Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 22:57:49 -0400 From: Withall Subject: Boston SPIN Meeting Announcement - Tuesday September 17, 2002 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Our meeting location is at The MITRE Corporation! Directions are at the end of this announcement and also on our web site - Because of security concerns, you'll need a Picture ID. And it's best to leave all carrying bags, backpacks, and briefcases in your car. Any items you do bring with you will be opened and inspected when you arrive. Topic: Software Estimation and Negotiation - "Changing the Game" in a Down Economy Speaker: Michael Mah. Managing Partner, QSM Associates, Inc. When: Tuesday, September 17, 2002. 6:00pm-8:30pm 6:00 - 6:55 SIGs, Networking and Roundtables 7:00 - 7:10 Announcements 7:10 - 8:10 Presentation 8:10 - 8:30 Questions and Answers Where: The MITRE Corporation 202 Burlington Rd. (Rt. 62), Building S Bedford, MA 01730 Who: Everyone (Industry, Government, Academia). Boston SPIN meetings are free. No RSVP is necessary. Cancellations: (including weather cancellations) Starting at 3pm, we'll notify you via email to the SPIN distribution list, we'll post the notice on the SPIN web page, and we'll send the cancellation announcement to Channel 7 TV and WRKO AM 680. SPEAKER Topic: Software Estimation and Negotiation - "Changing the Game" in a Down Economy Speaker: Michael Mah. Managing Partner, QSM Associates, Inc. Abstract: First, there was "Internet Speed". Now - a down economy. For the software manager, both create extreme challenges for managers and teams when it comes to software estimation and project negotiation. Deadlines are more compressed, within ever tighter budgets and staff constraints. Managers and their teams can either play the game, saying yes to "death march" project scenarios, hoping for a way out of the dilemma later on, or find a way to change the game. Michael's talk will address why playing the game is so hard, and what might be done to break the cycle. What role do metrics play? How can teams "sanity check" their promises and negotiate better scenarios? How does one discuss options and trade-offs when there appear to be no alternatives to impossible deadlines and budgets? As a manager, what can you do to break the cycle and prevent runaway projects? Building upon ideas from the bestseller, Getting to YES, this session explores resolving complex business issues using a framework to manage the tension between competition and cooperation. We will identify: * Alternatives to "Positional" Bargaining * How to Determine What's "Fair" About a Project Estimate * Techniques to Create Multiple Project Options * Enhancing Communication and Dealing with Difficult People and Situations About the Speaker: Michael Mah. Managing Partner, QSM Associates, Inc. Michael Mah is Managing Partner of QSM Associates Inc., and has served as past editor of IT Metrics Strategies with the Cutter Consortium, an industry think tank in Arlington, MA. He's a frequent industry speaker on software measurement and estimation, with a special emphasis on negotiation for in-house and outsourced applications development. Michael was also the keynote speaker with Watts Humphrey at the SEPG 2002 conference, where he played "Charlie Rose" to Watts Humphrey as the "celebrity" in a totally ad-hoc one-on-one interview on the state of the software industry. Michael's recent work merges research on software metrics and management with negotiation techniques originally developed in the field of dispute resolution. He's worked with a wide range of corporate clients such as Rockwell, Intel, Compaq, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, BellSouth, Sprint, and others. He has a degree in electrical engineering from Tufts University in Medford MA, with his training on negotiation and mediation through the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School <> and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Michael can be reached at QSM Associates, Inc., ClockTower Business Park, 75 South Church Street, Suite 600, Pittsfield MA 01201, (413) 499-0988. Web Site www.qsma.com <>. ROUNDTABLES and FORUMS Roundtables are focused group or "birds-of-a-feather" discussions, with a Facilitator to stimulate and moderate discussion. Forums are on-going discussions, focused on a specific topic and following an agenda set by the Leader. Please join us for a lively series of discussions during the Networking portion of the SPIN meeting, before the speaker. Choose the topic of your choice, but come early. The Facilitators and Leaders will determine the number of participants, and "first come, first served." The Roundtable Program begins at 6:00 PM. It is usually designed to provide discussion topics aligned with our speaker's topic. Come share your experience and concerns with other software professionals from New England. We look forward to your participation. 1. Process Improvement Forum Leader: Judi Brodman Project disasters - Can process avert them? We all have seen the statistics on the numbers of projects that fail but never the reasons why these projects fail. Many of us have worked on disastrous projects as a developer or a manager. This month's PI Roundtable will address some of the reasons project disasters happen and how disasters could have been averted. Bring your ideas on why your projects have not been successful - examples: estimates that are generated once and never revisited during the project life cycle therefore setting false expectations; deviations in schedule, resources, requirements that could have been seen early and corrected therefore averting disaster; incomplete requirements that caused a loss of schedule time but could have been ironed out in RAD/JAD sessions; too many process requirements on a small project causing developers to be buried under paperwork! Bring your project's problems to the table and let's see if more or less process could have prevented the disaster! 2. Jobs Forum Leaders: Paul Edelman and Karl Heinemann The Jobs Forum is an open discussion of job needs and leads. Facilitators are Paul Edelman and Karl Heinemann. Both bring a wealth of industry experience to the forum, from two very different perspectives. Anyone interested in finding a new job or that has opportunities to offer can expect a spirited discussion. 3. Software Testing Forum Leader: Paul Piper TBD 4. Managing Project Tradeoffs Facilitator: Johanna Rothman When you're managing a project or are a lead in the project, what tradeoffs do you make? How do you decide what you can trade off and when? How do you talk about the project tradeoffs with the project sponsors or stakeholders? Join us for a discussion of project tradeoffs, how you make them, and who makes them. 5. Improving Software Estimates Facilitator: Donna Johnson Generating software estimates at the beginning of a project is one of the most challenging tasks of software professionals. There are variables that make the task even more difficult, e.g., end dates and budgets set by management. Come discuss methods that have worked to generate more accurate estimates and ways to overcome impossible end dates, as well as other problems associated with estimating. BOOK CLUB Boston SPIN Book Club Facilitator: John Brtis Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation by William Ury Last season the book club looked at William Ury's Getting to Yes, a book that provides guidance for setting up win-win negotiations. Many who participated wondered, "but what do you do if you are faced by an opponent who is not interested in a win-win?" This month's book club will discuss another of Ury's books that addresses that issue, Getting Past No. This book that is a must read for just about anyone who interacts with people. William Ury has written a very practical, easily read, guide and process that anyone can use right from the start. Not just a 'business guide', his five step process is easily applied to everyday situations and with practice is a foundation for much larger negotiations. The principles are well defined via a five step process that is demonstrated through examples that are fresh, relevant, understood by common association. Gearing concepts through example gives the reader a sense of self mastery without having to memorize lists. The framework builds upon itself with frequent review of previously introduced terms. From business to interpersonal communication, this book has something for everyone. This is also an 'easy read' at fewer than 200 pages, the chapters are subtitled by concept and reference is easy. This book's conciseness is deceptive. The concepts expressed are profound. For example, I cannot count the number of times I have been able to use of the concept of BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement, i.e. what you do if the negotiations fail). Read it, use it, and enjoy a more satisfying approach to negotiation strategy. Even alone, each of the five steps provides a valuable resource to summon upon when communications/negotiations are not moving smoothly. Come and join us on September 17 for a lively discussion of a very interesting and timely book!! ============================================================================ DIRECTIONS: Directions are attached to this message to ensure that you get our location. A map can be found on our web site - Coming from 128 South or North 1. Take Exit 32A onto Route 3 North. 2. Proceed two miles on Route 3 North and take the first Exit 26 (for Route 62 Bedford). 3. Go down the ramp to the traffic signal. Continue straight across Route 62 onto Crosby Drive. 4. After a short hill, take the first right into the MITRE campus. 5. Follow the driveway, which bears left and then right and turn right into the parking lot (immediately after the third speed bump). 6. Walk into the courtyard between Buildings K and S and enter the S lobby to sign in. From New Hampshire 1 Take Route 3 South to Exit 26 (for Route 62 Bedford). 2. Turn Left on Route 62. 3. After going under Route 3 take a left at the traffic signal onto Crosby Drive. 4. After a short hill, take the first right into the MITRE campus. 5. Follow the driveway, which bears left and then right and turn right into the parking lot (immediately after the third speed bump). 6. Walk into the courtyard between Buildings K and S and enter the S lobby to sign in. From Logan Airport 1. Go through tunnel to Route 93 North. 2. Take Route 93 North eleven miles to Exit 37B (Route 128 (I-95) South). 3. Take Route 128 (I-95) South six miles to Exit 32A (Route 3 North). 4. After a short hill, take the first right into the MITRE campus. 5. Follow the driveway, which bears left and then right and turn right into the parking lot (immediately after the third speed bump). 6. Walk into the courtyard between Buildings K and S and enter the S lobby to sign in.