Home | Login | Recent Changes | Search | All Pages | Help

SeattleGathering2005

Anyone intersted in an AYE Gathering in Seattle on March 6, 2005 please add your name. If there's enough interest, we'll look for a place to meet and go from there. DonGray 2004.12.26

• DonGray
• SuePetersen
• JimBullock - Set the date, and I'll schedule work travel around it. I'll send out a note to the local Seattle AYE alumnai who don't regularly troll this site. Details at 11 as they say. - jb
• ShannonSeverance
• DianeGibson -- so long as it ends Early, since I will need a good nights' sleep before presenting Monday. Is Saturday evening an option? [Yes? And ending by early Sunday evening would work for me too. (Although my body will be on Eastern Time and I'll probably get up at 4 AM local anyway.) DonGray 2004.12.31]
• RonPihlgren
• DavidSocha
• SteveSmith I will if I can. I may be out of town.

We're starting to make some plans. If you haven't heard from me via email, something (probably a spam filter) is eating the emails. Please contact me at [email protected] DonGray 2005.01.19

BrianBranagan DonGray JimBullock JonathanBach RonPihlgren ShannonSeverance SuePetersen

I really enjoyed getting together today. Most folks adjourned to Chez Jim after the meeting for dinner but, alas, I had to get back home. Aside from hearing what's up with folks, there were a couple of ideas that resonated with me:

In the vein of user stories, we talked about the idea of project stories. These are stories related to the project itself as opposed to stories about how the product will work. One example is a story about the motivation of the project sponser. A story such as this will help members when they need to make decisions that are congruent with the project sponser.

Another idea evolved from the idea of what happens to testers and QA when developers do more testing (e.g. test first development). Someone made the comment that we almost need to call QA something other than "Quality Assurance." "Revenue Assurance" was one suggestion. This lead, after a bit of playing, to the idea of "Reality Assurance" - testers being the ones that bring the voice of reality to the project.

I'm probably not explaining these ideas very eloquently. I'm looking forward to others that attended today's get-together posting their thoughts about what we talked about today. I also look forward to a culinary review(s) of the Chez Jim experience :-)...

-RonPihlgren 2005.03.06

Menu:

• Appetizer - bresaola (air-cured beef tenderloin), wrapped around combinations of cherry tomatos & avocato, variously seasoned with salt, pepper, truffle oil, lemon juice, shallots - parsley garnish.
• Appetizer - three cheeses (a reggiano, Keens Cheddar, and a french triple cream), baguette, flavored olive oils (thanks to Sue.)
• Asparagus with sun-dried tomatos topped with a hot balsamic vinagrette.
• Spinach with red onions, stir-fried with toasted sesame seeds and miso / soy sauce, lemon wedges on the side.
• Salmon, in herbs de provance (with lavender), pan-fried, w lime or horseradish on the side. (I punted on the poaching in herbed stock - was getting late.)
• Don brought a nice red Zinfandel. Sue brought a pineapple wine (interesting.) I kicked in a Washington State Cabernet Franc.

We had not a clue of the exact menu or particular attendees before we broke up the chat in the afternoon. The later conversation ebbed not at all the whole evening. Jon Bach came by late, after finishing some proposals for work needed by Monday AM. Everybody pitched in on the clean-up, which was very nice.

It seems to me with various AYE & releated events that when we relax and just do whatever we're doing, things work out fine. When we have to get it too under control, or get all "meta" on things, it's less fun and more work. Often less successful, too. But that's just me.

-- JimBullock 2005.03.07

Ah, the "Worry less, be more" answer. Works for me. DonGray 2005.03.08

--SuePetersen 2005.03.08