As always, we’ll continue to bring in the best speakers from around the world to share their experience with Grand Rapids. Below are just a few of the events from the upcoming season, and remember: Software GR events are always free to attend, thanks to our sponsors.

Steve Smith: is a recognized authority on front-end development and interface design. He is an entrepreneur, founding Ordered List, and co-founding Sidebar Creative, both of which are outlets for his professional work. And as an author, public speaker, and University of Notre Dame professor, he is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others.

Chris McMahon: When I’m not testing software he’s gone to the canyons or the mountains. Chris recently helped organize the Writing About Testing conference and will be sharing some of the great observations that came out of it for those of us who couldn’t make it.

Joe Stump: CTO and co-founder of SimpleGeo. Before that Joe was Lead Architect for Digg. In his spare time he likes to run, bike, swim, play disc golf, go hiking, and snowboard. He appreciates Oxford commas.

Walter Bright: Engineer, Digital Mars. Creator of the D programming language. Walter Bright graduated from Caltech in 1979 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked for Boeing for 3 years on the development of the 757 stabilizer trim system. He then switched to writing software, in particular compilers, and has been writing them ever since.

That’s just a few of upcoming events – keep an eye on our web site as we post the complete schedule! And in addition to that, we’re also very proud to be presenting these other fantastic west Michigan tech events:

BarCampGR: This is the fifth BarCamp gathering in Grand Rapids, and it is free. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees, usually centered around design & technology topics. If you’re not familiar with what BarCamp is, we recommend reading the rules. BarCamp GR is on Saturday August 20th at the Devos Communications Center, Calvin College.

GLSEC: Stay tuned for details on the next Great Lakes Software Excellence Conference. We’ll be gathering on April 16th, 2011 at the Prince Center, Calvin College. We’ve got a really great show lined up. Keep an eye on the GLSEC web site for details as their finalized.

Thanks to all of you for your support this far, and we’re looking forward to the upcoming year. Hopefully you are too!

When: May 25nd, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Atomic Object, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506
RSVPs: Register here

Google’s AppEngine can enable developers to build awesome apps quickly. However, building on AppEngine means you have to work with the Datastore, and you can get into trouble quickly if you don’t understand how it works. The rewards are great, but so is the learning curve. This is especially true if you’ve never worked with a NoSQL database before. AppEngine forces you to consider scaling from the beginning and the API’s can range in available functionality. There are important differences between both the Python and Java implementations and the imposed limitations can seem arbitrary at first. All of this can be daunting, so join me as we dive deep into the AppEngine::Datastore and discover all the power it has to offer.

Have an AppEngine topic you’re curious about? Submit questions online with Google Moderator here.

About the speaker

Ryan Montgomery is a local Grand Rapids web developer who has years of experience building web based applications in .NET for the Material Handling industry. In more recent years Ryan has migrated his attention to building apps with Python and JRuby on Google’s AppEngine. You can discover the Meaning of it all on his blog or learn more about Interwebteknology on his technical blog. Catch him in person at the GR Python Users Group.

Bob Walsh, 47 Hats

When: April 27nd, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Atomic Object, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506
RSVPs: Register here

The bad news is being a commodity IT person means your job or skills are ever closer to being outsourced or automated. The good news is social media and the web as it’s own economy, society and culture have reached the point where you can define, focus and build your web-wide reputation as an indispensable IT person beyond any single service, beyond your current job or next contract gig.

In this talk, I’ll be focusing on beyond why you should be on Twitter or Facebook, beyond the ten best tips on blogging, etc., to look at the road ahead for online professionals of all stripes. What online/social media core strategies work to make you indispensable? How do you build levels of interaction with your social network to be a valued part of that network and still get work done?

Whether you’ve been a sysadmin for the same company for a decade or in the midst of launching your own startup, becoming indispensable, being a linchpin, is a key component to developing an option-rich future for yourself.

About the speaker

It’s summer! We’ll be taking it easy this summer. No speakers; just each other. Join us to just hang out, network, eat, and drink. We’ll be at HopCat at the usual time.

About HopCat

HopCat was envisioned, designed, stocked and staffed with one mission in mind: to bring you great beer. We specialize in Michigan brews, but also offer a wide range of global beer, with a large Belgian selection. If you’re not in the mood for a beer, you can get a glass of wine or cocktail from our full bar.

It’s summer! We’ll be taking it easy this summer. No speakers; just each other. Join us to just hang out, network, eat, and drink. We’ll be at Bar Divani at the usual time.

About Bar Divani

Divani is Hindi for being crazy in love – something we anticipate you will be experiencing shortly. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff is available to make exploration of the vast beverage selection as dauntless as possible. With over 200 liquors to choose from we will be sure to recommend one that is well suited for you.

In addition to liquor, we have an overwhelming list of wines by the glass, half bottle, or bottle. And beer is fun too: there are plenty of bottle options to choose from as well as a rotating set of local and national hand-craft beers on tap.

It’s summer! We’ll be taking it easy this summer. No speakers, just each other. Join us to just hang out, network, eat, and drink. We’ll be at the Green Well at the usual time.

About The Green Well

At the Green Well, an Essence Restaurant Group establishment, we serve honest fayre with local flair in a green, neighborhood setting that keeps customers coming back. Our innovative gastro pub is green beyond its name: Our building is LEED® certified inside and out which means it’s environmentally safe, ultra efficient and leaves behind the smallest possible carbon footprint.

Our creative, ever-changing menu features a global range of eclectic flavors prepared with ingredients from local farmers, and our beverage offering includes a wide array of local craft brews and wines, all to support our local economy.

Our greenness also spills over to our guests who benefit from affordable prices and outstanding service by a fun, welcoming staff.

Karl Swedberg, Fusionary Media

When: May 26th, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Work Play Space, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

jQuery is a powerful JavaScript library that can enhance your websites regardless of your background.

For designers, jQuery leverages existing CSS and HTML skills, allowing you to dynamically find and change any aspect of a page. This talk provides a gentle introduction to jQuery concepts, allowing you to add interactions and animations to your pages – even if previous attempts at writing JavaScript have left you baffled.

For programmers, jQuery offers an open-source, standards-compliant, unobtrusive approach to writing complex JavaScript applications.

Speaker Bio

After having taught high school English, edited copy for an advertising agency, and owned a coffee house, Karl Swedberg began his career as a web developer four years ago. He now works for Fusionary Media in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he specializes in client-side scripting and interaction design. Karl is an “Evangelist” for the jQuery JavaScript Library and the co-author of two books, Learning jQuery and jQuery Reference Guide.

When: April 28th, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Work Play Space, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Civil engineers have learned how to avoid failure from their rich history of bridge collapses, tunnel floodings, and building disintegrations. The firmware world is quite different; it seems we all make the same mistakes, repeatedly. Yet most problems have similar root causes. In this talk we’ll examine a number of embedded disasters, large and small, and extract lessons we must learn to improve our code.

Speaker Bio

Jack Ganssle helps developers build better embedded systems faster.

He started, developed and sold three electronics companies; including one of the world’s leading producers of embedded development tools.

He developed or managed the development of over 100 embedded products, including in-circuit emulators, underwater navigation equipment (some used to recover Space Shuttle Challenger’s wreckage), steel thickness gauges, near-IR protein measurement instruments, the White House security system, compilers, colorimeters, numerous classified Government systems… and even one device that analyzed cow poop!

Writing

Jack is the Technical Editor of Embedded Systems Programming magazine as well as author of the magazine’s monthly column “Breakpoints”. He has published over 600 articles on different aspects of embedded development, as well as six books on the subject. On-line, he writes the weekly Embedded Pulse column on embedded.com and is editor of The Embedded Muse, a free bi-weekly email newsletter.

Also an avid sailor, he has written numerous articles on ocean voyaging and a book about his offshore debacles.

Lecturing and Teaching

For over a decade Jack has lectured at symposiums and conferences on electronics and software all over the world. His Better Firmware Faster seminar has helped thousands of developers get products to market faster with fewer problems.

He has presented the Keynote speech at many major events, including the two Embedded Systems Conferences.

Other

Jack currently serves on Embedded System Design’s Editorial Review Board, as well as the boards of several pre-IPO corporations. He has also worked as an Expert Witness.

Jack is a member of NASA’s Super Problem Resolution Team, a team of advisors formed in the wake of Columbia’s loss to help NASA with issues requiring special expertise not available in-house.

When: March 24, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Work Play Space, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Part 1: Jake Scruggs: “What’s the right level of testing?”

I’ve been on teams with way too little and (heresy) way too much testing. There have been lots of talks about how you should test more, but I’m going to dare to talk about when you should test less. Too much testing can lead to backlash, gridlock, morale problems, and poor velocity. Of course lack of testing can lead to bad design, gridlock, morale problems, and poor velocity. Balance is key.

The level of testing a team can support depends on many factors including: team size, developer buy in, managerial approval, company size, IT support, and testing experience of the team. In my talk I’ll be discussing each of these factors in turn as well as how they interact with each other (for instance: Rabid manager support of testing combined with developer hesitancy can spell disaster). In addition, I’ll be sharing my experiences trying to bring testing to many different teams of varying skill and size. There are strategies for integrating testing that can overcome most obstacles.

Part 2: Andy & Tyler: “Pair Parody”

Of all the XP practices, few have generated as much controversy and misunderstanding as Pair Programming. To help people understand what it is, what it isn’t, and how to do it effectively Andy & Tyler will demonstrate common pair programming patterns and anti-patterns.

Speaker Bios

Tyler Jennings

Tyler Jennings is an active member of many Chicago area user’s groups including CJUG (Chicago Java User’s Group) and CHAD (Chicago Agile Developers). Tyler is passionate about writing software and sharing his experience with others. Currently Tyler Jennings is a Senior Consultant at Obtiva, a firm that specializes in helping development teams transition to Agile methodologies.

Andy Maleh

Ever since he’s written his first computer program at the age of 7, Andy has always been interested in computers and technology. He has been involved with a number of projects in Ruby and Java, utilizing technologies such as Rails, JEE, Eclipse RCP, and Swing. Andy likes to follow agile XP software practices and user interface design best practices. He holds a bachelor degree in Computer Science from McGill University and a master degree in Software Engineering from DePaul University.

Jake Scruggs

{“High School Physics Teacher” => 7.years, “Object Mentor Apprentice” => 3.months, “ThoughtWorker” => 4.years, “Obtivian” => 1.year}

Open talk: February 24, 2009, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Registration-only workshop: February 25, 2009
Where: Work Play Space, 941 Wealthy Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

This talk will be followed by a workshop on User Experience design. Seats are limited! Registration is now open. More info and registration.

Agile is very popular, and has produced successful products. However, even highly-functional Agile teams can fail because a successful product is more than just well-executed technology delivered on time. Many core Agile techniques (e.g. peer programming, integrated testing, refactoring) are focused on effective development. Often, Agile projects are staffed exclusively with people who write code. How does the Agile process best integrate the contributions of business stakeholders, and other team members? Even if there’s someone on the team who knows and represents the customer, what do you do when you have multiple customers? How do you know that your product will deliver a coherent user experience over time as it evolves? How do you balance feedback from team members and users so you can correctly prioritize and sequence user stories?

In this talk, Lane will draw on her experience with Agile teams to share how user experience design methods contribute to Agile projects and how UE activities can be coordinated with Agile development activities.

Speaker Bio

Lane Halley is a Principal Design Consultant with Cooper in San Francisco, CA. Her career spans the formative years of the interaction design profession. Prior to joining Cooper in 1997, Lane worked in marketing, training development, technical account management and product management roles at SSC, Microsoft, Mindscape and SenSage. While at Cooper, she has helped companies ranging from start-ups to large corporations create compelling design solutions for enterprise and consumer applications, websites and devices and is a popular teacher of CooperU courses. Lane believes that interaction design is a bridge between product management and development, and that user experience design informs and enhances Agile product development.