— mature organizations, organizational improvement

Speaker: Ainsley Nies
Meeting Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Time: 6:00 pm Networking; 6:30 pm Management Forum/Guided Networking; 7:00 pm dinner; 7:30 pm Presentation
Location: RAMADA Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale, CA

 
Summary:
Management Forum / Guided Networking: Bring Your Management Challenge; Arrive by 6:30 PM to join this exciting Management Forum. Following informal networking is a guided discussion typically related to the topic of the evening’s after dinner talk, or of general Technology Management interest.
Light Dinner: This month we’re continuing with our light dinner format — typically sandwiches, salad, drinks, and cookie or similar light dinner.

Presentation: Retrospectives: A Tool for Continuous Improvement
While people and organizations work, they are learning.

As Thomas Edison said about his light bulb experiments “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Mature organizations know how to encourage and capitalize on project experience as the starting place for refinements, new initiatives, and continuous improvement.

This presentation will begin by outlining a format for project Retrospectives as a way to capture learning and enhance organizational improvement efforts, then continue with an interactive exercise for the participants to experience a short version of the process.

Bio:
Ainsley consults with groups and organizations that want to perform at their highest level. Her work focuses on the development of environments for learning  and continuous improvement, primarily through the use of retrospectives, Open  Space Technology and other inquiry and “inspect and adapt” processes.

Ainsley launched her consulting work in 2005 after more than two decades of  software engineering, business process and project management work in IT and  Finance at Hewlett Packard.

Her clients learn to appreciate the “being human” aspects of project work, and  how to leverage that knowledge for project success. Ainsley also provides  individual coaching through Personal Retrospective workshops and one-on-one
sessions.

• Board President, Computer Technologies Program
• Board President, Pacifica chapter of the American Association of University Women
• PMI Agile Community of Practice Steering Committee, Chapter Engagement Lead
• Coordinating Committee, Bay Area Agile Project Leadership Network
• Principal, Acorn Consulting Enterprises