Yes, my travel schedule was sometimes a bit brutal, I sometimes had to work nights and weekends, and yes it was a very stressful job, but that was what originally drew me to it at the tender age of 32.  In addition, I was always jealous of the partners who got to go out to customer sites and implement the technology I spent so many years talking passionately about.  I guess I couldn’t take it anymore.  SO I can truly say “Microsoft, it wasn’t you, it was ME”.  There was no shortage of hand-wringing and stomach-aching while working through this.  I could have easily stayed at Microsoft and simply moved into a new role, or moved to another team “keeps things fresh and interesting”. I certainly had every manager I know working hard to make sure there wasn’t another option within the company.  But that just wasn’t going to cut it given what I knew I wanted to do.

One thing that my parents have always tried to teach me despite my inclinations to be a ninny about major life decisions, is that if I follow my passion and take calculated risks, I’ll never look back with regret. After losing my father to cancer in September of 2010, I started re-evaluating my choices in life. I think major events like that always make you question what is really important, what battles are worth fighting, and what risks are worth taking.  I decided that what I REALLY needed to be happy was a change in career, to get back into the trenches working with TFS, honing my development skills again, and truly earning that Scrum-master certification that I recently achieved. Fortunately for me, some folks from my past life at Software Architects created the perfect opening  for me at their firm.

I am now the new (and first) ALM practice manager at Polaris Solutions.   In short, while getting out there and *doing* ALM, I’m also helping them to refine their ALM offerings and build up their talent pool for delivering those offerings.  So in other words, I’m not going far… and I plan to stay as involved as I can with the community, including continuing to help run the local Visual Studio ALM user group in Chicago.

I have loved working at Microsoft, and they’ve been EXTREMELY good to me over the past five and a half years. I had great benefits, was given some amazing opportunities to grow my career, and of course a healthy benefits plan. So I would absolutely encourage anyone passionate about Microsoft technology to consider a job in DPE or with the developer tools product team. While my role has already been filled, I believe there are still a job opening or two in the area. I blogged about that here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/angelab/archive/2011/11/11/ever-thought-to-yourself-wow-angela-has-a-fun-and-awesome-job-in-dpe-well-we-are-currently-looking-for-a-few-good-folks-to-join-us.aspx

I am currently stationed down in Decatur with a customer, helping them to implement Visual Studio 2010 load testing and TFS 2010 within several departments.  I also delivered a 2 day training course, and those of you who know me well might know that one of my original career paths was in education. So as you can imagine I am having an absolute BLAST!  So now you know. As of January 1st, 2012 I am a Polaris Solutions employee. Nice to meet you, again. And feel free to continue reaching out to me with any questions you might have about TFS or Visual Studio.  Because some things, never change

Delivering Solutions using Microsoft Project Server and ALM

Featuring: Gord Schmidt, Agora Consulting Partners
Kevin Schmidt, Agora Consulting Partners
Organizations are investing heavily in building project management competencies through the improvement in processes and use of tools such as Microsoft Office Project Server to ensure the predictable and reliable delivery of projects. At the same time an increasing number of development teams are moving towards agile techniques. Integrating and reconciling development teams and project management has become extremely important. Microsoft's Application Lifecycle Management strategy includes solutions designed to enable Visual Studio, Team Foundation Server, and Project Server to connect together seamlessly.
This session will explore the connectivity capabilities of the different products and demonstrate how this can enable development teams and project managers to work efficiently and increase productivity.

Date: November 17^th, 2011  Time: 1:00 p.m. ET  https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032498024&Culture=en-CA 

The Release Management Challenge and Visual Studio ALM

Featuring: Claude Remillard, President, InCycle Software
Learn how Release Management practices and tools can significantly reduce the risks and costs of the go-to-market. Application Release is often complex, brittle and error-prone resulting in delays and many frustrations along the way. Thanks to new tools and approaches, the release process can now be successfully automated and managed. Learn how to integrate Visual Studio 2010 tools and InRelease to implement a fully automated Release Paths for your .Net based applications. We will take you through all the step and tools required from developer check-in to production.

Date: November 24^th, 2011  Time: 1:00 p.m. ET  https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032498029&Culture=en-CA

Managing and Tracking Requirements with Microsoft ALM

Featuring: Roxanne E. Miller President of Requirements Quest.

Adam Gallant Technology Solutions Professional, Microsoft

Asif Sharif Chief Technologist, eDev Technologies

The goal of a successful requirements management process is to get a consistent interpretation of the requirements from all the stakeholders. The goal of process improvement is for people in your organization to work in new ways that yield effective results. Using the right integrated platform that support requirements definition & management, collaboration, project management, test management & automation and software development activity is key to any successful project. Microsoft Visual Studio along with inteGREAT provides just such a platform.

Date: December 1^st, 2011  Time: 1:00 p.m. ET  https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032498033&Culture=en-CA

Leveraging Microsoft ALM to deliver Windows Phone Solutions

Featuring: Mano Kulasingham, DigiFlare
The Windows Phone platform provides development organizations with a new way to reach consumers and employees. With rich tools to allow organizations to leverage their existing skills and make use of cloud services, the possibilities that this platform presents to organizations is exciting. However, in the rush to deliver applications for this platform, and the increasingly large market of consumers it provides, it becomes even more important than ever to ensure that developers, testers, and planners are able to collaborate effectively to product high quality, robust solutions. This session will provide an overview of some of the challenges faced in building Windows Phone applications as a team, and present some techniques to address those challenges with Visual Studio ALM and Team Foundation Server.

Date: December 8^th, 2011  Time: 1:00 p.m. ET  https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032498035&Culture=en-CA 

Moving to Microsoft ALM from existing Source Control Repositories

Featuring: Adam Gallant, Technology Solutions Professional, Microsoft
Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server provides a modern, enterprise capable platform for solution delivery, including a robust version control system. However, many organizations face the challenge of migrating from existing source control repositories and systems to take advantage of TFS. This session will explore the challenges and proven techniques to address this scenario, addressing the migration from technologies like Visual SourceSafe, PVCS, ClearCase, and Subversion.

Date: December 15^th, 2011  Time: 1:00 p.m. ET https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032498037&Culture=en-CA

The Ultimate Guide to Visual Studio 2010 - Coding, Debugging, Modeling, Testing, Building and Deployment

Visual Studio 2010 is packed with new and enhanced features to help you create the best code possible and simplify your entire development process from design to deployment. Microsoft experts will show off the powerful new tools that Visual Studio 2010 brings to your tool box:

Essential Tips for the Professional Developer. Most of us use Visual Studio but do we really know how to USE it? We will show you the top tips and tricks that can jet propel your use of the IDE. Marvel at the simple editor features that you never think about and the advanced power tools you can use to improve your programming experience and productivity.

Power Tools for the Master Craftsman. Has your code base developed a mind of its own? Is it in need a heavy dose of refactoring but you don’t know where to start? We will start with a look at Code Metrics, a set of industry measures that help developers identify potential risks and uncover code that should be reworked or more thoroughly tested. We will also show you how to use Code Analysis to analyze entire assemblies for commonly encountered programming and design errors. And let’s not forget our databases. We will walk through the powerful new change management, data quality management, and deployment tools for databases that help us maintain the ever elusive one version of the truth.

Blueprints for a Long and Happy Lifecycle. Whether you’re creating new solutions or enhancing existing applications, you need to consider their entire life cycle to truly achieve your business goals. We will take a look at the new modeling tools for understanding and communicating your system’s architecture, eliminating those nasty “no repro” bugs using IntelliTrace™, and streamlining your development pipeline to ensure quality results from design to deployment.

Key Experiences:

• Visual Studio Productivity Power Pack
• Visual Studio Feature Pack
• Code Metrics
• Code Analysis
• Database Management & Deployment
• Architecture Discovery
• Architecture Modeling & Design with UML
• Architecture Validation
• IntelliTrace
• Build Customization & Gated Check-in
• Branch Visualization & Merging
• Methodology & Process Selection

DATES/LOCATIONS

12/12/2011 Chicago, IL

12/14/2011 Downers Grove, IL

12/15/2011 Indianapolis, IN

12/15/2011 Due to the overwhelming response, we’ve added an afternoon 1:M session in Indy!  https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501429&Culture=en-US

Resources

• Learn more about Visual Studio 2010
• Deploy and adopt better Application Lifecycle Management, learn more almcatalyst.com
• Keep up with the latest developer news through MSDN Flash

Presenters

Zain Naboulsi has been working with the latest Microsoft technologies as a consultant and trainer since 1995. He currently works on the Visual Studio Tips and Tricks series, helping developers reach their full coding potential. He also created Online Community Evangelism - an effort to build communities in virtual places like LinkedIn, Facebook, and elsewhere. He is not only a proponent of the community aspect of online environments but also is a supporter of the myriad business applications that these new mediums offer.

Clint Edmonson has been developing software with Microsoft technologies for the last 18 years, working on everything from custom shrink-wrapped software at small startups to enterprise architecture and methodology adoption at fortune 500 companies. He is currently an Architect Evangelist in Microsoft’s North Central District, helping companies understand Microsoft’s latest developer and platform offerings and helping them develop strategic roadmaps for their adoption. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri and is the host of www.notsotrivial.net.

What is DPE all about? It’s is a super fun job that is all about inspiring passion in other people about the Microsoft stack of technologies, in MY humble opinion   The official definition: The DPE team’s overall mission is to secure platform adoption and revenue growth through evangelism, community engagement, intelligent audience marketing and a vibrant solutions ecosystem. Developer Tools and Technologies are the cornerstone of Microsoft’s .NET strategy. Through evangelism, marketing and sales, DPE helps secure the Microsoft platform, now and in the future.

Developer Technology Specialist

https://careers.microsoft.com/jobdetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=2&jid=68645&jlang=EN 

Location: United States, IL, Chicago -- this position covers IL, IN and WI so you could actually live in any one of those states. Chicago is just a nice central location, I should know this is actually my current job.

Job ID: 773945 66330

Are you passionate about the developing with Microsoft technology? Have you experienced the power of Team Foundation Server or the test capabilities in Visual Studio Ultimate? Do you enjoy working with customers to assist them in being successful leveraging development tools and application lifecycle management? If this describes you, there is a unique opportunity to join the Central Region Developer and Platform Evangelism (DPE) team as a Developer Technology Specialist Professional (Dev TSP).  

About this Position: The Developer Technology Specialist Professional (Dev TSP) is accountable for delivering an ALM story, showing our customers the value of the development platform, and developing long relationships with key technical decision makers in the accounts (CIO, CTO, Senior Development Leaders). Additionally, they must drive adoption of the development suite of products. The Dev TSP supports the long-term strategic directions for driving pipeline, becoming a trusted advisor, and building a strong pipeline for the Developer Solution Specialist. The Dev TSP will have several strategic accounts where the focus will be long-term revenue through driving wins and adoption of the broader development platform (Windows Phone, HTML5, Windows client, Azure, etc.).

The Dev TSP focuses on successful execution of technical engagements (demos, presentations, POCs and ADS) directly and through leveraging partners. The key outcome in this role is to influence technical/business decision, uncover customers’ goals, and guide future roadmaps within the accounts. A key activity for this role will be to recruit and develop the right partner ecosystem to help deliver pre-sales technical engagement to help scale effectively.

Qualifications:

You should have a strong technical background with 7+ years of relevant field pre-sales experience in enterprise lifecycle tools, for example, from IBM Rational, Mercury Interactive, Compuware, etc. You will have the technical expertise necessary to gain credibility with and influence lead architects/developers.

You will also have the communication skills and business experience required to articulate the advantages of Visual studio and Team foundation Server to senior business and technical decision makers especially in competitive scenarios. You should also be able to manage a virtual team and create and implement a technical strategy mapped to the business plan for the accounts assigned.

7-15 years of software development experience, deep .NET development acumen, outstanding presentation experience, and persuasive communication skills. A Bachelor’s or Master's degree in computer science preferred. A broad familiarity with recent Microsoft technologies including WCF, WPF, Azure, Silverlight, SharePoint, etc. is a plus. Passion for technology with solid knowledge of enterprise global IT requirements and competitive offerings required.

Developer Solution Specialist

https://careers.microsoft.com/jobdetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=1&jid=68054&jlang=EN

Location: United States, IL, Chicago -- this position covers IL, IN and WI so you could actually live in any one of those states.

Job ID: 776400 68054

Are you someone with a drive for results? Are you a solution selling professional with a passion for uncovering business problems, solving the most complex and challenging of them, and doing so with an orientation towards value? Are you passionate about developer tools? If this describes you, there is a unique opportunity to join the Central Region Developer and Platform Evangelism (D&PE) team as a Developer Tools Solution Sales Professional for the Enterprise segment (EPG) within our North Central District.
The DPE team’s overall mission is to secure platform adoption and revenue growth through evangelism, community engagement, intelligent audience marketing and a vibrant solutions ecosystem. Developer Tools and Technologies are the cornerstone of Microsoft’s .NET strategy. Through evangelism, marketing and sales, DPE helps secure the Microsoft platform, now and in the future.
About this Position: The Developer Tools Solution Sales Professional is a role focused on driving developer revenue in the North Central District as a sales resource for EPG segment. Developer Tools Solution Sales Professionals (Tools SSP) own the territory opportunity pipeline and sales execution for Visual Studio 2010, MSDN, Test Professional, Team Explorer Everywhere (TEE) and Expression products. Additionally, the sales professional position focuses on customer satisfaction and successful adoption.

Qualifications:

To be considered for this role, you must have 5+ years experience in solution sales calling on and developing relationships with senior-level business and technical decision makers in large accounts; strong practical knowledge of .NET and competing technologies; strong strategic partner relationship building skills; exceptional creative, analytic, communication, presentation and teaming skills; strong business process orientation and solution experience. This position is located in the Midwest district or the South Central district; 25%+ travel is required to support customers in this area.

Developer Evangelist

https://careers.microsoft.com/JobDetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=1&jid=66326&jlang=EN

Location: Since this role covers Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, you can reside in any of those states.

Job ID: 773946 66326

The Developer Evangelist (DE) is a member of the Central Region Developer and Platform Evangelism (DPE) team that drives developer satisfaction and platform adoption through Microsoft-led events, community engagement, developing relationships with community leaders, and direct account engagement with customers as well as scaling through online channels.  This is a highly technical role with the mission of engaging and inspiring the broad community of developers and fostering adoption of Microsoft development technologies such as Windows Azure, Visual Studio and the .NET Framework, Expression and Silverlight, Windows 7, Windows Phone 7 and other emerging technologies. The DE leads by example and invests heavily in cultivating productive, influential partners and community leaders.

This role is responsible for:

• Driving satisfaction with Microsoft, Microsoft tools and Microsoft platform technologies

• Driving next generation web technologies, Windows client platform, Windows Phone platform and Cloud adoption

• Supporting Microsoft-driven events such as MSDN Events and product launches

• Engaging the broad developer and architect communities in partnership with community leaders

• Engaging with the broad developer and architect audience through online channels

Qualifications

7-15 years of software development experience, deep .NET development acumen, outstanding presentation experience, and persuasive communication skills. The strong candidate will have deep involvement with the Microsoft developer community either as an MVP, User Group Leader, or influential blogger. A Bachelor’s or Master's degree in computer science preferred. Expertise in Windows Azure or ASP.NET technologies and HTML5 preferred. Broad familiarity with other Microsoft technologies including Windows Phone 7, SQL Azure, ASP.NET MVC, etc. is a plus. Passion for technology with solid knowledge of enterprise global IT requirements and competitive offerings required. Preferred location is Chicago, IL.

When: November 9, 2011 1:00pm – 4:00pm (CST) -- Register Here

Visual Studio 2010 is packed with new and enhanced features to help you create the best code possible and simplify your entire development process from design to deployment. Microsoft experts will show off the powerful new tools that Visual Studio 2010 brings to your tool box.

Essential Tips for the Professional Developer. Most of us use Visual Studio but do we really know how to USE it?  We will show you the top tips and tricks that can jet propel your use of the IDE.  Marvel at the simple editor features that you never think about and the advanced power tools you can use to improve your programming experience and productivity.

Power Tools for the Master Craftsman. Has your code base developed a mind of its own? Is it in need a heavy dose of refactoring but you don’t know where to start? We will start with a look at Code Metrics, a set of industry measures that help developers identify potential risks and uncover code that should be reworked or more thoroughly tested. We will also show you how to use Code Analysis to analyze entire assemblies for commonly encountered programming and design errors. And let’s not forget our databases. We will walk through the powerful new change management, data quality management, and deployment tools for databases that help us maintain the ever elusive one version of the truth.

Blueprints for a Long and Happy Lifecycle. Whether you’re creating new solutions or enhancing existing applications, you need to consider their entire life cycle to truly achieve your business goals. We will take a look at the new modeling tools for understanding and communicating your system’s architecture, eliminating those nasty “no repro” bugs using IntelliTrace™, and streamlining your development pipeline to ensure quality results from design to deployment.

Key Experiences:

· Visual Studio Productivity Power Pack

· Visual Studio Feature Pack

· Code Metrics

· Code Analysis

· Database Management & Deployment

· Architecture Discovery

· Architecture Modeling & Design with UML

· Architecture Validation

· IntelliTrace

· Build Customization & Gated Check-in

· Branch Visualization & Merging

· Methodology & Process Selection

Presenters

Zain Naboulsi has been working with the latest Microsoft technologies as a consultant and trainer since 1995. He currently works on the Visual Studio Tips and Tricks series, helping developers reach their full coding potential. He also created Online Community Evangelism - an effort to build communities in virtual places like LinkedIn, Facebook, and elsewhere.  He is not only a proponent of the community aspect of online environments but also is a supporter of the myriad business applications that these new mediums offer.

Clint Edmonson has been developing software with Microsoft technologies for the last 18 years, working on everything from custom shrink-wrapped software at small startups to enterprise architecture and methodology adoption at fortune 500 companies. He is currently an Architect Evangelist in Microsoft’s North Central District, helping companies understand Microsoft’s latest developer and platform offerings and helping them develop strategic roadmaps for their adoption. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri and is the host of www.notsotrivial.net.

Eric Landes has been involved with the IT industry for close to 20 years. As a Solution Architect for AgileThought he helps coach and implement agile solutions in primarily Microsoft environments. Eric has been using Agile methods for the past 6 years, in a Team Lead/Project Manager capacity. He has presented on Kanban, automated acceptance tests, and other agile topics at different agile conferences, and user group meetings. Eric has a CSM and is a Microsoft MVP. For more information, check out his web site, http://ericlandes.com, or check AgileThought’s web site at http://www.agilethought.com

Agenda:6:30 - Food & Drink , 7:00 PM - Presentation

RSVP Now to Attend

November | 8 | Chicago -  Microsoft Office Downtown

Due to Microsoft Office space constraints only 24 attendees will be allowed to register for the Chicago event

Register here for Chicago event here: https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=157428

Please remember to cancel your registration if you can no longer attend. Space is extremely limited so we’d like to make sure we take best advantage of our limited space and be fair to everyone who CAN attend!

About Chad Albrecht

Over the last 20 years of his career, Chad has been an executive, consultant, developer, coach and trainer. Having worked with dynamic organizations around the world in diverse industries, Chad is a strong believer in Agile ALM techniques and the Kaizen corporate culture. Chad is also an avid speaker at user groups, a published author and active member of the software development community. As a Vice President for Centare’s Agile Practice and a Professional Scrum Trainer, Chad and his practice help organizations make the transition to Agile.

About Steve Amstadt

Steve Amstadt is a certified Professional Scrum Developer in Centare’s Agile Practice. Steve has over twelve years of Quality Assurance experience as a consultant working at clients across multiple industries. For the past year, Steve has been working on a high-performing Scrum team focusing on Quality Assurance and testing.

About Gary Pedretti

Gary Pedretti is an application architect, software developer, and Scrum coach. With over twelve years of experience in technology, Gary helps companies achieve their goals of delivering business value through software. Industries he works in include building automation, print and finishing, logistics, health care, pharmaceutical, beverage, health insurance, building remodeling, and office equipment – ranging in size from small volunteer organizations to Fortune 100 corporations.

Gary has been evangelizing Scrum and Agile methodologies since 2006, after taking a class with Ken Schwaber. Gary sees these methodologies as a natural outgrowth of the lessons learned in the software industry, including lessons he has personally learned. He is a strong believer in the “see one, do one, teach one” road to craft and mastery, which led Gary to the role of Professional Scrum Trainer for Scrum.org.

Everyone is welcome! Please forward this to a co-worker or colleague you think would benefit from attending.

Don’t forget to register today! – we look forward to seeing you!

Other Upcoming Events

If the date or location of the Chicago event is inconvenient, there are 2 other options.

ALM for Agile Development
Brookfield, WI
November 10, 2011

Register for WI Event

ALM for Agile Development
Indianapolis, IN
November 29, 2011

Register for Indy Event

Resources

Training

Professional Scrum Developer – Scrum.org

Books

Succeeding with Agile

The Enterprise and Scrum

Event Agenda

Successful Agile ALM Using Modern Techniques. - Fast. Forward. Thinking.

In this free seminar, we will explore how to leverage Application Lifecycle Management in an Agile environment. Join us as we dive into Microsoft's tools, the basics of Scrum, emergent architecture and Agile testing. Centare’s panel of experts will provide a beginning to end overview of these challenging topics in a panel format. Along with demonstrations of Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with Team Foundation Server, the panel members will answer audience questions and engage in a conversation format presentation.

Chicago, IL - Nov. 8, 2011 Register Here

Successful Agile ALM Using Modern Techniques. - Fast. Forward. Thinking.

In this free seminar, we will explore how to leverage Application Lifecycle Management in an Agile environment. Join us as we dive into Microsoft's tools, the basics of Scrum, emergent architecture and Agile testing. Centare’s panel of experts will provide a beginning to end overview of these challenging topics in a panel format. Along with demonstrations of Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with Team Foundation Server, the panel members will answer audience questions and engage in a conversation format presentation.

Brookfield, WI - Nov. 10, 2011 Register Here

Windows Phone Camp

A free, full day event chock-full of everything you need to know to develop a Windows Phone application. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or just getting started with .NET development this full-day event is for you. Interested in profit? We'll also lead discussions on how to monetize your applications and generate profits with your apps. Don't miss the new Windows Phone 7.5 (codename "Mango") features as well - with detailed sessions in the afternoon around Fast Application Switching, Multitasking, Live Tiles, Push Notifications, and more. The day will be capped with an open lab hands-on session and prizes for apps completed. This is the perfect opportunity to begin work on your dream application, or finish that app you've already started, with Windows Phone experts there to guide you every step of the way. Bring your own laptop to join in the fun and show off your killer app!

Chicago, IL - Nov. 18, 2011 Register Here

Successful Agile ALM Using Modern Techniques. - Fast. Forward. Thinking.

In this free seminar, we will explore how to leverage Application Lifecycle Management in an Agile environment. Join us as we dive into Microsoft's tools, the basics of Scrum, emergent architecture and Agile testing. Centare’s panel of experts will provide a beginning to end overview of these challenging topics in a panel format. Along with demonstrations of Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with Team Foundation Server, the panel members will answer audience questions and engage in a conversation format presentation.

Indianapolis, IN - Nov. 29, 2011 Register Here

Conferences/User Groups

• The Global QAI Quest Conference is Coming Back to Chicago in 2012: http://bit.ly/cXk5u6 #SoftwareQuality #softwaretesting #QualityAssurance
• What do YOU want the experts to talk about? Add topics, vote on existing ones at #ALM Summit 2011 Open Space site: http://bit.ly/r3UpEr
• Are you running a tech user group? If so, be sure to register and take advantage of the benefits (SWAG!): http://bit.ly/qUxwmg
• #IndyGiveCamp 2011 is scheduled for October 14th to 16th. Volunteers, sponsors, and charities now being collected! www.indygivecamp.org
• BarCampMilwaukee6 is an "unconference" on October 1st-2nd. Great networking, food, fun, tech sessions & more http://bit.ly/q21ObN #Milwaukee
• @DaveFancher talks about web performance/load testing w/#VisualStudio 2010 #TFS2010 in #Indianapolis on October 5th: http://bit.ly/r5TeHm
• Check out Chicago’s #SQL Server User Group. Some great, fresh content coming up in October! http://bit.ly/oZqQ3h
• Be sure to check out the "The Chicago #Agile Methodology Group" site, lots of great upcoming meetup events! http://bit.ly/fMxUdM
• @rhundhausen at the Chicago #VS2010 #ALM User Group in Chicago in October! "Using #TFS11 and #Scrum to Plan a Project" http://bit.ly/p3l8rz
• I'm going, are you?  #ALM Summit 2011 in Redmond – Nov 14-18. Read Brian Harry's blog: http://cot.ag/puBlzg #TFS2010 #VS2010 #agile

FREE Training – who doesn’t like free stuff?!

• Blogged: A Day with Microsoft #Virtualization, #HyperV, #SCVMM 2012 and #SCOM 2012…Coming to a City Near You Soon http://bit.ly/pN6fzf
• FREE Software Process & #Scrum On-line Event Series by Northwest Cadence in October and November! http://bit.ly/ne6dTV
• Blogged: FREE Workshops on #VisualStudio 2010 #ALM tools in Oct, Nov, Dec. They full up fast, register today! http://bit.ly/pp6NzR #TFS2010
• Tech.Days Online Event Coming October 27th, 2011. Sign up today! http://bit.ly/qSGDGd #ALM #Azure #SQL

Other Stuff

• Are you REALLY leveraging all of your #MSDN benefits like training, support, #Azure hours? This will help you do it: http://bit.ly/iGa7KM
• Have any suggestions for our product teams on improving #VisualStudio, #LightSwitch, #TFS, etc? Tell us, please! http://bit.ly/pp09h4
• TERRIFIC blog post: #VS11 #ALM Developer Preview: Virtual Machine with Hands-on-Labs + Demo Scripts http://bit.ly/oTT4WS

Resources and local events on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/mwd_devevents

Resources and local events on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/gV5plT

Software Process Events Series

Thursday, October 6 | Introduction to Scrum

Register to attend

Scrum is the most adopted agile methodology. Time and again, it has transformed low performing development teams into powerful creators of business value. Scrum does particularly well in environments where requirements shift or change unpredictably and in areas with substantial uncertainty. During this event, we will introduce the three Scrum roles, dive into the basic Scrum processes, and explore the reasons behind Scrum’s power. Although this event is an introduction to Scrum, we will provide several tips and tricks to assist in Scrum adoption.

Friday, October 7 | Scrum-damentals

Register to attend

Scrum is the most adopted and recognized agile methodology. However, there are still challenges to Scrum adoption. This event will dive into several Scrum adoption pitfalls and how an organization can avoid them. In particular, we will highlight some of the proven practices that have worked for diverse sets of teams. We will also leave time for questions and encourage attendees to bring your most challenging problems!

Friday, October 21 | Visualize Work - The Power of Big Visible Displays

Register to attend

Visible work has a profound impact on a team. By making work visible, teams can rapidly identify bottlenecks and issues, visualize the amount of work the team has under development, and most importantly understand the “life story” of the features they are working on. At a glance, teams can identify overloaded people, problematic stories, quality problems, and overall development speed. Visualization is one of the key tools in an effective Kanban implementation. During this event, we will discuss how Kanban teams visualize work, where to get started with visualization, and the tools available to help build effective visualizations electronically.

Friday, November 4 | Limit Work in Process (WIP)

Register to attend

Overloaded individuals and teams suffer from bad multitasking. They are also cursed with long lead times, poor quality, and high rates of failure. Kanban limits work in process (WIP) to improve the flow in a development process. This event is more technical than the earlier Kanban events. During the event, we will expose the problems caused by excessive WIP, and the wide-ranging benefits of reducing WIP.