Carson Holmes Blog

One of a Kind Class Offering: DAD + Advisor

Carson Holmes — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:56:00 GMT

Disciplined Agile Delivery + Advisor Coaches Clinic

Earn credit towards a DAD Black Belt and be qualified to use the Advisor Coach license!

This 3-day class is focused on empowering those who are active with improving software development capability. Participants receive a plain talking, unbiased vision and roadmap for introducing pragmatism into Enterprise IT organizations. Structured around the Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) Framework and The Software Development Practice Advisor, this offering qualifies coaches and other enterprise change agents to deliver successful transformational services. Candidates earn credentials that certify that they will be effective in executing the change management strategy manifested within DAD and Advisor. Beyond the branding and rhetoric commonly found in the industry, this combined lecture, workshop and demonstration venue addresses the toughest issues faced on the ground by real organizations. The objective is to deliver an actionable, credible approach to materially improve modern software development adoption success rates, something typically elusive to date. The means is through leveraging the industry leading 2nd generation Lean and Agile DAD framework with the support of Advisor, the industries first Lean and Agile Transformation Infrastructure.

Upcoming Public Classes:

April 29-May 1, 2013 :: Vancouver, B.C.
July 8-10, 2013 :: Toronto, Ontario
September 9-11,2013 :: Los Angeles California
December 9-11 2013 :: London United Kingdom

Bing Xu joins me in Part III of Webcast Series

Carson Holmes — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:28:51 GMT

Bing Xu, Development Lead for Rational Method Composer, is going to join me on this webcast to demonstrate the integration capabilities between RTC and RMC.

Configuring Rational Team Concert, Feb 26, Noon EST (2 hours)

The final webcast in this series will focus on process and project configuration, exploring the flexibility and capabilities for customizing Rational Team Concert. The integration with Rational Method Composer will be demonstrated. Additionally, custom process templates for Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) will be shown to explore how Team Concert can scale Agile & Lean concepts from the project, to the program and portfolio level. Register Here

The Rational Team Concert Webcast Series

Carson Holmes — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 05:48:00 GMT

I'm delivering a three part Webcast Series this month and next:

Introduction to Rational Team Concert, Jan 29, Noon EST (1 hour)

If you are new to Rational Team Concert, attend this webcast to get an overview of Rational Team Concert and the Jazz Platform. This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of Team Concert and cover the basics of projects, teams, roles, user profiles, work items, queries, plans, source control, builds, reports, and dashboards. Register Here

A Deeper Look at Rational Team Concert, Feb 12, Noon EST (1 hour)

Building on the first webcast, this presentation will dive deeper into work items, their attributes and workflow, as well as customizing queries, feeds, and dashboards. Various plan views will be explored as well as using task boards for Scrum and Kanban. Typical strategies for organizing development, components, and streams will also be discussed. Register Here

Configuring Rational Team Concert, Feb 26, Noon EST (2 hours)

The final webcast in this series will focus on process and project configuration, exploring the flexibility and capabilities for customizing Rational Team Concert. The integration with Rational Method Composer will be explained. Additionally, custom process templates for Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) will be shown to explore how Team Concert can scale Agile & Lean concepts from the project, to the program and portfolio level. Register Here

Happy New Year from SDE

Carson Holmes — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:43:00 GMT

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year for 2013!! I hope 2012 was a great year for you and that 2013 is even better. I'd also like to take this opportunity to tell you about an exciting SDE event happening in February. It would be great if you could come join us for some skiing and stimulating conversation.

The Contextualization of Software Development
Hilton Whistler Resort and Spa, Feb 9-10, 2013

Join us on this retreat as we dive into topics of Contextualization, Social and Cognitive Psychology and Systems Thinking. Collaborate with industry leaders as we explore the theory and experience behind our drive towards predictive analytics, emergent predicate logic, and organizational learning. Come and share your views and experience. Contribute to the contextualization of software development!

Space is limited, it is the height of ski season at Whistler. Here is a list of hotels in the area.

In 2012, SDE was proud to release our new cloud-based expert system. A pragmatic solution for effectively managing standard work across the enterprise, providing a framework for learning within a system of development practices. Read about its features, see a demo, and download our white paper.

Use Rational Team Concert and CLM for Free!

Carson Holmes — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 21:09:00 GMT

I’m amazed at how many people don’t realize that you can download, install, and use Rational Team Concert for free. IBM will give you 10 licenses for free! We are talking about an enterprise strength, elegant and powerful solution for developing software. It seems like a no-brainer. I’m using it for my development projects, let me know if you have any questions.

Download it here: https://jazz.net/downloads/rational-team-concert/releases/. Select a version and then you will see an “All Downloads” tab...I just go there and select the platform I want.

It’s fairly straight-forward to download and install. Tomcat and Derby are setup and configured for you. You will see a new program installed to “Start the Jazz Team Server”. Use this to launch the Jazz server which will open a command window. When launched you will see it deploy a number of files, it may take a bit but eventually it will say INFO: Server startup in XXXXX ms, that's how many milliseconds until the server is ready.

Once the server is running and ready, launch your browser, point it at https://localhost:9443/jts/setup. The initial login username is ADMIN and the initial password is ADMIN. It will walk you through a wizard to set up Jazz and Rational Team Concert. Also, if you want, it will walk you through setting up Requirements Composer and Quality Manager. Please post comments with questions and I'll try to help you or direct you where you can get help.

Innovate Around the World with the New RUC Board

Carson Holmes — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:14:00 GMT

We have just returned from Innovate 2012, which was the biggest Rational conference yet, filled with lots of information and fun. We are excited to note that the Rational User Community is growing and thriving at a rapid pace. Our new portal is drawing lots of traffic and we encourage everyone to participate in our events, blogs, forums, and more. If you haven't logged in yet, please do so and give us your feedback.

If you missed Innovate in Orlando see the Innovate Comes To You conference, now touring the globe with over 30 cities hosting the event. Check out the schedule at: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/rational/innovate/aroundtheworld/

The Rational User Community has recently elected a new Board of Directors. We are glad to welcome two new board members, LeaAnn Luter from the North Florida RUG and Beth Beese from the Toronto RUG. The board appointed and the council confirmed the following positions in their meeting on June 19th.

Carson Holmes, President
Tom Weinberger, Vice President of the Americas
Julian Holmes, Vice President of Europe & Asia
Beth Beese, Communications Director
Shawn Doyle, Board Member
LeaAnn Luter, Board Member
Olivier Behgain, Board Member
Tracey Burton, Board Member, IBM
Rod Baptie, Board Member, Baptie & Co.

Innovate 2012 in Orlando was a great time. In addition to our board members that could attend, we also want to thank Julie Jordan of IBM and Chris Lasonde of Baptie & Co. for their dedication and help during the event. We are already looking forward to the next Innovate in Orlando...the dates aren't official yet, but I'm guessing June 3rd-7th, 2013.

Free DOORS Webinar Series from IBM

Carson Holmes — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:01:00 GMT

I wanted to let you know about a webinar series from IBM featuring DOORS. Whether you are new to DOORS or a DOORS aficionado, please join us for any or all of the following free webinars for DOORS. The series has something to help everyone get to the next level with DOORS.

Date	Webcast series - 1st Friday (Introductory) and 3rd Friday (Advanced) each month - Noon Eastern Time	Speaker	link to register
4/20	Exporting to Rational Publishing Engine (RPE) for Professional Documentation	Geoff Rosenthal	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/514927234
5/4	Best Practices of Writing Requirements	Michelle Specht	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/828290850
5/18	Using DOORS in an Agile Environment	Kim Roberts Cobb	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/165890146
6/1	DOORS 101 -- The Basics of DOORS	Rick Learn	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/185951354
6/15	Advanced Tips and Tricks of Using DOORS	George Siampos	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/739990866
6/29	DOORS Next Generation Update (every 2 - 3 months)	Richard Watson	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/348355346
7/6	Importing with ease	Jim Marsh	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/423068266
7/20	Common Metrics Collection in DOORS	George Siampos	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/996061362
8/3	Extending DOORS with DOORS Web Access	Jim Hays	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/856848242
8/17	Optimizing the Performance of DOORS Web Access	Jim Marsh	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/838124410
9/7	DOORS & Testing -The options available (Simple attributes, TTT, RQM, HPQC)	Jim Hays	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/123105626
9/21	Requirements Management and Product Line Engineering	Michelle Specht	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/305250674
10/5	Collaborating with DOORS Discussions	Melissa Robinson	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/890606066
10/19	Extending DOORS - Introduction to DXL (DOORS eXtension Language)	Don Cunningham	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/370491698
11/2	Basic Tips and Tricks of Using DOORS	Rick Learn	https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/240379874

If you have any questions, please contact either:

- Mark Kovich mkovich@us.ibm.com
- Jennifer Althouse jalthous@us.ibm.com
- Nancy Rundlet nrundlet@us.ibm.com

Welcome to the new Rational User Community

Carson Holmes — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:31:09 GMT

I'm excited to announce that we have a new platform for our user community. As part of this transition, we are also changing our name slightly. Instead of being known as the GRUG or the Global Rational User Group community, we are now "officially" the Rational User Community, or RUC. Which Shawn Doyle (who holds the conference attendance record) immediately liked because it was the original acronym for the Rational User Conference, now known as Innovate.

If you are a local user community leader, please try to leverage the new features of the platform. Create a blog post welcoming users to your group and describe when and where you meet and what to expect at your meetings (a typical agenda). Explore the new forums and try to provide input and leadership to the community.

If you are a user community member, please provide feedback to local leaders and the RUC Global Council. We really appreciate the support and participation you provide. If you don't have a local group in your area, perhaps you can step up and start a new local group. And don't forget to check out our Virtual Rational User Groups (VRUGs) that are meeting regularly. Our groups and meetings need users who want to share their success and failures with IBM Rational methods and tools.

Together this community will benefit from sharing our experiences and providing a forum to debate current topics. Here you can network with your peers and harness the bright Rational minds that comprise this exciting community.

All the best,

Carson Holmes
President, Global RUC