Australian Computer Society
Level 1
99 Northbourne Avenue
Turner, ACT
(Across from the Clifton Suites hotel)

Note:   Attendees will need to use the lift in the car park to get to Level 1

Myee Riri:
Software Engineer - Agile Digital Engineering

Szymon Szukalski BESE:
Software Engineer - Agile Digital Engineering

hi all

I just found your group through another link and have invited myself to join :-)

Can you advise when (and where) the next meeting is? I'd be interested in
attending.

cheers, Sarah

--- In agilecanberra@..., "jamie_lynn_cooke"
<jamie_lynn_cooke@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Myee,
>
> Yes, we had discussed having you do a presentation/Q&A on Agile development,
focusing on the benefits achieved and issues faced by software developers.
>
> As John has organised for Ian to do this month's session, would you be willing
to speak at the October one?
>
> And apologies for the delayed reply (am in the U.S. through 15th October). 
Which means, of course, that I will not be attending tomorrow's session.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jamie  :-)
>
>
> --- In agilecanberra@..., "myee.riri" <myee.riri@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi All,
> >
> > the last meeting I was at I "nominated myself" to do a presentation that was
supposed to be a kind of walk through of the agile development process. At least
I think that is what it was, correct me if I am wrong.
> >
> > Am I still on for this? If so please let me know so I can start preparing.
> >
> > Thanks guys
> >
> > Myee Riri
> >
>

Agile Training with Rally Software and Renewtek:
Certified ScrumMaster Training - October 8-9, Melbourne
Collaboration Explained - October 14, Sydney

Rally Software, in conjunction with Renewtek, is offering two essential courses
with Agile fellow, author and frequent keynote speaker Jean Tabaka and Martin
Kearns, one of the first Certified Scrum Coaches in the world.  Both the
Certified ScrumMaster and Collaboration Explained courses are ideal for project
and development managers and their teams who want to introduce and scale Agile
practices into their development organizations.

Certified ScrumMaster Training
8-9 October 2009 at Renewtek's Melbourne offices
Course Details & Registration: 
http://agileu.org/course_details.jsp?courseid=421&schid=866

Collaboration Explained
14 October 2009, Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney
Course Details & Registration: 
http://agileu.org/course_details.jsp?courseid=118&schid=865

Hi Myee,

Yes, we had discussed having you do a presentation/Q&A on Agile development,
focusing on the benefits achieved and issues faced by software developers.

As John has organised for Ian to do this month's session, would you be willing
to speak at the October one?

And apologies for the delayed reply (am in the U.S. through 15th October). 
Which means, of course, that I will not be attending tomorrow's session.

Cheers,

Jamie  :-)


--- In agilecanberra@..., "myee.riri" <myee.riri@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> the last meeting I was at I "nominated myself" to do a presentation that was
supposed to be a kind of walk through of the agile development process. At least
I think that is what it was, correct me if I am wrong.
>
> Am I still on for this? If so please let me know so I can start preparing.
>
> Thanks guys
>
> Myee Riri
>

Hi All,

the last meeting I was at I "nominated myself" to do a presentation that was
supposed to be a kind of walk through of the agile development process. At least
I think that is what it was, correct me if I am wrong.

Am I still on for this? If so please let me know so I can start preparing.

Thanks guys

Myee Riri

According to the ACS mailout, the address for this event is:
ACS Canberra Branch Office, Level 1, 99 Northbourne Avenue, Turner

BTW, I'm back in Canberra now after last July in NZ and all of August in the USA
but unfortunately I won't be able to make it to this one. Monday and Tuesday
would have worked this time but Wednesday is the worst day of the week for me as
I am invariably working interstate during the middle of the week.

Have a good one.

Rowan.


--- In agilecanberra@..., "athollreid" <atholl.reid@...> wrote:
>
> From latest ACS newsletter:
>
> Agile Special Interest Group
> Agile success stories: a discussion on success factors, things that work well
and lessons learnt, presented by Ian Hirst – this is a free event for members
and non-members.
> Date: 23/9 / Time: 5.30PM / Venue: ACS Canberra Branch Office, Level 1, 99
Northbourne Avenue, Turner
>
> Squidely pop
>
> Atholl
>
> --- In agilecanberra@..., "john.magner" <John.Magner@> wrote:
> >
> >
> > The next Agile SIG is on the 23rd of September, 5:30 for 6pm start.  Ian
> > Hirst is the presenter.  Unfortunately I cannot make it to this session.
> >
> > Please note that the session is at the ACS Offices in Civic, not the
> > Canberra Club as the previous several sessions have been.
> >
> > I'm trying to locate the address as the ACS has moved into Civic.  I'll
> > post a reply to this message once I have the details.
> >
> >
> >
> > Please register on the ACS Event Site
> > <http://www.acs.org.au/act/index.cfm?action=event&area=9002&temID=eventd\
> > etails&eveID=10145738151686>  .
> >
>

From latest ACS newsletter:

Agile Special Interest Group
Agile success stories: a discussion on success factors, things that work well
and lessons learnt, presented by Ian Hirst – this is a free event for members
and non-members.
Date: 23/9 / Time: 5.30PM / Venue: ACS Canberra Branch Office, Level 1, 99
Northbourne Avenue, Turner

Squidely pop

Atholl

--- In agilecanberra@..., "john.magner" <John.Magner@...> wrote:
>
>
> The next Agile SIG is on the 23rd of September, 5:30 for 6pm start.  Ian
> Hirst is the presenter.  Unfortunately I cannot make it to this session.
>
> Please note that the session is at the ACS Offices in Civic, not the
> Canberra Club as the previous several sessions have been.
>
> I'm trying to locate the address as the ACS has moved into Civic.  I'll
> post a reply to this message once I have the details.
>
>
>
> Please register on the ACS Event Site
> <http://www.acs.org.au/act/index.cfm?action=event&area=9002&temID=eventd\
> etails&eveID=10145738151686>  .
>

The next Agile SIG is on the 23rd of September, 5:30 for 6pm start.  Ian Hirst is the presenter.  Unfortunately I cannot make it to this session. 

Please note that the session is at the ACS Offices in Civic, not the Canberra Club as the previous several sessions have been.

I'm trying to locate the address as the ACS has moved into Civic.  I'll post a reply to this message once I have the details.

Please register on the ACS Event Site .

Hi from a hot and sunny Boulder, Colorado!

Mike Cohn taught his Effective User Stories for Agile Requirements class here on
Monday to close to 40 participants (of which I was one for a second time).

I'm interested to hear what the main topics of conversation were at Wednesday's
meeting. If there are any questions that were puzzling or remain without
satisfactory answer, I'd be happy to discuss with Mike but I need them by Friday
morning (Canberra time).

Cheers,
Rowan.


--- In agilecanberra@..., "john.magner" <John.Magner@...> wrote:
>
>
> Hi.  The July meeting has been moved to the 5th of August.  Same topic
> and presenter.
>
> It will start at 6PM at the Canberra Club:
>
> 45 West Row
> Canberra City ACT 2601, Australia
> +61 2 6248 9000.
>
> Please register on the ACS site
> <http://www.acs.org.au/act/index.cfm?action=event&area=9002&temID=eventd\
> etails&eveID=10142029568748>  .
>
>
>
>
> --- In agilecanberra@..., "john.magner" <John.Magner@>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> > User Stories Redux: Getting your hands dirty.
> >
> > An open discussion on the dirty details of the art and science of
> > gathering user requirements through User Stories.
> >
> >
> >
> > Hosted by Szymon Szukalski
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Note that this event has not been posted up on the ACS Site yet, so
> > venue details are yet to be defined.]
> >
>

Hi.  The July meeting has been moved to the 5th of August.  Same topic and presenter.

It will start at 6PM at the Canberra Club:

45 West Row
Canberra City ACT 2601, Australia
+61 2 6248 9000.

Please register on the ACS site .

--- In agilecanberra@..., "john.magner" <John.Magner@...> wrote:
>
>
> User Stories Redux: Getting your hands dirty.
>
> An open discussion on the dirty details of the art and science of
> gathering user requirements through User Stories.
>
>
>
> Hosted by Szymon Szukalski
>
>
>
>
>
> [Note that this event has not been posted up on the ACS Site yet, so
> venue details are yet to be defined.]
>

User Stories Redux: Getting your hands dirty.

  An open discussion on the dirty details of the art and science of gathering user requirements through User Stories.

Hosted by Szymon Szukalski

[Note that this event has not been posted up on the ACS Site yet, so venue details are yet to be defined.]

Imagine that Hitler was your scrum master.  This video is an amusing view of that possibility.

BE WARNED, there is swearing in it.  Up to and including the F bomb.  Proceed with caution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1wKO3rID9g

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the agilecanberra
group.

   File        : /Agile SIG User Stories v1.0.ppsx
   Uploaded by : jamie_lynn_cooke <jamie_lynn_cooke@...>
   Description : "From User Stories to Detailed Product Backlogs" Presentation
Slides from 17/6/09 Agile SIG

You can access this file at the URL:
http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/agilecanberra/files/Agile%20SIG%20User%20Storie\
s%20v1.0.ppsx

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/l/au/yahoo7/groups/original/ownmod/web/index.htmlfiles

Regards,

jamie_lynn_cooke <jamie_lynn_cooke@...>

Apparently the PMI are hosting a session tomorrow evening (Tuesday the 16th) on
"Scheduling in the age of complexity".

Event details:
http://www.pmichapters-australia.org.au/canberra/events/chaptereventdetails.asp?\
evid=94

I expect this to be an interesting one and well aligned with the Agile view of
project environments as complex systems based on this paper by the speaker.

Paper and previous presentation on complexity:
http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_070.html

If you can't make it, I'd recommend reading that paper. A few quotes...

"The greatest challenge facing project management in the 21st Century is
managing the shift from the `command and control' paradigm based in the theories
of `scientific management' developed by Taylor and others in the early 20th
Century to a recognition of the inherent uncertainty and complexity involved in
managing every project, and in particular, projects focused on the outputs of
knowledge workers."

"Some of the challenges are:
...
- Adapting project management systems to support a collaborative and negotiated
style
of leadership that fosters the development of `high performance teams'.
- Training project managers and senior managers to lead and motivate their teams
rather than attempting to apply outdated 20th Century `command and control'
ideas to
knowledge workers."

"The best defence against uncertainty is a well led, motivated and skilled
project team
`living on the edge of chaos' and adapting quickly and effectively to the
unforseen
changes in their surrounding circumstances."

Hmm... that sounds a lot like agility doesn't it?


And BTW, I'm still in Canberra and expect to join the User Stories discussion on
Wednesday.

Cheers,
Rowan.

Jamie Cooke will moderate an open discussion on
"How to Get from User Stories to a Detailed Product Backlog" addressing the differences between the theory in Agile books/articles and practice in the real world.  Attendees will be asked to share their successful (and less than successful) attempts to translate high-level business requirements into software solutions using Agile methods.

Please register on the ACS Site for the event .

The Canberra Club is located at:

45 West Rw
Canberra City ACT 2601, Australia
+61 2 6248 9000.

I have uploaded a document that Lawrie Kirk has completed that responds to the
questions/comments raised at the Prince2 and Agile session.

Many thanks to Lawrie and John Howarth at Tanner James for taking the time and
effort.

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the agilecanberra
group.

   File        : /Q&A PRINCE2 Agile meeting.pdf
   Uploaded by : john.magner <John.Magner@...>
   Description : Answers to Comments About Prince2 And Agile

You can access this file at the URL:
http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/agilecanberra/files/Q%26A%20PRINCE2%20Agile%20m\
eeting.pdf

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/l/au/yahoo7/groups/original/ownmod/web/index.htmlfiles

Regards,

john.magner <John.Magner@...>

Thanks to everyone who came along this evening.

If you didn't pick up a copy of Adrian's award-winning paper on Agile in
Government, You can grab an electronic copy via my blog at:
http://blog.softwarewithstyle.com

Here are some other resources related to my talk that may be of interest...

Notes on Mike Cohn's Scrum Gathering talk on Leading Self-Organising Teams:
http://www.agileadvice.com/2009/03/16/scrumxplean/scrum-gathering-orlando-florid\
a-mike-cohn-leading-self-organizing-teams/

The reference for the CDE model that Mike uses is:
http://www.amazon.com/Facilitating-Organization-Change-Lessons-Complexity/dp/078\
795330X

Other presentations from the Orlando Scrum gathering (requires Scrum Alliance
membership):  http://www.scrumalliance.org/resources?tag=SG+Spring+2009

JAOO presentation slides:  http://jaoo.com.au/sydney-2009/schedule/thursday.jsp
Select the 'Friday' link for the second set.

And just for fun... here's that Dating Design Patterns book (and you thought I
was joking!):
http://www.amazon.com/Dating-Design-Patterns-Solveig-Haugland/dp/0974312002

Rowan.


--- In agilecanberra@..., "john.magner" <John.Magner@...> wrote:
>
>
> Rowan has been attending several Scrum/Agile conferences around the
> world and will be presenting a summary of his experiences and
> highlights.  Come along and get a world view of all things agile.
>
> The venue is the same as the last meeting - the Canberra Club - 45 West
> Row Civic.
>
> Please register on the ACS site
> <http://www.acs.org.au/act/index.cfm?action=event&area=9002&temID=eventd\
> etails&eveID=10136584501736>  .
>
>
> Hope to see you there.
>

Rowan has been attending several Scrum/Agile conferences around the world and will be presenting a summary of his experiences and highlights.  Come along and get a world view of all things agile.

The venue is the same as the last meeting - the Canberra Club - 45 West Row Civic.

Please register on the ACS site . 

Hope to see you there.

Many thanks to Lawrie Kirk for a great session on Prince2 and Agile.  I really
like Lawrie's presentation style and his country charm really shines through.

Lawrie and I intend on addressing all of the questions raised at the meeting and
will post the results here.

I will also get Lawrie's notes and post them so that they are available. 
Especially his four "rules" for working with Agile and Prince2.

It was great to see so many new faces.  I hope that you will come to future
meetings.

No firms plans for the next Agile SIG, but Jamie has promised that she will do a
session on User Stories and Rowan is happy to give a session on the recent Scrum
Gathering and other events that he attends, if he's not too busy.  Also, if
anyone has a topic that they would like us to cover, please post a message and
we will try to address it.

I must also continue to thank the ACS (Marion Especially) for their support of
this SIG.  Without them, we would not have a venue.

Till next time...

You may be interested to learn that Adrian Royce's paper on his Scrum + PRINCE2
implementation within the Queensland Department of Housing won this year's
Industry Paper award at the Australian Software Engineering Conference on the
Gold Coast (hosted by the ACS) last week.

I was on the spot for the scoop and a happy snap:

http://blog.softwarewithstyle.com/2009/04/20/successful-scrum-in-government-pape\
r-wins-industry-paper-award.aspx

I think this is something significant we can now point to that shows that this
can be done successfully in Government. Adrian is a great person to talk to
about strategies to overcome the challenges. He must be sick of me hassling him
to come to Canberra to talk about this by now!

I have a PRINCE2 and Scrum poster of Adrian's and would be happy to outline what
I picked up from his paper and talk at a future meeting. Unfortunately I won't
be able to make it this week as my Scrum training course in Sydney was moved to
Wed-Thurs.

Rowan.

Hi all.

The next Agile SIG will be on the 22nd of April, starting at 6pm, at the
Canberra Club - 45 West Row Civic.

Lawrie Kirk is a Prince2 trainer and practitioner and has been working with
Prince2 and Agile on real projects.  He has kindly offered to provide an update
on his achievements and processes.

This is a follow up on our previous Agile and Prince2 sessions from about a year
ago.

Thanks again to the ACS for their support of the Canberra Agile SIG.

Hope to see you there.

Please register on the ACS Site:
http://www.acs.org.au/act/index.cfm?action=event&area=9002&temID=eventdetails&ev\
eID=10133342597751

The venue for the next 2 Agile SIGs will be the Canberra Club, 45 West Row,
Civic, in the Executive Dining Room  - this is the small room on the third level
net to the gym.

http://www.canberraclub.com.au/AboutUs/CanberraClubLocation.aspx

Thanks to the ACS for providing the venue.

Oh and please register on the ACS site for the event.  I note that it is not
visible at present, but I will contact them and ensure that it is ASAP.

Thanks.



--- In agilecanberra@..., "john.magner" <John.Magner@...> wrote:
>
> Update:
> I have spoken with a Project Manager that trains in Prince2 and has
> been working with Prince2 and Agile in the Wild.  He isn't available
> this month, but can present in April, so I have moved the Agile and
> Prince2 meeting until then.
>
> So, for the meeting on the 11th of March, I'm proposing a session of
> "Agile: Open Q and A."  The plan is that you come along and ask what
> ever question you want and the group will answer.  So ask any
> questions (hopefully Agile related!) that keep you awake at night...
>
> To assist, please reply to this message with any questions you have
> and I'll try to prepare answers for the meeting in advance.  Ask away,
> there are no silly questions.
>
> I will chase the ACS contacts about the venue and post details when I
> have them.
>
>
> --- In agilecanberra@..., "john.magner"
> <John.Magner@> wrote:
> >
> > Firstly apologies for the delay in getting started this year.
> >
> > Looks like there's interest in the Prince2 and Agile topic and we have
> > previous slides and information on that so it's a good one to start
> with.
> >
> > I'll talk with the ACS about a date and venue.  Once I have that
> > organised, then I'll post another message.
> >
> > I will keep the Wednesday night at 6pm slot going, so I just have to
> > work out a date. About 2 weeks should be enough time to get organised,
> > so pencil in the 11th of March, but stay tuned.
> >
>

Update:
I have spoken with a Project Manager that trains in Prince2 and has
been working with Prince2 and Agile in the Wild.  He isn't available
this month, but can present in April, so I have moved the Agile and
Prince2 meeting until then.

So, for the meeting on the 11th of March, I'm proposing a session of
"Agile: Open Q and A."  The plan is that you come along and ask what
ever question you want and the group will answer.  So ask any
questions (hopefully Agile related!) that keep you awake at night...

To assist, please reply to this message with any questions you have
and I'll try to prepare answers for the meeting in advance.  Ask away,
there are no silly questions.

I will chase the ACS contacts about the venue and post details when I
have them.


--- In agilecanberra@..., "john.magner"
<John.Magner@...> wrote:
>
> Firstly apologies for the delay in getting started this year.
>
> Looks like there's interest in the Prince2 and Agile topic and we have
> previous slides and information on that so it's a good one to start
with.
>
> I'll talk with the ACS about a date and venue.  Once I have that
> organised, then I'll post another message.
>
> I will keep the Wednesday night at 6pm slot going, so I just have to
> work out a date. About 2 weeks should be enough time to get organised,
> so pencil in the 11th of March, but stay tuned.
>

Firstly apologies for the delay in getting started this year.

Looks like there's interest in the Prince2 and Agile topic and we have
previous slides and information on that so it's a good one to start with.

I'll talk with the ACS about a date and venue.  Once I have that
organised, then I'll post another message.

I will keep the Wednesday night at 6pm slot going, so I just have to
work out a date. About 2 weeks should be enough time to get organised,
so pencil in the 11th of March, but stay tuned.

Hi All,

Given that John is very busy right now - and several people missed the
original discussion on PRINCE2 and Agile - why don't we make that the
topic for the next meeting?  Saves John (and others) from preparing
new content and gives us an opportunity to plan out the next few
meetings face-to-face.

Assuming this is OK with everyone, did you want some help in
organising this, John?

Cheers,

Jamie   :-)


--- In agilecanberra@..., Sisira Adikari
<sisira.adikari@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I am interested in looking at Agile and Prince 2 again.
>
> Regards,
>
> Sisira
>
> On Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 1:13 AM, john.magner <John.Magner@...> wrote:
>
> >   All,
> >
> > Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year.
> >
> > I'm keen to organise the next Agile SIG meeting but am extremely busy
> > at work. I also don't have a topic for the next meeting.
> >
> > Can anyone please suggest a topic and once things settle down I will
> > get a venue and a date organised. Or if anyone has some time to host
> > the next meeting that would be much appreciated. I can help out a
> > bit, but am snowed under for the next week or two.
> >
> > There was a suggestion from Joe at the meeting in November that we
> > look at Prince2 and Agile. We have already had three meetings on this
> > topic, but I think that most current attendees were not involved in
> > the group back then, so we could dust off the notes and slides and go
> > over it again if anyone's interested.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > John.
> >
> >
> >
>

All,

Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year.

I'm keen to organise the next Agile SIG meeting but am extremely busy
at work.  I also don't have a topic for the next meeting.

Can anyone please suggest a topic and once things settle down I will
get a venue and a date organised.  Or if anyone has some time to host
the next meeting that would be much appreciated.  I can help out a
bit, but am snowed under for the next week or two.

There was a suggestion from Joe at the meeting in November that we
look at Prince2 and Agile.  We have already had three meetings on this
topic, but I think that most current attendees were not involved in
the group back then, so we could dust off the notes and slides and go
over it again if anyone's interested.

Cheers,
John.