On December 7 the Capital Area IT Council hosted a follow-up "Agile Software Development Practices" informational session at Capital Area Michigan Works! in Lansing.  In response to feedback from the presentation at the July membership meeting, the IT Council decided to reconvene their group of subject area experts to continue this conversation about exactly what's involved in implementing an agile approach.  The expert panel included Gary Gentry from Pillar Technology, G. Umakanth from Symbiosis International, Josh Zook from Sircon Corporation, and Joe Hershey from OM Computing (representing the Michigan Department of Information Technology)--who were all on-hand to explain how each of their organizations have leveraged agile practices.  The panel also fielded questions from others who are interested in determining whether an agile approach is appropriate for their company or clients.

Intended to be an informal question and answer session, the program was organized around the three main focus areas organizations will want to consider prior to implementing an agile project--agile at the developer level (XP, CI, Test First Development, etc.); agile at the project management level (Scrum topics, CanBan, etc.); and agile at the management level (culture, structure, etc.)  Each session began with a brief overview of a technique or practice relevant to the topic-which left the remainder of the time for participant/presentor Q&A.

 

Agile Video Links: Agile1 Agile2 Agile3 Agile4

Link to July membership meeting PPT

More than 90 people attended the Capital Area IT Council’s “Social Media Strategies” Seminar at the Greater Lansing Business Showcase event on October 29.  Attendees learned how to use social media, how much time to spend to create an effective social media campaign and which tools will give businesses the biggest bang for the buck.

Click here to view the video.

 

On September 22, the Capital Area IT Council hosted a special topic seminar, "Growing and Securing Your Business: Capital and Intellectual Property Strategies" at the MSU Henry Center.  Representatives from the Michigan Seed and Venture Fund, Capital Community Angels, Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center, and Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, PC covered everything you need to know to "grow and secure" your business...

This event was generously sponsored by Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, PC (http://fosterswift.com) and the James B. Henry Center for Executive Development at Michigan State University (http://msuhenrycenter.org)

 

Click here for the flyer.

Click here to view the PowerPoint.

On August 26 the Capital Area IT Council hosted an evening reception to help celebrate the partnership between the Lansing ITEC and Impression 5 Science Center.  Several IT Council members are directly involved with both of these great organizations—including Spartan Internet Consulting, TechSmith, Lansing Community College, Dewpoint, Michigan State University, Sircon, and many others.

The reception coincided with an event earlier that day where Ken Theis (Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology and IT Council board member) volunteered at a “scratch” class through Impression 5 and the Lansing ITEC as part of the “United We Serve” initiative with the Michigan Community Service Commission.  Additionally, Kirk Riley, Executive Director of the Lansing ITEC and Chris Knapp, Executive Director of the Capital Area IT Council both received Presidential Volunteer Service Awards for their exemplary work in the community.

 

**Insert photos from I5 event**

On May 20 the Capital Area IT Council participated on a private sector/workforce development panel as part of the Michigan Works Association/Microsoft “Learn IT, Use IT” forum at the East Lansing Marriott.  The highlight of the event was when Microsoft announced that it would be launching its “Elevate America” program in Michigan which will provide more than 71,000 free e-learning vouchers through the 25 Michigan Works! agencies across the state.

As part of its “Adopt-A-School” program the Capital Area IT Council assisted with planning the 2^nd Annual “Technology Showcase” event on May 19.  The annual event provides an opportunity for the web design and programming students at the Capital Area Career Center in Mason to showcase their class projects to the dozens of parents and industry representatives in attendance.

On May 13, the Great Lakes IT Report “Spring Tech Tour” made a stop in Lansing at the former Holmes Street School (future home of Spartan Internet Consulting and the Lansing ITEC.)  Matt Roush, Editor of the GLITR interviewed several IT Council members for a feature on the vibrant IT industry here in the Capital Area.