We’ve been organizing an Agile Meetup for a few years now. As with any event or initiative, over time you see what’s working and what’s not—and you adapt. So it’s time to introduce the newest iteration of the Cedar Valley Agile Meetup.
100% Virtual
Meetups are a great way to learn from others, but add travel time to the actual event and you’re looking at a 90-minute commitment. That’s a lot for many of us. And while the events are valuable, it’s also easy to say, “I’ll go next month” when your day gets busy.
That’s why we’ve moved to virtual meetups using Zoom—anyone can join from anywhere. No more travel time, which means the full hour you’re investing is focused solely on learning, not logistics. It may sound weird to have a bunch of people on a virtual call, but it actually works really well. I was skeptical at first, too, but now I’m sold. It really does work!
The other benefit of using Zoom is that we can record the meetings and share them on YouTube. So, if you do happen to miss one, don’t worry. You can catch up on what you missed at your leisure.
Monthly Focus Topic
Each monthly meetup will have a topic of focus. We’ll invite an expert to present on the topic and then have a discussion and ask and answer questions. I find I learn a lot this way, and in a short amount of time. This format of learning about a topic and then having a conversation with others makes it easier to understand how it could be applied to my specific situation.
If you have a topic you think we should cover, and/or know someone who has something valuable to present to the group, let me know.
Join Us
These meetups are open to anyone interested in agile, whether your organization is currently using the methodology or not. We’ll have a mix of beginner and advanced topics, so everyone can learn a little something each time.
All the event details and remote meeting links are in the Cedar Valley Agile Meetup Facebook group. There you’ll also find information on past topics like story splitting and the pitfalls of scrum.
Our next meetup is Friday, March 8, at noon and you can attend from anywhere! We’ll be talking about liberating structures, which are tactics for getting the most out of the time you spend in team meetings. Elyse Platt, IT Project Management Consultant (aka Scrum Master) at CUNA Mutual Group, will be presenting the topic.
Hope to see you there!