Obtiva Powers Chicago TechWeek Training July 22-29
From Ruby on Rails to agile, from UX to mobile, we’ve got it covered!
CHICAGO – July 13, 2011 – An intriguing and varied lineup of training sessions is finalized for TechWeek, a technology and innovation festival and conference in Chicago July 22-29, 2011. It covers a range of technical skills in areas that need more training and awareness. The training will challenge some developers and open the eyes of businesses and product owners to the skills that will make them more competitive in the market.
Obtiva, one of Chicago’s largest software consultancies, is curating TechWeek training.
Obtiva VP of Marketing & Business Development Kat Nelson-Reid said, “Each of the 11 TechWeek training sessions delves into timely and pertinent topics. There’s been a lot of talk about the shortage of technical talent and experienced software developers, so Obtiva is doing something about it. We have designed a series of quality learning programs that will arm attendees with take-aways that enrich their skills and knowledge. It will also empower business owners and entrepreneurs with an understanding of key skills their company needs.”
Micah Martin, president of 8th Light, Inc. and a TechWeek trainer, said, “These are some very solid sessions at TechWeek. It's great to see established developers and designers present and share ideas with the community. I am certainly going to attend as many sessions as possible and learn as much as I can from these guys."
Attendees can log in and sign up for TechWeek training at http://techweek.com/conference/schedule The TechWeek Conference & Expo pass includes trainings at no additional fee.
FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011
Agile Basics, with Michael Feathers
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Michael Feathers, an internationally respected pioneer in agile software development and chief scientist at Obtiva, will introduce relevant agile practices and explain when they should – and should not – be used. Participants will learn how to conduct project planning, write user stories, how to estimate, and, through simulations, learn how emergent design through refactoring and test-driven development impacts the software development process.
SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2011
Mobile UX Design, with Jon Buda
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Working on setting up a mobile application? This session reveals the technical side to UX design for mobile devices. Jon Buda will help participants develop a sense for responsive design and consider the various viewport sizes, resolutions and how best to present content for different contexts and device sizes. Jon is a hybrid web developer/designer at One Design Company and is co-organizer of the Refresh Chicago meetup.
Welcome to Rails, with Noel Rappin
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Ruby on Rails is the web framework of choice if you want your application to be developed quickly and want it to be extensible in the future. This introduction to Rails will get you started with Rails web development and show you how Rails makes web development manageable and fun. Noel Rappin is a senior consultant at Obtiva and the author of “Rails Test Prescriptions" and “Professional Ruby on Rails.” He has more than a decade of experience in web application development and has trained developers at venues around the country.
Web Typography: On Choosing (and Using) Fonts on Screen, with Billy Whited
5:00 p.m – 6:00 p.m.
There are thousands of typefaces to which to choose – but how do you avoid those that harm the usability, readability, and accessibility of your websites and applications? Billy Whited, who manages design, front-end development and content strategy at 8th Light, Inc., will help attendees navigate the sea of possibilities to choose typefaces that are brand- (and screen-) appropriate, and help participants learn how to make intelligent type-related design decisions for the web.
SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011
Clojure: The New Ruby, with Micah Martin
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Ten years ago Ruby was the unknown gem of programming languages; today, it’s mainstream and millions have profited from its power. Clojure has the feel of Ruby 10 years ago. It's powerful, fresh, sexy, and relatively unused. 8th Light President and Co-Founder Micah Martin will instruct attendees about Clojure’s Lisp heritage and how it fits into the world of functional languages. He’ll discuss Software Transactional Memory, show how it provides all the tools needed to build an OO architecture (even though it isn’t an OO language), and talk about real work uses for Clojure.
I Am the Place: Delivering Information to a Mobile Society, with Alice Toth
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Until recently, information was generally associated with a place: gathered ‘round the radio, in front of the TV in the living room, surfing the web at work. But the boundaries of where and when information is received began to blur, then disappeared completely. Now, information is shared wherever you are. As a result, we need to rethink how we design products. Rather than starting with the end, we need to start up front with delivery. It’s a different way of thinking, but an important distinction to understand in order to design products that are relevant in today’s culture. Alice Toth is director of interactive design at Arc Worldwide in Chicago.
Choosing Your Platform, with Tyler Jennings
12:30 p.m.- 1:30 p.m.
Open vs. closed source. Java vs. .NET vs. Ruby and a hundred other languages. Picking the right platform is daunting and the wrong choice will hamstring your project from the get-go. Tyler Jennings, principal consultant at Obtiva, will discuss simple principles to guide you in choosing the optimal development platform.
Talk Tech to Me, with Jeff Cohen
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Public speaking is an essential skill for software engineers, and one that often doesn’t come naturally. In this talk, Jeff Cohen, author of the book “Rails for .NET Developers,” will give a “Lightning Talks 101” tutorial, showing attendees how to organize a presentation, speak to an audience and prepare live demos. Jeff is the founder of Purple Workshops, a provider of one-day, high impact technical training sessions.
MONDAY, JULY 25
Develop Your Business on Mobile Devices, with Brandon Passley
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
So you’ve established your business and are ready to make it available on a mobile device. Now what? Brandon Passley is co-founder and project director of VOKAL Interactive and has deep expertise In mobile strategy and digital innovation. He’ll help attendees understand the planning, technology and architecture that go into developing apps for mobile devices.
Scaling a Development Team, with Shinji Kuwayama
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Groupon launched in the fall of 2008 with two developers in Chicago; now it has hundreds of developers around the world. Shinji Kuwayama leads several Groupon development teams. He’ll talk about how to preserve the startup culture while also becoming a larger, more mature team and field your questions about scaling and building fast moving development teams.
The Web Design Process: A Strategy for Success, with Shay Howe
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
It’s crucial for websites to have a solid design process and strategy in place. In this workshop, Shay Howe outlines the steps involved in properly researching and planning for a website, strategizing a website’s architecture, visual design and development, and how to launch and grow a website with confidence. Shay is a UI and front-end developer with Pawngo who has a passion for building intuitive websites. He is a co-organizer of the Refresh Chicago meetup.
About Obtiva
Obtiva ignites ideas to bring web and mobile applications to life. A full service agile software consultancy specializing in Ruby on Rails, Obtiva's technical mastery shines through in its work. Obtiva's studio team of developers and project managers provide full-service web application development, from product vision to user experience design to development and deployment. Obtiva's co-development services bring specialized skill sets to your existing team. Obtiva also provides coaching and public and private training in a classroom setting or on site at your office. For more information call 888.6.OBTIVA, follow Obtiva on Facebook and Twitter, and visit www.obtiva.com.
About TechWeek
From Fortune 500 CTOs to job-seekers and technology enthusiasts, TechWeek invites the entire community to amplify the signal of technology during one week this July. Companies interested in securing their place at TechWeek can now apply to exhibit, launch a new product or feature set or sponsor. For more information about TechWeek and to register to attend, visit www.techweek.com.
Contact:
Katherine Nelson-Reid
Vice President of Marketing & Business Development
312.380.6673
kreid@obtiva.com
Ellen DePodesta
Public Relations, Obtiva
312.450.3400
edepodesta@obtiva.com
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