Jared Richardson

Presentations

Agile Software Testing Strategies

Creating and maintaining a solid automated test suite is critical to an Agile strategy, but often we're just told to "Do it." In this talk we'll look at several pragmatic strategies for creating and building your suite.

We'll examine these strategies and then look at scenarios for using them next week. This presentation will get you started whether you're starting a new project or trying to clean up an existing one.

Gradual Agile: The Secret to Introducing Agile Practices

Agile practices are popular because they work, but getting people to take that first step can be tricky.

We'll look at how continuous integration was successfully introduced to a very large, established software shop and used to introduce other Agile practices. Let's see what lessons we can draw from this example that you can take back to your shop.

Techniques 2009

There are a number of great techniques you can use across technologies and projects. Come hear some of my favorite ways to move "beyond" and contribute a few of your own. We'll discuss topics ranging from glue languages to ditching your IDE to building your brain.

In this session we'll discuss:
- Move beyond tools - Glue languages - Inbox Zero - Learning to learn - Not being a cog anymore - Macro Object Orientation - Clean code - Looking smarter than you are - Open source tool stacks - Tighter feedback loops - Scripted deployments - Scripting databases - Virutalization And more...

Career 2.0: Take Control of Your Life

Has your career been a random product of your manager's whims or company's needs? Never rely on your company to keep your skills current and marketable. Take control of your own career with a proven strategy.

These are solid, repeatable steps to get your career in the trajectory you want. The first step is deciding where you want to go. We'll walk through creating a long-term plan, then break it down into manageable steps. Learn to lead within your own company, then stretch out to your local, regional and national community, building your reputation as you go. From coding to writing to speaking, each step will move you closer to where you want to be: in a position of having options and in control of your career.

Be Heard: Public Speaking for Techies

Most people fear public speaking more than death, but you don't have to let it handicap you or your career. Learn solid techniques for managing yourself, your content, and your audience.

We'll cover my favorite techniques for presenting information in presentations, connecting with your audience and managing your own nervousness. From the LIP technique to the zen of power point to where to hold your arms, you'll leave this talk with everything you need to be an effective communicator.

Credit Card Software Development: Recognizing and Repaying Technical Debt

Technical debt has long been recognized in technical circles for years, but convincing your manager to budget time to repay "technical debt" has always been problematic. Let's couch the term technical debt concept in language more familiar to our managers: credit card debt.

Like credit card debt, technical debt accumulates slowly over time, and usually takes just as long to pay off. The interest slowly builds up until you're no longer able to pay off the principle: your entire development cycle is devoted to just "paying the interest". We'll examine common types of technical debt and strategies to effectively communicating the problems, and their solutions, to your managers.

Restoring Agility: Getting Your Team Back on Track

An agile team is first and foremost "a team". When that gets lost in the rush to get a product out the door, the people suffer as well as the products. It's bad for the company, but even worse for the team members. We'll learn how to defuse some of the more common problems you'll run into on dysfunctional teams.

Restoring trust and providing visibility is hard once you've been burned. It's not always possible, but we'll examine concrete steps you can take to start rebuilding your trust and your team.

Agile Anti-Patterns

Agile is wildly popular in some circles and hated in others. How can the same ideas cause such different reactions? Sometimes it's the definition of "agile" and other times it's company culture, but there's usually a good reason when Agile ideas are thrown out on their collective ears.

In this talk we'll discuss what works about Agile, how advocates have tainted the word in many companies, and how you can move great ideas forward successfully on your team.

Software Team Tuneup

We're always under pressure to do more with less. More features with less developers. More product in less time. More work in fewer hours.

There are several Agile techniques you can use to ensure you and your team and making the most of your days. We'll review several team optimization techniques and discuss their practical applications.