The Inaugural Blacks in Technology Conference, instantly tagged as BITCON2018, is a 3-day interactive platform for professionals, entrepreneurs, influencers, subject matter experts, students, and thought leaders who share a common goal... increasing the visibility and representation of black men and women in the tech industry. As we seek to further our mission of establishing a practice of world class excellence, BIT has crafted a stimulating and engaging program that intertwines and encompasses the Twin Cities educational, business, political and tech communities. Utilizing forums such as tech exhibits, career fairs, pitch competitions, networking parties, city innovation tours, lightning talks, and panel discussions, BIT invites you to redefine your career in tech…
Are you Doing Agile? Folks throw around buzzwords like Scrum and Sprints, but what do they really mean to developers day to day? If you’re new to the technology life, or if you’re just tired of smiling and nodding when the topic of Agile comes up, this is the session for you. So what the heck is Agile anyway? And why is it relevant to Blacks in Technology? What do you do if you get asked about it in an interview? Should you panic if your company announces they’re doing an Agile Transition? In this session, we’ll briefly talk about the essentials of Agile with a capital A, and cover some of the basic terminology. We’ll look at the more common flavors of Agile - Scrum and Kanban - and the difference between their idealized states and how how they’re often practiced in the real world, day to day. What are daily standups, grooming, backlogs, retrospectives, boards and story points ? Finally, we’ll discuss whether these methods present challenges or opportunities specifically for folks of color. This session is appropriate for folks of any experience level who have been curious about Agile. You won’t be a certified anything, but you’ll learn enough to be able to ask smart questions in an interview, and to know what’s likely expected of you in a company that’s using these techniques.