Workshops

Workshop#1 of Jim McCarthy
Leading A Corporation To Greatness - “People are Your Greatest Asset”

April 3, Tuesday
11.30-18.00

Jim McCarthy

the author of "Dynamics of Software Development"

Jim McCarthy began his career as a software guy 30 years ago. Over the years, he has synthesized what he learned from his software and corporate experience and applied it to solving the riddles of team dynamics. He has had responsibilities in development, testing, marketing, program management, user education and general management. Leading software development teams at Bell Labs, The Whitewater Group, and Microsoft Corporation. Since 1996, Jim has devoted himself to researching groups and how they create products and organizations. Jim uses a teamwork lab (McCarthy BootCamp, a product development simulation) and in situ research at corporations large and small, worldwide.  Jim wrote “Dynamics of Software Development” in 1995, (about which Ron Jeffries, www.xpprogramming.com, said: “Jim was extreme before extreme was cool.”) Microsoft has released the 2006 edition of Dynamics.

With his wife, Michele McCarthy, Jim has created the Core Protocols (now available in version 3.0), a collection of interpersonal protocols that support results-oriented behavior, the efficient aggregation of individual qualities into a greater whole, and the development and realization of shared visions. Together, they authored “Software for Your Head,” 2002, Addison-Wesley and host a podcast show on team and other business issues. He can be reached at jim@mccarthy.net, or via his website, www.mccarthyshow.com.

Overview

This 1/2 day course will help participants learn how to create a great organization by focusing on their most important asset - people.  Learning modules will include:

• Creating a Vision Based Organization
• Getting the Best Return on Your People
• Riding the Passion Wave
• How to Create Your Own Corporate Genius

Each module will have associated with it a teaching component and a workshop activity in which participants can apply their learnings.  An overview of each module is below:

Creating A Vision Based Organization:

Are employees and investors excited by what you are creating?   Do people audibly gasp when they find out what you do?  The best way to have a wildly successful company is to have a grand vision and incrementally build that future with your employees.  We will share our secrets about how to create this environment and foster the creativity of your employees.

Getting the best return on your people:

The largest investment that any corporation makes is in employees salaries.  However, most organizations put little time or energy into realizing the optimal return on this investment.  In this module we will share our insights into maximizing the return on that investment. 

Riding The Passion Wave:

Passion is at the heart of any great team or corporation.  This module describes how to use passion to create a great organization.  When people work on the things that they are passionate about, the result is their best work – this is true gold for any organization.

Terms of participation and registration

Workshop#2 of Bruce Eckel
Design and Java

April 4, Wednesday
11.00-18.00

Bruce Eckel

MindView, Inc.

Bruce Eckel (www.BruceEckel.com) is the author of:

• Thinking in Java (Prentice-Hall, 1998, 2nd Edition, 2000, 3rd Edition, 2003, 4th Edition, 2006),
• the Hands-On Java Seminar CD ROM (available on the Web site),
• Thinking in C++ (PH 1995; 2nd edition 2000, Volume 2 with Chuck Allison, 2003),
• C++ Inside & Out (Osborne/McGraw-Hill 1993),
• among others.

He's given hundreds of presentations throughout the world, published over 150 articles in numerous magazines, was a founding member of the ANSI/ISO C++ committee and speaks regularly at conferences. He provides public and private seminars & design consulting in OO Design, Python, Java and C++.

Overview

All languages affect the way they are used. How does the Java language impact the way we design and program? In this workshop we will explore this issue by designing a system in steps. We'll discuss the design decisions as we go, and examine the impact that the language might have on the design process. This will not be a formal presentation; the goal is to stimulate an open, interactive discussion and share ideas and experiences.

Topics may include:

• When and how design happens
• When it's appropriate to choose non-Java tools
• How do you discover objects?
• Domain-driven design
• Walkthroughs and peer review
• Open vs. Closed development process
• Testing all aspects, coverage, automatic test execution
• The impact of schedule and resources
• Risk analysis & bringing risk into the process
• Feedback and iteration
• Distributed development
• Tradeoffs in design
• Fundamental mechanics of project management: repository, testing and build system
• Getting started: the initial front-to-back prototype (spike)
• Ensuring code quality in a team situation
• Heavyweight vs. lightweight development processes
• Architecture
• Scrum meetings, Agile methods
• Other issues as they come up...

Attendees should have experience with the Java language.

Terms of participation and registration