It’s BeyondAgile: people making software that works!

In our never-ending series of just-in-time events, BeyondAgile presents:

“An Introduction to Behavior-Driven Development”
Thursday, 16 June 2009

6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Read on for agenda and locations information, or visit our Google Group at  http://groups.google.com/group/beyondagile

The Blurb

What’s BDD? This is the place to be on Thursday night to learn about Behavior-Driven-Development: what it is, what it attempts to accomplish, its benefits and drawbacks, and how the ideas behind it could provide a benefit to your organization.

Our presenter for this event is Michael Ibarra, who’s been writing software in the Seattle are for over ten years for companies like Microsoft, PEMCO Insurance, eProject (now Daptiv) and (currently) Parametric Portfolio Associates. He’s a Microsoft Certified Programmer and has multiple Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist certifications. What’s more, he’s a member of BeyondAgile’s program team since it was founded.

Event Agenda

• Welcome and Announcements (10 min.)
• “An Introduction to Behavior Driven Development” presentation (60 min.)
• Questions and Answers (15 min.)
• Giveaway Drawing (from AgileToys.com: an x10 build-status light *and* a Team Toy Pack! See http://www.agiletoys.com for details.) (5 min.)
• Meeting Retrospective (10 min.)
• Socializing and Breakout/Breakup/Beer

Event Location

We’re meeting at *two* physical locations, connected through videolink:

Eastside (Redmond)

SolutionsIQ
First Floor Training Center

10785 Willows Road NE, Suite 250
Redmond WA

Directions and picture of building at

http://www.solutionsiq.com/about-us/contact-us.php

Look for the tent signs and the blue BeyondAgile logo

Westside (Seattle)

Amdocs Digital Commerce Division (formerly QPass)
Greece Room
2211 Elliott Ave Suite 400
Seattle WA

Questions? Contact us at beyondagile@taoproductions.com, or visit our Google Group, or contribute to the nascent Wiki at beyondagile.org. Or (we’re really letting a thousand flowers bloom here) you can RSVP/discuss the event at the BeyondAgile Facebook site:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=68941257907&ref=nf

Opportunity knocks!

If you’ve attended our meetings and think the audio/video links need improvement, or if you *can’t * attend our meetings and wish there was live/stored streaming of meetings…BeyondAgile needs you! Everything we do happens because someone wants to make something better: we have no staff, no budget, no fixed leadership or organization…only the folks who want to help each month, and our faithful location sponsors (Amdocs Seattle Division and SolutionsIQ).

So: help make this a better group. Contact us using any of the means you see in this announcement, or come to the meeting and see who you can get to help you!

What’s BeyondAgile?

It’s the combination and follow-on to a number of the agile-oriented user and interest groups that have operated in the Puget Sound area. We aim to:

• Build a bigger agile community
• Take advantage of overlaps between existing groups
• Expand beyond meetings and provide a place to collaborate
• Align software development and business
• Explore cutting-edge ideas and techniques
• Discover the most useful practices among all agile processes

Where do BeyondAgile events happen?

Our goal is to have many answers to this. As a result, we’ve worked to remove the impediment offered by bridges and commuting: we (try to) hold our events in both Eastside and Seattle locations, through the semi-magic of videocasting. That’s (much) harder than it seems; we’d also still like to present events freed from the confines of time through streaming video. If you can make that happen, please, pease, please volunteer to help!

It’s BeyondAgile: people making software that works!

In our never-ending series of just-in-time events, BeyondAgile presents:

“Overcoming Agile ADHD”
Thursday, 18 June 2009
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Read on for agenda and locations information, or visit our Google Group at  http://groups.google.com/group/beyondagile

The Blurb
Fear of decision making often leads teams to exhibit one or more of the dysfunctional symptoms of “Agile ADHD.” This month’s BeyondAgile event is a preview of an Agile 2009 tutorial (see http://www.agile2009.com/node/3110 for more info on that) that uses ADHD as a Metaphor for dysfunctional decision making.

In this tutorial, Bruce Winegarden and David Ullman will go beyond estimating and scheduling to address how to improve timeliness in making many other types of decisions that affect the overall productivity and effectiveness of an agile development team. You’ll take away principles and practices that enable their team to embrace uncertainty and be proactive in making better decisions at the most responsible moment.

Bruce Winegarden has extensive business and technical knowledge for software and systems development, product management and innovation. He enjoys guiding teams of people from different disciplines discover sustainable practices that smooth and accelerate their delivery. As principal consultant at Eagle Eye View, he delivers consulting, modeling, training, and coaching services applying Lean and Agile principles that enable organizational changes to streamline product development, improve business workflows, and deploy more meaningful and effective information technology. Bruce is also a charter member of BeyondAgile, and volunteers on the BeyondAgile program team.

Dr. David G. Ullman is President of Robust Decisions Inc. An active product designer, he has taught, researched and written about design and decision-making over 20 years. His text, The Mechanical Design Process, 4rd edition (McGraw Hill, 2009), is used at many universities. His book, Making Robust Decisions, was published in 2006. He has published more than 20 mechanical product design process and decision-making papers. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and founder of its Design Theory and Methodology committee.

Event Agenda

• Welcome and Announcements (10 min.)
• “Agile ADHD” presentation (60 min.)
• Questions and Answers (15 min.)
• Giveaway Drawing (a copy of Dr. David Ullman’s book _Making Robust Decisions_) (5 min.)
• Meeting Retrospective (10 min.)
• Socializing and Breakout/Breakup/Beer

Event Location
We’re meeting at *two* physical locations this month, connected through videolink:

Eastside (Redmond)

SolutionsIQ
First Floor Training Center
10785 Willows Road NE, Suite 250
Redmond WA

Directions and picture of building at

http://www.solutionsiq.com/about-us/contact-us.php

Look for the tent signs and the blue BeyondAgile logo

Westside (Seattle)
Amdocs Digital Commerce Division (formerly QPass)
Greece Room
2211 Elliott Ave Suite 400
Seattle WA

Questions? Contact us at beyondagile@taoproductions.com, or visit our Google Group, or contribute to the nascent Wiki at beyondagile.org.

What’s BeyondAgile?
It’s the combination and follow-on to a number of the agile-oriented user and interest groups that have operated in the Puget Sound area. We aim to:

• Build a bigger agile community
• Take advantage of overlaps between existing groups
• Expand beyond meetings and provide a place to collaborate
• Align software development and business
• Explore cutting-edge ideas and techniques
• Discover the most useful practices among all agile processes

When do we meet?
The plan was to gather at least once a month on the *3rd* Thursday of the month–that’s a change from our previous plan to target the fourth Thursday– and probably more often. With luck, that date will work better for more people than the previous date did.

Where do BeyondAgile events happen?
Our goal is to have many answers to this. As a result, we’ve worked to remove the impediment offered by bridges and commuting: we (try to) hold our events in both Eastside and Seattle locations, through the semi-magic of videocasting. That’s (much) harder than it seems; we’d also still like to present events freed from the confines of time through streaming video. If you can make that happen, please, pease, please volunteer to help!

What is BeyondAgile like?
That, in large part, is up to you. A primary reason for consolidating our efforts is to broaden our base of support, capability, and leadership. We envision a more active, multi-faceted organization that does more than just host talking heads. Come to our events, join our program team, or just watch what we do on our online sites–you decide what works for you!

In our continuing series of compelling-but-announced-at-the-last-minute presentations, BeyondAgile presents:

“Agile ROI: Building the Business Case for Agile”
Thursday, 28 May 2009
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Read on for agenda and locations information, or visit our Google Group
at  http://groups.google.com/group/beyondagile

The Blurb
You’ve had a great holiday weekend, and now it’s time to shake off that mellow, relaxed feeling and get down to business — Agile business, that is. Join us *this* Thursday evening to hear Dave Wylie, Agile consultant and “get-it-done” engagement manager lay out a rock-solid proof that shipping early wins, every time. Ever wondered why your team understands that Agile makes sense but your upper management doesn’t? It’s because they haven’t heard Dave make the numbers work. Bring them along!

Building on material first presented as a Webinar (see https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/596306620), in this new and expanded talk Dave will explore the concept of Agile business value, why companies are adopting Agile, and how this reduces cash commitments to projects.

David Wylie is an Engagement Manager at SolutionsIQ, responsible for project success and delighting his customers. He’s worked as a software developer, tester, analyst, project manager and consultant on systems strategy, software selection, conversions, sun setting applications, business analysis, development, reporting and testing.

Event Agenda

• Welcome and Announcements (10 min.)
• “Agile ROI presentation” (45 min.)
• Questions and Answers (20 min.)
• Giveaway Drawing (if we find a giveaway to giveaway…) (5 min.)
• Meeting Retrospective (10 min.)
• Socializing and Breakout/Breakup/Beer

Event Location
We’re meeting at *two* physical locations this month, connected through videolink:

Eastside (Redmond)
SolutionsIQ
First Floor Training Center
10785 Willows Road NE, Suite 250
Redmond WA

Directions and picture of building at

http://www.solutionsiq.com/about-us/contact-us.php

Look for the tent signs and the blue BeyondAgile logo

Westside (Seattle)
Amdocs Digital Commerce Division (formerly QPass)
Greece Room
2211 Elliott Ave Suite 400
Seattle WA

Questions? Contact us at beyondagile@taoproductions.com, or visit our Google Group, or contribute to the nascent Wiki at beyondagile.org. Or (we’re really letting a thousand flowers bloom here) you can RSVP/discuss the event at the BeyondAgile FaceBook event site:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=68941257907&ref=nf

What’s BeyondAgile?
It’s the combination and follow-on to a number of the agile-oriented user and interest groups that have operated in the Puget Sound area. We aim to:

• Build a bigger agile community
• Take advantage of overlaps between existing groups
• Expand beyond meetings and provide a place to collaborate
• Align software development and business
• Explore cutting-edge ideas and techniques
• Discover the most useful practices among all agile processes

When do we meet?
The plan was to gather at least once a month on the 4th Thursday of the month, and probably more often. We’re still getting the bugs out, but three of our four events have happened on the 4th Thursday. Come and help us work out future events.

Where do BeyondAgile events happen?
Our goal is to have many answers to this. As a result, we’ve worked to remove the impediment offered by bridges and commuting: we (try to) hold our events in both Eastside and Seattle locations, through the semi-magic of videocasting. That’s harder than it seems; we’d also still like to present events freed from the confines of time through streaming video. If you can make that happen, please help us!

What is BeyondAgile like?
That, in large part, is up to you. A primary reason for consolidating our efforts is to broaden our base of support, capability, and leadership. We envision a more active, multi-faceted organization that does more than just host talking heads. We try to gather at least once a month on the 4th Thursday of the month, and in the future, probably more often. You can help us decide.

You might look at our domain name and wonder if we should really be called “beyond org(anization)…

…because we’re topping last month’s 48-hour notice for an event with something even more last-minute!

“An Informal Roundtable with Esther Derby”

Wednesday, 15 April 2009

6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Read on for agenda and location information, or visit our Google Group at  http://groups.google.com/group/beyondagile

- The Blurb

If you’ve finished filing your taxes, join us Wednesday evening — yes, *this* Wednesday — for a rare Seattle opportunity to chat with Esther Derby, she (along with Diana Larsen) of the outstanding _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great_.

Esther is well-known for her work in helping teams and organizations make the transition to Scrum, and technical contributors make the transition to management. She’s in town and agreed to meet with us to explore an agenda that the attendees will devise at the start of the evening. Buy/bring a copy of her book and who knows? Maybe she’ll sign it for you…

- Event Location

This time, we’re only at our Eastside meeting location, due to the last-minute nature of the opportunity and travel schedules that take many of our regular get-it-done-ers out of town:

SolutionsIQ

First Floor Training Center 10785 Willows Road NE, Suite 250

Redmond WA

Directions and picture of building at

http://www.solutionsiq.com/about-us/contact-us.php

Look for the tent signs and the blue BeyondAgile logo

Questions? Contact us at beyondagile@taoproductions.com, or visit our Google Group, or contribute to the nascent Wiki at beyondagile.org. Or (we’re really letting a thousand flowers bloom here) you can RSVP/discuss the event at the BeyondAgile FaceBook event site:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=68941257907&ref=nf

- What’s BeyondAgile?

It’s the combination and follow-on to a number of the agile-oriented user and interest groups that have operated in the Puget Sound area.

- When do we meet?

The plan was to gather at least once a month on the 4th Thursday of the month, and probably more often. We’re still getting the bugs out, as this month’s event demonstrates.

- Where do BeyondAgile events happen?

Our goal is to have many answers to this. As a result, we’ve worked to remove the impediment offered by bridges and commuting: we (try to) hold our events in both Eastside and Seattle locations, through the semi-magic of videocasting. That’s harder than it seems, as this month (and last’s) proves.

- Will there be a meeting on the 4th Thursday this month?

It’s hard to say. Last week, the answer was yes; Esther’s event was a bonus. This week, we’re just not sure. Visit/join the Google Group (BeyondAgile) and contribute to the fray!

I’ll be conducting a ScrumBut session in Seattle on June 12, from 8:00 to noon. You can register for it at http://www.controlchaos.com, or http://www.scrumalliance.org. Direct registration at http://www.regonline.com/63374_722052M . It will be held at the Fairmont Olympic hotel in Seattle.

Ken didn’t include the fully link on the Scrum Alliance’s website, and it took me a few minutes to find it. So, to make it easy for everyone else, here it is: http://www.scrumalliance.org/courses/4656-scrumbut-workshop

The kick-off event of the brand-new BeyondAgile is happening in a few days:

  ”Agile Smackdown!”
   Thursday, 26 February 2009
   6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
  Locations on the Eastside and Seattle!

Read on for agenda and location information, or visit our Google Group at

 http://groups.google.com/group/beyondagile

Why come?

Here’s your chance to be in on the beginning of an exciting new collaboration of  the Puget-Sound area (and beyond!) agile-interested. And if that’s not enough, we’ll hold a drawing to win a free seat in a Scrum certification class!

What’s BeyondAgile?

It’s the combination of and follow-on to a number of the agile-oriented user and interest groups that have operated in the Puget Sound area. Representatives of the Seattle XP User Group and Seattle Scrum came together in December to try and combine the efforts of all of us who care about and use agile methods.

Why a new group?

• Find best practices among all agile processes
• Build a bigger agile community
• Take advantage of overlaps between existing groups
• Expand beyond meetings and provide a place to collaborate
• Align software development and business
• Explore cutting-edge ideas and techniques

What will BeyondAgile be like?

That, in large part, is up to you. A primary reason for consolidating our efforts is to broaden our base of support, capability, and leadership. We envision a more active, multi-faceting organization that does more than just host talking heads. We’ll gather at least once a month on the 4th Thursday of the month, and probably more at other events.

Where will BeyondAgile events happen?

Our goal is to have many answers to this, and in that spirit, we’ve resolved to remove the impediment offered by bridges and commuting: for our monthly meetings, we’ll alternative Eastside and Seattle locations, but with a twist: we’ll videocast the physical meeting to the location it’s not at that month, so you could attend every meeting instead of just the ones on “your side” of the lake. And we’re working to enable people *anywhere* to attend through streaming video, even after the meeting’s already happened.

Kick-Off Event Agenda

•  Build a Backlog (where to go in next six months, 30 min.)
• “Agile Smackdown!” (60 min.)
• Bleeding-Edge Demo (15 min., not boring) 
• Training Class Giveaway Drawing (5 min.)
• Meeting Retrospective (10 min.)
• Socializing and Breakout/Breakup

Event Locations

Eastside:
SolutionsIQ
First Floor Training Center
10785 Willows Road NE Suite 250
Redmond WA 
directions and picture of building at
http://www.solutionsiq.com/about-us/contact-us.php

Seattle:
Amdocs Digital Commerce Division (formerly QPass) 
Greece Room
2211 Elliott Ave Suite 400 
Seattle WA

Questions? Contact Michael and Monica at beyondagile@taoproductions.com

For more information or to RSVP: Please register here to attend. Space is limited!

Description:

Vertafore, a leading provider of specialized software solutions for the insurance industry, adopted Agile in 2007. The results of their early, grassroots efforts to adopt Agile were mixed, as teams varied in their approach and commitment. In the past year, Vertafore has taken a top-down approach whereby management has spear-headed the effort, leading to a more systematic and consistent adoption across the organization.

During this informative talk, VP of Development Chris Kinsman will discuss Vertafore’s experiences adopting Agile. He will cover some of the challenges they faced, his approach to leading a sustained commitment to Agile, and the results Vertafore has realized so far.

About the Speaker:

Chris Kinsman joined Vertafore in 2006 as Chief Architect. Most recently, he worked for Vertafore as a consultant to the development team and as a lead architect for AMS 360 and AMS Performance Analyzer. Prior to Vertafore, Kinsman consulted with a number of startups and Fortune 500 companies on technology initiatives. Kinsman also founded Vergent Software and served as vice president of technology for DevX.com where he was responsible for all internal IT, development and its data center. He is currently a Microsoft Regional Director, Microsoft MVP and member of the International .NET Association speaker’s bureau. Kinsman holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Washington State University.

At the October meeting of the Seattle Scrum Users’ Group, join Larry Cross, a Certified ScrumMaster with Amdocs (formerly Qpass), as he provides practical ideas from his experience in conducting effective Agile retrospectives. Learn more about creating an environment that enthusiastically welcomes change, help your team be more effective and productive, and share your experiences with other Agile practitioners and those who want to learn more.

Location:    Amdocs Digital Commerce Division, 2211 Elliott Ave., Suite 400, Seattle

Date and Time:    Thursday, October 30, 6:30 p.m.

Admission:    Free

The Seattle Scrum Users’ Group provides a forum for learning about and discussing Scrum and other Agile methods such as XP, FDD, and Lean. The group meets on the last Thursday of the month year round except for November and December, and is hosted at Amdoc’s Seattle office in Belltown.

For more information, visit http://seattlescrum.org, and join us on October 30. Bring your great retro ideas, some sticky notes, and a pen, and prepare to get out of the retro rat race!

About the Speakers
Kane Mar is and Scrum Coach and Trainer based in Seattle, WA. He has been part of the Agile and Scrum community since 2001, and in 2007 he founded the Seattle Scrum Users Group (http://SeattleScrum.org). Kane maintains personal blog (http://KaneMar.com) and likes to write about himself as if he were someone else.

Meeting Date and Agenda
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
6:00pm Food & Drink
6:30pm Some words of Thanks
6:45pm Topic: The Ball Point Game
7:30-ish End of talk, general questions etc.

Location
Qpass Corporate Headquarters
2211 Elliott Avenue
Suite 400
Seattle, Washington 98121
Phone: +1.206.447.6000

Further inquiries can also be emailed to SeattleScrum at Gmail dot com. This announcement may also be found at Seattle Scrums home page: http://www.SeattleScrum.org.

As you may have heard, we are starting a Scrum user group in London. The first meeting will take place on 14 Oct 2008, 7 pm in the Old Bank of England pub, London. The details are here: www.scrumalliance.org/events/20-london-scrum-user-group-inaugural-meeting. Do pop by if you are in town!

If you’re in London during October, this maybe something you’d like to attend.