PAST EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS
April 2013
Title: Integrating Application Security into Continuous Delivery
Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 from 6:00PM to 8:00PM (EDT)
Location: North Park Library, 8508 Franconia Road, Henrico, VA 23227
Abstract: The Internet is full of insecure applications that cost organizations money and time, while damaging their reputations when their systems are compromised. We need to build secure applications as never before, but most developers are not now—and never will be—security specialists. By building Application Security tools into your Continuous Delivery (CD) process you can streamline the process of finding application security vulnerabilities which is the first step in making your application more secure. Learn the common ways organization use application security tools as part of the CD build pipelines, including a discussion of the tradeoffs between open source tools and commercial application security tools. We will also discuss what to do after you gather the data and how to security audit data back into an iterative development process.
Speaker: Thomas Stiehm, CTO at Coveros, Inc.
Bio: Thomas Stiehm has been developing applications and managing software development teams for eighteen years. As CTO of Coveros, he is responsible for the oversight of all technical projects and integrating application security practices into software development projects. Most recently, Thomas has been focusing on how to incorporate security best practices into agile development and how to achieve a balance between business risk and cost while mitigating security vulnerabilities. Previously, as a managing architect at Digital Focus, Thomas was involved in agile development and found that agile is the only development methodology that makes the business reality of constant change central to the development process.
Slides can be viewed at Slide Share: http://www.slideshare.net/tstiehm/integrating-security-into-continuous-delivery-v1
March 2013
Title: How to Influence and Move People with Donna Highfill
Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
Location: Gayton Library, 10600 Gayton Rd., Tuckahoe, VA 23238
Abstract: Most leaders understand how to change a process, but few know how to influence the people who will be using the new process. Therefore, a large percentage of change initiatives fail. Donna Highfill's presentation will provide specific ways to get people to move forward rather than resisting new processes, technology, and ideas. Her story includes 25 years of getting substantial revenue and behavioral lift with audiences that included everyone from technology users to CEOs. Her presentation will give you specific ways to do the same.
Speaker: Donna Highfill, President, Highfill Performance Group, Inc. Donna Highfill has spent more than 25 years in the business world. She has worked and consulted with the Pentagon, top commercial banks, community banks, small businesses and large retailers to help them implement the cutting edge changes needed to thrive. Her book, "Real People, Real Change: True Stories of a Change Warrior" shares the steps she took to lead successful change in a variety of companies by focusing on the people side of change.
Donna is also expanding her practice to include writing and coaching. With a focus on Baby Boomer women, Donna is a regular blogger on Huffington Post. Her site, Damenationblog.com, has been picked up by several leading women's blogs. Donna offers individual leadership coaching, seminars, and consulting services to corporations.
February 25-28, 2013
February: Agile Coaching Courses
Are you aspiring to become an Agile Coach?
This February, acquire a wealth of coaching and facilitation skills essential for developing team agile coaches. Our back-to-back classes cover all the topics agile coaches need to enable high-performance. The Learning Objectives covered in both classes were originally defined by the International Consortium for Agile (ICAgile). See learning objectives.
- Built a toolbox of Facilitation Skills.
- Increased your capability to help your team.
- Learned how to run more efficient; meetings, chartering sessions, retrospectives, release planning sessions, iteration planning sessions and daily stand-ups.
- Understood what it takes to drive towards a truly Agile ecosystem; built around the Agile Mindset not just the practices and processes.
- Learnt how to practically maximize the value of agile within the existing constraints of your team and organization.
- 42 PMI-PDU's
- Two ICAgile Class Certs: Agile Team Facilitation, Coaching Certification
- A new professional achievement making you more marketable
Agile Coaching Class Certification Pt. 1: Facilitating Agile PracticesPrice: $2070 Reg.
Agile Coaching Class Certification Pt. 2: Coaching Agile Teams Coaching Agile Teams is a training experience that covers both the being and the doing of agile coaching. There’s a lot to learn, experience and practice! At the end of the course, you will be capable of applying many new tools and techniques, as well as your own mindset changes, to coach agile teams to high performance. As practical as it is provocative, the Coaching Agile Teams course challenges agile coaches to rise to the fullest expression of their role and offer simple, practical ways to get there.
Agile Antipatterns: The Agilist's Guide to Traps, Tripwires, & Treachery
Date: February 28, 2013
Location: Tuckahoe Library, 1901 Starling Drive, Henrico, VA 23229
Knowing the basics of being Agile is essential for any team member, but out in the trenches, a good Agilist must be ready to identify and deal with Agile Antipatterns to help his team and organization move forward.
What's an Agile Antipattern? Something that at first blush may seem benign, but in practice is usually dangerous to an agile initiative. These are often first expressed as harmless sounding quotes from your team such as "Our daily Scrum lasts 45 minutes" or "I was pulled off this sprint and put onto an emergency project. Again." It's important to be able to identify these quickly since they can damage your organization, and are often slippery to catch. Once they're caught, what does one do with them? Don't worry, we'll come up with a plan together.
Through this interactive workshop, participants will gather a wealth of Agile Antipattern knowledge and a set of tools that can be used to remedy these troubling but common problems in the field. We'll use data collected from The Agile Antipatterns Project (http://AgileAntipatterns.com), and the real-world Antipatterns participants bring to the session. If you're struggling with a problem in the field, there's a very good chance you'll leave with a game plan to address it.
Speaker Bio: Adam Weisbart is a passionate Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile Coach based in San Francisco. He has created several training modules including Build Your Own Scrum which is used by trainers around the world to teach Scrum from the back of the room. He's the creator of the viral video "Sh*t Bad Scrum Masters Say", the baker of Retrospective Cookies, and author of the upcoming book Agile Antipatterns: The Scrum Master's Guide to Traps, Tripwires, & Treachery. When he's not teaching, he's likely blogging at http://weisbart.com (were you can find out more about his projects), or cycling some ridiculous distance on a hilly California road.
Our Meeting Sponsor: UDig is a Richmond based information technology staffing and consulting firm founded in 2001 with additional offices in Hampton Roads, Washington, D.C., and Raleigh. UDig offers a unique blend of technical expertise and recruitment strategies. As a candidate we understand that you are more than your professional skills. We get to know more than your technical expertise to ensure that we find the best environment to meet your goals. As for our name? It's our belief that you should "Do what you dig."
February 7, 2013
A Walk Down the Agile Coach Learning Path with Lyssa Adkins
Thursday, February 7, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
ABSTRACT: Agile coaching has been a highly subjective and varied institution so far. From technical to transformational, agile coaches run the gamut in their experience and skill in teaching, professional coaching, facilitation and mentoring. And while there have been a couple of books outlining the competencies and skills of an agile team coach, including Lyssa's, Coaching AgileTeams, our industry has no defined learning path from beginner ScrumMaster/coach to enterprise-level coach - until now.
For the last 18 months, Lyssa has been part of working groups to define learning paths for agile coaches, along with certification levels offered by the Scrum Alliance and ICAgile. This evening will be an exploration of the knowledge areas and skills of successful agile coaches, pathways to develop as an agile coach, and the certifications one can earn along the way.
Even if you don't care about certifications, come anyway. The learning paths can be used as a guide to your development whether or not you want the letters after your name. This is an area that is emerging fast -- come hear the latest.
SPEAKER: In addition to being Agile Richmond's personal coach and a board member at large, http://www.coachingagileteams.com Lyssa Adkins has taught Scrum and Agile Coaching to well over a thousand students, coached many agile teams, and served as master coach to scores of apprentice coaches. In both one-on-one settings and small groups, she enjoys a
front-row seat as remarkable agile coaches emerge and go on to entice the very best from the teams and organizations they coach. Prior to agile, Lyssa had more than fifteen years of expertise leading project teams and groups of project managers (she was even a PMO Director -- twice!), yet nothing prepared her for the power of agile done simply and well.
Lyssa believes that agile is more than an alternate project management methodology and is passionate about deepening the roles in agile - specifically agile coach and agile manager - to help agile move into its fullest expression.
Lyssa holds an alphabet soup of certifications: Certified Scrum Coach (CSC), Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), Project Management Professional (PMP), Six Sigma Green Belt (SSGB) and Organization and Relationship Systems Certified Coach (ORSCC). She is also a trained Co-Active Coach and Leader.
In 2010, Lyssa authored
Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition.
November 14, 2012
Location: Gayton Library
16000 Gayton Road
Henrico, VA 23238-4117
Title: Continuous Delivery Applied
Abstract: Writing code is fun, but deploying to production is not. Production releases are scary events that last all weekend, and you find yourself worrying about how it will go. Did we miss a configuration file? Is the database schema the same as the one in the test environment? Does the last minute hot fix we just applied break any other features? Did I forget to include an installation instruction for the system administrators?
Continuous Delivery is a collection of principles and practices aimed at addressing the problems teams typically face when releasing changes to production. By applying rigorous automation, testing and configuration management, teams are able to confidently and consistently deploy changes from version control to production without fear.
In this talk, Mike McGarr will provide listeners with an introduction into the world of Continuous Delivery. After an introduction into the concepts and principles of Continuous Delivery, he will discuss many of the techniques for implementing Continuous Delivery and recommend some tools that can be used on your development project.
Bio: Mike McGarr is a software engineer who recently joined BlackBoard as the Director of DevOps for Learn, their flagship product. Prior to joining the Learn team at Blackboard, worked as a consultant in DC building and deploying production systems for both federal and commercial clients. Mike has helped teams implement Agile engineering techniques such as Test Driven Development, Continuous Integration, Acceptance Test Driven Development/Behavior Driven Development, etc. Mike is passionate about building high quality software solutions rapidily. Mike lives in Chantilly, VA with his wife and 6 month old daughter, Maya. When he is not out on the golf course, Mike also enjoys learning as much as possible about Agile, Lean and eXtreme Programming techniques.
October 12, 2012
Expand your Agile software development skills at the 2nd annual Innovate Virginia conference
Friday, October 12th in Richmond, Virginia
Innovate Virginia is a unique one-day conference, intended to promote the use of innovative methods of delivery such as Kanban, Lean and Agile. Sponsored by the Agile Richmond user group, our goal is to host an event that mixes great ideas, passionate people and industry best practices in a unique and creative setting.
Whether you’re a developer, project manager, UX designer, business systems analyst, part of QA or Operations, Innovate Virginia has something of interest for you, so bring your entire team! We’re showcasing the best and brightest in our region and providing you with an opportunity to learn from well-respected thought leaders, while networking and socializing with other progressive Agile professionals.
Areas of Focus:
- People & Process – Focus on people and methods to deliver software
- Experience & Design – Focus on designing to maximize user experience
- Analysis & Assurance – Focus on requirements and assuring they are met
- Development & Operations – Focus on building and releasing software
Located at the beautiful Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, we invite you to experience this unique, creative conference with us. We’re looking forward to learning from our experts, from each other, and having a little fun too!
October 11, 2012
Abstract: Using Kanban for Project Work
This talk will demonstrate how managing for flow can be effective in a project context. We will investigate the subtleties and nuances of flow for projects, some thoughts on milestones and deadlines, as well as an introductory look at how simulation is being used to forecast completion dates. Come join us for a lively discussion on how to apply Lean thinking to your project!
Bio: Daniel Vacanti is a 18-year software industry veteran who got his start as a Java Developer/Architect and who has spent most of the last 12 years focusing on Lean and Agile practices. In 2007, he helped to develop the Kanban Method for knowledge work with David Anderson. He managed the world’s first project implementation of Kanban that year, and has been conducting Kanban training, coaching, and consulting ever since. In 2011 he founded Corporate Kanban, Inc., which provides world-class Lean training and consulting to clients all over the globe--including several Fortune 100 companies. Daniel holds a Masters in Business Administration and regularly teaches a class on lean principles for software management at the University of California Berkeley.
Meeting details:
Oct 11th from 6:30-8pm
Twin Hickory Library at 5001 Twin Hickory Road, Glen Allen, Va
Meeting Sponsored by Impact Makers
More information at CapitalKanban.org
September 20, 2012
Location: Tuckahoe Library
CMMI(r) to Agile: Options and Consequences
ABSTRACT: If you long for greater agility in your process-oriented or CMMI world, this presentation is for you. Paul McMahon shares how organizations can integrate agile approaches with CMMI and its key process area requirements. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches taken by two organizations-one a CMMI Level 3 and the other a Level 5-to embrace agile principles and practices. To ensure your organization doesn't jeopardize its CMMI compliance with agile methods, Paul shares an approach that uses techniques such as asking key questions to focus objectives, pruning your processes, using the CMMI less formally, and keeping your "must dos" packaged separately from guidelines. He describes and discusses examples of each technique. Learn why the two organizations took different approaches, why one achieved its goals, and why the other fell short. If your organization is invested in CMMI, learn what others have discovered about increasing organizational agility and performance while remaining CMMI compliant.
(r) CMMI is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.
SPEAKER BIO: Paul E. McMahon, principal at PEM Systems (pemsystems.com), has twenty-three years of industry experience as a software developer, team leader, and coach. For the past fifteen years, he has assisted his clients in achieving advanced CMMI certification levels as he coaches project managers, leaders, and software practitioners in industry best practices. Paul is a Certified ScrumMaster and a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt; instructor of Software Engineering at Binghamton University; and author of more than forty articles and two books including Integrating CMMI and Agile Development: Case Studies and Proven Techniques for Faster Performance Improvement. You can reach Paul at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
August 22, 2012
Location:Glen Allen Library
Optimizing Your Behavioral Dynamics for Personal and Team Success
ABSTRACT: In this ever-changing world of uncertainty where job-security and economic change is the new norm, it is more important than ever to understand how to effectively become a linchpin within your organization and team. We desire not to be just a cog in the 'big wheel' of the corporate machine, but rather a valued, important, and necessary employee for our company. How can we become invaluable to our company while at the same time enjoying our work, our team, our employer, and doing challenging and sustainable work that allows for personal and professional growth?Be prepared to learn a lot, see how to improve oneself and watch a dynamic demo from audience members on how to optimize behavioral patterns in a team!
In this workshop you will:
1. Understand the (new) role of management in our new economy
2. Understand why your team's dysfunctions prohibit your potential
3. Reveal why understanding business and team culture is paramount to business success
4. Review if you're ready to take the next step in personal responsibility and personal change
5. See a real-life example of personal and team optimization using the Team Science Method
SPEAKER BIO: Peter Saddington is an Organizational Consultant and Agile Coach who has been in software development for 15+ years. He has 3 Masters degrees (Counseling, Education, Theology & Philosophy) and is publishing his second book in late 2012 (Wiley) on Agile and Human Performance. He is the co-founder of a research and analytics company, Action & Influence, which measures human dynamics within the enterprise cultures.
July 17-19, 2012
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) + Certified Scrum Master (CSM) Workshop
Registration Link: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3543032305 (Act now to receive “Early Bird” Discount!)
When: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Tuesday thru Thursday, July 17-19, 2012 (Three Days!).
Where: Avaya Government Solutions (12730 Fair Lakes Circle, Fairfax, Virginia 22033).
What: Stacia Viscardi and Dave Rico are offering an exclusive three-day seminar to successfully pass “Both” the PMI's Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) and Scrum Alliance's Certified Scrum Master (CSM) Exam.
Agile Project Managementis used by 80% of global projects to successfully develop high-risk, time-sensitive IT-intensive systems. This includes U.S. DoD, Fortune 500, financial firms, global telecoms, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. It is a lightweight, flexible, and disciplined way to build high-quality and reliable systems. Don’t Waste Your Time with Traditional Project Management—Bob Wysocki!
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)was created for professionals who are applying Agile Project Management as their principal project delivery approach to: (1) Demonstrate their level of Agile Project Management professionalism, (2) Increase their Agile Project Management proficiency, and (3) Obtain PMI credentials certifying them to successfully lead Agile delivery teams. Newest PMI Certification !
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)training prepares professionals to facilitate teams using the Scrum methodology. Scrum Masters remove impediments that obstruct development teams. Scrum Masters are also responsible for helping Product Owners maximize productivity. The Scrum Master is often considered a coach for the team, and is a highly-sought after certification demonstrating competence in agile methods, i.e., 200,000+ CSMs Today !
July 18, 2012
Using Metrics to Solidify Agile Practices
When: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (ET)
Where: Gayton Library,10600 Gayton Rd,Tuckahoe, VA
ABSTRACT: This month’s topic explores the positive role metrics can have in solidifying Agile practices within an organization. We will discuss how far advanced your Agile Team is and how fast you need to be as well as measuring customer satisfaction, and the ‘heart and minds’ of your team.
SPEAKER: Rick Lacher is a Chief Process Architect and an experienced Lean Agile Master Coach. He has worked with both private and public sector organizations of all sizes including Capital One, SunTrust Bank, Northrop Grumman, USAA, and IBM. Rick has transformed numerous shops standard practices into current practices with a specialization in high performing Lean-Agile processes. He has established PMO portfolio practices, Lean Solution Delivery practices and Performance Measurement practices for Fortune 500 organizations.
July 9-10, 2012
Certified Scrummaster Training
Hyperlearning Technologies Facility
3630 S. Plaza Trail, Suite 250, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
SPECIAL 15% DISCOUNT FOR PMICVC MEMBERSEnjoy a two-day certification workshop at Virginia Beach and gain(16) PDU credits for continued education. The workshop will focus on the essential concepts and tools of Scrum, differences between Agile processes and traditional "waterfall" methodologies, and how to build a roadmap for adopting Agile at your organization. Participants will learn how to lead development teams towards Agile operations by: managing product backlogs, planning releases and sprints, tracking and reporting progress, and conducting retrospectives.
REGISTRATION: Register at VA BEACH CSM COURSE
SPECIAL 15% promotional discount for Central Virginia PMI Chapter Members use the promo code PMIVAB when registering
June 13, 2012
Konversations on Kanban
We will explore Kanban as it relates to Agile practices. Register on Eventbrite today!
When: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (ET)
Where: Tuckahoe Library, 1901 Starling Drive, Richmond, VA 23229
May 9, 2012
Using Acceptance Tests to Drive Development, Quality, and Faster Releases
Arin Sime is an agile coach, developer, and the founder of Charlottesville based AgilityFeat which provides agile training to US clients and Nearshore Agile development services in Costa Rica. Arin has worked with teams at small startups, large corporations, and government agencies. Arin has been a speaker at Agile 2009, Agile 2010, XP2011, as well as other regional conferences, and he holds an M.S. in Management of I.T. from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce. Download Presentation
April 25, 2012
PMI Central Virginia Chapter PMO LIG Meeting
April 18, 2012
·Why Metrics Matte
When: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (ET)
Where: Bon Air Library, 9103 Rattlesnake Rd, Richmond, VA 23235
March 12 & 13, 2012
·Certified ScrumMaster Training (CSM)
2 days of interactive training 
For details go to: http://www.lithespeed.com/CSM_Detail.htm
November 14 & 15, 2011
·Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) Training
The Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) training class is a two-day course which will provide a deeper understanding of how Scrum transforms initial concepts and goals into a product backlog and user stories which are ultimately developed into project deliverables.
The class delves into creating requirements in an Agile environment, effective prioritization, long term and short term planning, and providing vision. These concepts are presented in a highly interactive and collaborative format with elements of lecture, classroom discussion, exercises, games, and video interwoven throughout the class.
Upon completion of the course, students will be certified as Certified Scrum Product Owners. Additionally, this course counts for 14 Professional Development Units (PDUs).
Price, Date, and Location:
The registration fee for this two-day course is $1,300 (inclusive of all taxes and fees). You may pay online via credit card or request that Excella invoice you if you have an existing billing arrangement with Excella. This two-day class takes place on Monday and Tuesday, November 14 and 15. Registration is now open. Classes on both days will take place from 9am - 5pm at Excella Consulting in the Navy League Building at 2300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 630, Arlington, Virginia (located at the Courthouse Metro stop on the Orange Line). Parking is available in the Navy League Building and will be validated. Light breakfast will be available at 8:30am each day and lunch will also be provided.
Who Should Attend:
This is appropriate for Scrum Product Owners, business analysts, or anyone involved with creating requirements, gathering needs, and managing projects.
Course Outline:
This course starts with an overview of the Agile and Scrum frameworks. From there, the curriculum includes:
o Overview of Agile and Scrum Frameworks
o What a Product Owner Does
o What to Look for in a Product Owner
o The Roles of Product Owner and Business Analysts within the Scrum Team Structure
o Vision and Mission Definitions
o Project Scope via Product Backlog
o Relationship Between Requirements and User Stories
o Prioritizing features and needs
o Release and Sprint Planning
o Long-term and Short-term Estimation
o Meeting Facilitation
o Agile Metrics
About Your Trainers:
Richard Cheng, Managing Consultant at Excella Consulting, provides consulting services to commercial and federal clients in the Washington, DC area. Richard coaches and mentors clients in understanding and implementing Agile and Scrum. He also leads Excella's Agile Center of Excellence.
A graduate of Virginia Tech, Richard has authored several publications on project management, presented at Agile and PMI sponsored industry events, is a member of Mensa, and holds certifications including Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), and Project Management Professional (PMP).
Angela Johnson is a Trainer and Coach providing education consulting services to clients across the United States adopting Scrum and Agile. Angela has successfully implemented Scrum and Agile principles in a variety of projects from web-based applications to enterprise level retail and financial projects. As a Trainer, Angela provides students with foundational knowledge and tools needed to begin adopting Scrum, Agile, Kanban, etc. As a Coach, Angela mentors clients at all levels in their transformation working with teams, managers, stakeholders and executives.
A graduate of Hamline University (B.A.) and the University of St. Thomas (M.B.C.), Angela has presented at university sponsored events as well as at the Project Management Institute (PMI) Minnesota chapter events and to the Twin Cities Quality Assurance Association. Angela is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST). Angela facilitates the PMI Minnesota Agile Local Interest Group and is also an active member of the Scrum Alliance, and Agile Alliance.
November 15, 2011
Interactive Kanban Workshop
Where: The Family Lifeline office
2325 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA (on-street parking available)
Details: Agile Richmond, in partnership with Impact Makers is presenting an Interactive Kanban Workshop with Daniel Vacanti of David J. Anderson and Associates, the firm responsible for developing Kanban. Kanban is more than a software development methodology, it has project and operational elements to drive efficiencies and make your organization's performance and processes more predictable.
Join us for an interactive introduction to Kanban with a fun project simulation game that will get you quickly acquainted with a real Kanban system and allow you to experience working as a team using Kanban techniques.
About the presenter: Daniel Vacanti: Nobody is better qualified to present Agile and Kanban than Mr. Vacanti. As founders of Kanban, he and his colleagues at David J. Anderson are internationally recognized experts. They have taught course and presented this material in two dozen countries around the world.
Cost: Free
October 24 & 25, 2011
Certified ScrumMaster Training in Virginia Beach: Chris Doss will be presenting the class. For details on the trainers, please visit http://lithespeed.com/aboutUs.htm
Bonus Offerings:
o 16 PDUs towards PMI continuing certification
o Discount on Managing Agile Projects book (and teaching by the author!)
HyperLearning Technologies, Inc. , 3630 South Plaza Trail #250, Virginia Beach, VA 23452. (757) 495-0714.
October 20, 2011
A Deep Look at Agile Certifications: 6-8 PM. at the Glen Allen Branch Library, 10501 Staples Mill Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060-3242. Free
Richard Cheng is a managing consultant at Excella Consulting, providing consulting services to commercial and federal clients in the Washington, DC area. Richard trains, coaches, and mentors clients in understanding and implementing Agile and Scrum. He also leads Excella's Agile Center of Excellence. A graduate of Virginia Tech, Richard authored several publications on project management, presented at Agile and PMI sponsored industry events, is a member of Mensa, and holds certifications including Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), and Project Management Professional (PMP). (http://www.excella.com/people/richard-cheng.aspx)
The Agile certification landscape can be quite complex. Scrum.org, Scrum Alliance, and International Consortium for Agile all have multiple levels of Agile certification. Combine that with the PMI's Agile certification pilot, the choices for Agile certification can be confusing. This session takes a look at the Agile certifications, the relationship and differences between each certification, and how each certification is obtained. We will take a look at a complex certification landscape and lay it out in simplified terms to make it easy to navigate the complex world of Agile certifications. Certifications to be discussed include:
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner
Scrum Alliance certifications:
o Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
o Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
o Certified Scrum Developer (CSD)
o Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)
o Certified Scrum Coach (CSC)
o Certified Scrum Training (CST)
Scrum.org Certifications:
o Professional Scrum Master I & II
o Professional Product Owner I & II
o Professional Scrum Developer
International Consortium for Agile Certifications:
o Associate Certification
o Professional Certification (with 6 skill tracks)
o Expert Certification
September 16, 2011
Innovate Virginia: Innovate Virginia is a unique one-day conference intended to promote
the use of innovative methods of software delivery such as Lean and Agile. Sponsored by the Agile Richmond user group, our goal is to host an event that mixes great ideas, passionate people and industry best practices in a unique, creative setting. Whether you're a technologist, project manager, executive sponsor or novice Agile practitioner, Innovate Virginia has something of interest for you, so bring your entire team! We're showcasing the best and brightest in our region, providing you with an opportunity to learn from well-respected thought leaders, while networking and socializing with other progressive professionals. Expect to enjoy local Virginia cuisine, beverages and wrap up the evening with a hometown blue grass band. We will accept walk-in registrations at the event, assuming we still have availability. Friday, September 16th, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (ET). Fee: $117.13, plus $7.43 handling fee. Download slides from our speakers.
September 14 & 15, 2011
Before the Backlog: Interactive Techniques for Tying Stories to Stakeholders: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (ET). Note new location.
September 14 & 15, 2011
Certified Scrum Master taught by Robin Dymond and Ryan Shriver.
September 14 & 15, 2011
Kanban taught by Daniel Vacanti and Adam Beck. As a bonus, each class attendee will receive free admission to the Innovate Virginia conference on Friday, September 16th.
June 29, 2011
Agile Richmond board president Roney Pate will be presenting an Introduction to Agile discussion for the Richmond Sharepoint Users Group in Wednesday, June 29th, at noon.
June 22, 2011
KanBan Discussion! On June 22 Agile Richmond board member Ryan Schriver, and Agile Richmond founding member Robin Dymond presented a lively discussion of the KanBan variation of Agile practice. KanBan is a method that removes some of the structure of Scrum and allows for a better fit with continuous flow types of efforts such as maintenance activities and process improvement projects. Download Presentation.
April 28, 2011
Agile Scrum Development Practices with the Experts: Microsoft Innovation and Technology Center. 12012 Sunset Hills Rd., Reston, VA 20190. April 28th: 9:00AM - 4:30PM.
March 16, 2011
Certified ScrumMaster Training in Norfolk: Take advantage of this local opportunity to become a Certified ScrumMaster and begin your transition to Agile methods. Tuesday, March 15 - Wednesday, March 16. For more details and to register please visit: www.lithespeed.com/CSM_Detail.htm
February 9, 2011
Transitioning to Lean-Agile Project Management
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 6:00-8:00pm.
Follow these links for: Premier Case Study; Better software article
Sponsored by:
January 13, 2011
Lean and Agile: Large-Scale Programs and Projects
December 14, 2010
A Lingua Franca for the Three Amigos - with George Dinwiddie
November 9, 2010
The Agile Richmond Board addresses Agile 101
October 12, 2010
Mike Hill Speaks - Five Pillars Of Coaching Practice: An Introduction: In this session, Mike "GeePaw" Hill presents and describes his Pillars Of Coaching, the basic sources of all successful coaching efforts: Situating, Modeling, Releasing, Sorting, and Inviting. These are the wellsprings from which an experienced coach draws ideas, insights, and inspiration. The GeePawHill style, funny and pointed and spot-on accurate, should make this session informative and pleasurable. Mike "GeePaw" Hill has been a professional programmer for twenty-eight years. For the last ten years he has focused his efforts as a trainer, coach, and team lead on XP software projects and transitions. Mike is a well-known leader in the Agile community and is a regular speaker at related industry events. His chief interest over the last few years has been on the perils and rewards of coaching agile development teams.
September 14, 2010
Arin Sime Speaks on Range Estimation
July 13, 2010
What is an agile coach, really? More and more frequently,ScrumMasters and project managers are being asked to coach agile teams. But it's a challenging role. It requires new skills - as well as a subtle understanding of when to step in and 
when to step back. Migrating from "command and control" to agile coaching requires a whole new mind-set. This leaves many wondering, "What is my role in a self-organized team? How do I help the team yet stay hands-off?" Many respond by going too far to either extreme. This session turns these questions into answers, and answers into action by offering provocative views into coaching done well and practical ways to get there by adapting skills from professional coaching, conflict management, teaching, collaboration and more. In this session, we will explore these topics:
o Key mindset shifts successful agile coaches achieve
o What skills from allied disciplines do agile coaches bring to their teams?
o Ways to measure your success and improvement as a coach
As an agile coach, you can help project teams become outstanding at agile, creating products that make them proud and helping organizations reap the powerful benefits of teams that deliver both innovation and excellence. Come see how.
Lyssa Adkins has taught Scrum to hundreds of students, coached dozens of agile teams and served as master coach to many apprentice coaches since 2004. Coaching coaches one-on-one and in small groups, she enjoys a front-row seat as remarkable agile coaches emerge and go on to entice the very best from the teams they coach. Prior to agile, Adkins had more than fifteen years of expertise leading project teams and groups of project managers in large and small consulting firms, commercial software companies, and the Fortune 500, yet nothing prepared her for the power of Agile done simply and well. She teaches the "Coaching Agile Teams" training course which allows agile coaches to learn, practice and deepen the skills and mind-sets offered in the book of the same title.
Tuesday, July 13th. 6 - 8 pm. FREE!
June 26 & 27, 2010
· Great Opportunity! Certified Scrum Training led by Agile Richmond board member and author Lyssa Adkins: If you're not yet certified, here's your chance to learn from one of the very best. Don't miss this opportunity. Lyssa is presenting a 2 day certification training workshop, in conjuction with the Central Virginia PMI organization, on Saturday and Sunday, June 26th & 27th. These are full day workshops and, upon completion, you will be a Certified Scum Master! Scrum Master Certification Workshop Sheraton Park South Hotel, 9901 Midlothian Turnpike Richmond, VA 23235.
June 15, 2010
· Don Gray and decision making in the Agile world. We all make decisions every day. Thousands of them. What shoes am I going to wear? What work should I do first? Is it a right or left turn? But do you think about HOW decisions are made? Particularly in your teams and your work environment? Are they voted on, or decreed, or made by consensus? Don Gray thinks about this quite a lot. How we make decisions, or allow them to be made, have at least as much effect on outcomes as the decisions themselves. Decide to join Don and your Agile Richmond colleagues on June 15th for a session examininghow decisions are really made, and how to do it better in the Agile environment. It will be your best decision of the day! Learn more about Don, an expert in Integrating People, Projects and Processes here: http://donaldegray.com/ Tuesday, June 15th. 6 pm. FREE! At Staff Focus Consulting.
May 11, 2010
· Dan Mezick of Agile Boston on Team Intimacy : Dan Mezick joined us on May 11th for a very interesting discussion on team intimacy. We learned more about the power of the team, and how that power can be circumvented by simply not thinking about the team the change agent it really is; rather than the manager ot the scum leader. We also learned about "Ba", and how this reflects and enhances team, and the tremendous importance of emotional safety in team performance. Download Presentation Materials. You can learn more about Dan here: http://www.newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/
April 13, 2010
· Syed Rayhan and Nimat Haque: Join Agile Richmond for a look at using better tools to manage Scrum. Are you one of the many Agilists managing scrums using spreadsheets and notes? Ever think "there must be a better way"? Well, there is! As Agile has itself grown and evolved, tools to support the Agilke process have also grown and evolved. Join Syed Rayhan & Nimat Haque from Code71 to learn more about using tools to manage scrum and, particularly, about Code71's product "ScrumPad". Date and Time: April 13th, 6 - 8 pm. Cost: FREE! Location: Twin Hickory Library
March 30, 2010
· What do Managers have to do with Work? - Learn from one of the real stars in Agile thinking - Ester Derby is well known as a consultant who uniquely blends expertise on technical issues, managerial issues and people issues. Ester is also one of the foremost leaders and practitioners of the art of the retrospective, having written the definitive book on the subject. Agile Richmond is excited to be able offer our members the chance to hear and meet Esther in person. Esther will present on the topic "13 Essential Questions for Managers". Through this, we will learn about the real role of managers as designers of the experience of work and the systems that support work. At the Twin Hickory Library. March 30th at 6PM. FREE. Learn more about Ester at http://www.estherderby.com
March 19, 2010
· Road Trip! Join our Agile partners in Charlottesville to hear Agile Richmond board member and rising Agile star Lyssa Adkins speak on our favorite topic: What is an Agile Coach? Please visit Agile Charlottesville at http://www.agilecville.org/ and check the "Special February Event" link for full information.
March 13 & 14, 2010
· Certified Scrum Training lead by Agile Richmond board member Lyssa Adkins: If you're not yet certified, here's you chance to learn from one of the best. Don't miss this opportunity. Lyssa is presenting the 2 day certification training, though the Central Virginia PMI organization, and it will be great. (Saturday, March 13, 2010 - 8:30am - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - 5:00pm). Scrum Master Certification Workshop Sheraton Park South Hotel, 9901 Midlothian Turnpike Richmond, VA 23235. For more information, go here: http://www.pmicvc.org/Prodev/upcoming_seminars
March 6, 2010
· Delivering Real Value with Scrum Special Opportunity for Training with Tom & Kai Gilb : Agile Richmond is pleased to host agile pioneers Tom Gilb & Kai Gilb for a one day seminar on Delivering Real Value with Scrum. Join them, along with Agile Richmond board member Ryan Shriver, and learn how to: Create clear channels of communication that work; Identify and quantify the highest priority product objectives; Carry prioritization from the business idea through to the backlog; Develop a value-based approach to decision making; Deliver measurable business value by harnessing the power of Scrum. Scrum creator Jeff Sutherland calls Kai and Tom's work "some of the most innovative things I have seen in the Scrum community". If you are serious about Scrum, and want to help your business understand it's value, you need this knowledge. To find out more about Tom and Kai's work, visit their website at http://www.result-planning.com .
February 13, 2010
· Special Event: Special Agile Richmond and PMI joint event - Intro to Agile. Join members of PMI of Central Virginia at 9AM on Saturday, February 13th for a 6-hour workshop presented by Agile Richmond to explore the reality of project execution as seen through Agile and PMI. We start with an Introduction to Agile and Scrum. Then, move into an "Oil and Water" exploration where we will examine Agile/Scrum principles and their alignment to the basic principles of PMI/PMBOK. Together, we will learn how Agile and PMBOK do - and don't - compliment each other. This session is accredited for PMI professional development.
January 12, 2010
· Special Joint Event!: Agile Richmond is joining forces with The Richmond User Experience organization to present a session on using Agile to manage and execute the user experience design principals in real-world applications. Note this is not just interface design; it's about looking holistically at the experience of a customer in the web world. Join Tom Illmensee of Ironworks, and Joe Sokohl of Regular Joe consulting as they reprise their very successful Agile 2009 discussion. We will focus on how user research, usability, information architecture and interaction architecture practices are adapted and thrive in agile projects. For more about The Richmond User Experience organization, check them out here: http://richmondux.com/
January 10, 2010
· We had a great session on the 10th on bringing Agile & Scrum principals into everyday family life. Joe Meade, of Dominion Digital, and Peace Bode (and their kids via video) shared with us how they applied Scrum to improve the family's communication and ability to get life done. They spoke with passion about how their lives have been changed and family happiness improved by bringing Scrum into the home. The audience, which included spouses and kids, educators, agile coaches and coders, all were eager to learn specific techniques that worked for Joe and Peace. After the presentation the audience spent quite a bit of time discussing with Joe and Peace about how chores, homework, music lessons, sporting events and more could be managed, by the kids themselves, with the Scrum process Everyone came away impressed and no doubt at least a few went home and setup a Scrum board!
December 2009
· Agile Coaching Practices: Navigate conflict - On agile teams, we constantly seek excellence. Part of the energy that creates excellence comes from healthy conflict. Using the conflict that naturally occurs with committed, motivated people as a catapult to higher performance is a key part of Agile leadership. As part of our series on "Being a Better Coach" we offer this session on Navigating Conflict. We'll share a commonsense, human-centered conflict framework to dispassionately see what is truly happening when an Agile team is in conflict and use that conflict for growth.
September 12 & 13 2009
· Scrum Training - Agile Richmond Board member and certified Scrum trainer Lyssa Adkins is partnering with the Richmond Chapter of PMI to offer a repeat of the very sucessful two day Scrum Master Certification class.
o Date: Saturday and Sunday, September 12 and 13, 2009
o Time: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
o Credits: 16 PDUs
o Dress Code: Casual
o Contact: Bethany Bryans, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This class is offered at a significantly reduced cost in respect for our current difficult economic downturn.
July 23, 2009
· WOW - Jeff Sutherland: Agile Richmond, in partnership with CCPace and Staff Focus, are please to offer an opportunity to meet with Jeff Sutherland, one of the founders of Agile & Scrum. This event will be held at the Dominion Innsbrook Technical Center, 5001 Dominion Blvd, Richmond, VA 23060 on July 23rd at 6pm. Dr. Sutherland will speak on the topic of "Agile Software Development in the Enterprise". We will explore how companies large, small and enormous have used the hyper productivity of Agile to generate extraordinary financial returns. We will also discuss how Scrum scales up as companies grow, and the usage of Scrum for outsourced, distributed teams. And, perhaps most appropriate to these times, hear how venture capitalists are using Scrum to improve returns in their investment portfolios. Thanks to our sponsors, this remarkable event is FREE, but you must register and seating will be limited.
Sponsored by:
July 23 & 24, 2009
· Wonderful Training Opportunity!: Take Certified Scrum Master (CSM) training from none other than Jeff Sutherland, the founder of Scrum Agile. This class will be offered on July 23 and July 24 at the Courtyard by Marriott ,10077 Brook Road, Richmond. In addition to Jeff, Joe Little, a CST and MBA very familiar to many of us in the Richmond Agile Community, will be co-training. It just doesn't get better than this, folks. Oh Wait, it does! There is a significant discount for Agile Richmond members. Just sign up on the "don't miss a thing" link on our home page.
June 30, 2009
· Put Me In Coach: Our next Agile Richmond Event will feature You! One of our top vote getters for topics in our recent survey was "what makes a good Agile coach?". For our next event, on June 30th at 6pm at Apex Systems Inc, we will explore that topic with your help. Intrigued? Come to our event and find out what you (and your colleagues) know about coaching. June 30, 6pm
June 27 & 28, 2009
· Scrum Training - Agile Richmond Board member and certified Scrum trainer Lyssa Adkins is partnering with the Richmond Chapter of PMI to offer a two day Scrum Master Certification class on Saturday, June 27th and Sunday June 28th. This class is offered at a significantly reduced cost in respect for our current difficult economic downturn. You can find out more and register here: pmicvc.org
May 5, 2009
· The Agile PMO: From Process Police to Adaptive Leadership
Presented by Sanjiv Augustine: On Tuesday, May 5th, Agile Richmond members were privileged to host Sanjiv Augustine, of LitheSpeed, for a presentation on the Agile PMO. Mr. Augustine is an excellent and entertaining presenter, and the topic was of great interest to the attendees. Among the major topics were:
o How and why PMOs tend to fail.
o How Agile principals can be applied to make a more effective, Agile enabling PMO
o What are the steps and approach to a successful, scalable PMO.
o How the PMO can help sustain and strengthen agile adoption.
Sanjiv's organization provides many Agile related services. Check out LitheSpeed at www.lithespeed.com
February 28, 2009
· SPECIAL EVENT!! Special Agile Richmond and PMI joint event - 2009 Intro to Agile Agile Richmond joined with PMI Richmond to present a seminar on Agile on Saturday, February 28th.. It was a GREAT success, with almost 70 attendees. The Agile Richmond team of Kelly Snavely, Roney Pate, Lyssa Atkins, Tania Broome and Thirumala Areti presented a 3 part session to a very responsive group of Project Managers and other professionals. The session started with a overview of Agile, lead by Roney, which generated a lot of conversation and energy. Then, Lyssa lead the group in a "59 minute Scrum" to give people a taste of how Agile really feels. Tania and Kelly followed with a discussion and group workout on how PMBOK and Agile thinking align. Finally, there was a very active Q&A session in which the entire group fielded questions from the audience. It truly was a great session - for the attendees, for PMI and for Agile Richmond.
February 24, 2009
· Agile Methods and ROI. The economy is horrible and money is tight. Yet, the need to get work done is always there, and success can actually mean survival in the current climate. It is more critical than ever to be able to articulate the ROI of a project. Dr. David Rico will present "Agile Methods and ROI". Dr. Rico is a highly regarded expert in this field, and you don't want to miss this special event. For this special event, to continue to encourage the use of Agile in a difficult climate, and to kick of Agile Richmond's new year right, attendance for this event is FREE for those that register in advance before February 23nd. Here a link to Dr. Rico's website and bio: http://davidfrico.com. Date: Tuesday, Feburary 24th at 6pm.
January 26 & 27, 2009
· Certified Scrum Master course: Mike Vizdos and Lyssa Adkins have just scheduled a Certified Scrum Master course right here in Richmond at the end of January. These two highly experienced coaches and trainers will team teach - you get two for one! The course is being held for a private client, but there are a few seats available for the public (you!).
26-27 Jan 2009
$1,495.00 per person
November 18, 2008
· Connecting the Dots of Lean - An Overview
Richmond, VA
As leaders and managers, we are bombarded with a plethora of 'programs' the gurus promise will transform our businesses. Lean; Six Sigma; Theory of Constraints; Design Methods; Innovation; - All clamoring with many others to 'be the one' that will fix all your problems. After a brief review of problems each addresses, a deeper understanding of Lean will be examined in a services related environment.
Topics: How do the various methods fit together? - What is Lean? - Why is it used? How does it work? Brief History of lean, Definitions of lean, Definition of Value Added and Non-Value Added; Definition of 8 wastes; audience participation.
Dan is a managing consultant at Dominion Digital. He joined Dominion Digital with 13 years as a Performance Excellence deployment strategist helping companies as a trusted advisor improve the performance of their companies across many service industries. Dan has implemented programs that use the methodologies of Lean, Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma, and TRIZ with great success inside of some of the world's top corporations. He was among the first General Electric Master Black Belts to be certified and began teaching the integration of Lean and Six Sigma in 2000.
October 29 & 30, 2008
· Certified Scrum Master Class
Richmond, VA
This course is taught by Robin Dymond, an experienced practitioner in Scrum, Agile and Lean techniques and member of the Agile Richmond board. This class is engaging, interactive, and will challenge preconceived notions on how to be effective at delivering valuable software projects and programs.
To learn more: www.scrumtraining.com/scrum-master-training
September 23, 2008
· Ryan Shriver of Dominion Digital presented an excellent talk on articulating The Business Value of Agile. His presentation materials can be found here: theagileengineer.com/public/Presentations/Presentations.html.
 A Walk Down the Agile Coach Path with Lyssa Adkins Presentation | [ ] | 3346 Kb |
