Hey all,

I heard Brian give his keynote at the Agile Roots conference this morning. It
was fabulous, inspiring, provocative, and thoughtful. If you can find any way to
make this XPDX meeting, you'll be glad you did. I'm planning to listen to it
again!

He said he's even going to _improve_ the presentation for us tomorrow night. And
you'll get a nifty sticker as a bonus.

Diana

Diana Larsen
www.futureworksconsulting.com /blog
co-author, Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!
office +1 503-288-3550, cell +1 503-705-5156?

-----Original Message-----
From: Arlo Belshee [mailto:a+yahoo_xp@...]
Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 12:31 PM
To: xpportland@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [xpportland] Meeting reminder: Brian Marick is speaking tomorrow (Wed)
night

Brian Marick will be speaking with us tomorrow night at 7pm (6:30 for
pizza) about the spirit of Agile.

This is at a different location than usual. We're meeting at the RHT office
in the Koin tower. The Calagator event
(http://calagator.org/events/1250457311) has all the details.

I hope to see you all there.

Arlo

Reminder:
We'll meet for the XPDX/APLN-PDX Agile Pub Lunch on Friday, July 3,
from 1 pm to ~2:30/3:00 pm, depending on who shows up and  the topics
we bring for discussion.

FYI - Starting in June we moved the Pub Lunch to the first Friday of
the month, for better balance with the speaker meeting on the 3rd
Wednesday.

Hope to see you there!

Diana

***
Diana Larsen
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/get-in-touch

For upcoming conferences, workshops & events:
http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be

"Making Agile a Reality" Agile 2009 conference - Register Now!
August 24-28, 2009 Chicago, USA http://agile2009.agilealliance.org

Find all the info on the Pub Lunch that I forgot to include in the
previous message on calagator.org
http://calagator.org/events/1250457370

Diana

***
Diana Larsen
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/get-in-touch

For upcoming conferences, workshops & events:
http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be

"Making Agile a Reality" Agile 2009 conference - Register Now!
August 24-28, 2009 Chicago, USA http://agile2009.agilealliance.org

Accelinnova announces its first public offering on their Collaborative Leadership Tools taught by International Collaborative Business Leaders Pollyanna Pixton and Niel Nickolaisen. 

Join us for this one day course on July 21, 2009, in Salt Lake City, UT, Collaborative Leadership Workshop: Putting Leadership Tools to Work.

"Practical guide to implementing business transformation. The tools are clearly laid out and can be applied immediately. It is being used within elements of IBM today!" - Sue McKinney

For details and to register go to:  http://accelinnova.com/courses.html

In this course you will learn leadership tools to engage your organization (stakeholders) in determining and delivering value and building a sustainable competitive advantage. You can use these tools to ensure that your teams are delivering the right products in the right way.

With the Accelinnova Leadership Tools, you can:

• Reduce churn.
• Improve productivity.
• Foster innovation and unleash talent.
• Put the tools to work today.

This four module course covers how to make better business decisions, aligning efforts with strategy, collaboration tools and how to lead collaboration, when to step up and when to step back, and how to create a culture of trust.  

 For details and to register go to:  http://accelinnova.com/courses.html

http://calagator.org/events/1250457370

I'll see you there.

Diana


***
Diana Larsen
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/get-in-touch

For upcoming conferences, workshops & events:
http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be

"Making Agile a Reality" Agile 2009 conference - Register Now!
August 24-28, 2009 Chicago, USA http://agile2009.agilealliance.org

Hi all,

Please forgive my intrusion into the discussion space. I am a lurker
in the group but I just wanted to let people know that I'm seeking
employment as a ScrumMaster/Project Manager, Product Owner, Agile
Coach, and/or Project Manager. I'm leaving my current company in
Boise, Idaho with excellent references in search of increased Agile
experience. I'm also open to Project Management opportunities that are
Agile focused.

I am a proven and successful ScrumMaster and project manager with over
15 years of professional IT experience. I am adept at traditional SDLC
and Agile practice management, training, and coaching. I work
diligently to be highly collaborative, committed, and knowledgeable
about software delivery. I enjoy being engaged in the Agile community
and am passionate about Agile practices, team work, and customer
value. I have been noted by past peers and managers as a results
oriented, value driven, natural leader, who is committed to excellence
in all things. I have excellent presentation, communication, and
relationship building skills and am energized by working with people.
I am a certified ScrumMaster, Scrum Practitioner, and Project
Management Professional (PMP).

Cover Letter: http://tinyurl.com/jason-dean-agile-cover
Simple Resume: http://tinyurl.com/jason-dean-resume-csm-creative
Detailed Resume: http://tinyurl.com/jason-dean-resume-detailed

If your organization has any available opportunities I would really
appreciate knowing about them. If you know of other sources that might
have opportunities I would appreciate hearing about them as well. I am
willing to pay a reasonable finder’s fee.

Thanks for your understanding and help, feel free to flame me or talk
to me offline about opportunities.

Jason Dean
jasonleedean@...
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonleedean
http://www.agilescrumpro.org

Hi,

Reminder: We invite one and all to our Agile user groups'(XPDX & APLN-
PDX & ), monthly first Friday pub lunch:

Time: 1-3 pm
Date: Friday, Sept 4
Place: McMenamin's on Broadway (NE 15th & NE Broadway, upstairs)
Agenda: Whatever Agile-related topic(s) we have on our minds

I'll be there. Anyone else coming?

Best,
Diana

PS Also, two more events coming up:
1) Monthly XPDX meeting on third Wednesday, Sept 16, at 6:30 pm
2) Serena Software is hosting a free Agile Pigs & Chickens BBQ on Sept
17 at 6:00 pm. Limited to the first 100 or so who sign up.
http://www.serena.com/pages/campaigns/10naalm-agile-pigs-and-chickens-bbq-17sep0\
9/intro.html?Campaign_Id=48691&Activity_Id=37949


***
Diana Larsen
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com

Agile Open SoCal
September 14-15, 2009 Irvine, CA http://agileopencalifornia.com/

Ŕgiles 2009
October 6-9, 2009 Florianopolis, Brasil
http://www.agiles2009.org/en/index.php

Calling unemployed, underemployed, or mis-employed XPDX software
engineers,

A company I know has embarked on an Agile adoption. They are also
looking for great developers. They will only accept applications
through the website link below. (no emails, paper resumes, etc.)

For a fuller description of the position and how to apply, check out
this web site and follow the link:
http://www2.phtech.com/careers/openings.cfm?fa=JOBS.detail&id=33

Hoping that everyone finds just the right place to do good work,
Diana

***
Diana Larsen
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com

Agile Open SoCal
September 14-15, 2009 Irvine, CA http://agileopencalifornia.com/

Ŕgiles 2009
October 6-9, 2009 Florianopolis, Brasil
http://www.agiles2009.org/en/index.php

Hello Portland Agilists,

If you're willing to trade a half day of volunteering for 2 days of
free conference registration at the 26th annual PNSQC conference (www.pnsqc.org
) Oct 26-28, please get in touch with Ellen G. at Ellen_Ghiselli@...
. She has limited opportunities for a few more good people.

Go for it!
Diana


***
Diana Larsen
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com

Ŕgiles 2009
October 6-9 Florianopolis, Brasil
http://www.agiles2009.org/en/index.php

Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC)
October 27-28 Portland, Oregon, USA
http://www.pnsqc.org

"Leading Agile Retrospectives" workshops in Europe
December 3-4 Aarhus Denmark   December 7-8 Oslo Norway
http://tinyurl.com/n5u39p     http://tinyurl.com/mm9ys9

Thanks everyone for stepping up to volunteer for moderating PNSQC
sessions. The few volunteer positions have been filled, and quickly!
Who knew you could mobilize the local Agilists so fast...[plotting
world domination]...

Anyway, no more volunteers are needed at this time. Thanks again
everyone.

And, it is a great conference. I can understand why so many want to
attend. You can also attend without volunteer duties by registering at
the website, www.pnsqc.org ;)

Best,
Diana


***
Diana Larsen
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com

Ŕgiles 2009
October 6-9 Florianopolis, Brasil
http://www.agiles2009.org/en/index.php

Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC)
October 27-28 Portland, Oregon, USA
http://www.pnsqc.org

"Leading Agile Retrospectives" workshops in Europe
December 3-4 Aarhus Denmark   December 7-8 Oslo Norway
http://tinyurl.com/n5u39p     http://tinyurl.com/mm9ys9

Hi all,

Looking for a new perspective? A colleague in Salem has a position
open for someone with strong coaching and development skills. Old and
new projects, agile approach, could be very fun and satisfying.

Check it out here;
http://www2.phtech.com/careers/openings.cfm

Diana


***
Diana Larsen
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com

"Leading Agile Retrospectives" workshop
December 3-4 Aarhus Denmark
http://tinyurl.com/n5u39p

"The Art of Agile..." workshops with James Shore
London, UK & Milan, Italy - February, 2010
contact me for more information

Announcing Agile Open Northwest 2010! This Agile Open Space event will
be
held February 9th and 10th, 2010, in the Seattle Center Northwest Rooms.
Please see http://www.agileopennorthwest.org for registration
information
and further details.

We invite you to our fourth annual Agile Open Northwest conference.
Alternating each year between Portland and Seattle, AONW conferences
bring
together practicing members of the Northwest Agile communities to
explore
the latest developments in agile software development. We held our third
annual event last year in Portland and enjoyed another great success.
Registration is $125.00 for both days, including light breakfast and
lunch.
This low-cost regional conference is a great opportunity to connect
with the
local agile community, experts and novices alike.

Please join us this year as we host 125 experienced, collaborative,
committed agile practitioners from the Northwest U.S. (and beyond) in
tackling the issues around our recurring theme "Agile for Real." As in
past
years, attendance is limited to a predetermined number in order retain
the
many advantages a small conference has to offer.

Here is a comment from a previous attendee:

"These two-day Agile Open Northwest conferences are an extremely good
value.
..[Y]ou learn directly from practitioners in the agile community what
works
and what doesn't. I attended the first two of these conferences, they
were
stunningly good... loads of practical, useful stuff and stimulating
discussions." -- Ian Savage, PNSQC Program Chair

More information can be found at http://www.agileopennorthwest.org. We
look
forward to seeing you there.

You Host Committee,
Troy Frever, Diana Larsen, Patrick Logan, Charlie Poole, Rebecca Wirfs-
Brock & Monica Yap


***
Diana Larsen
co-author: "Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!"
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/get-in-touch
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/blog

For upcoming conferences, workshops & events:
http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be

Hi,

Sponsorship of Agile Open Northwest 2010 will help the agile
development movement in the Pacific Northwest, while giving your
company visibility as an agile leader. Sponsoring the conference
offers an effective opportunity to market your company, products and/
or services to influential people who are defining and leveraging
agile software development practices in our region. We offer several
sponsorship levels with excellent, _affordable_ marketing
opportunities and benefits within each category.

If your company or organization would like to support the non-profit
effort to present Agile Open Northwest 2010, please check out the
sponsorship opportunities page:
http://www.agileopennorthwest.org/2010/sponsorship.php

For more information, or to set up your sponsorship, get in touch with
us at:
sponsor@...

Happy Holidays,
Diana


***
Diana Larsen
http://www.futureworksconsulting.com

"The Art of Agile..." workshops with James Shore
London, UK - Feb 15-19
http://tinyurl.com/yg9glbu
http://tinyurl.com/yfrhejb

Milan, Italy - Feb 22-26
http://www.agilemethods.eu/calendar.html

I'll be there on March 5...and I'm bringing Ainsley Nies again.

Diana

***
Diana Larsen
chair: http://agilealliance.org
consultant: http://futureworksconsulting.com
author: _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!_


On Feb 28, 2010, at 6:48 PM, Kimberly Wallmark wrote:

> On March 5th (Friday), we will have our regular discussion lunch at
> McMenamin's on Broadway: http://calagator.org/events/1250458346 Who's
> in?
>
> On March 17th, Jon Bach will talk to us about exploratory testing. We
> still need a location for this. http://calagator.org/events/1250458366
>
> We don't have a speaker for the April meeting. (April 21) Got
> something you want to talk about? Know someone who should come talk
> to us? Speak up! If there's a topic you'd like to know more about,
> facilitating a targeted discussion is a great way to practice your
> skills while learning more on a topic. (hint, hint)
>
> Kim
>

West side will work for me too. I'm mobile. :) And, when I'm in town,
I'm willing to run a carpool for those who have a hard time getting to
Washington County.

Diana

***
Diana Larsen
+1 503-288-3550
chair: http://agilealliance.org
consultant: http://futureworksconsulting.com
author: _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!_
upcoming events: http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be


On Apr 20, 2010, at 10:11 PM, Kimberly Wallmark wrote:

> Westside is fine by me too.  Do we want to do this for the May meeting
> at this point (May 19th)?
>
> --Kim
>
> On Apr 20, 2010, at 9:51 PM, Preston Crawford wrote:
>
>>
>> Westside works for me. I live a couple miles away.
>>
>>
>>> On Apr 20, 2010 9:46 PM, <ian_savage@...> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> Oops, sorry. I intended to attend but didn't attend to sharing my
>>> intention.
>>>
>>> If the west side works for people, we (McAfee) might be able to
>>> help with the venue thing.
>>>
>>> Thanx and regards,
>>> Ian Savage, CSQE
>>> McAfee Agent Team
>>> Quality=>Productivity
>>> Worthwhile reading: http://www.agilemanifesto.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: xpportland@yahoogroups.com
>>> [mailto:xpportland@yahoogroups.com] On...
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Calling all Agilists!

Today is our lunch meeting, the informal side of Agile PDX/XPDX. We'll
discuss all things related (and we define that broadly) to agile
software development. All flavors, all experience levels welcome.

What: Agile Practitioners Lunch
When: Today, Friday, May 7, starts at 1 pm, goes until everyone leaves
(~2:30).
Where: McMenamin's on Broadway, 1504 NE Broadway (Lloyd Center area)
Who: Whoever shows up are the right people! (We borrow that from Open
Space.)
Why?: Because we like you, M-O-U-S-E!*

For more info about when, where and how to get there, see calagator.org

Hope to see you there!
Diana

PS * Trivia question of the day: Do people <45 know the Mickey Mouse
Club song?

***
Diana Larsen
+1 503-288-3550
chair: http://agilealliance.org
consultant: http://futureworksconsulting.com
author: _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!_
Twitter: @DianaOfPortland
upcoming events: http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be

• Improve the quality of interactions with customers and others outside the team
• Increase the speed and effectiveness of feedback
• Contribute to an environment for team success

Hello PDX Agilists,

Now that Kim has moved to a next chapter in her work/life, XPDX/
AgilePDX needs to self-organize leadership for handling opportunities
like the upcoming one with Matt H in July and Nancy V in September.

I'm very willing to help, and my travel schedule doesn't permit me to
do a good enough job of taking the sole lead on coordinating speakers
and meetings.

In any case, we don't need a single leader. As we've seen over the
past several years, when we rely on one person, we burn them out, then
we have no succession plan. We need a self-organizing group (7±2),
like a coordinating council or something, so the burden doesn't fall
too heavily on anyone and we keep our "truck factor number" as high as
possible. I'd be happy to serve with others. I won't/can't take it on
alone. Who of us will form a coordinating group of 5-9 people?

Here's what some systems thinkers have to say about it:

“As in Nature, if [XPDX/AgilePDX] is too inflexible, or stands still
too long, it will get eaten." James Burke, historian and author of
_The Day the Universe Changed_

"It is not necessary [for XPDX/AgilePDX] to change. Survival is not
mandatory." W. Edwards Deming

"We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if [XPDX/
AgilePDX] is to survive." Albert Einstein

In other words, we self-organize or we die.

Are there 4-6 others who can step into service as part of an active
coordinating group with me?

Diana


***
Diana Larsen
+1 503-288-3550
chair: http://agilealliance.org
consultant: http://futureworksconsulting.com
author: _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!_
Twitter: @DianaOfPortland
upcoming events: http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be



On May 14, 2010, at 1:39 PM, <ian_savage@...> <ian_savage@...
  > wrote:

>
> Folks,
>
>
>
> Matt Heusser will be in town in July and wanted to know whether I
> knew of any user group meetings.  My response: You bet! and gave him
> a < 140 char synopsis of this Agile PDX group.
>
>
>
> I don’t know how we go about organizing speakers but here’s his blog
> URL: http://blogs.stpcollaborative.com/matt/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thanks and regards,
>
> Ian Savage
>
> McAfee Agent QA Team Lead
>
>
>
> 503.466.4675 | Office
>
> 541.350.7806 | Cell
>
>
>
> McAfee - Protecting What You Value
>
>
>
>
>

Hi all,

I haven't seen much follow-through about having fishbowl discussion at
our regular May meeting this month - which would be tomorrow/Wednesday
night, May 19. I don't think we ever finally decided on a place. There
isn't one listed on the calagator.org notice so I doubt many folks
will show up. http://calagator.org/events/1250458635

Since there doesn't seem to be a fishbowl event after all, may I
suggest that you consider joining me in attending CHIFOO this month?
Jared Spool is a fantastic speaker - he was a keynoter at SXSW this
year and a keynoter at Agile 2009 in Chicago. He's very knowledgeable
about all aspects of design and a very entertaining speaker as well.
(At Agile 2009, we got to see him dance to Beyonce's "All the Single
Ladies"!)

CHIFOO details at: http://tinyurl.com/2cfzfku

Diana


***
Diana Larsen
+1 503-288-3550
chair: http://agilealliance.org
consultant: http://futureworksconsulting.com
author: _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!_
Twitter: @DianaOfPortland
upcoming events: http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be

Hi all,

I'm sending out a reminder that some of us will be eating and talking
together at the regular Agile Practitioners' Lunch on Friday July 2
(the first Friday of the month). See http://calagator.org/events/1250458800
   for more details and mark your calendarss.

I'll be there. Who else can attend?

Diana


***
Diana Larsen
+1 503-288-3550
chair: http://agilealliance.org
consultant: http://futureworksconsulting.com
author: _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!_
Twitter: @DianaOfPortland
upcoming events: http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be

Hi all,

How many from our local Agile/XPDX & APLN-PDX community will attend Agile 2010
in Orlando Aug 9-13? Shall we organize a meetup while we're there?

I would like to get together with other Portland Metro area people at the
conference, if only just to see how big a crowd we could make. :)

Who else is going? Are you interested in a get together?

If so, let me know and I'll arrange something - maybe Monday night before or
after the icebreaker, or later in the week if that works better for folks.
Though I don't know what room I'm in yet, I'm likely to have a suite with room
to hold a small party.

Diana


***
Diana Larsen
+1 503-288-3550
chair: http://agilealliance.org
consultant: http://futureworksconsulting.com
author: _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!_
Twitter: @DianaOfPortland
upcoming events: http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be

I'll be there, and I'd love to have a meetup.

On Jul 31, 2010, at 10:30 AM, Diana Larsen wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> How many from our local Agile/XPDX & APLN-PDX community will attend Agile 2010
in Orlando Aug 9-13? Shall we organize a meetup while we're there?
>
> I would like to get together with other Portland Metro area people at the
conference, if only just to see how big a crowd we could make. :)
>
> Who else is going? Are you interested in a get together?
>
> If so, let me know and I'll arrange something - maybe Monday night before or
after the icebreaker, or later in the week if that works better for folks.
Though I don't know what room I'm in yet, I'm likely to have a suite with room
to hold a small party.
>
> Diana
>
>
> ***
> Diana Larsen
> +1 503-288-3550
> chair: http://agilealliance.org
> consultant: http://futureworksconsulting.com
> author: _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!_
> Twitter: @DianaOfPortland
> upcoming events: http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Hi all,

Yes, I know it's the Friday before Labor Day weekend and we're all jones-ing to
get our 3-day party on.

We'll still meet at McMenamin's on Broadway for our ~monthly Agile
Practitioners' Lunch. From 1 -2:30 pm (or whenever we decide the conversation is
over).
For directions and more, see Calagator;
http://calagator.org/events/1250459185

Please let the list know if you'll be there, and, as usual, pass this notice
along to anyone who's been curious about Agile (questions like, "what is this
agile stuff anyway?' and "isn't extreme programming just hacking?" and "why
would my team need to include a scrummaster/an agile coach/testers on the team?"
and "doesn't agile mean we don't need documentation/managers/project
managers/BA's anymore?" and "sure, agile is fine for a single team, but does it
scale?' and "how do we recruit the right product owner/customer for our team?"
and "we've been holding stand-up meetings twice a week for three months and
nothing has changed, how do we get this Agile stuff to work?")

See you then,
Diana


***
Diana Larsen
+1 503-288-3550
chair: http://agilealliance.org
consultant: http://futureworksconsulting.com
author: _Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!_
Twitter: @DianaOfPortland
upcoming events: http://futureworksconsulting.com/where-we-be