We’re all over the place these days, sharing our customer-centric customer service philosophy, preaching what we practice inside as well as outside our company. Come see us speak at the following conferences, and then come up and say hi ’cause we like meeting people.
Leslie Chicoine is presenting at the Web 2.0 Expo here in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 18, on “The Challenge of Agile Development: Avoiding Half-Baked Design“, with Alex Chaffee of Pivotal.
Today’s web-based applications go live every few weeks. Agile methodologies like Extreme Programming and Scrum, focus on short development cycles, accelerated feedback from users and customers, and incremental delivery. On the technical side these approaches can bring discipline and predictability to short release cycles. But can these incremental methodologies incorporate successful design techniques? Using case studies and examples from their own project experience, Alex and Leslie will discuss how to integrate design and Agile, discussing what works, what problems arise, and most importantly, the changes in mindset that are necessary on an integrated Agile design/implementation team.
Lane Becker (that’s me!) is also speaking on a panel at the Web 2.0 Expo the day before Leslie, Tuesday April 17, on the subject of “Moving from 1.0 to 2.0: Philosophies and Structures of Change.” I’m appearing with a couple of former coworkers, Scott Hirsch and Jeff Veen, and particularly looking forward to it because Scott and I both like arguing with Veen.
The 2.0 web world is more than just embedded technology – it is a philosophy. Companies who embrace this thinking are more flexible, agile, and innovative in their strategy and approach, but moving in this direction means rethinking structure, management style, workflow, and culture. How teams are structured, educated, and implemented in your organization is key. Are you a design firm, individual freelancer, or corporation trying to migrate past ‘old-school’ thinking and move yourself, management, or team into a more progressive era? Come hear how others have made innovation a priority — through carefully guided leadership and an environment that fosters creative thinking and collaboration.
Jonathan Grubb is on a panel on May 2 at CHI 2007 down in San Jose (also with Jeff Veen — that guy is everywhere!) on the subject of “Web 2.0 and the Enterprise: The business impact of modern technological approaches to web application design:”
‘Web 2.0′ has become the accepted phrase used to refer to newer, more fluid client/server interactions on the web, as combined with a philosophical view of user-empowerment and shared content ownership. This invited session will bring together several individuals responsible for the application of Web 2.0 strategies in the enterprise. They will discuss the implications these advanced web approaches have on business-centered web application development, and will share insight into the cultural, business and technological issues raised by these new approaches to product development.
And finally (for now), Thor Muller and I are headed to WebVisions in Portland on May 4 to roadtest some fun new material we’ve been working on together called “Let Go! 8 steps to succeeding in a post-2.0 world:”
What if all our professional training is wrong? We’ve been taught that good design is about documentation, smart development is about process, and effective management is about control. But the truth is just the opposite, now that the barriers between companies and individuals are dissolving at a quickening pace. Success now means letting go of the urge for control in favor of the power of creative chaos.
Blame the Internet. In the last five years we’ve witnessed Open Source ideas transform software and content, converting the meekest of us into public contributors. We’ve seen search make content by individuals as accessible as that from the world’s largest corporations and media companies. We’ve watched as some industries have withered next to the blinding speed and sharability of digital media, while other companies have reinvented themselves by adapting to the collective input of customers.
Success today means harnessing these same forces at every level of our own work. This means explicitly changing the way developers, designers, and businesspeople work and collaborate, abandoning many of the organizing principles that worked for companies over the last century. Fortunately, our presentation will show you what to replace them with, along with some practical tips for how to get started.
All posts