NY SPIN is Closing Down

We are saddened to inform you that the NY SPIN has run its course and is in the process of shutting down. Because it is a not-for-profit, it is going through a process called dissolution. What little assets are left will go towards the dissolution effort, paying off any outstanding invoices or debts. As required by NY State, we will donate the balance to a 501(c)(3) organization with a similar mission.  

We will soon be closing down the Meetup group and the Facebook group.

Once dissolution has been approved and finalized, the NYSPN website (NYSPIN.org) will be shut down, so if you have any interest in any of the PowerPoint presentations currently on the site, now is the time to download a copy. Keep in mind that although they are publicly available from the site, you do not have permission to use their content beyond self-education without first obtaining approval from the presenters. 

The LinkedIn Group pages will remain up for now so discussions about process can continue among those who are already members. It may shut down some time in the future, especially if it stops being cost-free. The YouTube page with videos of some of the past presentations will remain up as long as it continues to be cost-free. The flickr pages with photos from many meetings, mostly taken by Richard, will remain up as well, as long as that remains cost-free. 

In 1996 the idea of a group devoted to sharing information about software process improvement in the New York metropolitan area was born. That idea was initially known as CitySPIN and NYC SPIN, and many years later evolved into the not-for-profit NY SPIN, Inc. The organization was always run by volunteers, to whom we are forever grateful. 

In the beginning, ours was pretty much the only group in town talking about technology and process and related subjects. Major companies such as JP Morgan, Citibank and DTC (now DTCC) hosted the monthly events and provided lavish spreads. Then the financial bubble burst and these and other companies started to pull back on expenses, and the organization searched around for other organizations to host events. The next group of venue sponsors, who so graciously hosted us were Microsoft, ThoughtWorks, and eventually Wells Fargo Advisors. Others too numerous to mention filled in when occasionally those other venues were not available. 

By the time the organization converted to a not-for-profit corporation, many other technology-related organizations with meetings had come into existence, and technology provided improved means for getting the word out online and sharing information. At the same time many in technology were working longer hours and had fewer free hours for extra activities after work. These and other factors began reducing the number of folks who turned out for NY SPIN events.

All good things eventually come to an end, and sadly the time has come for NY SPIN. Thank you to everyone who was involved in the creation and running and supporting of this organization. Thank you to all of the great speakers and panelists and moderators that helped make each event great. And, of course, thanks to all of you who attended our events and otherwise offered your support in whatever way you could. 

NY SPIN Board:

-Richard Kuper

-Marc Fiedler

-Bill Greenbaum

Last chance: NY SPIN Apr 28: April Madness - multiple speakers and topics

Join us on April 28th for another great event. Come support our speakers and hear their stories. You don't want to miss this event.

Come for the information. Come for the networking. Come for the refreshments. Come for the door prizes.

Discount ends @ 5pm 4/27. Full price after that.

Directions are at the end of this notice.

NY SPIN is pleased that hosting sponsor ThoughtWorks will be hosting this event. Please note the meeting will be on the 6th floor this month.


=============================================================

Speakers & Topics

Jeanne Boyarsky: Illustrating self organization and collective ownership

Jenny Zhang: What is the value of Lean UX processes?

Professor David Klappholz: Contrasting 2 Software Development Processes

Gordon Adelsberg: Process and People: It's Complicated

Neal Conlon: The product guy, the marketing guy, and the sales guy, all walk into the meeting


Here's how the event will unfold:

Each speaker will have exactly 10 minutes to make their presentation. That includes any questions and answers. Presentations will be timed. At the 10 minute mark, the timer (a volunteer from the audience) will stand up and start clapping and the speaker must stop, even in mid-sentence. We then move on to the next speaker.

If you've been to one of these in the past, you know how much fun these are and how interesting these are because everyone has a different story.

If there is time at the end, we will open the floor for questions for any of the presenters.
If you'd like to be a backup speaker, send your proposed topic and brief outline to AprilMadness@nyspin.org. If you are selected as an alternate and you end up giving a presentation, we'll create a special code for you to attend a future NY SPIN event for free. (That will be provided via email some time after the event.)

Come for the information. Come for the networking. Come for the refreshments. Come for the door prizes.

Biographies

Jeanne Boyarsky is a developer and and Scrum Master at a large bank in NYC. In her free time, she moderates and works on the coderanch.com website giving her exposure to both large and small projects. She also wrote her first book this year (OCA: Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide) which was a surprisingly iterative experience as well.

Jenny Zhang is a UX designer and researcher practicing Lean and Agile processes, with a build-measure-learn mantra. She has worked on big data products and platforms at series C funded companies with about 250 employees. Jenny comes from an account planning and qualitative research background, along with a fine art background. She received her BA from Stanford University.

Prof. David Klappholz has a BS in math and linguistics from MIT, an MSEE in Computer and Information Science from Penn, and a PhD in Computer and Information Science from Penn. Before he began teaching at Stevens, he taught at Columbia and at Brooklyn Polytech. He has been involved in industry and government funded research on parallel computing architecture, automatic code parallelization, and CS education research.

Gordon Adelsberg is a veteran management consultant, educator and entrepreneur. He is currently CEO of Communication for Geeks. Gordon holds degrees from Cornell University, NC State and Penn State, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Six Sigma Black Belt. Many times he has seen well-intentioned managers fail to thoroughly understand the problem they’re attempting to solve, and end up acutally creating many more. The lessons he has learned in process improvement consulting can be applied to any field, especially software.

Neal Conlon is a product owner, a project manager, and a trusted adviser. A content and data driven solution architect with a background in solution development of technology, data, and business case creation. Neal has a project management background and likes to laugh when he tells people he runs Shore Group Associates business development efforts and can blow most sales teams away. Neal believes that product and marketing must converge together and to be successful you must have the right tools in place for lead generation, nurturing, and agile marketing practices. Neal is passionate about the life cycle of customer engagement and creating a solution that can scale. Neal has a PMP and is a Scrum Master. He received his BA from University of Texas and spent 10 years as a US Marine.

Richard Kuper (event moderator) is a seasoned business and technology professional and a Certified Six Sigma YB. He is the Team Lead of the Technical Communications, Learning and Development team at Fiserv's Investment Services division. He is President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of NY SPIN. He manages multiple websites, such as FindJobsPostJobs.com and ThisIsMyStore.com. And, much less frequently than he once did, Richard occasionally finds time to write and publish articles about business and technology at TheKuperReport.com.

Richard has worn many hats over the years. Job titles and roles have included Computer Programmer, Business Analyst, Trainer, Technical Support, Programming Manager, Quality Assurance Tester, Quality Assurance Manager, Business & Technology Consultant, Mentor, Liaison, Troubleshooter, Presenter, Moderator, President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board.

Richard is also the longest, continuously active member of NY SPIN and its predecessor organization.

=============================================================

Topic:	April Madness
Presenter(s):	Jeanne Boyarsky Jenny Zhang Prof. David Klappholz Gordon Adelsberg Neal Conlon Moderated by Richard Kuper
Date:	April 28, 2015
Time:	5:30pm
Location:	ThoughtWorks

==============================================================

Register Now

Click here to RSVP 

(Need to cancel? Contact us to let us know.)
(Sorry. No refunds for cancellation, but you'll be giving someone else a chance to register if registration is still open).

==============================================================

To become a NY SPIN general member, please use the "registration" option at the link below:

http://nyspinmembership.eventbrite.com

**Membership gets you special discounts and sometimes notices of extra events.**
 

Once you have joined in this manner, you can manage your membership by going to http://eventbrite.com/ and logging in and updating your information, should it change.

==============================================================

**Learn more about our sponsors or how to become a sponsor.**

Become A Sponsor

==============================================================

*** Follow us/Join us on ***

 Get updates via SMS by texting follow NY_SPIN to 40404 

==============================================================

Donate to NY SPIN

   All donations are tax deductible.

==============================================================

Project Management Professionals (PMPs) earn 1 PDU credit for attending an NY SPIN event. (PMI considers NY SPIN to be a "Category B Continuing Education Provider".)

==============================================================

Directions

ThoughtWorks
99 Madison Ave., 6th Floor (link to map)

By Train/Subway

Not all trains run at all times and subway schedules are subject to change. For current schedules, weekly service advisories and maps, contact the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) at (718) 330-1234 or visit the subway section of the MTA Web Site.

The following are nearby train and subway stops:


Closest
6 to 28th Street
N, R to 28th Street

Further
1 to 28th Street 
PATH to 33rd Street

==============================================================

Register Now

Click here to RSVP 

(Need to cancel? Contact us to let us know.)
(Sorry. No refunds for cancellation, but you'll be giving someone else a chance to register if registration is still open).

==============================================================

NY SPIN: April 28: April Madness - updated speaker list

Join NY SPIN on April 28th for another great event. Come support our speakers and hear their stories. You don't want to miss this event. 

NY SPIN is pleased that hosting sponsor ThoughtWorks will be hosting this event. 

Discount ends @ 5pm 4/27. Full price after that.

Directions are at the end of this notice.
  
=============================================================

Topic:	April Madness
Presenter(s):	Jeanne Boyarsky Jenny Zhang Prof. David Klappholz Gordon Adelsberg Neal Conlon Moderated by Richard Kuper
Date:	April 28, 2015
Time:	5:30pm
Location:	ThoughtWorks

**Click here to make a donation**

If you wish to join NY SPIN, please use the NY SPIN membership "registration" option at the link below:
http://nyspinmembership.eventbrite.com

Synopsis:
 
April Madness

Speakers & Topics
Jeanne Boyarsky: Illustrating self organization and collective ownership

Jenny Zhang: What is the value of Lean UX processes?

Professor David Klappholz: Contrasting 2 Software Development Processes

Gordon Adelsberg: Process and People: It's Complicated

Neal Conlon: The product guy, the marketing guy, and the sales guy, all walk into the meeting
Here's how the event will unfold:

Each speaker will have exactly 10 minutes to make their presentation. That includes any questions and answers. Presentations will be timed. At the 10 minute mark, the timer (a volunteer from the audience) will stand up and start clapping and the speaker must stop, even in mid-sentence. We then move on to the next speaker.


If you've been to one of these in the past, you know how much fun these are and how interesting these are because everyone has a different story.


If there is time at the end, we will open the floor for questions for any of the presenters.


If you'd like to be a backup speaker, send your proposed topic and brief outline to AprilMadness@nyspin.org. If you are selected as an alternate and you end up giving a presentation, we'll create a special code for you to attend a future NY SPIN event for free. (That will be provided via email some time after the event.)


Come for the information. Come for the networking. Come for the refreshments. Come for the door prizes.




Biographies


Jeanne Boyarsky is a developer and and Scrum Master at a large bank in NYC. In her free time, she moderates and works on the coderanch.com website giving her exposure to both large and small projects. She also wrote her first book this year (OCA: Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide) which was a surprisingly iterative experience as well.


Jenny Zhang is a UX designer and researcher practicing Lean and Agile processes, with a build-measure-learn mantra. She has worked on big data products and platforms at series C funded companies with about 250 employees. Jenny comes from an account planning and qualitative research background, along with a fine art background. She received her BA from Stanford University.


Prof. David Klappholz has a BS in math and linguistics from MIT, an MSEE in Computer and Information Science from Penn, and a PhD in Computer and Information Science from Penn. Before he began teaching at Stevens, he taught at Columbia and at Brooklyn Polytech. He has been involved in industry and government funded research on parallel computing architecture, automatic code parallelization, and CS education research.


Gordon Adelsberg is a veteran management consultant, educator and entrepreneur. He is currently CEO of Communication for Geeks. Gordon holds degrees from Cornell University, NC State and Penn State, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Six Sigma Black Belt. Many times he has seen well-intentioned managers fail to thoroughly understand the problem they’re attempting to solve, and end up acutally creating many more. The lessons he has learned in process improvement consulting can be applied to any field, especially software.


Neal Conlon is a product owner, a project manager, and a trusted adviser. A content and data driven solution architect with a background in solution development of technology, data, and business case creation. Neal has a project management background and likes to laugh when he tells people he runs Shore Group Associates business development efforts and can blow most sales teams away. Neal believes that product and marketing must converge together and to be successful you must have the right tools in place for lead generation, nurturing, and agile marketing practices. Neal is passionate about the life cycle of customer engagement and creating a solution that can scale. Neal has a PMP and is a Scrum Master. He received his BA from University of Texas and spent 10 years as a US Marine.

Richard Kuper (event moderator) is a seasoned business and technology professional and a Certified Six Sigma YB. He is the Team Lead of the Technical Communications, Learning and Development team at Fiserv's Investment Services division. He is President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of NY SPIN. He manages multiple websites, such as FindJobsPostJobs.com and ThisIsMyStore.com. And, much less frequently than he once did, Richard occasionally finds time to write and publish articles about business and technology at TheKuperReport.com.


Richard has worn many hats over the years. Job titles and roles have included Computer Programmer, Business Analyst, Trainer, Technical Support, Programming Manager, Quality Assurance Tester, Quality Assurance Manager, Business & Technology Consultant, Mentor, Liaison, Troubleshooter, Presenter, Moderator, President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board.


Richard is also the longest, continuously active member of NY SPIN and its predecessor organization.

==============================================================

Register Now

Click here to RSVP 

(Need to cancel? Contact us to let us know.)
(Sorry. No refunds for cancellation, but you'll be giving someone else a chance to register if registration is still open).

==============================================================

To become a NY SPIN general member, please use the "registration" option at the link below:

http://nyspinmembership.eventbrite.com

**Membership gets you special discounts and sometimes notices of extra events.**
 

Once you have joined in this manner, you can manage your membership by going to http://eventbrite.com/ and logging in and updating your information, should it change.

==============================================================

**Learn more about our sponsors or how to become a sponsor.**

Become A Sponsor

==============================================================

*** Follow us/Join us on ***

 Get updates via SMS by texting follow NY_SPIN to 40404 

==============================================================

Donate to NY SPIN

   All donations are tax deductible.

==============================================================

Project Management Professionals (PMPs) earn 1 PDU credit for attending an NY SPIN event. (PMI considers NY SPIN to be a "Category B Continuing Education Provider".)

==============================================================

Directions

ThoughtWorks
99 Madison Ave., 6th Floor (link to map)

By Train/Subway

Not all trains run at all times and subway schedules are subject to change. For current schedules, weekly service advisories and maps, contact the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) at (718) 330-1234 or visit the subway section of the MTA Web Site.

The following are nearby train and subway stops:


Closest
6 to 28th Street
N, R to 28th Street

Further
1 to 28th Street 
PATH to 33rd Street

==============================================================

Register Now

Click here to RSVP 

(Need to cancel? Contact us to let us know.)
(Sorry. No refunds for cancellation, but you'll be giving someone else a chance to register if registration is still open).

==============================================================

Have a story to tell?

Join NY SPIN on April 28th as a participant (or as a member of the audience). Come and hear the stories or volunteer to tell one. Either way you don't want to miss this event. 

Details and speaker list (so far) below.

NY SPIN is pleased that hosting sponsor ThoughtWorks will be hosting this event. 

Discount ends @ 5pm 4/27. Full price after that.

Directions are at the end of this notice.
  
=============================================================

Topic:	April Madness
Presenter(s):	Jeanne Boyarsky Jenny Zhang Prof. David Klappholz Gordon Adelsberg You? Moderated by Richard Kuper
Date:	April 28, 2015
Time:	5:30pm
Location:	ThoughtWorks

**Click here to make a donation**

If you wish to join NY SPIN, please use the NY SPIN membership "registration" option at the link below:
http://nyspinmembership.eventbrite.com

Synopsis:
 
April Madness

We are bringing back our 10 Minute Madness event. 

Here's how it works:

• Do you have a process-related success story you'd like to share?

• Do you have a process related horror story you'd like to share?

• Are you looking for some help with a current process-related situation?

• Perhaps you have another topic to suggest.

You will have exactly 10 minutes to make your presentation. That includes any questions and answers. Presentations will be timed. At the 10 minute mark, the timer (a volunteer from the audience) will stand up and start clapping and you must stop, even in mid-sentence. We then move on to the next speaker.

If you've been to one of these in the past, you know how much fun these are and how interesting these are because everyone has a different story.

If there is time at the end, we will open the floor for additional questions for any of the presenters.

We typically have around 4 - 5 presenters, but select more as backups, because sometimes stuff happens and someone can't make it at the last minute.

You have something you want to talk about, right? Then why not be one of the presenters? Don't be shy. It's only 10 minutes -- and we are a supportive group of folks.

So send your proposed topic and brief outline to AprilMadness@nyspin.org. Your submission will be evaluated. If clarification is needed, you will be contacted. If your submission makes it to the top 5, you will be invited to speak and will attend for free. If you are selected as an alternate and you end up giving a presentation, we'll create a special code for you to attend a future NY SPIN event for free. (That will be provided via email some time after the event.)

Please start sending your submissions now to AprilMadness@nyspin.org.

And whether you are a presenter or not:

• Come for the information. 
• Come for the networking. 
• Come for the refreshments. 
• Come for the door prizes .

Speakers & Topics:

Jeanne Boyarsky: Illustrating self organization and collective ownership

Jenny Zhang: What is the value of Lean UX processes?

Professor David Klappholz: Contrasting 2 Software Development Processes

Gordon Adelsberg: Process and People: It's Complicated

(You?)

Biographies:

Jeanne Boyarsky is a developer and and Scrum Master at a large bank in NYC. In her free time, she moderates and works on the coderanch.com website giving her exposure to both large and small projects. She also wrote her first book this year (OCA: Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide) which was a surprisingly iterative experience as well.

Jenny Zhang is a UX designer and researcher practicing Lean and Agile processes, with a build-measure-learn mantra. She has worked on big data products and platforms at series C funded companies with about 250 employees. Jenny comes from an account planning and qualitative research background, along with a fine art background. She received her BA from Stanford University.

Prof. David Klappholz has a BS in math and linguistics from MIT, an MSEE in Computer and Information Science from Penn, and a PhD in Computer and Information Science from Penn. Before he began teaching at Stevens, he taught at Columbia and at Brooklyn Polytech. He has been involved in industry and government funded research on parallel computing architecture, automatic code parallelization, and CS education research.

Gordon Adelsberg is a veteran management consultant, educator and entrepreneur.  He is currently CEO of Communication for Geeks.  Gordon holds  degrees from Cornell University, NC State and Penn State, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Six Sigma Black Belt.  Many times he has seen well-intentioned managers fail to thoroughly understand the problem they’re attempting to solve, and end up acutally creating many more.  The lessons he has learned in process improvement consulting can be applied to any field, especially software.

Richard Kuper (tonight's moderator) is a seasoned business and technology professional and a Certified Six Sigma YB. He is the Team Lead of the Technical Communications, Learning and Development team at Fiserv's Investment Services division. He is President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of NY SPIN. He manages multiple websites, such as FindJobsPostJobs.com and ThisIsMyStore.com. Much less frequently than he once did, Richard occasionally finds time to write and publish articles about business and technology at http://TheKuperReport.com. Richard is also an amateur photographer.

In the business world, Richard has worn many hats over the years. Job titles and roles have included Computer Programmer, Business Analyst, Trainer, Technical Support, Programming Manager, Quality Assurance Tester, Quality Assurance Manager, Business & Technology Consultant, Mentor, Liaison, Troubleshooter, Presenter, Moderator, President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board.

Richard is also the longest, continuously active member of NY SPIN and its predecessor organization.

Richard and the other NY SPIN Board members are looking forward to the interesting stories you have to tell, so please send your proposals to: AprilMadness@nyspin.org.

==============================================================

Register Now

Click here to RSVP 

(Need to cancel? Contact us to let us know.)
(Sorry. No refunds for cancellation, but you'll be giving someone else a chance to register if registration is still open).

==============================================================

To become a NY SPIN general member, please use the "registration" option at the link below:

http://nyspinmembership.eventbrite.com

**Membership gets you special discounts and sometimes notices of extra events.**
 

Once you have joined in this manner, you can manage your membership by going to http://eventbrite.com/ and logging in and updating your information, should it change.

==============================================================

**Learn more about our sponsors or how to become a sponsor.**

Become A Sponsor

==============================================================

*** Follow us/Join us on ***

 Get updates via SMS by texting follow NY_SPIN to 40404 

==============================================================

Donate to NY SPIN

   All donations are tax deductible.

==============================================================

Project Management Professionals (PMPs) earn 1 PDU credit for attending an NY SPIN event. (PMI considers NY SPIN to be a "Category B Continuing Education Provider".)

==============================================================

Directions

ThoughtWorks
99 Madison Ave., 15th Floor (link to map)

By Train/Subway

Not all trains run at all times and subway schedules are subject to change. For current schedules, weekly service advisories and maps, contact the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) at (718) 330-1234 or visit the subway section of the MTA Web Site.

The following are nearby train and subway stops:


Closest
6 to 28th Street
N, R to 28th Street

Further
1 to 28th Street 
PATH to 33rd Street

==============================================================

Register Now

Click here to RSVP 

(Need to cancel? Contact us to let us know.)
(Sorry. No refunds for cancellation, but you'll be giving someone else a chance to register if registration is still open).

==============================================================