November Meeting: Agile - A 12 Step Program

When: November 10, 2016  (Second Thursday) Networking: 5:30 - 6:00 pm Program: 6:00 - 7:30 pm.

I was in a coffee shop in Columbus, Ohio with a group of fellow Agile enthusiasts chatting about our experiences. A fellow coach & friend was making fun of my Agile passion & told the group that if Betty Ford Clinic ever opened an Agile wing, I would be the first client. This talk grew out of that conversation. It is a somewhat humorous and equally serious look at the foundations of our craft. While this talk is geared more toward new Agile practitioners and teams embarking upon an Agile Transformation, veterans can also gain some new insights with this refresher. We dive into the basic Principles discussing team benefits, business benefits, meaning of the Principles and Agile practices guided by the Principles.

 

Sam O’Brien is an Agile Coach, Certified Scrum Master and Retrospective Facilitator. Sam has worked with Fortune 20 clients to $100M companies in the US and internationally with distributed and diverse teams in all stages of Agile maturity. Since taking on her first Agile (XP) project sixteen years ago (before Agile was so named), her experience spans all Agile methods and implementation approaches. She is currently serving as the Director of Agile Services at Cohesion where she manages the direction, day-to-day activities, talent acquisition, and growth strategy for Cohesion Agile. Sam’s passion for Agile is contagious. Sam enjoys a proper pot of tea and can often be heard cheering for her favorite football (soccer) team or the local Dayton (Ohio) sports teams. 

PMP's: This event counts for 1 PDU 

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October Meeting: AgileCincy 2016!

Our AgileCincy 2016 Conference will replace our monthly meeting in October. Please check the conference page for more details. We'll see you back at MaxTrain in November!

September Meeting: Backlog Blunders- Avoiding Common Pitfalls to Unleash Your Agile Team's Productivity

When: September 8, 2016  (Second Thursday) Networking: 5:30 - 6:00 pm Program: 6:00 - 7:30 pm.

For an agile team, a proper backlog is as important as air.  Properly refined and groomed, the backlog provides a clear picture of the work to be done and the most important aspects of that work so the team can focus their energy and operate at a steady, predictable rhythm.  Neglect the backlog and all sorts of badness begins to creep in: teams thrash - trying desperately to figure out what to work on, bad habits you thought had been extinguished begin to rear their ugly head, and the agile culture and mindset you've worked so hard to foster begins to falter.  The good news is that by getting intentional about your backlog you can keep things from coming off the rails.  In this talk we'll take a light-hearted look at what NOT to do with your backlog and along the way we'll learn how your backlog can keep your team firing on all cylinders.

Joe Combs has spent 20 years on the front lines of the software industry.  Joe holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Computer Science from Northern Kentucky University.  He has served as a tech lead, architect, business analyst and scrummaster delivering real business value for companies like Swisscom, Sprint, FedEx, Convergys, General Electric, Ethicon, Luxottica and Quest Diagnostics.  For the last 10 years Joe has been a consultant for Systems Evolution, solving his clients most challenging problems.  Joe is an active scouting volunteer and a founding member of the NKU College of Informatics Alumni Council.

PMP's this event counts for 1 PDU

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August Meeting, Agile Teams, so what?

When: August 11, 2016  (Second Thursday) Networking: 5:30 - 6:00 pm Program: 6:00 - 7:30 pm.

@MaxTraining

Agile at scale is mainstream.  Thousands of companies are actively seeking information on how to scale agile effectively.  There are many frameworks and techniques but they all boil down to a set of common principles.  Agile done well involves teams, programs and portfolios aligned to strategy.  Team level agile and continuous delivery are not enough.  It's important to apply a proper team foundation to build things right but without agile applied at the program and portfolio level all we’ll end up with is the wrong things built faster.  In this talk Dan will discuss agile and continuous delivery best practices for the team and then transition into effective application of agile principles to your portfolios and programs to ensure you are also building the right things.  Learn to create value, not just process.

Dan Rice is an Enterprise Agile Advisor and process improvement expert with CA Technologies.  He works as a trusted advisor to architect agile solutions that solve the challenges organizations are facing and to help them realize revenue from their investments and deliver business value sooner.  He has consulted with some of the largest organizations in the world to apply effective enterprise agile processes to ensure they realize the full value of their investment in agile. Dan has stood up, coached and helped many teams produce better and faster results.  He has worked and consulted with both public and private companies in several industries including Software, Aviation, Telecommunications, Finance, Insurance, and Retail.

PMP's: This event counts for 1 PDU

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