EDUCAUSE presentations

I am delighted that Applications Division will be giving two presentations at this year's EDUCAUSE conference in California. Traditionally we have found it hard to get proposals accepted, so it is good to have this opportunity to be recognised internationally for the quality of our work.

The two talks will be:

"Darwin, Finches and poker chips - an Agile journey", by Dawn Nicholls and Bill Lee
"From Black Hole to Gold Mine - Adding Analytics to the University Portal", by Martin Morrey

I've been closely involved with our adoption of Agile methods. Dawn and Bill will be presenting what we have learned, especially regarding techniques for engaging users in the project prioritisation procedures. They are aiming to use Agile techniques in the session itself, giving delegates the chance to vote on which topics to discuss most.

Martin has done great work on making information available about which tools our students and staff actually use. As this is service management rather than development, I haven't been directly involved but I have seen Martin's talk and I recommend it.

The EDUCAUSE conference attracts thousands of delegates from the USA and across the world. For background information about the conference, see http://www.educause.edu/annual-conference.

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