Nayan Hajratwala's Page

At the December MAE meeting, we neglected to select a topic.  So, I went back through the suggested topics from last year to see what was the most "requested, but not selected topic" and it was team room/space configuration.The  January MAE meeting will be all about crowd sourcing!  Come to the meeting prepared to talk about a past or current team space.  We'll cover questions like:- What does the team space looks like- What does the team like about the layout- What would the team like to…See More

Over the past three years, we have had a number Kanban presentations/dialogues at our MAE meetings.  Interest in Kanban continues to grow and grow as we talk about such topics like estimating, continuous delivery, and team ownership. In June, Daniel Vacanti, CEO of Corporate Kanban, will be dropping by the MAE to help answer our questions and continue the…See More

Often when working on an agile project, we are asked to complete the project with either:A fixed date,A fixed cost,Or, a fixed scopeThis topic has been covered in numerous agile books and blogs, but what are we doing in Detroit?Come to the February MAE meeting to hear Jason Swafford (Compuware) lead a discussion on what organizations are doing locally to manage these "fixed" concerns.Meeting format6:00 - 6:15 PM …See More

Agile and Beyond 2012 provides an opportunity for teams, developers, testers, business analysts, executives, and managers — from novice to expert — from team to enterprise. Explore the depth and breadth of Agile software development, across all practices and perspectives.Immerse yourself in Agile development techniques, technologies and tools, leadership principles, experience and management. Benefit from lessons learned and explore new ideas.Learn from the finest Agile experts, industry…See More

In his book Succeeding with Agile (page 405),  Mike Cohn's notes: To achieve long-term success with agile, the implications of becoming agile must be transferred into other parts of the organization.  When this is not done, organizational gravity -- those influences that formed the organization into whatever shape it existed in before the start of the transition -- will kick in....When agile is mistakenly viewed solely as a change within the development group, the organizational gravity created…See More

User experience is coming to the MAE! Kim Callery (from Cengage Learning) will help us take a look at users through the use of personas. We will discuss the creation, application, and use of the personas throughout the development process of a product. Bio:Kim Callery is a User Experience Specialist at Cengage Learning. She has a BFA in Animation & Digital Media from College for Creative Studies. Also, an MA in Interactive Design & Game Development and is in the process of her MFA in…See More