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October 14 November MeetingHello Everyone,
Sorry for the extra long hiatus. Our next Agile Tampa group meeting will be Thursday, November 19th. We will be having Ken Pugh from Net Objectives speaking on Acceptance Test Driven Development. Here is a synopsis: Defining, understanding, and agreeing on the scope of work to be done is often an area of discomfort for product managers, developers and quality assurance experts alike. Many of the items living happily in our defect tracking systems were born of the difficulty we have in performing said activities. Acceptance Testing roots out these defects by reexamining the process we use to define the work to be done and how it is tested.
This session will introduce acceptance testing; explain why it works; and outline the different roles the team members play in the process. We will contrast acceptance testing with unit testing and show examples of how the process clarifies the work to be done.
A fellow consultant with Net Objectives, Ken Pugh has more than one-third of a century of experience in software development—from gathering requirements for stock market analysis to testing real-time radar systems. Ken consults, trains, testifies, and mentors from London to Sydney on agile processes and technology topics ranging from object-oriented design and test-driven development to Linux/Unix. He has written several programming books, including the Jolt Award winner, Prefactoring, and Interface Oriented Design. When not computing, Ken enjoys snowboarding, windsurfing, biking, and hiking the Appalachian Trail.
DATE AND TIME:
Thursday, November 19th at 6:30pm NEW LOCATION:
We will be meeting at KForce, which is located in Ybor city. ADDRESS:
KForce 1001 East Palm Ave. Tampa, FL 33605 DIRECTIONS FROM TAMPA:
1. Follow 275 N to Exit 44 Downtown/Scott Street 2. Take Exit 44 staying to the left as the exit splits 3. Make a left on Florida ave which will be only a couple lights down 4. Make a right on East Palm Ave. 5. Follow East Palm Ave under the overpass and through the next stoplight 6. Kforce will then be located on your right-hand side (second large building after the light) SECURITY:
This facility is secure. The gate should be open until 7pm. If you arrive later than that, please use the call box located next to the gate and let the guard know that you are here for the Agile Tampa meeting. Once inside the lobby, you must sign the login sheet with the guard at the information desk. This list will be populated with the names of the people who have preregistered for the event; just sign next to your name. EVENT PRE-REGISTRATION:
To pre-register for the event, simply send an e-mail to agiletampa@live.com with the first and last name to put on the registration list. See you there! Michael Russo June 29 July Agile Tampa MeetingHi Everyone! The next Agile Tampa meeting will be in August. I will update everyone with an e-mail when more information is available. Thanks, June 08 June Agile Tampa MeetingHi Everyone! We currently have topics on: We still have slots available so if you are interested, please send me an e-mail with the following information as soon as possible: Pizza will be available at 6pm and the talk will start at 6:30. We will be meeting at the Microsoft location: Microsoft Also, drop me an e-mail at AgileTampa@live.com if you plan on attending so I can get an accurate count for pizza! See you there! June Agile Tampa Meeting April 26 May Agile Tampa meetingHi Everyone, We will be having an Agile Tampa meeting on Wednesday, May 13 at the Microsoft office location. We are going to try something a little different for this meeting and have an open discussion about Agile and the QA process. We will have an expert panel available that include Agile heavy hitters like AgileThought to bounce questions and ideas off of. So come out for the pizza, prizes, and an awesome discussion on Agile and the QA process. Pizza will be available at 6pm and the talk will start at 6:30. We will be meeting at the Microsoft location: Microsoft Drop me an e-mail at AgileTampa@live.com if you plan on attending so I can get an accurate count for pizza! See you there! Talking about Agile Tampa meeting April 13 The Tampa Ruby Brigade MeetingRobert Dempsey, CEO of the (Rails) web development shop Atlantic Dominion Solutions <http://www.adsdevshop.com/about/>, organizer of Acts as Conference <http://www.actsasconference.com/> and creator of expens'd <http://www.expensd.com/> will be the guest speaker for The Tampa Ruby Brigade this month. Robert Dempsey will provide a full introduction to agile development with scrum: what is it and how it works. If you are involved in the creation of software as a developer, project manager, an end user, or a customer, this meeting is for you. While Robert is particularly fond of Ruby and Rails, this topic will be more wide ranging and applicable across languages and frameworks. What do you need to bring? Just yourself, and perhaps a friend or two. When: April 16, 2009 7:00 PM Where: USF Laptop Lounge 4202 E. Fowler Ave EDU 252 Tampa, FL 33620 (813) 974-6816 You can get in touch with Gavin Stark (gavin@gstark.com), the "Contact Organizer" using the link on Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/tampa-rb/suggestion/ February 24 Lean and Kanban ConferenceLooking 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. December 05 December meeting attachmentsThe attachments from Cory and Michael’s TDD and MVP session are located in the Files section of the Agile Tampa web site. Enjoy! November 16 December Agile Tampa Group MeetingHello Everyone!
It’s hard to believe but our final meeting of 2008 will be on Thursday, December 4th. We’ve asked Cory Foy to come back and talk about the Model/View/Presenter programming pattern. You will also get to see Test Driven Development and Pair Programming in action as Cory teaches a newbie (me) the ropes. So not only will you get to see an application written from the ground up using MVP, but you’ll learn how to use TDD in a pair-programming environment. If you’re currently using MVP and TDD in a pair-programming environment, you’ll see how to teach it to someone who isn’t. No matter what your background or current environment is, I guarantee you’ll learn something at this event!
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW LOCATION! This meeting will NOT be at the Microsoft location. We will be meeting at 1410 N. Westshore Blvd. Suite 400 Tampa, FL 33607
Pizza starts at 6:00pm and talk starts at 6:30pm
Upcoming community events:
November 03 November MeetingHello 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. September 24 September Meeting SlidesThe 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 September 22 October Agile Tampa Group MeetingHello Again! Our next Agile Tampa group meeting will be Tuesday, October 21. Nikita Polyakov and Brandon Kelly from Tribridge http://www.tribridge.com/ will be demonstrating Microsoft Team Foundation Server with special emphasis on continuous integration that encourages teams to test and build frequently. We will see how Automated Unit Testing is accomplished using this tool. Even though this may seem to be a Microsoft specific topic, a lot can be gleaned from it and the practices discussed can be applied using tools available for other development platforms using Java, PHP, etc… Pizza will be available at 6pm and the talk will start at 6:30. We will be meeting at the Microsoft location: Microsoft Drop me an e-mail at AgileTampa@live.com if you plan on attending so I can get an accurate count for pizza! See you there! Agile Tampa Group Meeting August 28 September Agile Tampa Group MeetingHi Folks!
Our next Agile Tampa group meeting will be Thursday, September 18. Mike Russell from ARC http://www.arccorp.com/index.html will be graciously giving a presentation that his company presented at the Agile 2008 conference in Toronto. The presentation is entitled “A Better Culture Change Approach for Busy Practitioners”.
Here is a brief synopsis: At Agile 2008 and in discussions everywhere about implementing or improving agile-related approaches, there is almost always one common element: culture. Even if not directly mentioned, many of the elements – and potential roadblocks – of the agile manifesto are cultural in nature. Therefore, you must tackle culture changes to successfully transition to agile methods and/or to scale them.
To tackle these changes, you don’t have to abdicate “culture” to the HR or OD types. You can lead or assist culture change, but you need organizational and cultural change tools that reflect agility: accessible by most everyone without in-depth learning, adaptable to your particular situation, and applicable, providing tangible results without months of fuzzy “prep” work. There is a culture framework that we think fills this need, and this session will familiarize you with it and also enable you to try your hand at applying it to a common issue. The goal is to give you enough information so you can decide if the framework is of interest to you and your situation.
So clear your calendars for Thursday, September 18. Pizza will be available at 6pm and the talk will start at 6:30. We will be meeting at the new Microsoft location again: (Yes, the address is correct this time!)
Microsoft 5426 Bay Center Drive Suite 700 (7th Floor) Tampa, FL 33609 Phone: (813) 281-3900 Fax: (813) 289-0034
Drop me an e-mail at AgileTampa@live.com if you plan on attending so I can get an accurate count for pizza!
See you there! - Michael Russo
August 14 XP and Scrum MeetingOther 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. July 20 Next Agile Tampa MeetingHi everyone!
Our next Agile Tampa meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 13 at 6pm. Cory Foy will be speaking on the topic: “XP and Scrum: Tools and Practices for Making your Organization Agile.”
The meeting will start at 6pm with pizza. The talk should start around 6:30pm and go until 9pm.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MEETING LOCATION HAS CHANGED! We will be meeting at the *NEW* Microsoft office location.
Microsoft 5425 Bay Center Drive Suite 700 Tampa, FL 33609 Phone: (813) 281-3900 Fax: (813) 289-0034
Please let me know if you would like to attend by sending me an e-mail at agiletampa@live.com so I can get an accurate count for pizza.
Thanks, Michael Russo
June 23 1st Meeting PicturesCory Foy has graciously blogged our first meeting; with pictures and everything! Check it out. http://www.cornetdesign.com. June 19 1st Meeting Packed!Our first meeting was an awesome success! We had over 35 in attendance! I think everyone walked away with new and fresh ideas as well as a better understanding of agile development. I would like to thank agilethought (www.agilethought.com) for their generous time as well as K-Force Technology Staffing (www.kforce.com) for being our sponsor for the night.
So, I would like to hear your input. What did you like or not like about the meeting? What would you like to hear about next? Any ideas for topics? Would you like to speak? Just let me know at AgileTampa@live.com. I’ll be in touch with our next meeting date and topic soon. May 21 First MeetingGreetings!
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
April 09 What’s with the deer?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. March 27 Agile?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
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