Chris and I have spent a fair portion of the past week preparing session proposals for the Agile 2009 conference in Chicago. So far we're submitted five, and have several more in the pipeline, so I've gotten to know my way aorund the submission process…
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We've heard plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting that tech companies are limiting travel to conferences as part of their cost-cutting measures, and as a result, conference registrations appear to be down. It seems to me that this is a false economy; training your people to be better at their jobs is probably the best approach to increasing productivity per capita in lean times, and the networking that takes place benefits everyone and puts your company in the marketplace of ideas. I say, you're either in or out of the boat, and if you're in, there's no point to having just one oar in the water, because that will make you spin in circles the harder you paddle. I used to teach sailing, so I am in fact an authority on these matters.
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Chris and I made quite a few new agile friends at a private consultants retreat we attended back in November at the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, OR, and a lot of the same people will be attending Agile Open Northwest on Feb 10 & 11, as will we.
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We met Ainsley Nies for corned beef hash and crab cakes at Peter’s in Millbrae this morning. It was our second planning session for the Orlando Scrum Gathering in March, where Chris and Ainsley have been invited to host an Open Space for 300 agile souls, based on the strength of their performance as organizers and facilitators of last year's Agile Open California. I'm helping–well, mostly I'm sitting at Ainsley's feet in rapt attention, soaking up all I can about Open Space Technology, which I find fascinating.
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We've just finished submitting our slide decks for two upcoming conferences: SD West 2009 and Software Test & Performance (STPCon) Spring 2009. Both take place right here in our neighborhood (we'd say back yard but then you might expect barbecue).
Chris recently had the pleasure of facilitating a lunchtime workshop as part of PMI Silicon Valley and SDForum's Tools & Techniques series. A group of 23 Project Managers turned out to discuss "The Most Effective Tools & Techniques For Project Managers" using the Group Wisdom Without Groupthink (GWG) structured brainstorming method.
GWG begins with a round-robin survey of the entire group to elicit ideas, which are posted on the wall. Next, participants vote for the items they think most important and the results are arranged in tiers. Here are the results:
Last night's meeting of the Engineering Managers' Support Group at the British Bankers' Club was an intimate affair, as inclement weather kept a lot of members home. Those who did brave the rain thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, drinks and pub food–the engineering of the Tuna Nicoise, pictured, drew quite a bit of praise.
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JetBrains has graciously donated two software licenses to be raffled off at tomorrow night's meeting of the Engineering Manager's Support Group, so come on out if you're feeling lucky. Winners can choose from several JetBrains offerings, including IntelliJ and ReSharper. These products retail in the $250-$350 range for individual licenses.
We'll be meeting at the British Bankers' Club in Menlo Park tomorrow evening, Thursday, January 21st, at 6:30 pm. The event is free with a cash bar and full menu available. You can RSVP here.
Proponents of agile, in my experience, can be quite passionate, and it can be argued that their infectious enthusiasm is what is making agile so "hot" these days. These agile evangelicals have spread practices, and an ethos, that have made a lot of developers' lives a lot happier, and bless them for it.
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Next Wednesday, Jan 21st, we will again be holding the Engineering Managers Support Group at the British Bankers' Club in Menlo Park. We had an excellent turnout when we held our last gathering there in November, and the proceedings had a rather festive vibe. Must have been the Guiness and the onion rings.
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