Traditional project-based funding models create inefficiencies, handoffs, and misaligned incentives that slow organizations down. The Agile Product Operating Model (APOM) introduces a radical shift: funding products, not projects. This session dives into how APOM streamlines the flow of work, supports cross-product initiatives, and empowers teams to focus on sustainable, long-term value creation. Attendees will learn how shifting from outputs to outcomes unlocks innovation, accelerates delivery, and maximizes customer impact.

Join us for our roundtable discussion focused on QA leadership, identifying QA value, and strategies for applying a quality mindset throughout the enterprise!

Come celebrate the holiday and winter season!! 

Connect with the MKE-SPIN community at Ope! Brewing Co. in West Allis on Tuesday January 14th from 4:30pm to 7pm.

Discover the dawn of a new era in office productivity with Copilot for M365. We will explore the dynamic ways AI integration within Office applications is reshaping the way we work.

Rescheduled!

Why Agile? IT'S JUST GOOD BUSINESS! Mitigate risk, deliver more frequently, increase visiablity, and maintain the ability to change. 

Join us for an engaging discussion on "Demystifying Product Thinking." In a world where Product Thinking has become ubiquitous, organizations are increasingly embracing a "product-centric" approach. But what does that truly entail?

During this session, we will peel back the layers of abstraction surrounding "product thinking" and delve into its real-world implications. We'll explore what these terms and concepts actually mean and, more importantly, how you can seamlessly integrate and apply them in your daily operations with a practical and adaptable approach. 

Don't miss this opportunity to gain actionable insights into harnessing the power of Product Thinking in your organization.

The latest publication from the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®), "The Rock Crusher," offers an agile approach to backlog management, highlighting the power and simplicity of this essential tool in modern agile organizations. This concept emphasizes the importance of the backlog as a single repository from which a team pulls its next most valuable work item, enabling agility through the ability to add, remove, reprioritize, and visualize potential work for a product. 

Join Dave Snyder, certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator, as he introduces you to LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. Formally, the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) method is defined as a facilitated thinking, communication and problem-solving technique for organizations, teams and individuals. It draws on extensive research from the fields of business, organizational development, psychology and learning, and is based on the concept of “hand knowledge.” In this introductory session, we will explore some of the theory behind the methodology and look to understand how it can be applied in a software organization or team.

There is no IT value until a service is fully delivered. This includes not only the application being developed, but the ongoing infrastructure management capabilities. Hear a highly entertaining talk on how development projects fail for lack of operational planning and readiness. Learn a successful approach used at other companies that insert operational planning and readiness into their software development lifecycles to ensure a holistic solution is being developed. Learn how operational readiness can be built in parallel with development activities. Hear examples of what works and not works from real industry companies (names withheld to protect the guilty…).

Join us for our roundtable discussion focused on quality software where we will be discussing QA involvement in a project's lifecycle, test automation, and much more!

After being an Agile practitioner for a dozen years, I still hear debates about many Agile topics that people are passionate about. In this interactive presentation, you’ll hear both sides of 20 highly contested topics so you can decide for yourself. 

When people talk about agile at their organizations, they often say they are "agile-ish".

What does "ish" mean? "Ish" typically comprises the things that are holding us back from realizing organizational agility.

Join us for a discussion on how to move from agile-ish to agile.

We will cover the three stages of agile maturity and how to take it to the next level in each of them.

Celebrate the Christmas and Holiday season with us!

Eat, drink and connect with the MKE-SPIN community at The Hot House Tavern on Tuesday December 7^th from 4:30pm to 6:30pm.

Space is limited and only those registered will be provided with drink tickets. Appetizers are included.

Invite a coworker or business associates.

Hope to see you there!

How do organizations build a digital landscape inclusive of all users, so they don’t fall victim to escalating Accessibility litigation (up over 200% since 2018)? And how do organizations develop a robust accessibility testing strategy to achieve compliance to both Section 508 and WCAG standards?

In October of 2019, the Supreme Court set a legal precedent on web accessibility liability when it refused to hear Domino’s defense in a lawsuit brought forward by a blind man (Robles vs. Domino’s). When the federal government rolled WCAG 2.0 into Section 508 in 2017, many organizations (just like Domino's) assumed being compliant with Section 508 meant that they were also compliant for WCAG 2.0. Unfortunately, that was not the case.  There were a few differences between WCAG 2.0 and Section 508 even before WCAG 2.1 was added in 2018.

In this presentation, Robert Gormley will debunk accessibility and inclusive design myths and walk participants through how to establish the most comprehensive web accessibility testing strategy. He will cover the people, processes, and tools fundamental to delivering the most inclusive digital platform through quality assurance.

Most product teams are starting to adopt discovery best practices (e.g. interviewing customers, usability testing, experimenting). However, many of us are still stuck in a project world. We do research to kick off a project, we usability test right before we hand off to engineers, and our primary means for experimenting is a/b testing. These methods are better than nothing, but the best product teams are shifting from a project mindset to a continuous mindset. In this talk, we'll explore the key differences between project-based discovery and continuous discovery and give your team a clear benchmark to aspire to.

Links:

• Blog: https://www.producttalk.org/
• Courses: https://learn.producttalk.org/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ttorres
• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/teresatorres/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ProductTalkVideos

   

Milwaukee Software Process Improvement Network 16th Annual Night with Executives is a C-Suite forum where executives share and provide insight, perspective, and knowledge in a Panel discussion setting.   Our Panel is comprised of senior level executives from the corporate and technical collaboration sectors.

We want to be vulnerable and real in this conversation.  Learn from each other, lean into the topics and share how we are all working towards building a better work world.

Join Human Resource panelists to learn more of how they and their organizations are tackling the workplace needs of their teams – with fresh and real perspective. We will highlight organizational focus on cultivating strong culture with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The Product Owner is the most important accountability on an Agile Scrum Team. This presentation will cover what it means to be a Product Owner, the skills and attributes a PO should have, the responsibilities of someone in this role, and what things to avoid when selecting a Product Owner.

Over the year’s companies have gone through great lengths to stay relevant. They are challenged to reinvent themselves or keep up with their competitive edge using technology. Conversely, startups look to gain more ground and continue their rapid growth. How are these organizations aligning their business strategies with software development?

This presentation is based on curating a few published works, articles, personal experiences, and known agile techniques to describe the principles, platform for alignment, and focus on outcomes. It is beneficial for the attendee to have a grasp of Agile principles and to have had experiences in management at any level.

We will look at concepts like

Centralized and Decentralized Structures

Expanding the Diamond with System of Engagement and System of Record

Platform of Alignment using Value Streams

Focus on Outcomes with Objectives and Key Result

And much, much more.

Microsoft’s Power Platform offers a powerful toolset for streamlining and automating repetitive tasks and paperless processes to drive efficiencies. The Power Platform is comprised of many tools and features but the main products are Power Apps, Power BI, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents. In this presentation we will give an overview to each product, walk-through business use cases, and demo the power of using them together. Join us November 12 from 5:30-6:45 pm CDT for a closer look at process automation leveraging Power Platform including several use cases designed to help an organization get started.

Frequent releases of applications these days are not a fashion but have become a necessity for businesses to survive. Bringing quality products out in the market quickly makes software testing also challenging. In addition to performing functional testing in a short period, organizations have to consider nonfunctional testing also like performance, security, etc. Performance testing is conducted to mitigate the risk of availability, reliability, scalability, responsiveness, the stability of the system. Like any other testing project, there are many activities involved in any performance testing project. In this presentation, we will walk through some of the important aspects of performance testing as types of performance testing, technical and business perspective of each type, identification of important business scenarios, identification of correct business scenarios mix, identification of correct workload, and some considerations that will help you make the right selection and justify your choice.

Teams are suddenly finding themselves scattered with each member working from home. How do you maintain a healthy team dynamic and encourage teamwork when everyone is isolated in their house? Whether this is a new situation for you, or you're used to working remotely, we could all use some help. Join us for a discussion on principles, practices, and tools that lead to high-performing teams who keep communication and morale high, even when everyone is staying at home.

I am a tester, but I can't get a job as a tester. I am too expensive and disruptive for that. So, I went "meta" and became a tester who primarily teaches testing and consults about testing. I still test, because I need to keep my skills sharp, but only rarely for pay. But I am not alone. All over the industry, testers are being forced to de-emphasize the testing part of their job. Test managers are disappearing. Testers are turning into "team members" and are expected to write automation or be part-time designers. "Everybody tests" they are told. Now what could be wrong with that? Easy: what's wrong is loss of our skills, our focus, our identity, and our culture. If we are no longer focused on testing we cannot maintain the same testing standards... unless we change the game itself.

To survive we need to go meta. That means we can't just be testers-- we must be people who foster testing. That may mean coaching, or facilitating the testing of other people, or advocating for testability. It means you can no longer let your good work speak for itself; you must learn to explain and defend what you do. This talk will explain how I do this.

​Join the Milwaukee Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) as we welcome C-Level Suite leadership from Southeastern Wisconsin with our 15th annual Evening with Executives.

Our esteemed panel will share their experiences in all that is rooted in the idea that leaders in every industry are confronting the need to transform their organizations for the digital age. New technologies, new competitors, and new consumer expectations.

This year's panel includes:

Tim Schmidt – Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Delta Defense and the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA)

Nathan Lasnoski – Chief Technology Officer of Concurrency

Mike Nell – Chief Technology Officer of Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC)

Tim Schaefer – Chief Digital Officer of National Guardian Life (NGL)

Mike Meinolf - Chief Information Officer of Associated Bank

Moderated by: Linda Cruz Corrigan - Associate Partner, Executive Consultant at IBM, Global Client Strategy

There are many challenges that teams and organizations face when attempting to transform to an agile manner of delivering value. Making the decision to “go agile” is more than just learning a new framework; agility involves not just being agile, but thinking agile. If you have not yet begun your journey, or if you are in the nascent stages of transformation, I will help you understand what may lie ahead for you, and teach you ways to avoid or better manage the potential pain points of this transition.

Key Learning Objectives:

To help you understand the possible pain points involved in transitioning to agile

To provide you with ways to avoid these problems when getting started with agile

To give you guidance on how to best execute while being agile

Why do experiences stir a positive or negative emotion? When do many ideas cohesively gel into a larger memory?  How do our feelings mesh together into thoughts about our interactions and as customers or consumers, when do we personify a brand?

In this session Damon will walk us through understanding key concepts around a Customer's Experience and the synergy between a User's Experience and how both CX and UX working together can galvanize a Product and a Brand.  We will talk about Brand Experiences BX and how to foster strategies around building BX, CX and UX platforms.

The content expressed in this session is applicable to any industry and is the corner stone for creating great experiences.

As a technology professional trying to grow and build a successful career, the key is to cultivate a mindset ready to embrace change. Todd Nilson will conduct and in-depth interview with Tim Schaefer, a senior executive leader and strategist, to learn about Tim’s insights for bridging the gap between being a tech contributor and a leader.

Tim will share his personal experiences for leading change and what it means to build your perspective by working outside of assigned responsibilities. The interview will then cover the topic of digital transformation and disruptive technologies, how leaders too often mistake awareness for understanding, where we are with technology today, and how the confluence of technologies can give us a hint about what to scan for on the horizon.

Preparing for an Agile transformation in an organization involves more than hallway conversations. Join us on May 22^nd for some practical insights and suggestions to help you prepare the way for this exciting cultural change in your organization.

Join us for a Panel discussion as we learn from innovative thought leaders on how they are Leading Development Teams.

Moderator: Chris Hayes - VP IT & Digital Strategy, CDO at National Business Furniture

Panel Participants:

Dan Hochstaetter - VP of Information Technology at Delta Defense

Adam Karl - Vice President, Development at Zywave

Nate London - Director of Application Development and Support

Join us for a Quality Assurance Panel Discussion where we will be discussing agile testing, QA involvement in a project's lifecycle, test automation, and much more!

Moderator: Nick Remme - Director, IT Quality Management at CUNA Mutual Group

Panel Participants:

Michael Kopeke - Director, Quality Assurance at Zywave

Blayne Roselle - Sr. SQA Analyst at Skyline Technologies

Chamath Guneratne - Software Quality Assurance Manager at American Family Insurance

Rob DeRosia - Sr. QA Analyst at Baird

Join Milwaukee SPIN on December 12th for a panel discussion around cloud technology and cloud services.   Our panel will talk about their experiences using AWS and Azure; cover the pros and cons of cloud services and talk about some key benefits of hosting in the cloud.  If you are exploring Cloud services or just want to learn more, join the discussion.

Join Milwaukee Software Process Improvement Network as we welcome C-Level Suite leadership from Southeastern Wisconsin. With our Thirteenth annual Evenings with Executes.

Our esteem panel will share their experiences in all that is rooted in the idea that leaders in every industry are confronting the need to transform their organizations for the digital age. New technologies, new competitors, and new consumer expectations.

This year's panel includes:

Mr. Ron Gilson – VP & CIO, Johnsonville, LLC

Mr. Tom Knapp – CIO at Waterstone Mortgage Corporation

Dr. Bill Mitchell – President and CEO of Aguila, a Foxconn company and Vice President of Business Operations for the Foxconn Corporation

Mr. Dean Stier – CMO at National Business Furniture

Today’s leaders are consistently challenged with adding business value in every interactions.  Delivery of business value – to both internal and external customers/stakeholders – is a key component to add value to the business’ bottom line.  A core cause of this challenge is that individuals and organizations alike have difficulty articulating what they want and need – what it is that will add value to them.
 
In this presentation, an overview of various organizational personas will be presented along with how to use these Personas as a basis for identifying individual and organizational value statements.   Next an overview of Core Values and how they apply to the world of a business leader will be presented.  Finally, the two will be brought together with with some real-world tools and techniques you can start using immediately.

Outcomes

Recognize to recognize organizational personas and identify key value statements typical to those personas

Learn what are core values and how they impact both your own actions and those of others

Learn techniques to discover core values of others through conversation and every day interactions

Often, we see so much success with frameworks like Scrum or Kanban that we stop looking for other innovations in our process. We continue to think that parallel work streams are the key to efficiency. Two people working on the same thing doesn’t sound very efficient, does it? Unfortunately, these efficiencies tend to build knowledge silos within teams making it difficult to scale. This robs us of innovation and creativity, limits our scope from emergent practices to conforming practices, and limits our ability to respond to change.

This talk will focus on the practice of pairing. After this talk, you will be able to better determine when to pair, understand the benefits and drawbacks, address concerns of pairing from teammates as well as explore the common resistance to making this type of change. Join us for a conversation on implementing pairing throughout your organization.

Securing the development pipeline: Integrating security before production

• Prescott Balch - Senior Vice President, Technology for U.S. Bank
• Karl Gouverneur - VP and Head of Digital Innovation, Workplace, and Corporate Solutions for Northwestern Mutual
• Steve Hannan - CIO for Landmark Credit Union
• Vinay Pandey - VP, CQO & CIO for Independent Care Health Plan

Do you want to get stuff done?  It might be that your business adopted big Agile, made some progress, but there is something not quite right.  Dealing with technical debt is everyone’s responsibility: the product manager, leadership, developers, the customers, and the business.  In this discussion, we’ll be uncovering technical debt that is knowingly or unknowingly obstructing the product development from achieving greatness.

Session Objectives

·         Define and identify types of Technical Debt

·         Understand a few practices and techniques

·         Engage and foster shared learning

·         Have fun with a trivia game

Join us in a Technology Trends Forum where we’ll discuss how these trends impact our professional landscape!

Moderator: Chris Hayes - Vice President – Digital Development at National Business Furniture

Panel Participants:

David Pine - Technical Evangelist and a Microsoft MVP, Centare

David Manske  - Product Manager within the Digital Innovation and Research Team at Northwestern Mutual

1. Values Overview
2. Scenario and Team Exercise
3. Leadership Patterns
4. Next Steps for Team Success

Join us for a UX Design Panel Discussion where we will be discussing all things related to user experience, UI design, trends, and much more!

Moderator: Chris Hayes - Director, Development Center, Centare

• Rachel Krause - UX Designer and Lean UX Coach, Centare
• David Pfeiffer - Senior UX/Information Architect and Strategist Consultant, Infotech Enterprises

Abstract

A testing effort must have a beginning and an end.  To understand what the end looks like (what “done” looks like), an accurate and efficient testing estimate based on risk is paramount.  This discussion focuses on how you can use 3 simple Project Management techniques to generate and improve your test estimations.  Projects are more easily understood if broken down into smaller units.  In project management, this is referred to as a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).  This same technique can be used for Test Estimation optimization.  We use the Constraint Triangle (also called the Project Management Triangle or the Iron Triangle) to determine customer satisfaction based on 3 (sometimes 6) differentiating factors. The risk based test estimation can be derived in a similar fashion.  Finally, understanding what “done” looks like using elicitation from key stakeholder interviews can help you determine where the end of your testing effort really is.

Key Learning Points

1. Learn test estimation and optimization using project management techniques
2. Create a Work Breakdown Structure for a real life example
3. Use the Work Breakdown Structure for test estimation and optimization

• Bob Laferriere - Senior Director of Technology Platforms, Direct Supply Inc.
• Steve Zobrist - Architecture Consultant, Infotech Enterprises Inc.
• Steve Hicks - Developer, Centare

• Lynn Wolfgram - Quality Engineer, Centare
• Leon Schmidt - Managing Partner/Principal Consultant, QAsis Labs
• Marc Revoredo - QA Manager, DentaQuest
• Tim Sanner - Director of Software Testing, FIS

Organizations do not change simply because someone commands them to. It is difficult to manifest change and even more difficult to sustain it. It is not just that it is difficult to predict how people will react to change, but that people have conflicting behaviors regarding change. On one hand, most people want to understand what they are to do, on the other hand, they don’t want to be mandated to. Too much change can cause resistance, too little can cause stagnation.

The bottom line is any approach must have the following characteristics in order to maximize its chances of success:

Provide a straightforward method of starting that addresses only a few key items

• This requires an approach that works on the challenges of the organization
• This implies the starting point must be an assessment to determine what these challenges are

Provide a method of seeing how well one is accomplishing these initial actions (inspect and adapt) and adjust accordingly

Provide a method to determine if different actions are needed (double loop learning) and adjust accordingly

This talk discusses:

• Why this general approach is required
• How one can start with a simple framework attending to only a few things
• How to adjust this framework by modifying what is being worked on as the organization evolves its approach

The core work of a good business analyst focuses on the “High Five” for any project – 1 Stakeholder Analysis, 2 Current State Analysis, 3 Future State Analysis, 4, Gap Analysis, and 5 Requirements.  The Business Analysis professional should represent the business need at every stage of the Solution Development Life Cycle (SDLC), from Inception, Elaboration, Construction/Testing, and Transition.

A good Business Analysis professional not only has tools and techniques to carry out the “High Five,” but also possesses qualities such as good communication skills, critical thinking abilities, and attention to the business need (vs. ‘wants’) to keep the product scope managed.  The Business Analysis professional also helps guide change manage

Product development involves a series of steps that include conceptualization, design, development, and marketing.  These steps can be accomplished in a variety of ways and with a vast set of tools.  Join us on September 28 for panel discussion on conceptualizing and preparing your product for development.  The discussion will focus on the early stages of conceptualization and cover the use of road maps, product backlogs and other tools and ideas to help you get your product development project started.

This is a talk about how testers use time, and why it's often difficult to explain where our time goes. Mr. Bach will present a colorful way to visualize different categories of testing time.

There are always new methodologies that come into the industry. For many of us the reality is probably not a strict adoption and adherence to any specific methodology but many soft rollouts creating a melody of approaches which might seem to bring more confusion that clarity.  This will be a story about BAs finding their way through a plethora of methodologies while still staying true to the most important thing: providing business value.

Presentation Objectives:

- How to stay focused on business value, not on process methodologies.

- How to stay focused on business value, not on individual interests.

- How to stay focused on business value, not on new technology.

Have you ever asked yourself how DevOps could succeed in a company that has an existing set of testing processes, deployment practices, multiple segregated environments, and silo teams?  Is it possible to take autonomous teams and bring them together to increase efficiencies within the deployment pipeline in a large company that’s ingrained with “we’ve always done it this way”?  We asked these same questions at American Family Insurance. What we discovered was that by uniting certain teams, re-evaluating the tools we used, streamlining processes, and integrating our environments, we could evolve into a DevOps culture that offered our developers continuous integration and our testers expediently deployed code in stable environments, all seamlessly integrated.  Join us as we discuss the before, the, after, and the step-by-step process American Family took to evolve toward planned production maintenance releases, an automated deployment pipeline, standardized smoke tests, and stable testing environments to facilitate better functional and integrated testing processes.

Things you will learn:

How it is possible to combine the Build and Deploy, Software Configuration, Environment Support, and Release Management team into a functional DevOps culture within a large Fortune 500 company?

How you can retrain the people in an existing departments to understand the concepts of a DevOps culture and combine them to form a DevOps culture?

How integrating and deploying code daily can achieve stable environments, yet meet continuous integrations requirements of multiple development teams located through the world and help find defects faster?

How you can simplify the transition with the use of existing environments to create fully integrated and stabile environments that meet the needs of crunched schedules and timelines?

Are there stakeholders that you've been told are off limits? Has your team missed requirements because an important stakeholder was overlooked? Have you ever had a project sponsor tell you what stakeholders are 'available' to you? Do you have stakeholders that you invite to participate, but they seldom, if ever, attend? Are you tired of the time-wasting, 'all-team' meetings?

If you've answered, "yes" to one or more of these questions, then this presentation is for you. In the requirements development process, stakeholder profiling is a technique used to identify the right people, as well as a valuable planning tool for managing when and how much you engage each stakeholder.

Manage and optimize the resources you have.

Eliminate wasted time in 'all-team' meetings.

Increase stakeholder buy-in and commitment to the requirements.

The management practices of the last century are outdated and based on motivational theories that have been proven ineffective. The modern workplace is different than it used to be and requires innovative techniques to engage employees. This is especially true in the highly collaborative, creative, and information-centric industry of software. The move towards agility in software brought processes and frameworks to follow, but few (if any) of these frameworks cover the details of leaders' and managers' responsibilities for the most important part of a software organization - people. And not just any people - people who are truly engaged with their work.

This session explores the historical context that supports why management in software needs to change and what purpose managers should seek to fulfill. Then we'll cover a handful of specific techniques that leaders in software organizations can use to foster a more engaging environment among their teams or peers. You will leave with renewed perspective on management along with several engaging activities that can be used in your organization right away.

Technical trends are constantly changing.   What remains constant with all IT organizations is a need to elevate IT to a value-added business partner.   With a history or 'us' and 'them', IT organizations struggle to bridge the gap and transform themselves to strategic partner

We'll cover four components of every IT department that impact strategy implementation and how to use these factors to facilitate communications, discover the real needs of the business, and raise the position of IT to strategic partner

This session will provide an in-depth review of how Microsoft’s continued investment in the Azure Data Platform and Power BI can be leveraged by organizations to build sophisticated data analytics solutions. Hear practical advice on how to deploy the newest Microsoft data platform and front-end applications to transform data into actionable information and enable self-service business intelligence capabilities for end users. 

Learn in plain language how to structure solution components, with technical details sprinkled in for immediate use.  This session is not to be missed.

Strategy is about change and your Agile strategy is no exception. Your Agile strategy needs to describe what changes will be made, what will bring about the changes, and what the resulting value will be for the organization.

A Strategy Map – a diagram used to capture and communicate an organization’s strategy invented by Robert Kaplan and David Norton – illustrates the cause-and-effect relationships of actions and outcomes that will drive change and achieve the strategic goals of an organization. Whether you are about to embark on an Agile transformation journey or you’re currently using Agile methodologies and looking for ways to drive improvement, the process of strategy mapping is an absolute prerequisite.

Strategy mapping helps create much needed clarity around the critical and interconnected concepts of goals, objectives, and activities. Each plays an important and specific role in a well executed strategy including an Agile strategy. Thus, aligning and communicating goals, objectives, and actions you will take to arrive at the future state is critical for engagement and execution of the strategy.

Participants will walk away from this session with the ability to use strategy mapping as a tool in leading transformation and continuous improvement initiatives in their organizations. Participants will be given an overview of the strategy mapping process and will co-create a strategy map with other participants through a facilitated workshop. Participants will also see how the strategy map can be used beyond strategy development and support continuous improvement and action planning at an organizational level.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will understand the structure and design of a Kaplan- & Norton-style strategy map

Participants will co-create an Agile strategy map through a collaborative workshop

Participants will learn how a strategy map can be used as a continuous improvement tool at an organizational level

Participants will walk away with a tool and process to facilitate engagement and understanding of an Agile strategy

I have been a programmer and tester for a long time. From early on I wanted to be GREAT at my job. This was difficult for the obvious reasons: programming and testing are deep skills. But it was much harder than it could have been, because our industry is persistently incompetent about competence. We continue to think people can be programmed with scripts the same way computers can. People do become good at technical work, but they rarely know how they got good, how good they really are, or why other people aren't as good. In this talk I will describe the approach I have developed for systematically building better thinkers. I apply this to tester training and coaching, but the same principles apply to all of us.

Oh, No! Not Nonfunctional!

The day of the big move is upon you. The semi-truck stuffed with all of your personal furnishings pulls up to your new home. The moving crew gets to work at once, and swiftly begins unloading and carrying your things through the front door. Suddenly the harmonious dance that the crew performs comes to a screeching halt. As eyes roam back and forth from the front door to your magnificent grand piano, your heart nearly stops as you realize that the piano is not going to fit. What are you going to do?

Functionally, the home builder constructed a beautiful home. However, somehow this nonfunctional detail was missed. Does this scenario sound familiar to any of the missed requirements on your projects lately? Do performance requirements such as response time, throughput, capacity, and availability get missed? What about flexibility requirements such as scalability, multi-lingual, installability, and extendability? Roxanne Miller will reveal "patterns" of nonfunctional requirements that can reduce the possibility of missed requirements that cause project rework. Come and find out what you've been missing.

Learning Objectives (at the end of the session, participants will be able to):

1. Recognize the difference between functional and nonfunctional requirements.

2.  Understand various categories of nonfunctional requirements.

3.  Discover the simplicity of this frequently misunderstood and overlooked requirement type.

Change is something companies must do if they are to survive and compete in today’s business world. The successful management of change using a project-based intervention is crucial for any organization to succeed in the highly competitive and evolving global business environment.

For many, expensive flaws persist in their approach to change. This presentation examines effective models of change along with key operating assumptions worth understanding. Discussion will address how to assess readiness for change including organizational members' shared resolve to implement a change (change commitment) and shared belief in their collective capability to do so (change efficacy). Organizational readiness for change varies as a function of how much organizational members value the change and how favorably they appraise three key determinants of implementation capability: task demands, resource availability, and situational factors

This presentation will describe both successful and unsuccessful efforts to bring about large-scale change and will provide a cogent illustration of the various interventions that lead to success. Two major questions will be addressed:

1.       What are reliable operating assumptions about dealing with change, and how do you apply them?

2.       What are approaches for dealing with change, and how do you recognize and choose among them?

During this informative session Kenny Young will be discussing how leveraging the cloud has changed his perspective on software development. He will take you on his journey of almost ten years working with cloud technologies, from Software as a Service to Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service. Kenny will discuss how organizations needs and expectations are changing and how you can help position you and your team for success. Cloud technologies are just that – technology – you need to ensure your organization and team members understand how software development practices are going to impact your business delivery value. From this session you will take away:

Why the cloud?

How are organizations using it?

What is Dev Ops and should we form a Dev Ops team?

How does software development tools and processes change when you leverage the cloud

What has worked, what has not?

If I were to do it again, what would I change?

With new technologies comes new processes, tools, architecture and all sorts of change management, leaders and technical person alike need to be prepared and have a vision, get a jump start with someone who has already been through the challenges. He may not have all the answers, but he will advise on what has not worked and why.

Business changes at a faster pace today than ever before, some even say that change is accelerating.  It’s time to learn modern techniques for realizing value and staying ahead of your competitors.  Experience new ways to validate ideas before significant investments are made and drive transparency into every day work. Discuss a little about popular agile deliver frameworks such as Kanban and Scrum. Learn ways business functions outside of software development such as Finance, Legal, and Human Resources can support agile delivery. You can build a company and a culture that responds to change; your competitors already are. Spend an hour exploring these ideas and begin experimenting with agile business and delivery techniques to delight your customers and improve your organization. 

Special Agent Franz will address the cyber threat to business secrets stemming from Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) Actors and criminals utilizing spear-phishing and watering hole attacks.  He will also discuss the intellectual property (IP) threat to mobile devices and U.S. business travelers abroad.  In addition to these threats, Special Agent Franz he will discuss insider threat and techniques to mitigate it.

Join Ms. Heather Page as she leads MSPIN lunch-hour Webinar to learn about the 6 top career strategies you should consider to drive your career.

A top reason people seek a Career Coach is they haven’t invested time in managing their own careers.  It takes motivation and determination for someone to decide to make a major career decision.   It also takes time to know just how to strategize the next phase of your career. 

Join us for a Quality Assurance Panel discussion. We will discuss the difference between testing and QA, QA process, testing automation and much more!

Moderator: Dave Neuman -  Director of Consulting Services / Client Partner, SPR Companies

Panel Participants:

• Debbie Koepf - QA Manager, Kohl’s
• Deepak Jayavant PMP, CSTE, CSQA – Tech Program Director, Lochbridge
• Drew Tiedtke – Manager, Development Center, Centare

Learn how Human Resource Executives align with the increased demand Businesses require with Technology Solutions.

Topics Include

Attracting and Retaining Talent

Growing transition skill sets with effective training

Align Talent Acquisition with IT Hiring Managers

How your organization is working with educational institutions

This year's panel includes

Kelly Renz, VP of Organizational Effectiveness at CoreLogic

Angie Hiltunen SPHR, Human Resources Director at Skyline Technologies

Kristin Adler, Assistant Director, Employer and Campus Relations - Marquette University

Facilitated Panel Discussion Format: Each panelist will have 5 minutes to introduce themselves and their company. Then we will have question and answer portion where the panelist will have the opportunity to answer questions posed by facilitator on a variety of topics. We will finish the discussion with a brief question and answer session with the audience.

Milwaukee Software Process Improvement Network Members is kicking off the 2014 - 2015 Events with our Second Annual Member Appreciation and Mixer Event.

The board welcomes you to join us in a social setting to learn more about your interest in how we can help support your professional growth through education and networking. We’ll discuss Speaker and Education track options from on-line and in-person member meetings for us to target our actions meet the interest of our members.

How do Development Executives do it?! In a time when Agility is key, change is expected and Information Technology continues alignment with Business objectives. Top executives in the greater Milwaukee area are driven to deliver more sophisticated solutions than ever before. Please join us in learning how these Executives meet the demands of businesses within the rapid change of technology.

Some of the topics up for discussion will include:

-          Development Methods, Waterfall or Agile (when to use and how to ensure success)

-          Cloud (when to consider it and does it make financial sense)

-          Mobile development

-          Attracting and retaining talent

-          Analytics

-          Benchmarking/peer sharing

Join us for a lively discussion on April 24th on RWD. We will explore the following topics with our event and Gold sponsor, Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC along with three Platinum sponsors; Centare, New Resources and Skyline Technologies.

•         Mobile first vs. desktop first – User experience and content strategy aspects

•         Educating project team members about RWD benefits and opportunities

•         Context-aware features beyond RWD; How to leverage mobile/tablet features

•         Device detection – Pros and cons using media queries vs. JavaScript vs. 3rd party

•         Frameworks – is there a benefit to using a framework to avoid re-investing the wheel; pros/cons

•         # of breakpoints – Are three breakpoints sufficient (desktop, tablet, mobile); what are the trends; accounting for orientation.

•         Supporting browsers and platforms vs. optimizing

•         Performance considerations- Images, large pages, Ajax, etc.

•         Testing – Accounting for multiple browsers/versions, platforms; recommended tools; lower environment access

Come learn how others are leveraging Microsoft tools to make data more accessible and actionable when and where it’s needed.

Customers running SAP have a wide variety of options when looking to enhance the user experience of their SAP applications. Additionally as users push to extend the reach of their applications to mobile and reporting platforms, dozens of possibilities present confusion and delayed implementation. Whether you are looking to extend the reach of existing SAP applications or providing Integration scenarios for SAP and Salesforce or other ERPs and CRMs, you don't need to be restricted to the tools provided by those vendors.

Attendees will learn options for

•         Building Reporting Dashboard solutions

•         Extending SAP applications for Mobile

•         Building forms and workflow applications

•         Building powerful and affordable extranets

•             Deploying Master Data solutions material management

•             Deploying Winshuttle software connecting people with SAP

You should attend if you're looking to

•         Improve user adoption

•         Extend SAP access to Mobile

•         Integrate multiple SAP & Non-SAP landscapes

•             Add value and functionality to their SAP information

The agenda for the event will cover:

•         Microsoft/SAP Partnership today

•         Business Solutions

o    Deploying Customer/Supplier Extranet

o    Master Data for Material Management

o    Building Business Intelligence Solutions

o    SAP Mobile Solutions

•         Winshuttle overview

•         Deploying SAP scenarios in the Windows Azure Cloud

Join us for a brief introduction to the Scaled Agile Framework  and then explore some of the primary lean/agile principles and concepts used by the framework to achieve enterprise level alignment, transparency, and predictability.

Have you ever wondered what goes on at the highest level of an organization? Top executives in the Wisconsin area are driven to deliver more sophisticated solutions than ever before. Please join us in learning about how these Executives meet the demands of businesses.

Enterprise Business Intelligence is reaching another cross roads with regard to technologies and methodologies.  The new technologies will undoubtedly lead to many great advances in functionality but also may enable some bad habits to develop within an organization with regard to Project Management, Business Requirements and data warehouse methodologies.

Topics we will cover:

New Technologies:  In Memory Databases, HADOOP, Cloud BI

Methodology Implications:  Who needs a Data Warehouse/ETL/Requirements anymore?

Enterprise Architecture and Control:  Zombie Clouds

Panel members are:

Jason Esch: Information Technology Manager - FedEx Services

Michael Fox: Executive Director of Multichannel Solutions – Quad/Graphics

Jason Montague: Senior Vice President and Director of Application Development- Robert W. Baird & Co.

Travis Potts: Vice President, Client Services – Connecture

We are excited to have Andy Leichtle of SafeNet Consulting facilitate this year’s event. Andy will lead the discussion where the panelists will have the opportunity to answer questions on a variety of software topics ranging from technical to workforce. You’ll have an opportunity to ask questions too.

Topic details for 4/18/13 coming shortly

Software and systems development is a people business.  We work together to build solutions to solve other people’s problems.  But how many times do we start the design process thinking or being told “I know what the customer needs” and find out we didn’t really know the customer well enough.  Whether you’re a startup with a new business model, a consultant called in for a project, or an IT organization serving internal and external customers, it is important to understand your customers and all their perspectives before embarking on the journey to build anything otherwise you may waste a lot of time and money. 

Empathy mapping is a visual thinking technique and model developed by XPLANE to understand audiences, including users, customers, and any other players in a business ecosystem.  Empathy mapping is a core game in Gamestorming by Dave Gray and Sunni Brown and has been featured by Alexander Osterwalder in Business Model Generation.  This hands-on session will explore the Empathy Map model and take small groups through the creation of empathy maps to generate deeper customer insights in a visual and collaborative way.  Attendees will walk away with a technique that can be used immediately when they return to the office.

Common techniques for eliciting user requirements include interviews, observing users on the job, and requirements workshops.  Once gathered, the user requirements can be represented in various formats such as a software requirements specification (SRS) and use cases.  Both SRS and use case formats are text-based deliverables.  However, pictures are often more effective in communicating requirements.  Industry requirements expert Roxanne Miller shares her visual approach to eliciting user requirements.  Roxanne will explore how to summarize user requirements in a Scenario Analysis Table.  Not only is the Scenario Analysis Table effective in eliciting and representing user scenarios, they are great starting points for identifying test cases!

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand user level requirements in the context of a requirements hierarchy.
2. Identify types of user scenarios (basic, alternate, and exception).
3. Build a scenario analysis table.

So we know that mobile is taking over the industry, that home devices are getting used for work and that multiple platforms exist (Windows 8, iOS (iPhone, iPad), Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry). The mobile industry is growing and just having an app available is not going to cut it anymore. You need a mobile app and that app better provide a great user experience and have quality. Greg Levenhagen will discuss how your business can successfully provide quality apps.

·         How does a business provide a quality experience to its consumers and employees?

·         What mobile strategy considerations need to be addressed?

·         How do mobile applications depend on infrastructure like the cloud and why does it matter in regards to quality?

Business Intelligence has traditionally been viewed as providing reports and data for end-users to consume. The concept of Team BI has dramatically changed this paradigm. In a team BI environment both analysts and end-users are given access to corporate data. They then use the data to answer business questions individually or within a small team. Microsoft’s Team BI approach makes it possible to quickly analyze data without building complex data warehouses and then present it in a way that is both interactive and discoverable.

When you arrive at the Wells Street Parking structure, tell the attendant that you are here to attend the Milwaukee SPIN meeting. When you report in at the meeting, tell us that you parked in the structure so that we can keep a count.

Milwaukee SPIN and the Marquette MS in Computing program are presenting a panel discussion on entrepreneurship. The panel of experts will discuss the characteristics of entrepreneurship and alternative paths in the process of starting technology ventures.

Panel Discussion

Not all entrepreneurs are the same. A recent Bestseller book “Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck” classifies entrepreneurs into four primary styles. The characteristics behind the styles emerged from discussions of the entrepreneurial spirit. Whether you are starting a venture inside an existing business, starting a new business, or just being an innovator, these styles will prevail. Discussing them provides insight into what it takes to be a successful innovator or entrepreneur.

A book review, posted on Small Business Trends*, presents a synopsis of “Heart, Smart, Guts, and Luck.”

HEART:  “ … you bring purpose and passion to the business … you are consumed by a deep passion and driving hunger that you use to translate your purpose into reality…”

SMARTS”“… you are rational and focused on the facts. Your strength is steering a business by delegating and setting goals. You forge a system of accountability, articulate strategy and emphasize performance …”

GUTS: “… a risk-taker ... Guts driven entrepreneurs can react quickly and conclusively at a time of crisis. These leaders aren’t afraid to make changes …”

LUCK: “Luck appears to be chaotic and unpredictable but there have been lots of studies done to confirm the philosophy that luck favors the prepared …”

Global Entrepreneurship Week

Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 12-18, 2012) is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare.

Have you ever wondered what goes on at the highest level of an organization? Top executives in the greater Milwaukee area are driven to deliver more sophisticated solutions than ever before. Please join us in learning about how these Executives meet the demands of businesses.

This year's panel members are:

·         Christine Bessler: Vice President and Chief Information Officer at ProHealth Care.

·         Kathy Lang: Chief Information Officer at Marquette University

·         Dan Maynard: President at Connecture

·         Tim Schaefer: Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Northwestern Mutual

We are excited to have Alex Yarmulnikof AY Consulting facilitate this year’s event. Alex will lead the discussion where the panelists will have the opportunity to answer questions on a variety of software topics ranging from technical to workforce. You’ll have an opportunity to ask questions too.

Individual and team performance varies by the competence and commitment with the task at hand. Leaders must be adept at diagnosing situations and versatile in applying the matching leadership style to improve the individual's or team's performance. Leaders at all levels (functional leads, scrum masters, agile coaches, managers, etc.) will gain valuable insight into the behaviors of various leadership styles and the appropriate application of those styles in situations that improve the effectiveness and outcome. Participants will have their eyes opened to the characteristics of everyone's worst nightmare leader, learn about leadership styles and versatility, and apply the concepts to turn their worst nightmare into a role model for leadership. This workshop is based on the Situational Leadership II model developed by Ken Blanchard.

This session was recently presented on the Leadership stage at the Agile2012 Conference in August.

When dealing with people, you can guarantee that there will be conflict. Whether it’s a behavioral issue, a dispute between team members or something else entirely, this presentation can point the way to successful resolution. The engaging case studies and examples show audience members how to see conflict as an opportunity to further interests, select the best approach for a given situation, and structure a conversation to achieve the best outcome.

This is our final speaker event of the season. We will be holding Milwaukee SPIN board elections at this meeting. If you are interested in being part of this leadership team, please send an email to president@milwaukeespin.com by Friday, May 11, 2012.

The buzz and hype around the Cloud continues to grow, but as software development professionals, how can we leverage the Cloud to improve our practices and ultimately our professional lives?

Sometimes this Cloud buzz is real, and sometimes Cloud gets thrown around for the sake of marketing. In this presentation, Eric D. Boyd will cut through the hype and offer a Cloud Litmus Test to help us determine what is Cloud, and what is hype and marketing. Next, Eric will dive into two major areas of software development, Application Lifecycle Management and IT & Production Operations. He will present some opportunities to improve our lives in those areas by utilizing Cloud services, he will provide solutions to common challenges when using Cloud services, and he will provide us with onramps to get started using the Cloud. Lastly, Eric will discuss how to architect applications for the Cloud. He will identify four major things that often get glossed over that we must consider when architecting for the Cloud.

What you will learn:

• Characteristics of Cloud services and platforms
• Where to use Cloud services to improve software development
• How to manage production environments in the Cloud
• Key things to consider when architecting Cloud apps

Cars.com, a division of Classified Ventures LLC, was launched in June, 1998. It is the leading destination for online car shoppers, visited by more than 10 million people each month, and excels at putting car buyers in control of their shopping process by providing the information they need to make confident buying decisions. To further fuel its success, Cars.com ventured into an enterprise transformation focused on greater organizational health and agility. The enterprise transformation involved product management, project management, product engineering, user experience, enterprise architecture, operations, infrastructure, and oversight. This session will showcase the transformation experience from all of these perspectives. Si and Len will share a transformation roadmap and specific actionable lessons learned that you can leverage in your own transformation. They will also address any questions you may have on the topic. If you are considering a transformation journey with agility, you don’t want to miss this session!

The rising popularity of ubiquitous computing and social networking has changed the way people and businesses use technology. Across all platforms, the differentiator between widely adopted applications and those that are discarded is successfully meeting user needs through a positive experience. User-Centered design techniques provide the tools needed to create that engaging and usable application. Usability testing is needed to find what will trip up your users and stand in the way of your product meeting its goals. Learn how to quickly gather the information you need about the where, when, why, how, and by whom the application will be used as well as the techniques to apply that information to an interface design. Once that design is complete, understand effective ways to organize and execute a usability study to ensure the integrity of the interface design.

User stories are crucial for collaboration in an agile effort. They not only express "requirements" as "intent" but are also "social objects" around which the whole team collaborates. This presentation will explore the use of user stories to foster collaboration and energize work groups.

Project management in the changing world of a recession is especially challenging work. Just when you are feeling most pressured and vulnerable, you need to be strongest and most generous in mind and spirit. Indeed, as HBR author John Kotternotes, "More change always requires more leadership." What makes a great project leader? This presentation begins to answer this question by presenting a project management relevant five-rule framework to apply in real life (adapted from the Harvard Business Press book “The Leadership Code” and detailed in a recent series of Cutter Consortium Executive Updates co-authored by the speaker). 

Beginning with the ultimate rule of leadership, personal proficiency, the speaker will discuss seven principles that guide effective project leaders. The speaker will then explore the short-term orientation of leadership, with examples for day-to-day action, about how the great project manager must be a talent manager and be an executor. Finally, the speaker will discuss the long-term orientation of leadership, how the great project manager must also be a human capital developer and a strategist. Some front line project managers may have skills as executors and end even talent managers in order to get things done. However, as a project manager reaches more senior levels in the organization, they must become proficient in all of the areas. 

Attendees will learn how we:

• Apply leadership rules to enable disciplined actions that accomplish desired project outcomes that drive business results.
• Avoid the trap of emphasizing one element of leadership over the others.
• Crack the leadership code — and take your project leadership to the next level.

What testing challenges do you encounter when developing software to run on mobile devices?  How does your company's strategy in picking a mobile device(s) impact your testing plans?   Are you ready?

Agenda for Presentation:

1. Mobile Testing Challenges
2. Mobile Testing Practices
3. Mobile Testing Automation
4. Summary and Challenges

More and more companies are moving toward agile development as part of their application lifecycle.  This presents challenges to "traditionally" structured organizations where business analysis, project management, and quality assurance professionals are organized into different departments or teams.  It also presents challenges to these same individuals in understanding their role on an agile team where everyone is a "developer".

In this presentation, Steve will provide, from his perspective as a QA professional, his observations on testing as a member of an agile Scrum team. Specifically, Steve will talk about:

• What is Agile testing?
• Ten Principles for Agile Testers
• Organizational challenges in adopting agile practices, including quality assurance
• An iteration in the life of a tester
• Role of tools and automation in agile testing

Can you believe the software development community (as innovative as we like to believe we are) continues to borrow concepts from a manufacturing process that dates back to the 1940’s?  In many ways, the movement to Agile software development began with a base understanding of the teachings of manufacturing organizations like Toyota and Ford Motor Company.  In this introductory discussion, I will define Lean Software Development and delve into “7 Lean Software Principles” for your consideration.  These principles, in many ways, mirror the work Taichi Ohno and other process innovators (Deming, Toyoda, Shingo) developed many years ago with the Toyota Production System (TPS).  We’ll get back to some “process roots” and talk about how adapted methods can still be used to deliver value, learning, and engagement in your organizations. 

Presentation Abstract

What you don’t know CAN hurt you, and frequently does when requirements are missed.  There is an art and a science to asking the right questions. To some people there is a fine line between art and science.  The difference between art and science will not be debated in this session.  Rather, expert Roxanne Miller reveals proven techniques for asking the RIGHT questions of the right people based on the Zachman Framework, which is explained in her book The Quest for Software Requirements.

The assumption being made here is that if you ask more of the right questions (to the right people), you’re more likely to elicit all the requirements.  Furthermore, eliciting all the requirements increases the probability of successful project outcomes—delivering the right solution on time and within budget.

The truth is we are human and prone to err.  Therefore, we are subject to physical and mental fatigue, and sickness that often lesson our productivity capabilities.  If you're looking for 100% assurance that you've dotted every "i" and crossed every "t", this presentation might not be for you.  However, if you would like to significantly raise your confidence in your ability to ask the RIGHT questions, then come and listen to what Roxanne Miller has to share with you.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand why WHO you ask is equally, if not more, important as WHAT you ask.
2. Identify the six focus areas of the Zachman Framework.
3. Describe a critical success factor (desired outcome) from asking the right questions.

Complimentary!

Every attendee will receive a complimentary copy of Software Requirements Questions, upon submission of your name and email address.

It's time we go Agile on our projects.  New ideas and approaches give us additional tools in our toolbox for performance improvement and delivery efficiencies.  Hear interesting insights from an Agile leader sharing his experience and application in the software development world.  If you're confused about Agile, you'll leave this session with an understanding of Agile concepts and knowledge to start applying Agile to your projects.

In April 2010, Finn Digital piloted a web-based software application that changed the game for attendee participation and delivered the equivalent of Google Analytics for the live tradeshow floor. In February 2011, the application, named TagUpWith, will be re-launched in a Software as a Service model in private beta. Discover key learning’s that shaped the vision and design of the software, including:

• Ideation and innovation
• Getting from idea to application
• Working with Microsoft's Tag team
• Designing a complex application in a rapidly shifting environment
• De-programming Jekyll & Hyde: Incorporating Customer Feedback
• Big Vision, Detailed Design, Realistic Development
• Positioning yourself to be hit by lightning

Bill will demonstrate TagUpWith in its pilot version, so bring your smartphone! He will also share a selected review of the latest technologies for business-to-business marketing.

As in past years, Milwaukee SPIN will not have a meeting in December due to the busy holiday season.  Please join us for our January meeting in 2011.  Details of the January meeting will be available at this web site and in the meeting invitation emails that are sent to registered Milwaukee SPIN members.

Have a safe and joyous holiday season!

Milwaukee SPIN Board of Directors

Have you ever wondered what goes on at the highest level of an organization? Come listen and speak with top executives about life in their seat.

This year's panel members are

• Tracey Berg – VP and CIO at West Bend Mutual
• Chris Dowler – Senior Vice President and CIO at Assurant Health
• Subbu Ramanathan – Assistant VP of Development at Marshall & Swift Boeckh
• Joe Otto - Vice President of Information technology at DDN

Panel Discussion Format:

The discussion will be facilitated by Bob Stachowiak of Milwaukee SPIN. Each panelist will a few minutes to introduce themselves and their company. Then we will have the question and answer portion where the panelists will have the opportunity to answer questions posed by Bob on a variety of topics. We will finish the discussion with a brief question and answer session with the audience.

There's no question about it - agile principles help expedite software development. Yet the business analyst role seems conspicuously missing from the Agile Manifesto.  Does agile make the skills of the business analyst obsolete? Certainly not! Why? Because if companies hope to achieve strategic goals, they need someone who is ferociously focused on the business value expected from the project outcomes, to help provide guidance not only during a project but also before it is invested and after it is delivered as well. Are you ready to make the transition to this value-centered development-approach? What is it like to be part of an agile team? What agile analysis practices might you adapt even if you're working on a traditional (waterfall-style) project?

This presentation examines how the Agile movement affects the historical Business Analyst role on a project team and creates opportunities to learn new skills and develop new ways of working together. Collaboration, facilitation, leadership, coaching, and team building become significant new skills required for Business Analysts on Agile projects.  For Business Analysts, successfully influencing an agile project depends on defining requirements in smaller increments.  This demands adaptation to new ways of eliciting, specifying and managing requirements.  This talk provides practical guidance for how the business analyst integrates and collaborates with members of the team and how to improve business analysis by applying agile principles.

Biography -- Scott Stribrny

Scott Stribrny is the Co-founder, President, and Managing Director of Group Atlantic, Inc., a consulting firm that has advised private, commercial, and governmental organizations on successful strategy development and operations improvement since 1992. He is also a Senior Consultant with Cutter Consortium's Enterprise Risk Management and Governance practice. He is currently advising on techniques for effective product requirement specification and risk management. His courses on requirements, risk management, peer review, estimating and high-performance teams are well known for their innovative workshops and practical applicability.

Mr. Stribrny has more than 30 years experience in systems specification and building.  He has designed and built real-time mission critical software and has led successful multi-year, multimillion-dollar development programs. His accumulated management experience ranges from growth companies to Fortune 50 conglomerates in many industries, including aerospace, telecommunications, financial, insurance, retail, information services, and manufacturing.

Mr. Stribrny is a co-founder and former leader of the Chicago Software Process Improvement Network, and was an organizer of the 1998 Software Engineering Process Group conference.  He can be reached at Scott.Stribrny@GroupAtlantic.com.

Ever wondered why so many developers code angry? Well, it’s probably because they just spent 4 days of their lives building the WRONG thing! “Why are they building the wrong things”, you ask? Because gathering requirements, documenting them, and *interpreting* what’s written is complex…*very complex*. Enter BDD.

BDD enables (requires) consistent conversations between Business Analysts, Developers and Quality Assurance professionals. And that’s important! This simple step turns an angry post-mortem conversation about a misinterpreted feature spec into a delightful (collaborative) welcomed conversation with all participants during the construction of said feature. This presentation will be a gentle, anger-free primer to Behavior-Driven Development.

If you want to learn new techniques to facilitate collaboration on your project team, this is the presentation for you!

Presenters: Jason Montague’s background includes management consulting, software development consulting, product management, and leading Agile (Scrum, XP, Lean) adoption programs with clients over the last 15 years. His specific experience with Agile spans the last 7 years.

Jim Cornelius is a Technical Architect with over 14 years of technical leadership and expertise in software architecture, engineering and test automation. Specialized in the design of scalable mission critical Internet and internal systems for fortune 500 companies. His interests are in agile architecture and engineering techniques along with pragmatic approaches to test automation and behavior driven development. Most recently his work was focused on emergent design, BDD, and planning for and before iteration zero.

Kim Merbeth is a Business Analyst with over 15 years experience in the financial services industry. She has a customer service and operations background but eventually found her way into the technical world. A BA for the past five years, she has worked on projects that have used waterfall and agile. Most recently, she has focused on behavior driven development and has enjoyed collaborating with QA and Development to create scenario based acceptance criteria that could serve as both requirements and acceptance tests.

When people think about CMMI maturity level 4 (ML4), they contemplate statistical methods, process performance baselines, and process performance models. And why not? If you’ve taken the SEI’s four-day “Understanding CMMI High Maturity Practices” course you cannot help but form that impression. But that view of ML4 is incomplete as it overlooks the vast amount of BS associated with ML4.

Most SCAMPI appraisal teams do a good job of verifying the correct implementation of the ML4 methods and tools. But the real ML4 smell test is this: If you find no hint of BS then it ain’t ML4!

You’ve been told the SEI party line; now it’s time to get the rest of the story…

Many consider "Agile" a technology approach; however the "ability to be agile" (or Agility) applies to the whole Enterprise, Business and Technology. At its core, Agility is a Value System, which emphasizes People, Results, Collaboration, and Responsiveness. Success with  Agility involves a paradigm shift, which includes first focusing on principles & values and then pragmatic practices.

While many organizations focus on the benefits of becoming a more Agile Enterprise -- including accelerating time-to-market, increasing productivity, enhancing quality, and reducing risk & cost -- they fail into achieve a return-on-investment because their approach engenders a Transition rather than a Transformation! Transition is a practice-based change that primarily focuses on surface level behavior while a Transformation is a value/principle-based change that focuses\r\non the DNA of an organization. The focus of a value/principle-based DNA-changing transformation is Culture!

This presentation explores experiences and lessons-learned in Transformation, including adopting, scaling, and sustaining Agility across the Whole Enterprise.

How do projects get to be one year late? A day at a time, according to Fred Brooks. And yet, very few projects can detect a one-day schedule slip. In this presentation, we show how we implemented Earned Value Management System to track progress weekly at the individual level, how team members manage themselves and take corrective actions to maintain their committed schedule, and how teams follow disciplined process while maintaining product focus.

Girish Seshagiri is CEO of Advanced Information Services Inc. (AIS), a winner of the IEEE Computer Society Software Process Achievement Award. AIS is one of only 18 U.S. organizations and the only U.S. small business whose software process capability is certified at SEI CMMI Maturity Level 5. 

Girish is a frequent speaker at many of the international conferences on software engineering, software quality and process improvement. Girish has addressed many SPIN organizations. \r\nGirish served as the Chairman of the Team Software Process (TSP) User Group from 2003-2005.<br /> <br />\r\nGirish served on the IEEE Software Industrial Advisory Board from 2000 – 2007.\r\nGirish has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Michigan State University.

If "SPIN" means "Software Process Improvement Network" and virtually all software is produced by teams, how exactly can we train and support teams and individual team members to use and maintain effective software development processes? This presentation describes a collaboration, between the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Johnson Controls, designed to provide this training and support. The concepts and techniques employed in MSOE's SEPI (Software Engineering Process Improvement) initiative were drawn from the Software Engineering Institute's Personal Software Process and Team Software Process, customized to meet the specific needs of the participating teams.

MSOE's software engineering program also has a responsibility to assist its undergraduate students in gaining the process knowledge and skills they will need to be successful. For this reason, all sophomore software engineering students are required to take a course that is nearly identical to the one designed for industry practitioners; experiences with those students (since 1999) will also be discussed. A key goal of this process work, for both professionals and students, is to combine flexibility and discipline in a way that supports effective team work and self-management while maintaining responsiveness and alignment with business needs.

IT Service Management has managed to imbed itself in most organizational cultures, but as with most organizational strategies, must be continually reviewed and adjusted to address the most pressing technological and business challenges.  Cloud Computing has offered organizations an opportunity to completely rethink the means by which technology delivers services to their end users and customers.  The effectiveness and efficiency of those services, and the infrastructure that supports them, must also be evaluated through the appropriate supporting processes.  This presentation will focus on the key elements of the ITSM structure, and how they directly integrate with the Strategy, Design, Transition, Operational, and Continual Improvement aspects of Cloud Computing.

Have you ever wondered what goes on at the highest level of an organization? Come listen and speak with top executives about life in their seat. This year's panel members are:

Mr. Bill O’Toole – President & CEO of Catholic Knights 
Mr. Darwin Copeman – President & CEO of Jewelers Mutual
Mr. Mark Moody – President of WEA Trust
Mr. Loren Claypool – VP and Managing Director of VCPI, CIO of Extendicare

Panel Discussion Format: The discussion will be facilitated by Keith Korsi of SPIN. Each panelist will a few minutes to introduce themselves and their company. Then we will have the question and answer portion where the panelist will have the opportunity to answer questions posed by Keith on a variety of topics. We will finish the discussion with a brief question and answer session with the audience.

There will be a brief business meeting at 6:15 before the panel discussion.

This presentation is about identifying simple words that cover three starting blocks for gathering high-level solution requirements. We’ll think back to elementary school and focus on how the basic building blocks of grammar can communicate what users need from a solution.

Good project managers control a project’s schedule, scope and budget; but great project managers are also Leaders. This presentation provides insights regarding the nature of leadership and strategies for nurturing and improving your leadership capabilities, incorporating concepts and learnings from leadership ‘gurus’ such as John Maxwell.

If you are a natural-born leader and people have been following your lead (despite your lack of any real authority) since your first day in the office, you should skip this presentation—Heck, you should give the presentation! However, most of us could benefit by learning how to increase the likelihood that when we lead – others will actually follow.

The day of the big move is upon you. The semi-truck stuffed with all of your personal furnishings pulls up to your new home. The moving crew gets to work at once, and swiftly begins unloading and carrying your things through the front door. Suddenly the harmonious dance that the crew performs comes to a screeching halt. As eyes roam back and forth from the front door to your magnificent grand piano, your heart nearly stops as you realize that the piano is not going to fit. What are you going to do?

Functionally, the home builder constructed a beautiful home. However, somehow this nonfunctional detail was missed. Does this scenario sound familiar to any of the missed requirements on your projects lately? Do performance requirements such as response time, throughput, capacity, and availability get missed? What about flexibility requirements such as scalability, multi-lingual, installability, and extendability? Roxanne Miller will reveal "patterns" of nonfunctional requirements that can reduce the possibility of missed requirements that cause project rework. Come and find out what you've been missing.

Learning Objectives (at the end of the session, participants will be able to):
1. Recognize the difference between functional and nonfunctional requirements.
2. Understand various categories of nonfunctional requirements.
3. Discover the simplicity of this frequently misunderstood and overlooked requirement type.

Of the many critical functions a Business Analyst performs to ensure successful delivery of products and projects in organizations, perhaps the most overlooked and under-planned role they play is that of change agent. The need to anticipate and manage change in project planning and deployment is often overlooked, and as a result can challenge project delivery. The Business Analyst is the project team member who must fully grasp the business vision and then interpret and translate that vision through requirements for the technology builders. He or she is positioned to clearly see the current state, the desired state and the change gap in between. From the very first requirements interview, the Business Analyst begins socializing the changes the project will bring, and through the requirements methodology used, he or she drives the picture of the "new normal" that will exist following the solution deployment. Perhaps more than the Project Manager or even the Executive Sponsor, Business Analysts have the opportunity through the core processes of enterprise analysis, requirements elicitation, facilitation and representation to encourage learning and adoption of new ideas. Learn how, by acknowledging and planning this aspect of his or her role, the accomplished Business Analyst can play a key role in driving the introduction and adoption of change to make a real difference in project and organizational success.

Business and technology executives are being asked to do more with less all the time. Managing complexity, improving security, and enabling agility are top priorities. But maintaining legacy systems and supporting current technology consume vast amounts of the typical IT budget. This leaves limited budgetary resources and manpower to stay on top of new technology and develop applications to meet the core needs of your business. Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is an effective solution.

ALM is focused on measuring and managing the real costs and value of software design, development and maintenance. To establish vision, a common lifecycle management solution is needed to help you track, balance, and communicate the systems that are being created to effectively run your business.

In this discussion we will:

* Define what we mean by Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)
* Describe the business benefits that ALM optimization can deliver
* Help you determine your ALM Capability
* Discuss some ALM Best Practices

Manage Risk in an Uncertain World

It’s the Future of How Businesses Will Be run Abstract For corporations, risk management has become a top concern in the face of increasing demand for greater corporate accountability as well as world events that have changed the risk landscape and their impact on the business world. Governance mandates such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the events of 9/11 and their aftermath, along with the continuing uncertainty of the business-economic environment, have made it compulsory for corporations to rethink their approaches to identifying and managing risk. Project and program managers everywhere face a daunting mix of challenges, including ever changing program demands, program environments of unprecedented complexity, tough new oversight requirements, and the constant pressure to do more with less. The need for risk management for making effective decisions and communicating the results within program organizations has never been more urgent. This briefing looks at the rapid rise of risk management and aims to expose project & program managers to the essentials of effective risk management for 2008 and beyond. The briefing provides an exclusive glimpse of a company that has been at the forefront of risk management, and describes how risk management has made the company one of the best managed in the US.

Have you ever wondered what goes on in a CxO’s brain? This will be the night to find out. Come listen to and speak with them about life in their seat. This year's panel includes:

• Mr. Rod Dykehouse – CIO, ProHealth
• Mr. Jeff Frazee – CIO, West Bend Mutual Insurance
• Mr. Keith Korsi – CEO/Managing Principal, Trissential
• Mr. Bruce Maas – CIO, UW Milwaukee
• Mr. Jim Oberholtzer – CIO, U.S. Bowling Congress

Panel Discussion Format: We will have these 5 executives on the panel. The discussion will be facilitated by Bob Stachowiak, current board member and former President of Milwaukee SPIN. Each panelist will have 5 minutes to introduce themselves and their company. Then we will have the question and answer portion where the panelist will have the opportunity to answer questions posed by Bob on a variety of software topics. We will finish the discussion with a brief question and answer session with the audience.

This seminar provides an interactive discussion of best practices surrounding software development and implementation. Many in the Information Technology industry use the words "validate" and "test" to mean the same thing. However, validation encompasses much more than simple testing. One of the main differences between testing and validation is the focus of the objective. Attendees will understand the difference between testing and validation, associated best practices, and the various roles and responsibilities for this effort.

Seminar Objectives

Upon successful completion, the participants will be able to:

• Understand the differences between Testing and Validation
• Understand the basics of Validation
• Understand Validation Methodology and Processes

For corporations, risk management has become a top concern in the face of increasing demand for\ greater corporate accountability as well as world events that have changed the risk landscape and their impact on the business world. Governance mandates such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the events of 9/11 and their aftermath, along with the continuing uncertainty of the business-economic environment, have made it compulsory for corporations to rethink their approaches to identifying and managing risk.

Project and program managers everywhere face a daunting mix of challenges, including ever changing program demands, program environments of unprecedented complexity, tough new oversight requirements, and the constant pressure to do more with less. The need for risk management for making effective decisions and communicating the results within program organizations has never been more urgent.

\r\nThis briefing looks at the rapid rise of risk management and aims to expose project & program\r\nmanagers to the essentials of effective risk management for 2008 and beyond. The briefing\r\nprovides an exclusive glimpse of a company that has been at the forefront of risk management,and describes how risk management has made the company one of the best managed in the US.

Much has been written about benefits of test automation frameworks including the almighty Keyword-Driven Architecture. However, most implementations still fall short of expectations. This presentation will go beyond theory and discuss the practical application of test automation frameworks. Topics will include:

• Examination of various frameworks and their benefits
• Mapping frameworks to test objectives
• Integrating frameworks to maximize flexibility and ROI

Benefits of attending:

• Gain an understanding of various test automation frameworks
• Learn how to choose the right framework for your testing objectives
• Understand the common attributes that ALL frameworks must have to be successful

In managing an organization to achieve goals, the staff meeting has been the major methodology used to disseminate directives and to gather status information. Status information has always been critical for validating directives, determining situation gaps, and developing additional ‘corrective’ directives. However, due to the translation that occurs when information is passed throughout a hierarchy, this information dissemination and collection process inherently leads to considerable artificial, illusory, fraudulent, and misinformation. The results are considerable misunderstandings that lead to solutions of symptoms of problems not the real problems. Decisions based on misinformation create new problems, including further misunderstandings which lead to fear, inaction, confusion, and opportunities for severe personal interest politics. Many excellent CEOs (and CIOs), good managers, and fine technicians have lost their jobs as a direct result of this daily phenomenon. Many corporate disasters have also occurred such as the Firestone Tire debacle, fall of Enron, WorldCom, Tyco International, Global Crossing, and many others.

This presentation illustrates with examples how serious trouble develops and describes a methodology to deal with it by measuring and managing the "translation" problem. Situations are presented with case studies to illustrate how critical 'intangibles' can be made 'tangible' and dealt with effectively. Examples include dealing with change management, goal alignment, IT technology program utilization, employee satisfaction, project management, and productivity improvements.

According to a recent Forrester Research, Inc. report, the quality of software requirements is a limiting factor on the success of development projects. Companies struggle on two primary fronts: requirements definition and requirements management. The market places a disproportionate emphasis on tools for requirements management, but the real opportunity for improvement lies in requirements definition and in how different development methodologies treat changing requirements.

Being better at requirements means understanding that the automated products that you build become part of your users' work no matter what kind of work that is. It’s being able to appreciate, accommodate and improve the users' work by delivering products that fit seamlessly into the work. It also means knowing how to find the precise requirements, how to prioritize them in a credible way, and how to validate whether the implementation exactly matches that requirement. This presentation gives you a distillation of strategies and metrics from many successful requirements projects that may serve as the foundation for your next requirements effort. You’ll get an overview of a useful requirements definition process—a way of quickly finding the most appropriate product for your user's needs, and then building a specification that unambiguously and completely describes that product.

Like other engineers, software developers transform ideas into usable products. Unlike other engineers, they create a product that is inherently invisible, not completely testable and often transitional. Moreover, a software product in an interim development stage is often unusable, producing free-floating anxiety in developers and users alike. Behavioral science tells us that invisibility and the effect of “all or nothing” are psychological factors that negatively impact developer effectiveness. Mundane tasks such as repeated testing often result in frustration while the transitional nature of software creates a false notion that the defects can always be removed in the future. Moreover, there is growing realization that we humans are incapable of fully applying and maintaining our own best practices. Huizinga and Kolawa will explain how to establish an automated technology infrastructure that supports effective software development. This infrastructure defines people roles, necessary technology, and interactions between people and technology. It provides product visibility, automates repetitive tasks, tracks project status, and seamlessly collects project data to provide measures necessary for decision making. Ultimately, it forms a software production line, thereby putting the engineering into software engineering.

Are you curious how Agile your organization is? Do you wonder how you compare with other organizations that have been using Agile for a similar amount of time? During this talk we will discuss a framework for assessing organizational agility. We will describe how to use the framework to assess agility at various times during an organization’s adoption of Agile and how to derive actionable information from each assessment. We will also present findings derived from assessing the agility of numerous organizations.

Have you ever wondered what goes on in a CxO’s brain? This will be the night to find out. Come listen to and speak with them about life in their seat. This year's panel includes:

• Mr. Dave Kerford – CEO, AQS
• Mr. Jeff Dobish – CFO, IVANS
• Mr. Alex Yarmulnik – CIO, Midwest Airlines
• Mr. Bruce Hagen – CIO, Bemis

Each panelist will have five minutes to introduce themselves and their company. Then we will have the question and answer portion where the panelist will have the opportunity to answer questions on a variety of software topics. We will finish the discussion with a brief question and answer session with the audience. If you have a question you would like answered, please email it to cxorquest@milwaukeespin.com prior to the meeting.

What does it mean to successfully outsource software, systems, and information technology (IT)? Successful acquirer organizations use best practices to execute outsourcing projects that are completed on time and within budget, and these projects result in a product that meets the organization's business needs or mission. In addition, the product is of acceptable quality and meets the needs of customers or end users.

Applying an outsourcing business strategy can improve your organization's operational efficiency by leveraging a supplier's capabilities to deliver quality solutions rapidly, at lower cost. Many organizations, both commercial and governmental, are becoming acquirers of software, systems, and IT. Market forces require companies and government agencies to evaluate internal and external options for system development and make practical business decisions about whether to develop or acquire.

What factors are critical to these decisions? What processes should be followed? And once the decision is made to acquire, what are the necessary processes that help ensure a reasonable level of success in acquiring that system? The presentation focuses on a series of "hidden truths" of successful acquisition projects. Some of these truths may not be hidden from you, depending on your acquisition experience. But all are valuable to IT acquirers.

Services-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a rapidly growing technology that many organizations are considering for implementation. By definition, SOA is a standards-based design approach to creating an integrated IT infrastructure capable of rapidly responding to changing business needs. Organizations must meet the challenge of determining how to implement SOA but the bigger challenge involves how to implement a strategy and approach for managing the software quality processes and activities to support SOA. The approach to software quality for SOA is dramatically different than existing processes and will require knowledgeable staff and tools. 

This seminar is designed to:

• Provide awareness into approaches for implementation of SOA
• Understand the differences between traditional testing and software quality approaches for SOA
• Identify the challenges associated with testing for SOA
• Learn how to plan your SOA testing strategy and what critical components need to be included
• Understand the latest automated testing technology solutions for SOA

Today, it is very common for companies to combine the Business Analyst (BA) and Project Manager (PM) roles into a "dual role" position. What do you get when you combine a BA and a PM? A "BM," of course! We believe there are good reasons why projects deserve both a BA and a PM. In this presentation, we will discuss the skills and importance of both the PM and BA roles, will cover real world examples of what can go wrong when combing the roles, will discuss ways to prevent the dual role situation, and will offer guidance to survive it if you aren't successful avoiding it. A high-level overview of the differences in the duties and interactions of each role through a standard project life cycle, as well as some insights into where the industry is going with the BA role will also be discussed.

The face-to-face or one-on-one interview is still the most frequently used requirements-gathering technique. However, Requirements Workshops (facilitated sessions) are growing in popularity due to evidence that shows that facilitation can reduce the requirements-gathering time by as much as 40%! This presentation assumes the audience has some familiarity with the facilitation technique and characteristics. So this presentation provides basic tips for the preparation and execution of effective requirements-gathering workshops (facilitated sessions).

Successful facilitated sessions are dependent on the skills of the session leader, called the Facilitator, to effectively manage the dynamics of the participants as a group and/or individually. This presentation offers tips for facilitation such as preparation guidelines, agenda format, room setup, and basic ground rules. Additionally, tips for handling difficult participant behavior or "problem people" will help facilitators minimize or avoid unpleasant group conflict. There are common patterns of difficult participant behavior that challenge even the most experienced facilitators. Some of the difficult styles, as well as tactics for handling them, that will be covered are
The Latecomer,
Broken Record,
Whisperer,
Loudmouth, and
Attacker.

This seminar provides an interactive discussion of the issues and advantages of a risk-based testing strategy in software development and implementation.\r\n

\r\nMore and more, technical solutions must be delivered quickly to enable a business to remain successful. Additionally, solutions are becoming integrated with business partners and end-users outside of a company, creating additional for risk to those developing and deploying software products. To resolve these issues and reduce risk, organizations are looking to deliver a quality product in an efficient manner. Risk-based testing strategies and their supporting processes help project teams meet these demands. \r\n

Join us for an evening at the Technology Innovation Center (the "TIC"), a business incubator for start-up technology-based businesses located at the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa. The TIC can certainly be referred to as "Milwaukee's Software Mecca." The TIC has nurtured well over 100 new businesses and created over 1000 new jobs, two-thirds of which are focused on writing software or are involved in other information technology ventures.

Guy Mascari, Director of the TIC, will present an overview of the facility and discuss the services provided to businesses in the center. He will discuss several of the current clients of the TIC, including: Niceware International, a provider of RFID hardware and software; Shining Brow Software, a Microsoft partner in service management software; and Guild Software, publishers of online video games including Vendetta Online(tm) a massively multiplayer online role-playing game(MMORPG).

Also presenting will be Geoff Bastow and Kelley Starr of Thin Air Software, one of the most successful IT companies in the TIC. Geoff has extensive experience with startups, now with his forth company in the TIC.

So, whether you are a high-tech entrepreneur looking to get a business off the ground, or a software professional trying to keep up with the Milwaukee software scene, join us for an exciting evening at the Technology Innovation Center.

This presentation will focus on general best practices in performance testing and is intended for those looking to implement performance testing in their organization. High level topics covered include resource requirements, planning, scripting, data management, execution and analysis. Attendees will come away with a performance testing roadmap they can use to avoid common performance testing pitfalls - enabling them to focus efforts on the specific performance details of their systems.