February 03, 2011, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm, IBM Innovation Center, Waltham, MA

Click here to register for this event- REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND

Mike Dwyer

The Agile Practitioners Problem Clinic is a highly interactive session. The people participating have to be practitioners that want to discuss problems they face in doing Agile, not getting a job, not learning the basics, but practicing the art of scrummastering or agile project management, product ownership or being a team member. People who are not presently practicing are invited to listen (like chickens!)

Where: The Microsoft New England Research & Development (NERD) Center (Cambridge, MA)
When: April 14 -16, 2011

Agile Games Conference explores the more playful side of human nature and how it can innovate, solve problems, and get work done within Agile projects. The theme for this year is "Learn. Share. Play!" This will be an experience where you will not only be learning new concepts, but also have an opportunity to co-create and explore them with other participants. Boasting a blend of deep dive sessions, interactive clinics, open space, and games facilitated by renowned experts within the Agile community and beyond, this conference offers a rich experience and networking opportunity for professionals both new and experienced in Agile software development and project management.

In today's competitive marketplace, everyone faces growing pressure to innovate and improve. Teams need new tools that encourage and allow for people to reach their maximum potential, and that is exactly what this conference aims to do. Come learn new techniques, explore with a group of like-minded learners, and have fun at the same time!

Visit www.AgileGames2011.com for more details. Register by January 24th for the super early bird price.

The Agile 101 program was started in October and ran for a 3-month trial period. That is now completed and the feedback is loud and clear: “More!”

So we are making this an ongoing program, and we will expand it to offer more topics. Attendees have said that 30 minutes isn’t long enough to cover all the topics in the course descriptions. We’re responding by cutting scope to fit the time box we have. It’s difficult to use a longer time in our monthly meeting format, but the Agile 101 team is looking at opportunities to hold longer sessions on an alternate evening.

At this Thursday’s meeting (Jan 6th) Agile 101 will offer two sessions:

• Agile Planning, taught by Tom Woundy

• Agile Transition, taught by Tim Grady

We’re seeking two new team members to expand the Agile 101 team. If you’d like to be an instructor you can nominate yourself. Email Nancy V at vanschoo at acm dot org if you are interested in either of these roles.

January 06, 2011, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm, IBM Innovation Center, Waltham, MA

Click here to register for this event- REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND

Rick Brenner

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen became the first humans to reach the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough, but to people engaged in product development, the story is fascinating. Lessons abound. Among the more important lessons are those that demonstrate the power of the agile approach to project management and product development.

December 2, 2010, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm, IBM Innovation Center, Waltham, MA

Click here to view the slides from this event

Giora Morein

The session explores reporting and diagnostics options for Agile projects. Traditional project performance reporting stress conformance to plan. Because Agile projects favor adaptability over plan conformance, the fundamental reporting objectives are inevitably different. Agile reporting stresses productivity while constantly striving to provide an honest and unobstructed view of the program and the product. Agile metrics and reports should serve as diagnostic tools - tools to support reliable decision-making. This session explores some of the different reporting and metric options on Agile projects as well as how to analyze these to better understand how a team and project are faring. This introduction to multi-level Agile metrics introduces examples of product, program, release and iteration-level metrics.

Mark your calendar! Agile Games 2011 will be held on April 14-16, 2011 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sponsored by Agile Bazaar of New England, this three-day conference will focus on collaborative exercises, simulations and interactive games that teach Agile concepts and improve the functioning of Agile teams. You will learn new Agile games developed by top practitioners, and explore game design, game planning, and game execution. The event will cost approximately $400.

Join our mailing list at http://agilegames2011.com/, and we will send you additional information as the event date draws nearer.

Membership in Agile Bazaar of New England is open to everyone. There is no cost to join. Members have the right to vote in chapter elections, and to receive member benefits such as discounts on books from O’Reilly Media.

You will need to confirm your membership annually (we will send you a reminder).  You do not need to be a member to attend meetings and events, but registering for a meeting does not make you a member, so please register as a member here.