Conference Presentations

Put Your Power to Work!

Power is the ability to create value. If you want to create more value in your organization, you must learn to tap the abundant resources of power. The four most abundant power sources are 1) your own inner resources; 2) the physical world; 3) interacting with another person; and 4) working in teams to achieve a shared purpose. Winner of Best Presentation at SM 2001, Dale Emery returns to help you learn to harness your own power resources-for your benefit and the benefit of others.

Dale Emery, Sun Microsystems
Measures that Predict Change

Prediction becomes more accurate when there are measured trends to show the way. Knowing what to collect and review is only half of the process of predicting change. The rest of the methodology is understanding the data and being able to predict changes so that the project team can proactively respond to change events. Learn how organizations within EDS have begun to accurately predict changes. Explore the methods, decisions, and the necessary steps taken by EDS to develop and use metrics and measures that support key management decisions.

Gail Borotto, EDS
A Metrics Dashboard for IT Project Reporting

Tom Olenick described the activities performed to design, develop, deploy, and maintain a Project Management Metrics Dashboard across the IT organization of a major Chicago-based securities organization. Learn how this metrics dashboard was used to facilitate project status tracking for IT management and to provide a basis for improving the efficiencies of software development activities and estimation.

Thomas Olenick, Olenick & Associates
Warp 6, Mr. Sulu: The Future of Software Development

As a manager, you have many readings which help you monitor your course. Choosing a direction is a different matter. Like the crew of any Star Trek episode, you may have to make a decision based on the unknown. The best choice may not be based on what you know-but what is possible. For years we have built software in roughly the same way. Becky Winant discusses an emerging new discipline sitting on the horizon-complete with higher-level communication tools, practical knowledge capture, and advanced simulation software-that is poised and ready to change the face of software development as we know it.

Becky Winant, Esprit Systems Consulting, Inc.
Gaps, Traps, and Overlaps: Communication Flaws and How to Fix Them

In some organizations, communication flaws are rampant and muddled messages are the norm. Success in software efforts is often hindered by communication that is incomprehensible, ambiguous, misdirected, ill-timed--or lacking when it is most needed. The result? Rocky relationships, topsy-turvy teamwork, precarious projects, and crazed customers. The situation is not hopeless, though. In fact, making changes is surprisingly easy. In a presentation that is both serious and light-hearted, Naomi Karten shares ideas, experiences, and advice to help you detect, correct, and prevent some of the most common communication snafus.

Naomi Karten, Karten Associates
The Story Software Defects Tell about Project Management

We often evaluate and design software processes and activities as if putting them on lists and schedules will automatically make them happen. Yet software development also includes complex human interactions that must be planned and managed in order to gain best results, or to even survive. Drawing upon over one hundred candid engineers' comments from twenty root-cause analysis brainstorming sessions of frequently occurring defects, Bob Grady reveals fascinating insights into project management backgrounds, methods, training, and weaknesses. Into these insights, he weaves the use of personality preferences with project management methods to help you avoid common pitfalls in ways that engineers themselves prefer.

Robert Grady, Hewlett-Packard Co., Retired
eXtreme Programming Meets Measurement

With the Internet explosion creating new "e-somethings" daily, and society embracing X-anything, it should come as no surprise that eXtreme Programming is the latest concept to hit IT. Forget the visions of IT managers projecting themselves off a cliff with bungee cords and a laptop-eXtreme Programming is more mainstream than renegade, offering a mixture of old and new, tried and true all bundled into one. Learn what eXtreme Programming is all about and how it differs from other development methodologies. Discover what can and should be measured in an eXtreme Programming environment and how to fit X-Measures in with a regular measurement program.

Carol Dekkers, Quality Plus Technologies, Inc.
Facilitated Workshops in Software Development Projects

To build planning and requirements products quickly and efficiently, consider using facilitated workshops. In your workshops, participants should be active, engaged,
committed and task-oriented. A well-run workshops builds trust and mutual understand among all the participants. Workshops are not new, but are proven best practices in
software development. They can go a long way not only in product delivery, but also in building a "jelled" team.

Ellen Gottesdiener, EBG Consulting, Inc.
Managing Virtual Teams

Learn how to manage virtual teams such as those in dot-com companies, large corporations, and start-ups that may not be located in the same building, same town, or even the same continent. Explore the tips and techniques for getting the job done when you cannot necessarily meet face to face. Discover the danger signals that indicate your project is in trouble-and learn ways to get back on track when your project derails.

Linda McInnis, Noble Associates, Inc.
Successful Projects-10 Keys to a Proper Beginning

One of the primary keys to project success is orchestrating a proper beginning. In order to do this effectively, you must define the project mission, vision, and reason for being; get a handle on requirements; take the time to load the team properly; do the prerequisite work in gaining focus and clarity; and decide on the development methods and strategies. In this presentation, learn the five keys to forming your team and the five keys to successfully starting a project.

Robert Galen, Network Appliance, Inc.

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