TMC SCV Meetings: DEC 2007 – JUN 2008
Jun 5, 2008:
Management Forum: Extraordinary Results for an Enterprise Agile Revolution – Steve Greene & Chris Fry
After-dinner Talk: Globalization And Why It Works – Kevin Walsh
May 1, 2008:
After-dinner Talk: Risk Analysis as Decision Support – Elisabeth Pate-Cornell
Apr 3, 2008:
After-dinner Talk: Helpful Project Management Tools for the Modern Manager (see the slides) – Carl Angotti, Larry Reeves
Mar 6, 2008:
Management Forum: Networking Exercise – Chris Sims
After-dinner Talk: IEEE Offshore Panel Discussion – Dmytry Mykhaylov, Rakaseh Gowda, Steve Mezak, Richard Danielson
Jan 30, 2008:
After-dinner Talk: What Makes Engineering Managers Succeed? – Chris Sims
Dec 13, 2007:
Open Board Meeting
After-dinner Talk: Election of Officers for 2008
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MEETING SUMMARIES & BIOS
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Jun 5, 2008
Management Forum: Extraordinary Results for an Enterprise Agile Revolution
Presented by Steve Greene & Chris Fry
The Year of Living Dangerously: Extraordinary Results for an Enterprise Agile Revolution
Many software organizations today ask “How do we make an agile transformation and what benefit will we get?” Should you transition your organization to agile all at once or proceed more iteratively, team by team? This talk describes salesforce.com’ s year of living dangerously where we moved our entire R&D organization to an agile model. The key difference in our approach was to throw the switch on 30 teams all at once. Most agile experts thought this was a crazy approach, however, in the end our transition became one of the fastest and largest agile transitions. In just 3 short months we moved our entire team from a waterfall-based approach to an iterative, Scrum based methodology we’ve named ADM (Adaptive Development Methodology) . Over the course of the year we have refined and measured our progress and learned many lessons. This approach was a great risk for the organization that has ultimately delivered dramatic results and extraordinary business value.
Chris Fry is a Senior Director at Salesforce.com responsible for platform software development. He specializes in Software as a Service and creating and leading agile teams. He is the author of JSR-173 (Streaming API for XML) and has led the implementation and deployment of massively scalable Web Services at Salesforce.com and BEA. He received his Ph. D. in Cognitive Science from UCSD and was a post-doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley.
Steve Greene is the Director of Tools & Process at Salesforce.com and is responsible for the implementation and evolution of agile methodologies and supporting tools for the Technology organization. He has held numerous senior management positions at On-demand startup and large enterprise software companies including DigitalThink, Hyperion, PeopleSoft/Oracle, SPC and AOL. He brings a wealth of expertise and experience in productivity, process and product delivery. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering from San Jose State University and is a board member of the BayAPLN.
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After-dinner Talk: Globalization and Why It Works
Presented by Kevin Walsh
The talk will focus on how Globalization is impacting the world and the US economy and what it means for the future of a skill based society.
Kevin Walsh is a general partner at Ridge Partners LLC, an investment and buy-out company focused in the high technology sector. He is also the Dean’s Executive Professor of Management at the Leavey School of Business and was previously Vice President of Corporate Planning and Worldwide Financial Operations at Sun Microsystems. Prior to joining Sun, Kevin was COO at Spatial Technology and held Vice President positions at Schlumberger and Fairchild Semiconductor in both Europe and the USA. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics, a member of the Institute of Management Consultants and Certified Chartered Accountant (UK).
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May 1, 2008
After-dinner Talk: Risk Analysis as Decision Support
Presented by Elisabeth Pate-Cornell
Engineering risk analysis allows identifying the weak points in a complex system and taking pro-active risk management measures. The speaker will describe the method and the use of the results to support lifecycle risk management and to set resource constraints (schedule and budget) anticipating their effects on the success of operations.
Elisabeth Pate-Cornell is Burt and Deedee McMurtry Professor and Chair of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford.
Dr. M. Elisabeth Pate-Cornell was born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1948. She attended public high schools both in Dakar and in La Rochelle, France. Her undergraduate degree is in mathematics and physics (BS, Marseilles, France, 1968), and her first graduate degrees are in applied mathematics and computer science (MS and Engineer Degree, Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble, France, 1970; 1971).
In 1971 she came to study and live in the United States, where she has been a citizen since 1986. She received a Masters degree in Operations Research (OR) in 1972 and a Ph.D. in Engineering-Economic Systems (EES) in 1978, both from Stanford University. She then was an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at MIT, before joining the Stanford faculty in 1981, where she became Professor (in 1991) and then Chair (in 1997) in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM). In 1999, she was named the Burt and Deedee McMurtry Professor in the School of Engineering at Stanford University. She is presently Professor and Chair of the Department of Management Science and Engineering, as well as a Senior Fellow (by courtesy) of the Stanford Institute for International Studies.
Dr. Pate-Cornell oversaw from 1999, the merger of two Stanford departments of the School of Engineering (EES-OR and IEEM) to form a new department of Management Science and Engineering, which she has led since its formation in 2000. She has served for several years as a member of the Stanford Academic Senate, and she is currently the chair of the Stanford Committee on Research.
Dr. Pate-Cornell was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995, and is currently a member of its Council. She has served on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from December 2001 to December 2004. She is currently a member of the Advisory Council of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 2002, and the Board of Trustees of the Aerospace Corporation since December 2004. She chairs the Board of Advisors of the Naval Postgraduate School on which she has served since 1998. She has also served as a member of the Army Science Board, of the NASA Advisory Council and of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. She was elected to the French Académie des Technologies in 2003.
Dr. Pate-Cornell is a world leader in research related to engineering risk analysis, risk management, decision analysis under uncertainty, and more generally, the use of Bayesian probability to process incomplete information. In recent years, her research and that of her Engineering Risk Research Group at Stanford have focused on the inclusion of both technical and organizational factors in probabilistic risk analysis models. These models have been applied to a wide variety of topics, ranging from the risk management of the NASA shuttle tiles to that of offshore oil platforms and medical systems such as anesthesia during surgery. She is currently working on risk management processes for complex projects and programs, with application to space, industrial and medical systems. Since 2001, she has applied risk analytic methods to the study of different types of terrorist attacks on the United States, the assessment of intelligence information and the effectiveness of counter measures.
Dr. Pate-Cornell is a past president (1995) and a fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis, and a fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS). She has been a consultant to industrial firms and government organizations, including, recently, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. She is the author or co-author of more than a hundred papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings. She has received several best-paper awards from professional organizations such as the American Nuclear Society and the Decision Analysis Society of INFORMS (for her work on the shuttle tiles), and peer-reviewed journals such as Military Operations Research in 2002 for a paper on the assessment of terrorist threats. She has been invited to give many keynote addresses and has taught in executive-education programs for several years.
Dr. Pate-Cornell is a U.S. citizen, a member of the Stanford faculty and of the National Academy of Engineering. She and the late Dr. C. Allin Cornell have two children, Phillip born in 1981 and Ariane in 1984.
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Apr 3, 2008
After-dinner Talk: Helpful Project Management Tools for the Modern Manager (link to slides below)
Presented by Carl Angotti and Larry Reeves
Did you know that there are a number of outside resources that are available to line and project managers to help them manage projects? Carl Angotti and Larry Reeeves will present some of their best templates and other aids to improving project management of high tech projects. They will also discuss sources of on-line material to really improve your ability to manage projects.
Let these seasoned veterans show you how to make your meetings be more effective, and run more smoothly, along with new methods to improve your product, project and program scheduling, estimating and tracking techniques.
Carl Angotti of Angotti Product Development has been an Engineering Project Management Consultant and practitioner in Silicon Valley for more than 25 years. He has lead numerous high technology project teams at both large and small organizations.
He holds an MBA from San Jose State University, an MSEE from the University of Southern California and a BSEE from Carnegie-Mellon University and is a member of the IEEE and the IEEE Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley. You can read more about his background at http://angotti.com/accelexper.html.
Larry Reeves has 25 years experience in leading hardware teams to deliver server, storage networking and data appliance products to market. He has a broad background in electronics, power, mechanical, and agency approvals.
Larry recently retired from Data Domain where he managed hardware platform qualification for de-duplication storage appliances. Previously he managed hardware teams at Brocade Communications, Auspex Systems, and Tandem Computers.
Larry has a BSEE from Oklahoma State University, and holds 4 patents in fault-tolerant features for multi-processor computer systems. Larry is Secretary of the SCV/SF chapter of the Technology Management Council, and an IEEE member for 36 years.
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Mar 6, 2008
Networking and Learning Exercise
Facilitated by Chris Sims, Technical Management Institute
At last month’s meeting, we answered the question “What makes an engineering manager great?” We created a list of the most important skills, traits, and practices for an engineering manager. Our list included:
• Integrity
• Enthusiastic & inspiring
• Listens well
• Communicates clearly
• Have a vision
• Interpersonal skills
• Respects staff input
• Appreciates the service of others
• Team builder
• Know each staff member’s strengths and weaknesses
This month we will begin to answer the all-important question “How do you actually do these things?” Participants will collaborate in small teams, to generate suggestions for putting last month’s ideas into actual practice. The results will be shared with all in attendance as well as posted online.
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After-dinner Talk: IEEE Offshore Panel Discussion
Panel: Dmytry Mykhaylov, Rakaseh Gowda, Steve Mezak, Richard Danielson
Today’s engineering managers need to be able to manage projects where some, or even all, of the engineers are located offshore. While the situation is becoming more common, the challenges and opportunities are still not widely understood. On the evening of March 6, the Silicon Valley IEEE Technology Management Council is bringing together 4 panelists, with diverse backgrounds and experience, to answer your questions about managing with offshore engineers.
Rakesh Gowda is the Director of Software Development at QuinStreet, a provider of online marketing and media services for nearly 600 clients, headquartered in Foster City. In 2005, Rakesh traveled back to his home country of India to set up QuinStreet’s development center in Pune, outside of Mumbai. He is pleased to report that the Pune team no longer requires his direct supervision for day-to-day operations. Rakesh holds a MS in Computer Science from Stanford and BE from the University of Mysore in India.
Accelerance CEO Steve Mezak has more than 25 years of software development experience and is a veteran of six Silicon Valley startups. He has served in a variety of management and technical roles, including CTO and CEO. Steve is also an internationally acclaimed speaker and author. His most recent book is Software Without Borders: A Step-By-Step Guide to Outsourcing Your Software Development. Steve holds a BS Degree in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute , where he now serves as an advisor to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
Dmytry Mykhaylov is a software engineer and project manager who has been working on geographically distributed projects for over 6 years. As a project manager he specializes in helping small to mid-sized projects in the Bay Area effectively incorporate offshore engineering talent. Dmytry firmly believes that an agile approach to project organization on all sides of a distributed team is key to a project’s success and profitability.
Chris Sims, founder of the Technical Management Institute , will moderate the panel.
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Jan 10, 2008
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: SCV TMC Officers for 2008
At the December 2007 meeting, the SCV TMC elected the following as officers for 2008:
Chair: Chris Sims
Vice Chair: Julia Sulisthio
Treasurer: Richard Stallkamp
Secretary: Larry Reeves
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After-dinner Talk: What Makes Engineering Managers Succeed?
Presented by Chris Sims, Technical Management Institute
Have you worked for a great manager?
What were the qualities that made him or her stand out from the rest? What are the most important qualities or skills for an engineering manager to posses?
Come share your experience and tap into the collective wisdom that will be present.
We will use the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) to gather up the group’s experiences and ideas. NGT works faster than traditional brainstorming, yet generates more complete and higher quality results. Next we will identify the factors that have had the biggest impact using DOTS, a technique that efficiently harnesses the collective wisdom of the group, while avoiding groupthink.
This is really two workshops for the price of one. You will walk out with a better understanding of what makes engineering managers succeed, as well as how to use NGT and DOTS to tap into the wisdom and knowledge of a group.
Chris Sims is a teacher, coach, facilitator, consultant, coder, agile evangelist, and all-around geek. He is the founder of the Technical Management Institute and the Bay Area Engineering Managers Support Group. He enjoys teaching engineers how to lead people, projects, and teams. For the really curious, a longer bio can be found here: http://www.technicalmanagementinstitute.com/bio.shtml
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Dec 13, 2007
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: SCV TMC Officers for 2008
Board Elections for Year 2008
Current board will nominate candidates for board elections for year 2008 at the December 13, 2007 BREAKFAST meeting. You can also enter your nominations from the floor at the meeting.
PLEASE NOTE NEW LOCATION AND TIME!
Thursday, December 13, 2007, 7:30 AM (BREAKFAST)
Please RSVP using online form supplied.
Free Admission is open for IEEE members
To pass the signup validation, select “Dinner: None (free)”.
NOTE: you can buy your own breakfast at the restaurant.
DENNY’S RESTAURANT
311 S. Mathilda Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Across from Town and Country
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Management Forum: What is the latest that Technical Engineering Managers need to know to become successful?
NOTE: this is a special Open Board Meeting — come to our Engineering Management Society rejuvenation meeting, and yearly election.
Consider which of these will be helpful:
• HARD SKILLS
o Organizing
o Scheduling
o Benchmarking
o Formal Risk Management
o Resource Planning
• SOFT SKILLS
o Management – art or a science?
o Effectiveness of Training vs Experience
o Interpersonal Communications
o Motivation
o Leadership
Plus others we will come up with at the meeting. Other areas to consider:
• What should be the meeting place?
• Should it include Dinner?
• What should be the meeting cost?
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After-dinner Talk: Election of Officers for 2008
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