User stories drive the process of creating software. Good user stories help develop software efficiently, but poor user stories can lead to lower return on investment and even cancelled projects. We will look at a number of example user stories from robotic milking machines to online shoe stores to discover the key to creating stories that effectively represent complex work with simplicity.

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User stories drive the process of creating software. Good user stories help develop software efficiently, but poor user stories can lead to lower return on investment and even cancelled projects. We will look at a number of example user stories from robotic milking machines to online shoe stores to discover the key to creating stories that effectively represent complex work with simplicity.

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I've been asked for more examples of splitting large stories into smaller pieces while still delivering work that the user can experience as valuable progress. In this session, we'll look at several examples of this type of story division.

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How does one become a software engineer? In this talk we'll look at what it takes to develop the necessary skills to enter the field and we'll look at a number of different ways to acquire those skills. This talk will be useful for people considering a career shift, developers looking for ways to increase their skills, and anyone with kids who might be interested in learning how to program.

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Everyone loves the idea of doing "greenfield" development where you create a system from the ground up without being subject to legacy concerns. There is great potential to do things "right", but there are also dangerous pitfalls hidden right below the grassy surface. In this talk, we will discuss some of the lurking landmines and look for ways to reduce these risks, maximize the benefits, and deliver an awesome application when doing greenfield software development.

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Many (if not most) teams operate by pushing work into their development process, but there is another way. In this short 30 minute session we are going to look at the difference between pushing work into a system and pulling stories out.

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It is easy for managers to inadvertently measure progress in ways that reduce agility. This session is going to focus on how leaders (both formal and informal) can help teams by using good metrics and tracking progress in ways that help create success, provide transparency, and generate a strong return on investment.

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ChatGPT can often do an excellent job of carrying out our intellectual gruntwork for us. Having said that, if we don’t have a very firm grasp on what ChatGPT is good at and bad at, we risk using it inappropriately and getting bad results, potentially without even realizing what we’ve done. In this presentation you’ll see which parts of TDD ChatGPT is useless for as well as the areas of TDD where ChatGPT shines.

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This talk is aimed at people leading Agile teams, but that doesn’t mean it is only directed toward managers. Leadership happens at every level of an organization, and the discussions in these two talks will help you be a better Agile leader regardless of what role you play in the organization. If you have any role in leading or influencing a team toward achieving better agility, this talk will help give you ideas and strategies for being more effective in that role.

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Good retrospectives (you know, the ones that actually lead to real change?) rest on three pillars:

• people,
• process, and
• follow-through

What makes retrospectives so difficult is that if any of these three pillars starts to crack, it's very difficult for the retrospective to be a success.

Getting the right people in the room, facilitating an effective conversation, and following-through on the meeting are both incredibly important and terribly challenging.

Join me to explore how effective retrospectives can transform you and your team into engines of learning and growth.

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