[AM] AgileSIG, Manchester

Northwest Agile Special Interest Group (SIG) announces their next 
meeting:

9 March at 18.00 Meridien Palace Hotel, Manchester 

To register, please visit 
http://www.exoftware.com/exoftwareeventsagilesig.htm

This, the second Northwest Agile SIG, will showcase SCRUM, another 
popular Agile software development methodology.  The talk will show how 
to take advantage of both SCRUM and XP.  Following the talk, attendees 
have the opportunity to discuss various Agile methods with an expert 
panel from companies such as Cresta, Thoughtworks, Thompson Sweet and 
Maxwell TCC and Exoftware.   

Who should attend and why?
Software delivery managers, programme managers and senior project 
managers who are responsible for the development and delivery of 
business critical software systems.  In order to learn more about Agile 
methods and how they can support rapidly changing business needs. 

Cost?
Free 

Timetable
18.00 - 18.30	Registration & Overview	 
 	 	 
18.30 – 19:15	Karl Scotland, BBC	 
 	SCRUM and XP:  Putting it Together	 
 	Scrum advocates monthly iterations, while XP projects are being 
successfully run with smaller iterations of one week.  This can cause 
conflict when trying to combine elements of both methods.  This talk 
describes a way of taking advantage of both degrees of iteration length, 
and their related practices.  The solution allows both the business and 
technical teams to gain optimal feedback and control from the 
development process.
 	 	 
 	After first experiencing the thrill of programming on a BBC Micro at 
school, Karl rediscovered the addiction while studying for his Music 
BSc.  Realising that computers were more his forte than music, he went 
on to get an MSc in IT, and a career as a software engineer.  Karl has 
worked on projects ranging from multimedia to neural network to 
interactive TV applications, and he as experienced both a complete lack 
of process, and an overly rigorous one.  When he discovered XP, and was 
given the opportunity to use it, he embraced it enthusiastically, and 
has never looked back.  Currently a Team Leader with BBC Interactive, 
his team have developed the software, which has delivered 78 services in 
12 months, a feat which could not have been achieved without agility.
 	 
19.15 – 20.00	Panel Discussion
 	 	 
 	Alan Francis, Thoughtworks
In ten years, Alan has built software that delivers junk mail, controls 
dams, produces DVDs and Digital TV and lets you buy beer in Wetherspoons 
pubs. Since he discovered XP, he has talked about it, presented papers 
and panels on it, taught courses on how to do it, and occasionally 
written software using it. He has mentored for ObjectMentor and now 
thinks for ThoughtWorks.	 
 	 	 
 	Colin Clifford, Sweet & Maxwell
Colin is a PMI certified Project Manager and is currently the Project 
Office Manager at Sweet and Maxwell Group (SMG) with offices in Dublin, 
Edinburgh, London and Mytholmroyd - West Yorkshire. During his 2 years 
at SMG Colin and his team have been responsible for the introduction of 
industry standard Project Management, software development and 
management processes. This year they have gained accreditation to the 
ISO 9001:2000 standard for Quality Management. SMG recently adopted the 
DSDM methodology as the standard for their organisation and have 
integrated it into their accredited processes.	 
 	 	 
 	David Putman, Exoftware
As Senior mentor with Exoftware, David has acted as an advisor on the 
management of software development projects to companies in three 
continents.  He regularly presents papers and tutorials on the 
management and practice of software development at national and 
international events.  He currently writes the "Models and 
Methodologies" column for Application Development Advisor magazine and 
has had articles published in other publications including the Cutter IT 
Journal. His main interests are the management of people and software 
development projects, learning organisations, and making work satisfying 
to all those involved. 	 
 	 	 
 	Steve Dennis, Cresta
Steve Dennis is a senior Quality Assurance professional who combines 
excellence in technical knowledge, business experience and test team 
leadership gained in a wide range of US and European companies.  He is a 
Mercury Interactive Certified Professional with experience in both 
software development and testing . Steve also has a strong working 
knowledge of internationally approved test methods, quality assurance, 
test tools and web-technologies. He has worked in the development and 
testing of automated testing packages and the application of these tools 
to solving real-world business issues. Steve also has a constantly 
evolving experience of leading edge and non-legacy technologies and of a 
wide range of automated testing products.  He is a Principal Consultant 
with Cresta Group, having joined the company nearly four years ago.	 
 	 	 
 	Dot Tudor, TCC
Dot is a DSDM Practitioner and a Prince2 and ISEB Certified Project 
Manager.  She has worked on business change projects of all sizes, 
including ones that have been part of multi-million programmes. She has 
trained and mentored people in the introduction and implementation of 
DSDM throughout the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and the USA. She is a 
regular speaker on Methods for Business Systems Development, a founder 
member of the International Business Systems Development Forum and 
chairs the BCS Methods and Tools Specialist Group.	  
 	 	 
20.00 – 21.30	Drinks at Hotel Bar	 

To register, please visit 
http://www.exoftware.com/exoftwareeventsagilesig.htm

For more information about AM, visit the Agile Modeling Home Page at www.agilemodeling.com
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