Upcoming Learning Events in Dallas – Dallas TechFest, Certified Agile Leadership class

Dallas TechFest is tomorrow! There is still time to register and get excellent content focused on Modern Architecture, virtual reality and AWS and Azure (http://dallastechfest.com). Plus, an Open Space room to discuss the burning issues YOU want to talk about. Ticket pricing includes full conference, light breakfast and a food truck lunch.

And later in June, Bob Galen will be in Dallas teaching his Certified Agile Leadership class. This is a new class/certification with the Scrum Alliance, and it’s focused solely towards leadership understanding and practice of effective agile principles. The class is scheduled for June 21-23 in Dallas, and there are a few more seats available. More information can be found at http://rgalen.com/cal-certified-agile-leadership

Launching this month: DFW Scrum Tech Edition

When I travel to agile events, I love telling people about our community. The agile community in Dallas is incredibly strong. In a typical month, there are at least 4 different meetup groups hosting events, and the number continues to grow. In fact, DFW Scrum is expanding itself again. Michael Jesse is organizing a new Technical Excellence special interest group, and the first event will be held on January 30, 2017.

Why a Tech Edition group? It started with reviewing the Agile Manifesto with a group of people, and there was a question about one principle in particular:

Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

Inspired by the question of what is technical excellence, Michael decided to create a place to hear wisdom from various people on what defines it.

• Is it as simple as having a continuous integration and continuous deployment?
• Is it having the latest technology?
• Is it defined by a standards organization?

All of these questions and more will be explored in the new Tech Edition group.

Our First DFW Scrum Lean Coffee!

Last night was a “Bring Your Own Topic” night for our group, and we used the Lean Coffee format to organize our conversations. As a group organizer, it can feel risky to not have a predetermined topic for a meetup. Will people show up? Will they have topics they are willing to share? Will people enjoy it? The answer is yes, yes, and yes.

We split into groups of 9 people. Each group setup its kanban board and brainstormed topics. Then discussions started flowing! We ran longer than usual, and I saw quite a few people exchanging contact information afterwards–signs of a highly successful meetup!

Thanks to everyone who attended for reaffirming how amazing lean coffees can be. Our community members grew closer last night through those conversations, and I look forward to more “BYOT” nights in the future.