JHB:Tech Debt for non-techies/Mob Programming/Cluster Computing RasPi

· Welcome (start 16h30)

· Lightning talk (start 16h35) - 10min - Gareth Stephenson

· Session 1 (start 16h50) - 20 min - Candice Mesk

· Session 2 (start 17h15) - 40min - Joshua Lewis

Title: Cluster Computing using Raspberry Pi's and Apache Spark

In 10 minutes, I'm going to take you on a whirlwind tour of Apache Spark and cluster computing, as well as how to build your own micro big data computing cluster. I'll also show you how bad Scala code turned better can affect run time performance

Facilitator: Gareth Stephenson

A developer at Driven Alliance, rage tweeting at @GarethStep

Title: How we reduced delivery time by 30% using Mob Programming

What would happen if your team worked on the single most important deliverable all the time until it was done? Is this even possible? What would the effects be?Over the last year I’ve worked with a team that has done just that. Not only did they work on the single most important deliverable all the time, but in doing so reduced delivery time by 30%. In addition to this, the team dramatically reduced key man dependencies. All this was achieved using a controversial practice called mob programming.

Facilitator: Candice Mesk

Candice Mesk is a software developer turned systems coach who is passionate about learning and growth, and a proud member of the Driven Alliance.

During the day she helps people in teams and management positions understand how their work "works", and in her spare time she is an active member of the community through being an organiser of the largest independent developer user group in the country ( http://www.meetup.com/DeveloperUG/ ), being on the organising committee of several IT-related conferences (past and present) and her contribution to a community outreach programme, Sisonke Rising (www.sisonkerising.com (http://www.sisonkerising.com/)) powered by the Driven Alliance.

Title: Helping non-techies understand Technical Debt

Technical Debt is something that impacts the development and maintenance of every product that involves software. Its something that generally software developers understand quite well, but find it difficult to explain what it is, and its effect, on non-technical people. The aim of this talk is to help provide a model, vocabulary and tools you can use to help your non-technical stakeholders understand Technical Debt and its effects.

Facilitator: Joshua Lewis

Joshua has been developing software for over 10 years now. The last few years he has worked primarily as a developer coach. He is currently an Associate at nReality, where he coaches and trains software engineers, and also writes code almost every day. He also lectures part-time at a post-grad level for the JCSE and Wits.

If you are new to the group, read our monthly meeting FAQ to answer some common questions (http://www.meetup.com/DeveloperUG/pages/Monthly_Meetings/).