Looking to shorten cycle time and deliver more value from your software projects? You may be interested in attending the Lean and Kanban conference on May 6th-8th at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Miami Fl. Registration is $800.00 per person for the full 2 and a half days and the event is limited to 125 people. More information is available at http://www.leankanbanconference.com.

The attachments from Cory and Michael’s TDD and MVP session are located in the Files section of the Agile Tampa web site. Enjoy!

Hello everyone,

 

We are going to be doing something a little different for our November meeting. Since the Agile Development Practices conference is going on in Orlando the week of November 10 – 14, The Orlando’s Scrum User Group has been able to snag a few speakers from this event to talk at their November 12 meeting! So, instead of hosting our own meeting this month, we will be supporting the Orlando group for this awesome opportunity to hear from some great speakers for free!

 

The time and location have yet to be hammered out since attendance is a big factor for the meeting so check the Orlando’s Scrum User Group periodically for updates.

 

If you are interested in going to the Orlando’s Scrum User Group meeting on November 12, please RSVP to chad@orlandoscrum.org.

 

ARC Corporation will be sponsoring this event.

 

Speaker Bios:

Linda Rising has a Ph.D. from Arizona State University in the area of object-based design metrics. Her background includes university teaching as well as work in industry in telecommunications, avionics, and strategic weapons systems. She is an internationally known presenter on topics related to patterns, retrospectives, and the change process. Linda is the author of numerous articles and has published four books: Design Patterns in Communications, The Pattern Almanac 2000, and A Patterns Handbook. Her latest book, written with Mary Lynn Manns, is titled Fearless Change: Patterns for introducing new ideas. Her web site is: www.lindarising.org

 

Johanna Rothman consults, speaks, and writes on managing high-technology product development. She enables managers, teams, and organizations to become more effective by applying her pragmatic approaches to the issues of project management, risk management, and people management. She’s the author of “Manage It! Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management,” the coauthor of “Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management,” the author of “Hiring the Best Knowledge Workers, Techies & Nerds: The Secrets and Science of Hiring Technical People,” and coauthor of “Corrective Action for the Software Industry.”

 

Mary Poppendieck started her career as a process control programmer, moved on to manage the IT department of a manufacturing plant, and then ended up in product development, where she was both a product champion and a department manager. Mary tried to retire in 1998, but instead found herself managing a government software project where she first encountered the word “waterfall”. She wrote the award-winning book “Lean Software Development” to explain how the lean principles from manufacturing could be applied to software development. Mary found retirement elusive as she lectured and taught classes with her husband Tom. Based on their on-going learning, they wrote a second book, “Implementing Lean Software Development.” Mary continues to be a popular writer and speaker as she brings thought-provoking insights to the world of software development.

The slides are available in PDF format from Mike Russell’s presentation, "A Better Culture Change Approach for Busy Practitioners". It is located in the Files section of the Agile Tampa web site. Mike did an excellent job with this topic and I think that the hands-on and group involvement approach to the presentation made learning about dealing with an organization’s culture not only easier to understand, but fun as well. If you have any feedback for Mike about his presentation you can post comments to this blog entry or you can e-mail me directly at AgileTampa@live.com and I’ll forward them on to Mike.

 

Thanks,
Michael Russo

Other than a slight typo on the address, things went off without a hitch last night for our second meeting. Cory Foy did an excellent job speaking about XP and Scrum. It was an incredible and well-rounded talk on how to introduce and implement XP or Scrum into your organization. I took away a lot of info (not to mention a few straws) I could use to dazzle my co-workers. The power point presentation for Cory’s talk is available here: XPAndScrum.ppt
 
A “Huge Thank You” goes out to Joe Healy for providing us access to the awesome new Microsoft office. AgileThought was our sponsor and provided the pizza for the evening. I can’t say enough great things about them. Thanks guys!
 
Stay tuned for our next meeting’s date already in the planning.

Cory Foy has graciously blogged our first meeting; with pictures and everything! Check it out. http://www.cornetdesign.com.

Greetings!

 

Our first Agile Tampa User Group meeting will be on Wednesday, June 18 at 6:30pm. Come a little earlier for pizza! Our speaker will be from the local Tampa company, agilethought. Visit their web site at http://www.agilethought.com. Our first meeting topic will be “Getting Started with Agile Development”. We will hear and discuss topics such as principals, practices, and flavors of Agile development, selling Agile development to your team, and implementing Agile in your group. This will be followed with a Q and A session.

 

So, if you’re interested attending, please send me an e-mail at agiletampa@live.com and let me know so I can make sure there is enough pizza!

 

We will be meeting at the Microsoft office in Rocky Point:

 

Microsoft GulfStates Offices: Tampa, FL Office

3000 Bayport Plaza,

Suite 480, Tampa - Next to the Hyatt

Tampa, FL 33607

Phone Number: (813) 281-3900

 

Directions: From the Airport: From the airport, take the Clearwater exit and follow the signs to 60 West. You will go underneath an overpass; Make a left on the first light immediately following is the entrance to the Bayport Plaza Building and the Hyatt Westshore. Microsoft is located on the building next to the Hyatt Regency in the 4th floor, Suite 480.

 

Thanks,

Michael Russo

 

I was trying to think of what could symbolize “Agile”. Honestly, when I think of something agile, I think of those gazelles bounding across the African plains. Their best defense against their predators is their speed and agility.

 

So what is the “enemy” of software development? As developers, what are our “predators” that threaten to eat us alive and keep us from producing the best code, meeting our deadlines, and successfully reaching our goals?

●       Looming and perhaps unreasonable deadlines?

●       Budget limitations that may keep us from using the best available tools?

●       “Scope Creep”?

 

Perhaps Agile development practices could help you avoid those pitfalls.

 

So, I guess the reason why I decided to use the deer icon I did was because it could be looked at from two angles.

1)      A deer is agile, like those gazelles bounding across the African plains, avoiding their predators

2)      The icon I used is the “Caution, be aware of deer in the area” traffic sign, which requires you, the driver, to be agile in avoiding a hazardous obstacle.

So whether you consider yourself the deer being agile or the driver being agile, I think the icon fits with what we are trying to accomplish as developers and project managers; which is to avoid potential obstacles or to better equip ourselves in dealing with obstacles we encounter that keep us from delivering the best possible products to our clients.

Hey!

 

What’s all this Agile stuff I keep hearing about? How can I find out more information about it from people who actually use it on a daily basis? Will implementing Agile methodologies help or hurt my development team? Are you asking these questions?

 

Perhaps you’ve successfully implemented Agile practices at your workplace, are a part of an Agile team, or use to be. Would you like to talk with other people who use it and compare notes? Hear experts talk about it? Find a coach to help you implement it with your team?

 

My desire to learn more about Agile development and to talk with people who successfully use it lead me to search for an Agile user group in the Tampa area. But, alas, I couldn’t find one.

 

If you’re interested in attending meetings of such a group or would enjoy sharing your views and experiences with Agile practices; perhaps even speaking at such a meeting, please send me an e-mail at AgileTampa@live.com and let me know about it.

 

My hope is to have meetings consisting of developers, architects, and project managers to discuss all things Agile. It should be a technology neutral group so all can benefit. Maybe even make Tampa, more Agile!

 

I look forward to hearing your feedback!

Thanks,

            Michael Russo