Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 22:41:37 -0500 From: Withall Subject: SPIN Meeting Announcement - Tuesday March 20, 2001 6:30pm - 8:30pm Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) Meeting Announcement Topic: Four R's of Software Process Improvement: Requirements, Reviews, Retrospectives, and Results Speaker: Johanna Rothman When: Tuesday, March 20, 2001. 6:30pm-8:30pm 6:30-7:00 Networking and Round Tables 7:00-7:10 Announcements 7:10-8:10 Presentation 8:10-8:30 Questions and Answers Who: Everyone (Industry, Government, Academia) Location: General Dynamics, 77 "A" St., Needham MA. Info: See our web page, http://www.cs.uml.edu/Boston-SPIN For SPIN info, contact Anna Allison: anna@annaallison.com Note: Boston SPIN meetings are free. No RSVP is necessary. Abstract: Four R's of Software Process Improvement: Requirements, Reviews, Retrospectives, and Results Process improvement projects can be difficult to start, keep on track, and assess results. We can use the same requirements gathering and specification techniques that we use on product-projects on our process improvement projects. In this talk, Johanna will discuss how to define requirements for process improvement projects and how to use reviews and retrospectives to assess the results of process improvement efforts. Johanna will discuss: how to define process improvement requirements; how to move from mandates (Level 3 or bust!) to actual problems to be solved; the roles of reviews in process improvements, and using results and retrospectives to assess your work. About the Speaker: Johanna Rothman observes and consults on managing high technology product development. She works with her clients to find the leverage points that will increase their effectiveness as organizations and as managers, helping them ship the right product at the right time, and recruit and retain the best people. A frequent speaker and author on managing high technology product development, Johanna has written articles for Software Development, Cutter IT Journal, IEEE Software, Crosstalk, IEEE Computer, Software Testing and Quality Engineering, Catapulse, StickyMinds.com, and publishes Reflections, an acclaimed quarterly newsletter about managing product development. Johanna is the founder and principal of Rothman Consulting Group, Inc., and is a member of the clinical faculty of The Gordon Institute at Tufts University, a practical management degree program for engineers. Johanna leads workshops in the areas of project management, software quality, and software management. About the Roundtables: Roundtables are focused group or "birds-of-a-feather" discussions, with a facilitator, to stimulate and moderate discussion. Roundtables are held during the Networking portion of the SPIN meeting. See our web page, http://www.cs.uml.edu/Boston-SPIN to see which topics are selected for this SPIN meeting. Directions: From Route 128 in Needham, take exit 19A onto Highland Avenue East. Take your first right by the Ground Round and take your second left onto "A" Street. General Dynamics is the last building on the right. Enter the parking lot by the General Dynamics sign and come into the building by the cafeteria entrance, which is located to the left of the main entrance. There will be a security guard at the entrance. . See http://www.gd-cs.com/needham.html for directions. Cancellations (including weather cancellations): We will notify the membership via email to the SPIN distribution list, post the notice on the SPIN web page, and send the cancellation announcement to Channel 7 TV and radio, WRKO AM 680 starting at 3pm. SPIN Sponsors: General Dynamics Communications Systems, Needham, MA, http://www.gd- cs.com/needham.html Raytheon Corp., Lexington, MA, http://www.raytheon.com Edelman & Associates, http://www.edeltech.com We thank the Computer Science department of UMass-Lowell for providing support and hosting our web page.