Project Management in an Agile World

Ella Lau

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Networking Dinner @ 5:45; Chapter Business @ 6:45; Program @ 7:00 PM

In the South Multimedia Conference Room 1E:

at Countrywide, Building 2, 29851 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, CA 91302

Developing a web site using agile development methodology, test-driven design (TDD) and Ruby on Rails provided this project manager with a new set of challenges. Agile methodology tends to be fast-paced with development occurring at the same time as the development of detailed business rules. Based on the experiences when managing this effort, the project manager reviews some of the lessons learned. How is managing an agile project different? When managing a traditional project, the development of schedules, estimates and deliverables are managed in a controlled fashion. Traditional PM practices tend to be very formal. An agile project is very fast-paced and has very little formality. What differences are experienced when managing a project in this environment?

Our new location is Medtronic in Northridge, just across from the Cal State Northridge campus. It is located on Devonshire street between Reseda and Zelzah. Take the 118 freeway to the Reseda Blvd exit and proceed south on Reseda Blvd.

From Reseda, turn left on to Devonshire Steet. The Medtronic entrance is on the left just after Lindley Ave. Proceed to the Diabetes Theater Conference Room.

For more complete directions click on the live Yahoo maps link on our home page or the Contact Us-Feedback navigation link. See you there!!!

Developmental Networks and the Impact on Women’s Careers

Vera Teller

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The change in the work environment due to globalization and information technology has forced a shift in viewing the traditional one-on-one mentor-protégé dyad as the optimum relationship credited for an individual’s career advancement and support. The “new” career context of mentoring states that individuals draw career opportunities and support from a myriad of relationships termed “developmental networks.” These developmental relationships could include mentors, peers, subordinates, friends, family and bosses. The purpose of the presentation is to discuss the many relationships women leaders in the Information Technology (IT) field have engaged throughout the stages of their career, how the relationships began and developed, to further their career and offer personal support. Data gathered by in-depth interviews of fifteen women IT leaders was obtained. The women were asked to discuss their own accounts of the various people that have provided either career advancement opportunities or psychosocial support throughout their career.

Designing Usability into a Test Automation Framework

Chris Petrov

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Networking Dinner @ 5:45; Chapter Business @ 6:45; Program @ 7:00 PM

In the South Multimedia Conference Room 1E:

at Countrywide, Building 2, 29851 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, CA 91302

Efficiently delivering test automation to the masses, in a manner that is sustainable and scalable, poses a challenge for any QA organization making the attempt. How much automation or tool expertise do my testers have and need? How dynamic is the application? How easy or difficult will automated test assets be to maintain as the application matures? How much time will be available for automated test development? What type of testing is required?

This Case Study will examine the design considerations and features required to develop a scalable and sustainable keyword driven test automation framework. Project requirements included the need for fast and easy test case creation by testers with no automation experience, the need to limit the learning curve to between 2 and 8 hours for testers to be productive, and the need to create automated tests prior to application availability.

Innovating in Highly Constrained Environments

Ben Rowhani

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Networking Dinner @ 5:45; Chapter Business @ 6:45; Program @ 7:00 PM

In the South Multimedia Conference Room 1E:

at Countrywide, Building 2, 29851 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, CA 91302

We may think that innovation is possible if we could think out-of-the box with no constraints. However, the world is full of constraints. For example, Financial service companies are highly regulated, have too many policies, procedures, processes, risks, security rules, many customers with issues, highly susceptible production systems, and usually tight budgets. Having known these characteristics, how can we even think about innovation in such an environment. Moreover, how do we innovate in a constrained world?

The 10 Commandments For Project Success

Correcting Faulty Assumptions

Inez Marino

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

This presentation describes 10 proven and practical strategies to ensure projects are successful by promoting business growth, profit and competitive advantage. It provides examples of how to reduce costly and time-consuming rework in favor of innovative development while ensuring project vision and key requirements don’t fall through the cracks.

Ms. Marino explains the key reasons why the final results of challenging projects often fall short of goals and expectations and outlines how to remediate these issues while improving the quality of their deliverables, compressing the duration of a project’s life-cycle, building alliances among different business contingencies and ensuring that delivered results align with business priorities.

Effective Methods to Achieve Quality Certification

Kidra Shadroo

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Networking Dinner @ 5:45; Chapter Business @ 6:45; Program @ 7:00 PM

In the South Multimedia Conference Room 1E:

at Countrywide, Building 2, 29851 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, CA 91302

As the IT industry becomes more competitive, the ability for management to distinguish professional and skilled individuals in the field becomes mandatory. Certification demonstrates a level of understanding in carrying out quality assurance principles and practices. In this regard SCQAA-SF will host a session on how to acquire a quality certification. The objectives of the session are as followed:

1. Show differences between quality certifications
2. Help examinees to understand the criteria and pass the exam
3. Create a community of quality certified professionals

Kidra Shadroo is a Software Eng. Project Manager working for Business Realtime where he is responsible for leading technology projects. He has a track record as software support engineer, Sr. QA engineer and software project manager during his 15 years of experience in application development.

The Test Plan is perfect, what's your People Plan?

Margaret Meloni

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Networking Dinner @ 5:45; Chapter Business @ 6:45; Program @ 7:00 PM

In the South Multimedia Conference Room 1E:

at Countrywide, Building 2, 29851 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, CA 91302

When other factors are equal (business expertise, technical expertise, ability to drive projects to completion or generate income); it is the professional who has built relationships and managed their reputation (to the positive) who succeeds. In spite of this many professionals do not actively manage relationships. Many professionals do not manage their reputations. This presentation is a reminder to attendees to pay attention to their behaviors, because it can take more than great test cases to get ahead.

Key concepts to be presented.