Reminder - DC ALT.NET - 10/21/2008 - A Look at Kanban Software Development

Just as a reminder, the October meeting for DC ALT.NET will be on October 21st, 2008 from 7-9PM.  Check the DC ALT.NET site and our mailing list for continuing updates and future meetings.  This month, Linda Cook will be presenting "A Look at Kanban Software Development".  I've been exploring a lot of Lean Software Development and Kanban, and this is an opportunity to explore the topic in depth with an established Lean/Agile coach.  My CodeBetter compatriot, Dave Laribee had introduced Kanban to XClaim Software and has some really good information on the topic.

About Kanban Software Development

Kanban is gaining popularity thanks to a growing number of groups, including Corbis and Yahoo!, who have been practicing and learning how to best apply Kanban to software development projects.  Kanban uses lean techniques, such as queue management, flow control and theory of constraints to optimize the workflow of a team.  As David Anderson states, "Kanban is a process that exposes the natural workflow of a system and reduces lead time by limiting the amount of work in progress."

As part of this discussion, we'll look into what it means to use a Kanban system for software development and how to apply the "pull based" system, which determines the supply, or production, according to the actual demand of the customers.  Comparison and contrasting between Kanban and Scrum will also be discussed.  Kanban systems use constant inspection and adapting techniques to identify bottlenecks and defects.  Linda will share her experiences using Kanban and how it helped the team collaborate on a variety of projects.

About Linda Cook

Linda Cook is a Lean/Agile Coach with over twenty years’ experience in the IT industry. She mentors colleagues, creates formal and informal training programs, and helps organizations apply some of the best practices in the Lean Software Development and Agile Project Management. She is a Certified Scrum Master and completed the Lean Six Sigma program at Villanova University.

Details

The details of the event are as follows:

Date/Time: 10/21/2008 - 7-9PM

Location:
Motley Fool
2000 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA, 22314

Hope to see you there!