Aviture | community | Company News | Culture | agile | Conferences
Nebraska.Code() is the annual technology conference held in Lincoln, Nebraska focusing on various aspects of software development including deep dives into programming languages, frameworks, tools, and best practices for developers.
This year, Aviture is not only a Gold Sponsor but has three Aviturians hosting their own speaker sessions! Jerry Koske, Brandon Suponchick, and Art Doler will be taking attendees deeper into aspects of their knowledge of their craft. Take a look at their video promos and descriptions below to lean more about the speakers and their talks.
Jerry Koske, Chief Technology Officer — Becoming an Agile Survivalist in a Zombie Scrum Reality:
As the Chief Technology Officer for Aviture where he oversees numerous software development efforts across the US Government, Finance, Logistics, Healthcare, Retail and Hospitality industries. Jerry currently spends most of his time thinking about how to create better environments for software engineers, focusing on creating cultures that empower amazing people to do amazing things and make a real difference in someone's world.
In 2014 Dave Thomas, one of the founders of the Agile movement, famously stated that ‘Agile is Dead’. But the reality is that agile isn’t dead, it has become something far worse - the ‘undead’. Shambling managers of ‘agile’ organizations are continually debating/embracing the process to seek out the ‘Braaaiins’. Those with actual agility are scrambling to safety in hopes that they aren’t consumed by the zombie horde.
Can you avoid those who are infected by their captivation to procedure? If not, can you gain immunity by selectively embracing effective aspects of their process? Furthermore, can this immunity aid in finding a cure through empirical observation and the rejection of ineffective practices? Is it possible to achieve this without endangering oneself? Join Jerry, an Agile Survivalist, in an exploration of the infected, how to endure and survive, and maybe even how to purge the zombies in your environment.
Brandon Suponchick, Chief Engineer — The Agile Architect: Building Products From the Trenches, Not the Tower:
Brandon has spent the last 18 years in the software industry helping to make a positive impact in the lives of his customers. He's been a developer, technical lead, solution architect, cloud architect, manager, and mentor. In his current role, he manages a team of around 100 engineers spread across 15 projects and the entire country. Brandon believes that, in our industry, we have a huge potential to create positive impact. It's really hard to change the world, but as Software Engineers, we can change the world for someone.
Software architecture has a contentious reputation in the Agile community — often seen as the cause of expensive, valueless meetings and stacks of documentation that no one ever reads. And yet, applications with poor architecture quickly devolve into buckets of technical debt, with the teams that work on them destined for feelings of stress and frustration.
Brandon, will help guide software architects to be effective in a world dominated by phrases like "Agile Development" and "Product Mindset" by being seen as an enabler of business growth, a force multiplier, and a catalyst for innovation. If you're considering software architecture as a potential next step in your professional journey, join him and learn how to be effective in the role.
Art Doler, Senior Software Engineer, Community & Culture Steward — Fighting the Saboteur in Your Relationships: Dealing with Cognitive Biases & How to Not Strangle Your Coworkers: Resolving Conflict with Collaboration:
Art has been a software engineer for 19 years and has worked on things as exciting as analysis software for casinos and things as "boring" as banking websites. He is an advocate for talking openly about mental health and psychology in the technical world, and he spends a lot of time thinking about how we program and why we program, and about the tools, structures, cultures, and mental processes that help and hinder us from our ultimate goal of writing amazing things.
In Art's talks, he tackles two different workplace conundrums: cognitive bias and conflict. No matter how polite, conscientious, or amiable you are, there’s still something that’s always working against you - your own brain, and its host of cognitive biases. Art will walk you through a new wave of cutting-edge psychological research, showing you how to fight back against your cognitive biases, and you can make use of it!
Conflict at work is as inevitable as the tides - as the old joke says, if you put five software engineers in a room, you’ll have seven opinions. Whether the conflict is over what language to use, what frameworks are the new hotness, or even just tabs vs spaces, conflict can get ugly. Tempers flare, positions are staked out in absolute terms, feelings are hurt, working relationships are destroyed. Art’s second session will show you how to avoid the negative consequences through collaborative practices.
See you at Nebraska.Code()!
We've got a big lineup this year, and we can't wait to talk about the latest and greatest in the industry. Be sure to stop by our booth, nab some swag, and learn more about what it means to be an Aviturian.
