Software Development Productivity through

Process Customization and Automation

(Joint meeting with IEEE Computer Society)

October 14, 2010

Speakers:  Ryan Gritz, The Knot, Inc., Mindy Krupp, The Knot, Inc., and Bob Hardister, Overwatch Systems

Abstract:
This presentation will explore the potential benefits of process development and automation for application lifecycle management (ALM). The current version, ALM 2.0, describes a vision for the application development infrastructure that provides functional integration of the software development lifecycle from high-level customer requirements to code check-in, testing, release and deployment. This talk will address the potential of ALM 2.0 to improve collaboration and productivity through cross-functional process automation. To illustrate the issues, a specific example will be presented involving SCRUM software development supported by Microsoft’s Visual Studio ALM toolset including Team Foundation Server (TFS). The presentation will describe the “out-of-the-box” high level workflows, how these can be adapted and automated to facilitate implementation and reduce process overhead. The presentation will show TFS 2008 and a live demonstration of the new TFS 2010 features.

About the Speakers:
Ryan Gritz is the Director of QA and Release Engineering for The Knot Inc.  He has experience in growing QA organizations, implementing company-wide SDLC processes, release management, implementing Agile processes, and ALM.  At The Knot he led and coordinated the implementation of TFS to manage the company’s SDLC processes.  As the company evolved from a waterfall approach to Agile development, he evolved the SDLC within TFS, implemented and grew release management processes, and grew the QA organization to follow this growth domestic and internationally.

Mindy Krupp is Release Coordinator for The Knot Inc.  Working closely with Ryan, she managed the implementation of TFS.  She now manages and owns the change management process for the entire company both in the US and for The Knot’s China offices.  She has spent the last two years developing, testing, improving and implementing the SDLC both locally and with their international team.  She also works very closely with all teams to coordinate and schedule all releases to production for the entire company.

Bob Hardister is a Principal Systems and Software Administrator for Overwatch Systems, Textron Inc. here in Austin. His experience spans from business process reengineering through management of software product development. As a Senior Manager for Deloitte Consulting, Bob led systems analysis and procurement for state government business process re-engineering projects in Kentucky, Michigan and Texas. He has introduced and implemented CMMI and Agile development for multiple software organizations, most of which were supported using Microsoft’s Team Foundation Server (TFS). He and Ryan are co-founders of the Austin TFS User Group.