Agile Austin's Ask An Expert

Date: 8/6/2009
Time: 6 pm
Location: Chicago room, Mangia’s Pizza, 8012 Mesa Drive
More info: http://AskAnExpert.AgileAustin.org

John D. Heintz is a husband, father, developer, Agilist, entrepreneur. After studying electrons in college, John’s intuition led him to pursue software, and he’s been a digital craftsmen since. Always seeking solutions with higher leverage and deeper simplicity has led John to important methods and tools. John’s approach to building systems and teams started with leading his first Scrum team in 1999, included XP and TDD, and now Agile and Lean methods are part of his daily work and consulting.

John applies hard earned technical knowledge to system development to understand both the long term architectural vision, and the small steps that can begin toward that goal. Some of John’s early expertise - OO, design patterns, and enterprise systems - have evolved into functional programming, distributed actors, and RESTful Web Architecture.

The objective of the Ask an Expert program is to provide free consultation by experienced Agile Austin coaches to any Austinite that wrestles with issues related to promoting, planning and executing Agile methods. The program will address the needs of practitioners in companies that produce software, embed software, or use software as an integral part of their business processes. In addition to 1-1 consultation, coaches will gladly hold discussions with entire teams.

Ask an Expert sessions should be primarily regarded as a step toward addressing concrete Agile issues that manifest themselves in a specific environment. Coaches might not be able to complete a comprehensive analysis, but will make certain to suggest what the heart of the problem might be and point out Agile resources that practitioners could use on their own.

To ensure available access to experts, consultative session time will be divided between attendees. Team discussions with any Agilists attending the program will be encouraged to maximize the sharing of experience and draw out the wisdom of crowds. One-on-one sessions are available on request, but will be time-limited based on attendance (15 minutes typical).

The program will strive to balance utility with fun. Utility will primarily be delivered through actionable insights; fun will be had through passionate exploration of Agile topics in a friendly and collaborative manner.