May 2022 Meeting: 4 Legged Dogs and Sprints

May Monthly Meeting - 4 Legged Dogs and Sprints with Simon Mitchinson 

When: Thursday, May 12tht, 2022

Where: Online (Meeting link will be emailed prior to event)

Time: 6:00 - 7:30 pm 

Register 

4 Legged Dogs and Sprints with Simon Mitchinson 

This presentation takes a fun look at the difference between ‘being seen to be doing agile’ and having agility – being agile. It is intended as a start-point for those new to agile and agility, and also serve as a reminder to experienced agile practitioners not to fall into the corporate traps of ‘allusion’. (Sometimes continuous improvement includes going back to basics!)

This is a personal interpretation and exploration of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. It does not propose a magic solution, clever answers or amazing revelations, but it is designed to make you think, “Am I being agile? What does that really mean? How will it makes things better?” and hopefully for you to that ‘Agile’ is not a mechanical, handle-turning, text-book process but a way of thinking that requires creativity and intellectual input from its leaders and coaches.

Agenda

6:00pm: Welcome and Intro

6:15pm: Speaker

7:15pm: Networking

7:25pm: Feedback & Wrap-up

7:30pm: Adjourn

About Simon Mitchinson 

Simon is an Agile Coach, Scrum Master and Delivery Lead at Blue Yonder, with over 20 years’ experience in leading project delivery. Simon balances his role between coaching and delivering specific projects, and providing general agile training and advice across the organisation, leading the company-wide drive towards agility.

Before joining Blue Yonder, one of Simon’s proudest professional achievements is that he brought a new protein bar to market for Mars Confectionery using Scrum, with the first product on the shelf in just six weeks (compared with a predicted six months using the standard approach).

Two of Simon’s other achievements are that he won a gold medal for inventing a paper bag, and that he had tea with HM The Queen after he organized Tug of War for her 90th Birthday!

April 2022 Meeting: Intro to Accelerated Virtual Learning

April Monthly Meeting - Intro to Accelerated Virtual Learning with Darren Terrell

When: Thursday, April 21st, 2022

Where: Online (Meeting link will be emailed prior to event)

Time: 6:00 - 7:30 pm 

Register 

Intro to Accelerated Virtual Learning with Darren Terrell

Are you interested in learning how to accelerate your virtual learning? This talk will cover the basics of organizing your accelerated virtual learning. We'll also cover the core brain principles of persuasive virtual teaching, which will help you take your online education to the next level. By the end of this talk, you'll better understand how to create persuasive and engaging online content to help your students learn more effectively.

With accelerated virtual learning, you will be able to connect with your learners more deeply; concepts will be easier to understand and remember, more motivated to learn, and more fun doing it! So why not give it a try today? You will be glad you did.

Agenda

6:00pm: Welcome and Intro

6:15pm: Speaker

7:15pm: Networking

7:25pm: Feedback & Wrap-up

7:30pm: Adjourn

About Darren Terrell

Darren Terrell is an Enterprise Transformation Coach, Leadership Coach, and Organization Designer. He has been leading transformations for medium to large organizations for over a decade in the public and private sectors. As a senior transformation specialist, he has helped executives and organizations gain agility. Darren is a pioneer in applying Open patterns and practices in large organizations. He is a Certified Trainer for "Training From the BACK of the Room!" (both in-person and virtual).

Darren serves as a board member for the Agile Cincinnati, a member of the Open Leadership Network, and is a conference speaker. He is the co-creator of Inviting Vision, Certified OpenSpace Agility Trainer, and international conference speaker.

March 2022 Meeting: Big Room Coaching with Damon Poole

March Monthly Meeting - Big Room Coaching with Damon Poole

When: Thursday, March 17th, 2022

Where: Online (Meeting link will be emailed prior to event)

Time: 6:00 - 7:30 pm 

Register 

Big Room Coaching with Damon Poole

When people approach you as an Agile Coach, do they expect you to partner with them to help them find their own solution? Or, do they expect you to magically solve complex problems based on an anecdote and a few pieces of information about the issue?

In the end, the best solution comes from the coach and coachee combining their individual areas of expertise to find a solution that the coachee feels comfortable carrying out.

In this session, we'll introduce you to a "coaching canvas" that everyone can use to simultaneously provide coaching to everybody else!

By the end of the session, you will have experienced many different coaching situations. At all times, you will keep the coachee in charge in two ways. First by sharing expertise using a coaching mindset and by offering the minimum amount of information using the “3 levels of choice” model to maximize people’s choice.

You will also receive a link to a Mural template for using the coaching canvas with your teams wherever they are working.

Agenda

6:00pm: Welcome and Intro

6:15pm: Speaker

7:15pm: Networking

7:25pm: Feedback & Wrap-up

7:30pm: Adjourn

About Damon Poole

Damon has coached and trained thousands of people at companies such as EMC, Capital One, Oanda, Ford, and Fidelity. He speaks frequently at Agile Alliance, Agile New England, Kentucky Fried Agile, Atlassian Summit, Agile and Beyond, Agile Toronto, and others. As a coach of coaches at Eliassen, Damon led the Agile Delivery team which grew to hundreds of Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches in the field. He created Eliassen's Agile Transformation approach and the training content across all aspects of Agile, and led the effort to provide opportunities for the coaches to advance in their coaching journey. This background gave Damon the opportunity to learn from hundreds of Agile Coaches in an enormous variety of client environments and from the wider international Agile community. Come find out what you and Damon can learn from each other!

February Monthly Meeting - Estimates and NoEstimates By Woody Zuill

February Monthly Meeting - Estimates and NoEstimates By Woody Zuill

When: Thursday, February 10th, 2022

Where: Online (Meeting link will be emailed prior to event)

Time: 6:00 - 7:30 pm 

Register 

Estimates and NoEstimates By Woody Zuill

Let's Explore the Possibilities

The default use of an "estimate-driven" approach is pervasive in software development efforts, and while estimates can be useful, it is worthwhile to scrutinize our use of estimates for cost, time, and effort.

We say we depend on estimates to make important decisions, and yet we’re often disappointed by the results.

We'll explore the purpose and use of estimates in the management of software development, and question some of our typical practices. For example, do we really need estimates for all the things we are currently using them? Are we getting a reasonable benefit from estimates? Is there a way to prove that estimates are helping us make good decisions? Is it possible to manage software development projects without these estimates, or at least with fewer estimates?

Agenda

6:00pm: Welcome and Intro

6:15pm: Speaker

7:15pm: Networking

7:25pm: Feedback & Wrap-up

7:30pm: Adjourn

About Woody Zuill

Woody Zuill is an independent Agile and Lean Guide and Coach who has been programming computers for almost 40 years.

He is an originator and pioneer of the Mob Programming approach to teamwork in software development, and is considered one of the founders of the "#NoEstimates" discussion on Twitter.

His passion is to work with teams to create an environment where every one of us can excel in our work and life.