Events

 

Lean & Agile Project Management for Large Distributed Virtual Teams

Wednesday, 8 February 2012 from 18:00 to 20:00 (ET)

Henrico, VA

ABSTRACT: The subject addresses the convergence of three major paradigms - lean thinking, agile methods in managing high-tech projects, and the emergence of virtual teams as a dominant business model. Dr. Rico will define lean thinking, agile project management, and virtual teams (and describe the paradox, pitfalls, and challenges of mixing agile methods with virtual teams). He'll describe the major types of virtual teams along with key practices, techniques, tools, and technologies for their success through intriguing case studies and real world examples. He'll close with a brief discussion of the role of leadership in successful virtual teams, metrics for measuring virtual team performance, costs and benefits, and current market trends of firms who are using virtual teams as an alternative business model. Themes, elements, and portions of this talk have appeared in Gantthead.

SPEAKER: Dr. David F. Rico has been a technical leader in support of NASA, Air Force, Navy, Army, and other government agencies for over 25 years. He has led numerous projects based on Cloud Computing, Lean Thinking, Agile Methods, Service Oriented Architecture, Web Services, Six Sigma, Open Source Software, ISO 9001, CMMI, Baldrige, TQM, Enterprise Architecture, and DoD 5000. Dr. Rico specializes in information systems investment analysis, economic portfolio valuation, and organizational change methods. Dr. Rico has been an international keynote speaker, presented at leading industry conferences, written or contributed to six textbooks, and published numerous journal articles. He is also a frequent PMI, APLN, INCOSE, SPIN, and conference speaker.

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Make an Impact with Kanban in February
February 3: Agile Cville meeting on Lean, Agile & Kanban
Impact Makers and VGT are sponsoring the February 3rd Agile Cville meeting. Join them for a discussion on Lean-Agile, Kanban, TDD (Test-Driven Development). You'll also hear how one company successfully transitioned to Scrum in a matter of months!

Date: Friday, February 3, 2012
Time: 4:30 - 8:30 pm (food & beverage will be provided)
Location: VGT, 623 Welsh Run Road # A. Ruckersville, VA 22968-2768
Cost: free!
Agenda:

• Networking and Welcome
• VGT Agile Transformation with Rao Kasibhotla
• Kanban with Daniel Vacanti, Kanban trainer
• TDD (Test-Driven Development) and Agile Cville update with Arin Sime of agilityfeat.com
• Retrospective with Mike Vizdos of implementingscrum.com
• Networking and Closing

For more information, visit the Agile Cville website or to register e-mail Eve Akers at eakers@impactmakers.org.

Training Events

February 8-9: Kanban Training is back!
Impact Makers is once again offering an in-depth two-day Kanban training seminar right here in Richmond. They are teaming with Daniel Vacanti to offer the training class to provide an introduction to Lean, Pull Systems and Kanban.

As a participant in the class you will learn how to:

• Drive change by limiting work-in-progress,
• Create policies that positively constrain the collaborative game of software development, and
• Manage risk and change negotiations into collaborative problem solving.

This class is based on David J. Anderson's book Kanban - Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business. Attendees of the class will receive a copy of the book. If you are looking for new ways to unleash productivity, innovation, collaboration and creativity, you'll find this is two days well spent.

Group pricing is available. Bring 4 paid attendees and get a 5th one free! Register on the Impact Makers website or email eakers@impactmakers.org.

About Kanban: Kanban, like Agile, is a Lean project delivery management process. Kanban focuses on making small, iterative changes that evolve business processes into more efficient and manageable work streams while avoiding the risks associated with massive, monolithic change. Used effectively, Kanban will help you and your organization evolve into a more efficient project delivery machine!

About the Presenter, Daniel Vacanti: Daniel Vacanti is a 16 year software industry veteran and internationally recognized expert on Kanban. He has taught courses and presented this material in countries around the world.

Past Events

 

The Promise of Agile Methods

• 
  Thursday, January 26, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (ET), Glen Allen Library

  ABSTRACT: Agile methods like Scrum, XP and Kanban have moved into the mainstream in both the private and public sectors. Successful practitioners have cut development lead times, improved product quality and have reduced costs. As the agile movement enters its second decade, how can we apply fundamental agile tenets to deliver further organizational improvement? The true promise of agile lies in helping drive improvement in 3 areas: team evolution with Lean Startup and Kanban, personal mastery through discipline and flow; and wise leadership.

  SPEAKER: Sanjiv Augustine is an industry-leading agile and lean expert, author, speaker, management consultant and trainer. He is the President of LitheSpeed, an agile consulting, training and product development company. He is the author of the book Managing Agile Projects (Prentice Hall 2005) and several publications including Transitioning to Agile Project Management: A Roadmap for the Perplexed, The Lean-Agile PMO: Using Lean Thinking to Accelerate Agile Project Delivery; and the founder and moderator of the Yahoo! Agile Project Management discussion group. Sanjiv is also a founder and advisory board member of the Agile Project Leadership Network (APLN), and an organizing member of the Project Management Institute (PMI)'s Agile Community of Practice. He presents regularly at several agile and PMI user groups and conferences worldwide. As an in-the-trenches practitioner, he has personally managed agile projects varying in size from five to over one hundred people, trained thousands of agile practitioners via workshops and conference presentations, and coached numerous project teams.

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• Something New In Town!: Agile Richmond is committed to promoting opportunities in Richmond that help us further our use and understanding of Agile and Agile related techniques. It's not just for IT projects. With that in mind, we welcome and support Gangplank in our area. www.whatisgangplank.com

  Ganplank is a non-profit organization that truly lives agile values and principles through its community members. Please remind yourself of the agile manifesto and then check out the mission and goals of gangplank. Mike Vizdos, one of the original founders of Agile Richmond and a well traveled Agile trainer and practitioner, encountered Gangplank in Arizona and wants to brings it's value to our community. Mike has organized a kick off meeting

  Monday, January 16th from 2-4 at the Daily Grind out in Short Pump (The Promenade Shops | 11655 West Broad Street)
  Please check out the link to finder out more about what Gangplank does and get involved!
  Contact Mike's at mvizdos@gangplankhq.com
  Visit the event on Facebook

   

• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) Training

  The Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) training class is a two-day course which will provide a deeper understanding of how Scrum transforms initial concepts and goals into a product backlog and user stories which are ultimately developed into project deliverables. The class delves into creating requirements in an Agile environment, effective prioritization, long term and short term planning, and providing vision. These concepts are presented in a highly interactive and collaborative format with elements of lecture, classroom discussion, exercises, games, and video interwoven throughout the class.

  Upon completion of the course, students will be certified as Certified Scrum Product Owners. Additionally, this course counts for 14 Professional Development Units (PDUs).

  Price, Date, and Location:

  The registration fee for this two-day course is $1,300 (inclusive of all taxes and fees). You may pay online via credit card or request that Excella invoice you if you have an existing billing arrangement with Excella.

  This two-day class takes place on Monday and Tuesday, November 14 and 15. Registration is now open. Classes on both days will take place from 9am - 5pm at Excella Consulting in the Navy League Building at 2300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 630, Arlington, Virginia (located at the Courthouse Metro stop on the Orange Line). Parking is available in the Navy League Building and will be validated. Light breakfast will be available at 8:30am each day and lunch will also be provided.

  Who Should Attend:

  This is appropriate for Scrum Product Owners, business analysts, or anyone involved with creating requirements, gathering needs, and managing projects.

  Course Outline:

  This course starts with an overview of the Agile and Scrum frameworks. From there, the curriculum includes:

  • Overview of Agile and Scrum Frameworks
  • What a Product Owner Does
  • What to Look for in a Product Owner
  • The Roles of Product Owner and Business Analysts within the Scrum Team Structure
  • Vision and Mission Definitions
  • Project Scope via Product Backlog
  • Relationship Between Requirements and User Stories
  • Prioritizing features and needs
  • Release and Sprint Planning
  • Long-term and Short-term Estimation
  • Meeting Facilitation
  • Agile Metrics

  About Your Trainers:

  Richard Cheng, Managing Consultant at Excella Consulting, provides consulting services to commercial and federal clients in the Washington, DC area. Richard coaches and mentors clients in understanding and implementing Agile and Scrum. He also leads Excella's Agile Center of Excellence.

  A graduate of Virginia Tech, Richard has authored several publications on project management, presented at Agile and PMI sponsored industry events, is a member of Mensa, and holds certifications including Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), and Project Management Professional (PMP).

  Angela Johnson is a Trainer and Coach providing education consulting services to clients across the United States adopting Scrum and Agile. Angela has successfully implemented Scrum and Agile principles in a variety of projects from web-based applications to enterprise level retail and financial projects. As a Trainer, Angela provides students with foundational knowledge and tools needed to begin adopting Scrum, Agile, Kanban, etc. As a Coach, Angela mentors clients at all levels in their transformation working with teams, managers, stakeholders and executives.

  A graduate of Hamline University (B.A.) and the University of St. Thomas (M.B.C.), Angela has presented at university sponsored events as well as at the Project Management Institute (PMI) Minnesota chapter events and to the Twin Cities Quality Assurance Association. Angela is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST). Angela facilitates the PMI Minnesota Agile Local Interest Group and is also an active member of the Scrum Alliance, and Agile Alliance.

  Signup available at http://excellacspo.eventbrite.com
  Enter discount code" "ExcellaPreferred" to receive $250 off your registration fee.

   

• Interactive Kanban Workshop

  When: Tuesday, November 15th, 6-8 PM

  Where: The Family Lifeline office
  2325 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA (on-street parking available)

  Details: Agile Richmond, in partnership with Impact Makers is presenting an Interactive Kanban Workshop with Daniel Vacanti of David J. Anderson and Associates, the firm responsible for developing Kanban. Kanban is more than a software development methodology, it has project and operational elements to drive efficiencies and make your organization's performance and processes more predictable.

  Join us for an interactive introduction to Kanban with a fun project simulation game that will get you quickly acquainted with a real Kanban system and allow you to experience working as a team using Kanban techniques.

  About the presenter: Daniel Vacanti: Nobody is better qualified to present Agile and Kanban than Mr. Vacanti. As founders of Kanban, he and his colleagues at David J. Anderson are internationally recognized experts. They have taught course and presented this material in two dozen countries around the world.

  Cost: Free

   

• Certified ScrumMaster Training in Virginia Beach: Chris Doss will be presenting the class. For details on the trainers, please visit http://lithespeed.com/aboutUs.htm Bonus Offerings:
  • 16 PDUs towards PMI continuing certification
  • Discount on Managing Agile Projects book (and teaching by the author!)
  
  Monday, October 24 - Tuesday, October 25. at HyperLearning Technologies, Inc. , 3630 South Plaza Trail #250, Virginia Beach, VA 23452. (757) 495-0714.

   

• A Deep Look at Agile Certifications: Thursday, October 20th, 6-8 PM. at the Glen Allen Branch Library, 10501 Staples Mill Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060-3242. Free
  Richard Cheng is a managing consultant at Excella Consulting, providing consulting services to commercial and federal clients in the Washington, DC area. Richard trains, coaches, and mentors clients in understanding and implementing Agile and Scrum. He also leads Excella's Agile Center of Excellence. A graduate of Virginia Tech, Richard authored several publications on project management, presented at Agile and PMI sponsored industry events, is a member of Mensa, and holds certifications including Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), and Project Management Professional (PMP). (http://www.excella.com/people/richard-cheng.aspx)
  The Agile certification landscape can be quite complex. Scrum.org, Scrum Alliance, and International Consortium for Agile all have multiple levels of Agile certification. Combine that with the PMI's Agile certification pilot, the choices for Agile certification can be confusing. This session takes a look at the Agile certifications, the relationship and differences between each certification, and how each certification is obtained. We will take a look at a complex certification landscape and lay it out in simplified terms to make it easy to navigate the complex world of Agile certifications. Certifications to be discussed include:
  PMI Agile Certified Practitioner

  Scrum Alliance certifications:

  • Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
  • Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
  • Certified Scrum Developer (CSD)
  • Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)
  • Certified Scrum Coach (CSC)
  • Certified Scrum Training (CST)

    Scrum.org Certifications:

  • Professional Scrum Master I & II
  • Professional Product Owner I & II
  • Professional Scrum Developer

    International Consortium for Agile Certifications:

  • Associate Certification
  • Professional Certification (with 6 skill tracks)
  • Expert Certification

  View the slide deck.

   

• Innovate Virginia: Innovate Virginia is a unique one-day conference intended to promote the use of innovative methods of software delivery such as Lean and Agile. Sponsored by the Agile Richmond user group, our goal is to host an event that mixes great ideas, passionate people and industry best practices in a unique, creative setting. Whether you're a technologist, project manager, executive sponsor or novice Agile practitioner, Innovate Virginia has something of interest for you, so bring your entire team! We're showcasing the best and brightest in our region, providing you with an opportunity to learn from well-respected thought leaders, while networking and socializing with other progressive professionals. Expect to enjoy local Virginia cuisine, beverages and wrap up the evening with a hometown blue grass band. We will accept walk-in registrations at the event, assuming we still have availability. Friday, September 16th, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (ET). Fee: $117.13, plus $7.43 handling fee. Download slides from our speakers.

   

• Sep 14-15: Certified Scrum Master taught by Robin Dymond and Ryan Shriver.

   

• Sep 14-15: Kanban taught by Daniel Vacanti and Adam Beck. As a bonus, each class attendee will receive free admission to the Innovate Virginia conference on Friday, September 16th. Act now to reserve your spot.

   

• Agile Richmond board president Roney Pate will be presenting an Introduction to Agile discussion for the Richmond Sharepoint Users Group in Wednesday, June 29th, at noon. Please see this link for more information and to register.

   

• Agile Scrum Development Practices with the Experts: Microsoft Innovation and Technology Center. 12012 Sunset Hills Rd., Reston, VA 20190. April 28th: 9:00AM - 4:30PM. Click here to register or for more information

   

• KanBan Discussion! On June 22 Agile Richmond board member Ryan Schriver, and Agile Richmond founding member Robin Dymond presented a lively discussion of the KanBan variation of Agile practice. KanBan is a method that removes some of the structure of Scrum and allows for a better fit with continuous flow types of efforts such as maintenance activities and process improvement projects. Here is the presentation from that event.

   

• Before the Backlog: Interactive Techniques for Tying Stories to Stakeholders: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (ET). Note new location. For more information, click here: http://beforethebacklog.eventbrite.com/ DOWNLOAD THE MEETING MATERIALS.

   

• Certified ScrumMaster Training in Norfolk: Take advantage of this local opportunity to become a Certified ScrumMaster and begin your transition to Agile methods. Tuesday, March 15 - Wednesday, March 16. For more details and to register please visit: www.lithespeed.com/CSM_Detail.htm

   

• Transitioning to Lean-Agile Project Management Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 6:00-8:00pm.
  Follow these links for: More information; Premier Case Study; Better software article.
  Sponsored by:

   

• Lean and Agile: Large-Scale Programs and Projects. Presentation Materials.

   

• A Lingua Franca for the Three Amigos - with George Dinwiddie Date and Time: December 14th (More Information)

   

• The Agile Richmond Board addresses Agile 101: November 9th. Agile 101 Presentation. More Information

   

• Mike Hill Speaks - Five Pillars Of Coaching Practice: An Introduction: In this session, Mike "GeePaw" Hill presents and describes his Pillars Of Coaching, the basic sources of all successful coaching efforts: Situating, Modeling, Releasing, Sorting, and Inviting. These are the wellsprings from which an experienced coach draws ideas, insights, and inspiration. The GeePawHill style, funny and pointed and spot-on accurate, should make this session informative and pleasurable. Mike "GeePaw" Hill has been a professional programmer for twenty-eight years. For the last ten years he has focused his efforts as a trainer, coach, and team lead on XP software projects and transitions. Mike is a well-known leader in the Agile community and is a regular speaker at related industry events. His chief interest over the last few years has been on the perils and rewards of coaching agile development teams. Date and Time: October 12th. READ: Pillars of a Coaching Practice

   

• Arin Sime Speaks on Range Estimation September 14th.

   

  

• What is an agile coach, really? More and more frequently, ScrumMasters and project managers are being asked to coach agile teams. But it's a challenging role. It requires new skills - as well as a subtle understanding of when to step in and when to step back. Migrating from "command and control" to agile coaching requires a whole new mind-set. This leaves many wondering, "What is my role in a self-organized team? How do I help the team yet stay hands-off?" Many respond by going too far to either extreme. This session turns these questions into answers, and answers into action by offering provocative views into coaching done well and practical ways to get there by adapting skills from professional coaching, conflict management, teaching, collaboration and more. In this session, we will explore these topics:
  • Key mindset shifts successful agile coaches achieve
  • What skills from allied disciplines do agile coaches bring to their teams?
  • Ways to measure your success and improvement as a coach

  

  As an agile coach, you can help project teams become outstanding at agile, creating products that make them proud and helping organizations reap the powerful benefits of teams that deliver both innovation and excellence. Come see how. Lyssa Adkins has taught Scrum to hundreds of students, coached dozens of agile teams and served as master coach to many apprentice coaches since 2004. Coaching coaches one-on-one and in small groups, she enjoys a front-row seat as remarkable agile coaches emerge and go on to entice the very best from the teams they coach. Prior to agile, Adkins had more than fifteen years of expertise leading project teams and groups of project managers in large and small consulting firms, commercial software companies, and the Fortune 500, yet nothing prepared her for the power of Agile done simply and well. She teaches the "Coaching Agile Teams" training course which allows agile coaches to learn, practice and deepen the skills and mind-sets offered in the book of the same title.
  Tuesday, July 13th. 6 - 8 pm. FREE!

   

• Great Opportunity! Certified Scrum Training led by Agile Richmond board member and author Lyssa Adkins: If you're not yet certified, here's your chance to learn from one of the very best. Don't miss this opportunity. Lyssa is presenting a 2 day certification training workshop, in conjuction with the Central Virginia PMI organization, on Saturday and Sunday, June 26th & 27th. These are full day workshops and, upon completion, you will be a Certified Scum Master! Scrum Master Certification Workshop Sheraton Park South Hotel, 9901 Midlothian Turnpike Richmond, VA 23235. For more information, go here.

   

• Don Gray and decision making in the Agile world. We all make decisions every day. Thousands of them. What shoes am I going to wear? What work should I do first? Is it a right or left turn? But do you think about HOW decisions are made? Particularly in your teams and your work environment? Are they voted on, or decreed, or made by consensus? Don Gray thinks about this quite a lot. How we make decisions, or allow them to be made, have at least as much effect on outcomes as the decisions themselves. Decide to join Don and your Agile Richmond colleagues on June 15th for a session examining how decisions are really made, and how to do it better in the Agile environment. It will be your best decision of the day! Learn more about Don, an expert in Integrating People, Projects and Processes here: http://donaldegray.com/ Tuesday, June 15th. 6 pm. FREE! At Staff Focus Consulting.

   

• Dan Mezick of Agile Boston on Team Intimacy : Dan Mezick joined us on May 11th for a very interesting discussion on team intimacy. We learned more about the power of the team, and how that power can be circumvented by simply not thinking about the team the change agent it really is; rather than the manager ot the scum leader. We also learned about "Ba", and how this reflects and enhances team, and the tremendous importance of emotional safety in team performance. Dan's presentation materials are here. You can learn more about Dan here: http://www.newtechusa.com/agileboston/DanMezick.htm.

   

• Syed Rayhan and Nimat Haque: Join Agile Richmond for a look at using better tools to manage Scrum. Are you one of the many Agilists managing scrums using spreadsheets and notes? Ever think "there must be a better way"? Well, there is! As Agile has itself grown and evolved, tools to support the Agilke process have also grown and evolved. Join Syed Rayhan & Nimat Haque from Code71 to learn more about using tools to manage scrum and, particularly, about Code71's product "ScrumPad". Date and Time: April 13th, 6 - 8 pm. Cost: FREE! Location: Twin Hickory Library

   

• What do Managers have to do with Work? - Learn from one of the real stars in Agile thinking - Ester Derby is well known as a consultant who uniquely blends expertise on technical issues, managerial issues and people issues. Ester is also one of the foremost leaders and practitioners of the art of the retrospective, having written the definitive book on the subject. Agile Richmond is excited to be able offer our members the chance to hear and meet Esther in person. Esther will present on the topic "13 Essential Questions for Managers". Through this, we will learn about the real role of managers as designers of the experience of work and the systems that support work. At the Twin Hickory Library. March 30th at 6PM. FREE. Learn more about Ester at http://www.estherderby.com

   

• Certified Scrum Training lead by Agile Richmond board member Lyssa Adkins: If you're not yet certified, here's you chance to learn from one of the best. Don't miss this opportunity. Lyssa is presenting the 2 day certification training, though the Central Virginia PMI organization, and it will be great. (Saturday, March 13, 2010 - 8:30am - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 5:00pm). Scrum Master Certification Workshop Sheraton Park South Hotel, 9901 Midlothian Turnpike Richmond, VA 23235. For more information, go here: http://www.pmicvc.org/Prodev/upcoming_seminars

   

• Delivering Real Value with Scrum Special Opportunity for Training with Tom & Kai Gilb : Agile Richmond is pleased to host agile pioneers Tom Gilb & Kai Gilb for a one day seminar on Delivering Real Value with Scrum. Join them, along with Agile Richmond board member Ryan Shriver, and learn how to: Create clear channels of communication that work; Identify and quantify the highest priority product objectives; Carry prioritization from the business idea through to the backlog; Develop a value-based approach to decision making; Deliver measurable business value by harnessing the power of Scrum. Scrum creator Jeff Sutherland calls Kai and Tom's work "some of the most innovative things I have seen in the Scrum community". If you are serious about Scrum, and want to help your business understand it's value, you need this knowledge. To find out more about Tom and Kai's work, visit their website at http://www.result-planning.com Saturday March 6, 2010

   

• Special Event: Special Agile Richmond and PMI joint event - Intro to Agile. Join members of PMI of Central Virginia at 9AM on Saturday, February 13th for a 6-hour workshop presented by Agile Richmond to explore the reality of project execution as seen through Agile and PMI. We start with an Introduction to Agile and Scrum. Then, move into an "Oil and Water" exploration where we will examine Agile/Scrum principles and their alignment to the basic principles of PMI/PMBOK. Together, we will learn how Agile and PMBOK do - and don't - compliment each other. This session is accredited for PMI professional development.

   

• Road Trip! Join our Agile partners in Charlottesville to hear Agile Richmond board member and rising Agile star Lyssa Adkins speak on our favorite topic: What is an Agile Coach? Please visit Agile Charlottesville at http://www.agilecville.org/ and check the "Special February Event" link for full information. -

   

• Special Joint Event! January 12th!: Agile Richmond is joining forces with The Richmond User Experience organization to present a session on using Agile to manage and execute the user experience design principals in real-world applications. Note this is not just interface design; it's about looking holistically at the experience of a customer in the web world. Join Tom Illmensee of Ironworks, and Joe Sokohl of Regular Joe consulting as they reprise their very successful Agile 2009 discussion. We will focus on how user research, usability, information architecture and interaction architecture practices are adapted and thrive in agile projects. For more about The Richmond User Experience organization, check them out here: http://richmondux.com/

   

  

  We had a great session on the 10th on bringing Agile & Scrum principals into everyday family life. Joe Meade, of Dominion Digital, and Peace Bode (and their kids via video) shared with us how they applied Scrum to improve the family's communication and ability to get life done. They spoke with passion about how their lives have been changed and family happiness improved by bringing Scrum into the home. The audience, which included spouses and kids, educators, agile coaches and coders, all were eager to learn specific techniques that worked for Joe and Peace. After the presentation the audience spent quite a bit of time discussing with Joe and Peace about how chores, homework, music lessons, sporting events and more could be managed, by the kids themselves, with the Scrum process Everyone came away impressed and no doubt at least a few went home and setup a Scrum board!

   

• Agile Coaching Practices: Navigate conflict - On agile teams, we constantly seek excellence. Part of the energy that creates excellence comes from healthy conflict. Using the conflict that naturally occurs with committed, motivated people as a catapult to higher performance is a key part of Agile leadership. As part of our series on "Being a Better Coach" we offer this session on Navigating Conflict. We'll share a commonsense, human-centered conflict framework to dispassionately see what is truly happening when an Agile team is in conflict and use that conflict for growth.

   

• Scrum Training - Agile Richmond Board member and certified Scrum trainer Lyssa Adkins is partnering with the Richmond Chapter of PMI to offer a repeat of the very sucessful two day Scrum Master Certification class.
  • Date: Saturday and Sunday, September 12 and 13, 2009
  • Time: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
  • Credits: 16 PDUs
  • Dress Code: Casual
  • Contact: Bethany Bryans, vp.prodevelopment@pmicvc.org

  This class is offered at a significantly reduced cost in respect for our current difficult economic downturn. You can find out more and register here: http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=2e897bec-c27a-45e6-9a04-1e60be130efa

   

• WOW - Jeff Sutherland: Agile Richmond, in partnership with CCPace and Staff Focus, are please to offer an opportunity to meet with Jeff Sutherland, one of the founders of Agile & Scrum. This event will be held at the Dominion Innsbrook Technical Center, 5001 Dominion Blvd, Richmond, VA 23060 on July 23rd at 6pm. Dr. Sutherland will speak on the topic of "Agile Software Development in the Enterprise". We will explore how companies large, small and enormous have used the hyper productivity of Agile to generate extraordinary financial returns. We will also discuss how Scrum scales up as companies grow, and the usage of Scrum for outsourced, distributed teams. And, perhaps most appropriate to these times, hear how venture capitalists are using Scrum to improve returns in their investment portfolios. Thanks to our sponsors, this remarkable event is FREE, but you must register and seating will be limited. Here's a link to the materials Jeff used for our presentation: Jeff's Richmond Presentation Sponsored by

  

   

• Wonderful Training Opportunity!: Take Certified Scrum Master (CSM) training from none other than Jeff Sutherland, the founder of Scrum Agile. This class will be offered on July 23 and July 24 at the Courtyard by Marriott ,10077 Brook Road, Richmond. In addition to Jeff, Joe Little, a CST and MBA very familiar to many of us in the Richmond Agile Community, will be co-training. It just doesn't get better than this, folks. Oh Wait, it does! There is a significant discount for Agile Richmond members. Just sign up on the "don't miss a thing" link on our home page. For full details and to register for the class, go here: leanagiletraining.com/Sutherland%20RIC%20CSM/Sutherland%20RIC%20CSM.html See you there!.

   

• Put Me In Coach: Our next Agile Richmond Event will feature You! One of our top vote getters for topics in our recent survey was "what makes a good Agile coach?". For our next event, on June 30th at 6pm at Apex Systems Inc, we will explore that topic with your help. Intrigued? Come to our event and find out what you (and your colleagues) know about coaching. June 30, 6pm

   

• The Agile PMO: From Process Police to Adaptive Leadership
  Presented by Sanjiv Augustine: On Tuesday, May 5th, Agile Richmond members were privileged to host Sanjiv Augustine, of LitheSpeed, for a presentation on the Agile PMO. Mr. Augustine is an excellent and entertaining presenter, and the topic was of great interest to the attendees. Among the major topics were:
  • How and why PMOs tend to fail.
  • How Agile principals can be applied to make a more effective, Agile enabling PMO
  • What are the steps and approach to a successful, scalable PMO.
  • How the PMO can help sustain and strengthen agile adoption.

  You can download the presentation materials here, but, really, you should have been there!

  Sanjive's organization provides many Agile reloated services. Check out LitheSpeed at www.lithespeed.com

   

• Scrum Training - Agile Richmond Board member and certified Scrum trainer Lyssa Adkins is partnering with the Richmond Chapter of PMI to offer a two day Scrum Master Certification class on Saturday, June 27th and Sunday June 28th. This class is offered at a significantly reduced cost in respect for our current difficult economic downturn. You can find out more and register here: pmicvc.org See also http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=319d2e8d-bb75-4ad1-b949-80089f665a20. Saturday, June 27th and Sunday June 28th

   

• Agile Methods and ROI. The economy is horrible and money is tight. Yet, the need to get work done is always there, and success can actually mean survival in the current climate. It is more critical than ever to be able to articulate the ROI of a project. Dr. David Rico will present "Agile Methods and ROI". Dr. Rico is a highly regarded expert in this field, and you don't want to miss this special event. For this special event, to continue to encourage the use of Agile in a difficult climate, and to kick of Agile Richmond's new year right, attendance for this event is FREE for those that register in advance before February 23nd. Here a link to Dr. Rico's website and bio: http://davidfrico.com. Date: Tuesday, Feburary 24th at 6pm. Review the Session Presentation.

   

• SPECIAL EVENT!! Special Agile Richmond and PMI joint event - 2009 Intro to Agile Agile Richmond joined with PMI Richmond to present a seminar on Agile on Saturday, February 28th.. It was a GREAT success, with almost 70 attendees. The Agile Richmond team of Kelly Snavely, Roney Pate, Lyssa Atkins, Tania Broome and Thirumala Areti presented a 3 part session to a very responsive group of Project Managers and other professionals. The session started with a overview of Agile, lead by Roney, which generated a lot of conversation and energy. Then, Lyssa lead the group in a "59 minute Scrum" to give people a taste of how Agile really feels. Tania and Kelly followed with a discussion and group workout on how PMBOK and Agile thinking align. Finally, there was a very active Q&A session in which the entire group fielded questions from the audience. It truly was a great session - for the attendees, for PMI and for Agile Richmond. The Presentation materials can be downloaded here. Here are some outcomes from this excellent and very energetic session.

   

• Certified Scrum Master course: Mike Vizdos and Lyssa Adkins have just scheduled a Certified Scrum Master course right here in Richmond at the end of January. These two highly experienced coaches and trainers will team teach - you get two for one! The course is being held for a private client, but there are a few seats available for the public (you!).

  26-27 Jan 2009
  $1,495.00 per person
  For details about the course and registration, CLICK HERE

   

• Connecting the Dots of Lean - An Overview

  November 18, 2008
  Richmond, VA

  As leaders and managers, we are bombarded with a plethora of 'programs' the gurus promise will transform our businesses. Lean; Six Sigma; Theory of Constraints; Design Methods; Innovation; - All clamoring with many others to 'be the one' that will fix all your problems. After a brief review of problems each addresses, a deeper understanding of Lean will be examined in a services related environment.

  Topics: How do the various methods fit together? - What is Lean? - Why is it used? How does it work? Brief History of lean, Definitions of lean, Definition of Value Added and Non-Value Added; Definition of 8 wastes; audience participation.

  Dan is a managing consultant at Dominion Digital. He joined Dominion Digital with 13 years as a Performance Excellence deployment strategist helping companies as a trusted advisor improve the performance of their companies across many service industries. Dan has implemented programs that use the methodologies of Lean, Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma, and TRIZ with great success inside of some of the world's top corporations. He was among the first General Electric Master Black Belts to be certified and began teaching the integration of Lean and Six Sigma in 2000.

   

• Certified Scrum Master Class

  October 29, 30, 2008
  Richmond, VA

  This course is taught by Robin Dymond, an experienced practitioner in Scrum, Agile and Lean techniques and member of the Agile Richmond board. This class is engaging, interactive, and will challenge preconceived notions on how to be effective at delivering valuable software projects and programs.
  To learn more: www.scrumtraining.com/scrum-master-training
  To Register: www.scrumtraining.com/upcoming-events

  10% DISCOUNT FOR AGILE RICHMOND MEMBERS
  (please ask when registering)

   

• September 23rd, 2008. Ryan Shriver of Dominion Digital presented an excelling talk on articulating The Business Value of Agile. His presentation materials can be found here: theagileengineer.com/public/Presentations/Presentations.html.