pnsqc2020/author/submit.php

This event is open to software developers, IT managers, project managers, product owners, testers, security professionals -- anyone who is passionate about professional software quality.

Whether you’ve given hundreds of talks, just gave your first talk, or perhaps are thinking of giving a talk next year, we all could use tips in not only overcoming our fears of public speaking but getting good at it. As engineering professionals, sometimes we may focus on the engineering problem and analysis yet don’t realize that how we deliver the message can be just as important as the message itself.

If you break a sweat when speaking to more than a few people as we did, you’ll appreciate these transformational tips as Brian and Phil discuss practices for putting together a talk for a conference. As an engineer, learn a step by step pragmatic approach with several techniques and exercises to cure your nervousness and improve your delivery in a systematic way. Public speaking is a top skill for anyone who wants to effect change. Whether speaking to a department, at a meetup or presenting keynotes around the world, Phil and Brian have worked to hone their presentation skills.

You’ve heard “Practice Makes Perfect” right? Well, that’s not quite right. “Practice With Feedback Makes Perfect”. In this free workshop, you will learn systematic methods with exercises so that you can improve on the spot.

Walk away more confident in your ability to improve your public speaking skills with a framework and techniques for improvement.

This is a free three-hour workshop limited to the first 18 people. The content will be in three parts, but each section builds on the previous. Please RSVP on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Pacific-NW-Software-Quality-Conference-PNSQC/events/266871919

Both Brian and Phil are officers and board members of the Pacific NW Software Quality Conference (PNSQC).

Brian Gaudreau is a seasoned quality professional with 20+ years of management, software testing and QA experience relevant to telecom, enterprise metadata, government, multimedia, health care and marketing CRM platforms.

Philip Lew, CEO of XBOSoft, has founded and managed companies in his 25+ year professional career. He frequently can be found speaking at conferences including Softec Asia, HUSTEF, TestIstanbul and StarEast.

PNSQC, in association with PDX Blacks in Technology, is happy to present "Three Steps to Better Estimation" with Moss Drake.

How many times has someone asked you how long it would take to build some software even before they have told you how it might work? Do you think you could estimate a series of random tasks within 90% accuracy? We’ll do an interesting exercise in estimation and then talk about the value your estimates provide. We will talk about three steps to improve your estimates right away and discuss other methods of estimation.

This event will be hosted by PDX Blacks in Technology with networking and food sponsored by PNSQC.

Agenda: 5 pm - Network & social 6-ish - Announcements & Lighting Talk

Bio: Moss Drake has over 30 years of experience developing software and leading software projects. Which, coincidentally, is about the same amount of time he has been encountering managers in hallways and answering the question “How long will it take to build X?”

There's still time to submit a proposal to present at PNSQC 2020. And, to help you get inspired, we are hosting the second annual Pitchfest to give you quick feedback on ideas.

What is a Pitchfest? Speaking at PNSQC 2020 is your chance to share your software quality expertise and experience on trends, process improvement and technology solutions. The Pitchfest is your chance to quickly propose and iterate on an idea before submitting it.

Why show up for a Pitchfest? - You have an idea for a paper, but don't know "if it's good enough" - You have the germ of an idea and want to refine it before writing a proposal - You're curious what ideas other people have - You have questions about the overall paper/presenter/speaking "thing" - You want to have appetizers and something to drink while networking with software quality professionals

Appetizers will be provided by PNSQC. We are meeting in the "Barrel Room" (ask at the bar if you can't find it).

Even if you can't attend the Pitchfest, check out the program committee's "wish list" for topics. Remember, proposals for papers must be received by April 15th, 2020 at 11:59 PM PDT.

Here is the URL to submit a proposal https://www.pnsqc.org/2020-conference/call-proposals/

Here is the link to the "wish list" https://www.pnsqc.org/a-pnsqc-wish-list-topics-to-inspire-your-vision-for-quality/

PNSQC’s mission statement is to enable knowledge exchange to produce higher quality software. The event is free and open to all interested.

UPDATE: Due to Coronavirus, this session will be held online. Join here:

https://cvent.zoom.us/wc/join/170670023

PNSQC, in association with PDX Veterans in Technology, is pleased to present "Secrets of Test-Driven Development" with James Shore.

Test-Driven Development (TDD) is an essential part of agile software development. Without it, codebases lose the flexibility they need to change direction and respond to new business needs.

But what is TDD, exactly? And how does it work? In this brief introduction, expert TDD practitioner James Shore will show you what TDD is, how it works, and why it works. You’ll leave with new insights about this key software development practice.

This event will be hosted by PDX Veterans in Technology with networking and food sponsored by PNSQC.

The agenda is:

• 6 - 6:30 Networking & Food
• 6:30 - 6:35 Quick intro to event , thank sponsors.
• 6:35 - 7:05 Presentation
• 7:05 - 8:00 Q & A, Socialize
• 8p - Good night

James Shore teaches, writes, and consults on Agile development processes with an emphasis on technical excellence. He is a recipient of the Agile Alliance's Gordon Pask Award for Contributions to Agile Practice, co-author of The Art of Agile Development, host of “Let's Code: Test-Driven JavaScript,” and co-creator of the Agile Fluency® Model.

InfoQ has named him one of the “most influential people in Agile.” You can find his screencasts at letscodejavascript.com and essays at jamesshore.com.

Moss Drake will represent PNSQC to talk about the call for abstracts and the conference this year.

Join tech industry peers, hiring managers, job seekers, and local leaders at Silicon Forest Tech Connect this October in Portland, OR.

While TechCrawl takes a pause, we are committed to gathering the tech community together to explore connections and create job opportunities.

Whether you're actively looking for a new role, open to new connections, hiring tech talent, or just looking to explore the tech scene, the Silicon Forest Tech Connect is the place to be this fall.

More details to come!

We are currently inviting local companies to participate. If you're hiring and want to join the event as a sponsor please email [email protected]. More details here: https://www.profocustechnology.com/silicon-forest-tech-connect/

Back for its 2nd year, the Silicon Forest Tech Connect is happening May 1st at White Owl in Portland, OR.

Who Should Attend? Whether you’re looking to engage with local tech companies, recruit tech talent, recreate the magic of TechCrawl, or just want to network with your experienced IT peers, the Silicon Forest Tech Connect is a can’t-miss event in Portland this spring.

What to Expect: Open networking with tech professionals and leaders Booths from local tech meetups, community partners, and tech companies Complimentary drink ticket with RSVP and light refreshments courtesy of ProFocus Technology A chance to win cool prizes

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect, collaborate, and contribute to the growth of the Silicon Forest tech ecosystem. See you there! RSVP required.

For Companies/Partners/Sponsors: Space for community partners, meetup groups, and tech companies interested in hosting a booth is limited. Secure your spot by emailing [email protected].