NZCS Events

Introduction to Software Testing (Christchurch, 27/11/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:44:52 +1300

Introduction to Software Testing

27 November 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

In this information age we rely heavily on software applications and IT in both our personal and professional lives -on-line banking, Facebook, payroll, order processing, and using mobile telephones to name a few examples.

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

This half-day 'Introduction to Testing' course provides a high level overview of testing for both people new to testing, or those needing an awareness of the topic. The course covers the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing.

The content and terminology in this course strongly aligns with the introductory sections of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) foundation certification syllabus, providing a good foundation in testing and a stepping stone for anyone wanting a develop a career in testing.

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a practicing test manager and IT consultant. While the course will introduce a number of concepts, these will be backed up by real world examples and applied learning.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Neil Gray is the Performance Engineering Practice Director for Equinox IT. Neil has extensive experience in testing, performance testing, and test management. He has previously part-owned and managed niche testing company Software 9000 and was the New Zealand Country Manager for Rational Software. In addition to his consulting and practice leadership responsibilities, Neil is also a certified training instructor in Equinox IT's training business.

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NZCS Corporate Partners and approved organisations can opt to pay by invoice by calling 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee and business details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz. Credit criteria and other conditions apply.

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IT Governance Fundamentals (Christchurch, 22/11/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:55:57 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

22 November 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

IT Governance is focused on the leadership, structures and processes that ensure that an organisation's information technology sustains and extends the overall organisation's strategies and objectives.

This half-day workshop is an introduction to the fundamentals of IT Governance, its relationship with Corporate Governance and its relevance in developing and sustaining organisations in the private and public sector.

The workshop will use a participative approach using case study material. Real world examples will be used from the real-world experience that your trainer brings. We will provide you with course notes, guides, templates and checklists as well as references for further reading.

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

Murray Wills aka "the Virtual CIO" is Principal Consultant and Managing Director of Maxsys Limited (www.maxsys.co.nz). Murray brings extensive hands on experience as a consultant / advisor to government agencies and private sector organisations where he advises Boards, CEO's and CIO's in IT Management, Project Management and Governance.

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Web Security Strategies for Developers (Wellington, 21/11/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:10:16 +1300

Web Security Strategies for Developers

21 November 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Room: Terrace 5

NZCS Security Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

You can't fight a war that you don't know you're waging. You can't defend your websites against attack unless you know the tricks the blackhats are using to infiltrate. In this workshop renowned security expert Andy Prow, Managing Director of Aura Software Security, outlines and demonstrates many of the latest attacks and defenses in use today.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

More importantly, however, you'll also learn how to minimise the risk from these and other attacks, with practical tips that you can apply straight away to help you design, build and manage more secure websites.

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Andy launched the Aura group of companies in 2001 and Aura Software Security has developed into one of NZ's leading IT Security Consulting practices with many significant clients including the NZ Government, Xero, and Banking and Corporate companies in New Zealand and overseas.

Equipment

Please bring along the following:

Laptop with Wifi
Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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IT Governance Fundamentals (Auckland, 16/11/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:05:15 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

16 November 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Introduction to Software Testing (Auckland, 15/11/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:51:07 +1300

Introduction to Software Testing

15 November 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.17

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Stephen Townshend is a Senior Consultant in Equinox's IT Performance Engineering Practice. Stephen is an experienced software tester, with a specialist focus on performance testing and technical problem solving. In addition to his consulting activities, Stephen is a certified instructor in Equinox's IT training business. Stephen is a ISTQB certified testing professional.

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Auckland, 13/11/2012)

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:49:23 +1300

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

13 November 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

This impacts the identification and delivery of business value, having a service-aligned organisational structure, alignment of silos and the use of governance as an enabler. Lastly it hinders the transformation of the IT organisation from one that is usually characterised by a technology focus to one that has a strong business focus.

This interactive seminar is designed to provide the audience with an understanding of the importance of the strategic role of ITIL together with other governance frameworks to facilitate strategic decision making and investment in services and in order to transform from a technology service provider to a business service provider.

The seminar is intended to give the audience an understanding of what IT Service Management is, how it can be implemented at a high level and the critical role it plays within organisations while attempting to not be bogged down with a focus on technology and tools.

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

Debra Brooking is a qualified ITIL Expert and an ITIL Infrastructure Manager. She has extensive experience in the ICT industry for over 15 years across a number of fields including Service Desk, Incident Management, Operations Management, Vendor Management, Financial Management, Change Management, Configuration Management and Outsourcing. Her involvement included industries such as telecommunications, insurance, and outsourcing companies.

Her experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

Her focus over the last number of years have been around implementing ITIL processes in the work environment, particularly employed in roles where significant changes in structure and process were required to ensure profitable business units.

Debra holds the ITIL Expert certification and provides both consultancy and training services for ProActive Services.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Project Management - Intro and Practice (Wellington, 06/11/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:15:05 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

6 November 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Room: Terrace 5

This one-day workshop will provide an introduction to the profession of project management, an overview of its terminology, practices and techniques and cover a series of practical examples - perfect for anyone looking to change career or for anyone being asked to manage small projects.

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

In this workshop you'll be led through real world examples from the experience your trainer brings, learning techniques and developing tools applicable to any type of small project. Working in small groups our exercises are designed to give you practical skills to develop, progress and implement commonsense Project Management in your workplace.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Colin Ellis hails from the UK and has close to 15 years multi-industry project, programme and programme office management experience. He has recently set up his own consultancy in Wellington as The PMO Guy and is providing project management training and programme and project management consultancy services to the public and private sector.

Colin is passionate about project management, is a qualified PRINCE2, MSP and P30 practitioner and is keen to work with other members of the community to ensure that the key elements of the profession are not lost in a candidate rich market.

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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IT Governance Fundamentals (Wellington, 25/10/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:42:54 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

25 October 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Project Management - Intro and Practice (Auckland, 25/10/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:03:48 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

25 October 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Developing software the Agile way (Auckland, 17/10/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:31:15 +1300

Developing software the Agile way

17 October 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.17

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

This half day 'Introduction to Agile' workshop provides an overview of the values and principles that underpin agile methods such as Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP) and Kanban. It explores the cultural shifts that need to occur for agile to succeed, as well as covering common terminology and agile practices. It also looks at potential risks in adopting agile, and how to set your agile project and team up for success.

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Anthony Boobier is an Equinox Consultant who has over 15 years experience of working within the IT industry, the last 8 have been focused on Agile software development. Anthony has worked with a variety of Organisations in, Government and the private sector within New Zealand and the UK. Anthony is a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), Certified IT Professional (CITP), PMI Project Management Professional (PMP) and founder member and treasurer of the Wellington Agile Professionals Network.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Introduction to Software Testing (Wellington, 10/10/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:17:58 +1300

Introduction to Software Testing

10 October 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Project Management - Intro and Practice (Christchurch, 10/10/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:07:05 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

10 October 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Business Analysis for Professionals (Auckland, 09/10/2012)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:13:35 +1300

Business Analysis for Professionals

9 October 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland

What is Business Analysis? What are the processes and concepts involved and how do you move into this area?

The organisations that we work in are continuously changing. Business Analysis is a fundamental set of activities performed to define the change that a business requires. Often these activities focus on ensuring that the true underlying business problem or problems are understood and that the change (including any IT changes) once implemented will solve these known problems.

This half-day introductory course on Business Analysis provides a high level awareness of Business Analysis. Attention is given to key concepts, terminology, discipline areas, and primary activities involved in this crucial discipline.

The course content for the discipline areas is consistent with International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®) Body of Knowledge. The course is targeted at those who need an awareness and overview of business analysis and provides an initial stepping stone for anyone wanting to develop a career in Business Analysis.

Duration: Half Day.

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the key concepts, terminology and activities involved in Business Analysis.
Briefly explain the primary discipline areas involved in Business Analysis.
Have a greater understanding of the fundamental principles of this area.

Target Audience

Managers, IT Professionals and business representatives who work with business analysts and want more awareness of the role
Anyone considering a career in Business Analysis and wanting to take the first step in understanding the topic.

Approach

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a practicing Business Analyst and IT consultant. While the course will introduce a number of concepts, these will be backed up by real world examples and applied learning.

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Business Analysis
Key Business Analysis concepts
Business Analysis discipline areas
Primary Business Analysis activities

Your Trainer

Ross Wilson is a Principal Consultant in in Equinox IT's Business Analysis Practice. Ross has many years of experience in business analysis and IT consulting. In addition to his consulting activities, Ross is a certified instructor in Equinox IT's training business and is a Certified BPMN Professional.

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Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (Auckland, 05/10/2012)

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:36:22 +1300

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation

5 October 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

This full-day workshop led by one of the SEO industry's most prominent trainers will show you step-by-step how to optimise your or your clients' web sites to get noticed by Google and other engines. The workshop component will also include live site analysis of the web sites of some attendees during the day.

Whether you're an IT manager, coder, website coordinator or business owner, getting well placed for your key terms on search engines is hugely valuable and important.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand how Google and other search engines rank pages.
Understand what makes a web page search engine compatible.
Understand what type of content search engines love.
Research and select appropriate keywords to target.
Successfully integrate search keywords within web site copy.
Create effective and optimised web pages.
Learn why social media can improve your search rankings.
Monitor your search positions and report meaningful data to stake holders.

Target Audience

The course is suitable for many audiences, for example:

Marketing professionals entrusted with the responsibility of promoting their company's or clients' web sites.
Webmasters wanting to increase traffic to their web sites via search engines.
Small business owners wanting to learn how to promote their web sites on the search engines.
Owners of e-commerce sites that want to increase their site's visitor to customer conversion ratios.
Web site designers wanting to offer search engine marketing services to their clients.

Approach

This workshop assumes you don't have a strong understanding of the details of Search Engine Optimisation. Your trainer will take you through the basics step-by-step with visual examples throughout. You'll learn concepts and techniques applicable to any type of web site, with tools and tips provided that will make the optimisation process easier. If time allows, the trainer will conduct a live site analysis of the web sites of 1 or 2 attendees.

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Compatibility
Why does Google Like My competitor Better Than Me?
Organic vs Paid Search
SEO Requirements Gathering - Where Do I Start?
Keyword Research
Title and META Tag Creation
SEO Copywriting & Integration
SEO and Social Media
SEO Reporting
10 Steps to Get Started
Useful SEO Resources
Live Site Analysis

Your Trainer

One of the first search engine optimisation experts in Australia and New Zealand, Kalena Jordan is well known and respected in the search industry. Kalena has been marketing web sites online since 1996 and blogging about search since 2002.

In 2004, Kalena co-founded Search Engine College, an online training institution offering instructor-led short courses and downloadable self-study courses in Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing subjects. Since launch, the College has attracted students from 53 countries worldwide.

As well as presenting at various marketing conferences and training events, Kalena writes a regular column for Site Pro News, as well as an agony aunt style search engine advice blog called Ask Kalena. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Newcastle and is a self-confessed Twitter addict.

When not glued to her iPhone, Kalena likes to go geocaching and fishing.

Registration Details

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NZCS Corporate Partners and approved organisations can opt to pay by invoice by calling 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee and business details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz. Credit criteria and other conditions apply.

(More Info)

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (Wellington, 03/10/2012)

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:42:49 +1300

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation

3 October 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Room: Terrace 5

Whether you're an IT manager, coder, website coordinator or business owner, getting well placed for your key terms on search engines is hugely valuable and important.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand how Google and other search engines rank pages.
Understand what makes a web page search engine compatible.
Understand what type of content search engines love.
Research and select appropriate keywords to target.
Successfully integrate search keywords within web site copy.
Create effective and optimised web pages.
Learn why social media can improve your search rankings.
Monitor your search positions and report meaningful data to stake holders.

Target Audience

The course is suitable for many audiences, for example:

Marketing professionals entrusted with the responsibility of promoting their company's or clients' web sites.
Webmasters wanting to increase traffic to their web sites via search engines.
Small business owners wanting to learn how to promote their web sites on the search engines.
Owners of e-commerce sites that want to increase their site's visitor to customer conversion ratios.
Web site designers wanting to offer search engine marketing services to their clients.

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Compatibility
Why does Google Like My competitor Better Than Me?
Organic vs Paid Search
SEO Requirements Gathering - Where Do I Start?
Keyword Research
Title and META Tag Creation
SEO Copywriting & Integration
SEO and Social Media
SEO Reporting
10 Steps to Get Started
Useful SEO Resources
Live Site Analysis

Your Trainer

When not glued to her iPhone, Kalena likes to go geocaching and fishing.

Registration Details

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Business Analysis for Professionals (Wellington, 27/9/2012)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:57:33 +1300

Business Analysis for Professionals

27 September 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

What is Business Analysis? What are the processes and concepts involved and how do you move into this area?

Duration: Half Day.

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the key concepts, terminology and activities involved in Business Analysis.
Briefly explain the primary discipline areas involved in Business Analysis.
Have a greater understanding of the fundamental principles of this area.

Target Audience

Managers, IT Professionals and business representatives who work with business analysts and want more awareness of the role
Anyone considering a career in Business Analysis and wanting to take the first step in understanding the topic.

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Business Analysis
Key Business Analysis concepts
Business Analysis discipline areas
Primary Business Analysis activities

Your Trainer

John Barris is the Business Analysis Practice Director for Equinox IT. John has extensive experience in all aspects of business analysis, business architecture and BA team management.

In addition to his consulting and practice leadership responsibilities, John is also a certified training instructor in Equinox IT's training business. John is an IIBA® Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®).

(More Info)

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Wellington, 24/9/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:52:30 +1300

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

24 September 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Room: Terrace 5

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

Her experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

Debra holds the ITIL Expert certification and provides both consultancy and training services for ProActive Services.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

IT Governance Fundamentals (Auckland, 19/9/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:25:43 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

19 September 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Developing software the Agile way (Wellington, 18/9/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:20:21 +1300

Developing software the Agile way

18 September 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Project Management - Intro and Practice (Wellington, 18/9/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:14:03 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

18 September 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Room: Terrace 5

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Christchurch, 17/9/2012)

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:50:54 +1300

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

17 September 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

Her experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

Debra holds the ITIL Expert certification and provides both consultancy and training services for ProActive Services.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Business Analysis for Professionals (Christchurch, 30/8/2012)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:59:50 +1300

Business Analysis for Professionals

30 August 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

What is Business Analysis? What are the processes and concepts involved and how do you move into this area?

Duration: Half Day.

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the key concepts, terminology and activities involved in Business Analysis.
Briefly explain the primary discipline areas involved in Business Analysis.
Have a greater understanding of the fundamental principles of this area.

Target Audience

Managers, IT Professionals and business representatives who work with business analysts and want more awareness of the role
Anyone considering a career in Business Analysis and wanting to take the first step in understanding the topic.

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Business Analysis
Key Business Analysis concepts
Business Analysis discipline areas
Primary Business Analysis activities

Your Trainer

John Barris is the Business Analysis Practice Director for Equinox IT. John has extensive experience in all aspects of business analysis, business architecture and BA team management.

(More Info)

Project Management - Intro and Practice (Auckland, 28/8/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:03:01 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

28 August 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Web Security Strategies for Developers (Auckland, 22/8/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:51:45 +1300

Web Security Strategies for Developers

22 August 2012: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

NZCS Security Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Equipment

Please bring along the following:

Laptop with Wifi
Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

IT Governance Fundamentals (Dunedin, 17/8/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:37:09 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

17 August 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Scenic Hotel Southern Cross Cnr Princes and High Streets Dunedin James Speight Room

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

IT Governance Fundamentals (Wellington, 15/8/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:41:38 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

15 August 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

IT Governance Fundamentals (Christchurch, 08/8/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:07:36 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

8 August 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Project Management - Intro and Practice (Dunedin, 08/8/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:18:03 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

8 August 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Scenic Hotel Southern Cross Cnr Princes and High Streets Dunedin Scenic Room

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Auckland, 07/8/2012)

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:46:46 +1300

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

7 August 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

Her experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

Debra holds the ITIL Expert certification and provides both consultancy and training services for ProActive Services.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (Christchurch, 02/8/2012)

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:44:59 +1300

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation

2 August 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

Whether you're an IT manager, coder, website coordinator or business owner, getting well placed for your key terms on search engines is hugely valuable and important.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand how Google and other search engines rank pages.
Understand what makes a web page search engine compatible.
Understand what type of content search engines love.
Research and select appropriate keywords to target.
Successfully integrate search keywords within web site copy.
Create effective and optimised web pages.
Learn why social media can improve your search rankings.
Monitor your search positions and report meaningful data to stake holders.

Target Audience

The course is suitable for many audiences, for example:

Marketing professionals entrusted with the responsibility of promoting their company's or clients' web sites.
Webmasters wanting to increase traffic to their web sites via search engines.
Small business owners wanting to learn how to promote their web sites on the search engines.
Owners of e-commerce sites that want to increase their site's visitor to customer conversion ratios.
Web site designers wanting to offer search engine marketing services to their clients.

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Compatibility
Why does Google Like My competitor Better Than Me?
Organic vs Paid Search
SEO Requirements Gathering - Where Do I Start?
Keyword Research
Title and META Tag Creation
SEO Copywriting & Integration
SEO and Social Media
SEO Reporting
10 Steps to Get Started
Useful SEO Resources
Live Site Analysis

Your Trainer

When not glued to her iPhone, Kalena likes to go geocaching and fishing.

Registration Details

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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IT Governance Fundamentals (Auckland, 26/7/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:19:40 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

26 July 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Web Security Strategies for Developers (Wellington, 25/7/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:08:16 +1300

Web Security Strategies for Developers

25 July 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Room: Terrace 5

NZCS Security Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Equipment

Please bring along the following:

Laptop with Wifi
Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Business Analysis for Professionals (Auckland, 19/7/2012)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:06:56 +1300

Business Analysis for Professionals

19 July 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland

What is Business Analysis? What are the processes and concepts involved and how do you move into this area?

Duration: Half Day.

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the key concepts, terminology and activities involved in Business Analysis.
Briefly explain the primary discipline areas involved in Business Analysis.
Have a greater understanding of the fundamental principles of this area.

Target Audience

Managers, IT Professionals and business representatives who work with business analysts and want more awareness of the role
Anyone considering a career in Business Analysis and wanting to take the first step in understanding the topic.

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Business Analysis
Key Business Analysis concepts
Business Analysis discipline areas
Primary Business Analysis activities

Your Trainer

(More Info)

Project Management - Intro and Practice (Hamilton, 19/7/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:11:28 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

19 July 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Ventura Inn & Suites 23 Clarence Street Hamilton

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Developing software the Agile way (Christchurch, 18/7/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:34:47 +1300

Developing software the Agile way

18 July 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (Wellington, 10/7/2012)

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:41:25 +1300

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation

10 July 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Room: Terrace 5

Whether you're an IT manager, coder, website coordinator or business owner, getting well placed for your key terms on search engines is hugely valuable and important.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand how Google and other search engines rank pages.
Understand what makes a web page search engine compatible.
Understand what type of content search engines love.
Research and select appropriate keywords to target.
Successfully integrate search keywords within web site copy.
Create effective and optimised web pages.
Learn why social media can improve your search rankings.
Monitor your search positions and report meaningful data to stake holders.

Target Audience

The course is suitable for many audiences, for example:

Marketing professionals entrusted with the responsibility of promoting their company's or clients' web sites.
Webmasters wanting to increase traffic to their web sites via search engines.
Small business owners wanting to learn how to promote their web sites on the search engines.
Owners of e-commerce sites that want to increase their site's visitor to customer conversion ratios.
Web site designers wanting to offer search engine marketing services to their clients.

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Compatibility
Why does Google Like My competitor Better Than Me?
Organic vs Paid Search
SEO Requirements Gathering - Where Do I Start?
Keyword Research
Title and META Tag Creation
SEO Copywriting & Integration
SEO and Social Media
SEO Reporting
10 Steps to Get Started
Useful SEO Resources
Live Site Analysis

Your Trainer

When not glued to her iPhone, Kalena likes to go geocaching and fishing.

Registration Details

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (Auckland, 06/7/2012)

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:37:45 +1300

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation

6 July 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

Whether you're an IT manager, coder, website coordinator or business owner, getting well placed for your key terms on search engines is hugely valuable and important.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand how Google and other search engines rank pages.
Understand what makes a web page search engine compatible.
Understand what type of content search engines love.
Research and select appropriate keywords to target.
Successfully integrate search keywords within web site copy.
Create effective and optimised web pages.
Learn why social media can improve your search rankings.
Monitor your search positions and report meaningful data to stake holders.

Target Audience

The course is suitable for many audiences, for example:

Marketing professionals entrusted with the responsibility of promoting their company's or clients' web sites.
Webmasters wanting to increase traffic to their web sites via search engines.
Small business owners wanting to learn how to promote their web sites on the search engines.
Owners of e-commerce sites that want to increase their site's visitor to customer conversion ratios.
Web site designers wanting to offer search engine marketing services to their clients.

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Compatibility
Why does Google Like My competitor Better Than Me?
Organic vs Paid Search
SEO Requirements Gathering - Where Do I Start?
Keyword Research
Title and META Tag Creation
SEO Copywriting & Integration
SEO and Social Media
SEO Reporting
10 Steps to Get Started
Useful SEO Resources
Live Site Analysis

Your Trainer

When not glued to her iPhone, Kalena likes to go geocaching and fishing.

Registration Details

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Developing software the Agile way (Wellington, 05/7/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:19:03 +1300

Developing software the Agile way

5 July 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Introduction to Software Testing (Auckland, 04/7/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:49:42 +1300

Introduction to Software Testing

4 July 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.17

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Business Analysis for Professionals (Wellington, 29/6/2012)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:53:54 +1300

Business Analysis for Professionals

29 June 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

What is Business Analysis? What are the processes and concepts involved and how do you move into this area?

Duration: Half Day.

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the key concepts, terminology and activities involved in Business Analysis.
Briefly explain the primary discipline areas involved in Business Analysis.
Have a greater understanding of the fundamental principles of this area.

Target Audience

Managers, IT Professionals and business representatives who work with business analysts and want more awareness of the role
Anyone considering a career in Business Analysis and wanting to take the first step in understanding the topic.

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

Definition of Business Analysis
Key Business Analysis concepts
Business Analysis discipline areas
Primary Business Analysis activities

Your Trainer

John Barris is the Business Analysis Practice Director for Equinox IT. John has extensive experience in all aspects of business analysis, business architecture and BA team management.

(More Info)

Project Management - Intro and Practice (Wellington, 29/6/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:00:47 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

29 June 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Presents: Sir Ralph Norris on Technology Innovation (Auckland, 27/6/2012)

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:40:06 +1200

NZCS Presents: Sir Ralph Norris on Technology Innovation

27 June 2012: 7:30 am - 9:00 am

Prime Bistro PWC Building 188 Quay Street

When compiling a list of the most influential kiwi business innovators there is one name that tops the list - Sir Ralph Norris. Having served as CEO of ASB Bank, Air New Zealand and Commonwealth Bank (owner of ASB), Norris is well known for turning businesses around through embracing technology.

Norris has previously been reported as saying ICT professionals are critical to the success of organisations and in this NZCS breakfast presentation NZCS Honorary Fellow Sir Ralph Norris will outline the role IT and technology has played in the success of the companies he has run and the lessons other kiwi businesses can learn as a result.

This exclusive presentation is a unique opportunity to hear from one of our country's best and will fill fast. Register today to avoid disappointment.

Breakfast included.

About The Speaker

Sir Ralph Norris is one of New Zealand's most successful innovators.

His first prominent position was as CIO of ASB Bank before moving on to Managing Director and CEO role in 1991. It was under his stewardship that ASB launched the country's first internet banking site in 1997, FastNet Classic, followed by the country's first online bank in BankDirect. ASB was also the first bank to open in the weekend in 1998 and became the first to offer online share trading on both the Australian and New Zealand sharemarkets in 1998.

Norris was named Deloitte/Management magazine's New Zealand Executive of the Year in 1997 and stepped down from ASB in 2001.

Norris was then appointed CEO of Air New Zealand in early 2002, taking on a significantly troubled airline in the aftermath of 9/11 and politically charged following an $800M bailout from the NZ Government. Norris was successful in reinventing and revolutionising the airline, from posting the largest loss in New Zealand corporate history to profitability, and was again named Executive of the Year in 2004 - the first to receive the prestigious award twice.

As with his earlier days with ASB, much of AirNZ's turnaround was credited to Norris' understanding and embracement of technology. It was under his stewardship that AirNZ revolutionalised online ticket sales, turning airnz.co.nz from a somewhat unused site to a major retail channel for direct sales, central to the airline's Domestic Express strategy and lifting domestic online sales from 4% to 44% of sales in 12 months. Norris stepped down in 2005 replaced by his right-hand man Rob Fyfe.

Norris then went on to become CEO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ASB's parent, where he became Australia's most prominent banker and highest valued executive overseeing the $1 billion-plus technology transformation project underway at CBA since 2008. He left NAB late last year having seen significant growth and successfully steering the bank through a time of great upheaval in the global banking sector.

Norris has also served on a number of Trusts including the Starship Foundation, Knowledge Wave and Northern Lifeguard Services Trust. Norris was awarded KNZM in 1999 for outstanding business leadership and service to community and private sector banking and is an Honorary Fellow of NZCS.

This presentation is absolutely not to be missed. Given the strong demand, registration will be available to NZCS members and staff of Corporate Partners only until May 22nd. Remaining spaces, if any, will be available following this date. Click here to join NZCS

Upcoming Breakfasts

The NZCS Auckland Breakfast series has a number of significant breakfasts coming up with the country's leading experts on a range of topics. The tentative upcoming breakfast are:

June 27 - Sir Ralph Norris (ex-CEO of Air NZ, ASB Bank and Commonwealth Bank)
July 26 - Hon Amy Adams (Minister of ICT)
August 30 - Panel on transformation of Auckland Council
Sept 27 - Identity matters and Identity theft Panel
October - Health IT Panel (in association with Health IT Cluster)

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Project Management - Intro and Practice (Auckland, 26/6/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:02:02 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

26 June 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Web Security Strategies for Developers (Christchurch, 20/6/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:59:18 +1300

Web Security Strategies for Developers

20 June 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

NZCS Security Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Equipment

Please bring along the following:

Laptop with Wifi
Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS #YoungIT: The Business of Social, with @JustinFlitter (Auckland, 14/6/2012)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:21:42 +1200

NZCS #YoungIT: The Business of Social, with @JustinFlitter

14 June 2012: 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Level 5, Microsoft House 22 Viaduct Harbour Ave Auckland Arrive from 5:30pm, presentation will start at 6pm sharp.

$104,000,000,000 US Dollars is a big chunk of change in anyone's language. That's fifteen dollars for every man, woman and child on the entire planet.

It's also the valuation for Facebook thrown around during recent negotiations, which saw startup Instagram acquired, by the social giant. Instagram was launched just two years ago with $250k VC funding and was just acquired for 4000 times that value - around a billion dollars.

Around a year ago social media giant Twitter was valued at around $10 billion. For context, that's also the approximate value of 109 year old global motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson.

From these massive valuations to the smallest company using these social networks to leverage their businesses, it can no longer be said that social networking is a "fad" and even the hardest critic has to admit there's serious money in social.

So how do you or your business get a piece of it?

In this engaging presentation one of New Zealand's most prominent social media consultants, Justin Flitter, dives deep into the underlying analytics that make up the social Internet:

What's new and what's coming in the social media scene?
There's real value in social media. How do you or your business take advantage of the existing networks to get ahead?
What are the emerging trends, which matter and most importantly, how do you get a piece of it - whether you're interested in this stuff or not?

When it comes to business, social media isn't simply about being on Twitter and Facebook - real value comes from a real campaign. Justin will look at what's involved in planning and running a successful campaign including real world examples.

Arrive from 5:30pm, presentation will start at 6pm sharp.

After the presentation, catch up with other young IT peeps over beer and pizza.

This presentation is part of the NZCS #YoungIT Event Series - details below.

About @JustinFlitter

Justin Flitter, recently married and current CEO of Flitter™ is passionate about Social Media, engagement and conversations.

Justin Flitter is a passionate social / digital communications professional with over 10 years of solid business experience working for and with companies across Asia-Pacific. A passionate and talented social networker and customer relationship champion he has developed a unique expertise that is both entrepreneurial (he started his own incubator in 2001) and global (working for Zendesk since 2008).

Clients rave about his enthusiasm and easygoing nature. He is currently obsessed with making social data help businesses grow brands better. He loves a good juggle, is an avid cricket fan and is currently immersed in a yet-to-be launched project focused on Marine Conservation.

NZCS #YoungIT

NZCS #YoungIT is a networking group for 20- and 30-something ICT enthusiasts (generally those in their first 10 years of professional work experience and students).

NZCS #YoungIT runs regular events and presentations providing opportunities for young IT peeps to get together over beer and pizza and good company while also maybe learning something new...

2012 #YoungIT get-togethers:

19 April: Seeby Woodhouse on Entrepreneurialism
14 June: Justin Flitter on real social marketing
9 August: Nathan Mercer on tech gadgets and trends
4 October: Ben Gracewood on development trendz
29 Nov: End of year function TBA

Special thanks to Microsoft for sponsoring the venue

Registration Details:

Registration is essential. No registration, no beer and pizza!

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Introduction to Software Testing (Christchurch, 14/6/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:40:42 +1300

Introduction to Software Testing

14 June 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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IT Governance Fundamentals (Wellington, 13/6/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:40:32 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

13 June 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Introduction to Software Testing (Wellington, 12/6/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:14:30 +1300

Introduction to Software Testing

12 June 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Hamilton, 12/6/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:39:44 +1300

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

12 June 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Wintec City Campus, Bill Gallagher Events Room Two Gallagher Hub Gate 5 Tristram Street Hamilton Free Onsite Parking

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

Her experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

Debra holds the ITIL Expert certification and provides both consultancy and training services for ProActive Services.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Project Management - Intro and Practice (Christchurch, 11/6/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:05:52 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

11 June 2012: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Developing software the Agile way (Auckland, 06/6/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:30:01 +1300

Developing software the Agile way

6 June 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.17

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Under the Microscope (Wellington, 31/5/2012)

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:13:34 +1200

Under the Microscope

31 May 2012: 12:10 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM Level 11, The Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

Under the Microscope: Smart Technology for Corporate and Regulatory Investigations

Those tasked with responding to allegations of fraud, breach of regulations and resulting litigation are often faced with incredible complexity, vast amounts of information and tight deadlines. These assignments can often be high profile and the outcomes are normally closely scrutinised.

Technology often plays a critical role in these matters:

What are some of the common practical challenges faced in these situations?
How is technology used to overcome these challenges?
What is on the horizon?

Jason Weir will lead this session, using case studies and observations accumulated in over 10 years of financial investigation experience.

A light lunch is provided

About The Speaker

Jason Weir leads Deloitte's Forensic team in Auckland, specialising in forensic accounting. Jason is regularly engaged to complete investigations by companies, public sector organisations and enforcement agencies and has been heavily involved investigating the failed finance companies.

Technology plays a critical role in many of these investigations. Jason is also regularly engaged to determine financial loss for litigation and insurance purposes, as well as providing independent assessments of the financial position and viability of financially distressed organisations. He has provided expert evidence to Court on both civil and criminal matters.

Venue kindly provided by IBM

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Introduction to Software Testing (Dunedin, 29/5/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:54:53 +1300

Introduction to Software Testing

29 May 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Scenic Hotel Southern Cross Reno Massetti Room Cnr Princes and High Streets Dunedin

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Auckland, 28/5/2012)

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:43:02 +1300

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

28 May 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

Her experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

Debra holds the ITIL Expert certification and provides both consultancy and training services for ProActive Services.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Software that isn't principally IT - Embedded Software! (Christchurch, 24/5/2012)

Mon, 07 May 2012 09:52:00 +1200

Software that isn't principally IT - Embedded Software!

24 May 2012: 5:45 pm - 7:00 pm

Conference Room (Upstairs) Trevinos Cnr Riccarton Road & Mona Vale Ave, Christchurch

We're all used to running software on our computers. Whenever we want to read or send an email, catch up on our favourite websites, write a report, perform complex calculations or even sort through our vacation photos, we go to our computers and fire up an appropriate application.

But much of the software in use around us exists outside of our computers - modern electronics are teeming with it. Sometimes that software is obvious (as in our smart phones and MP3 players) but often it's more subtle (as in our washing machines and dishwashers) or even hidden entirely (inside pacemakers and anti-lock braking systems).

Join us for an exploration of the variety of embedded systems and the unique challenges of embedded software development.

About The Speaker

Michael Gauland is a senior Software Engineer with over 20 years experience.

Michael specialises in embedded software, which he has developed for the following major companies - Tektronix, Corning Inc, Tait Radio Communications and now at Trimble Navigation.

Originally a New Yorker, with a Master of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University, Michael has been working in Christchurch since 2003 and is a member of NZCS.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband (Wellington, 24/5/2012)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:30:13 +1200

National Series: Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband

24 May 2012: 5:15 pm - 7:15 pm

PowerHouse People L4 Deloitte House, 10 Brandon St, Wellington 5:15pm for a 5:45pm start.

NZCS is excited to announce the return of the NZCS National Event Series presenting some of the country's top experts in a range of tech topics in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin.

Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband

The Government's Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) project is now in full swing in 17 towns and cities nationwide. How is it progressing and what are we going to do with it when it gets here?

In this topical presentation Crown Fibre Holdings Strategy Director Rohan MacMahon will provide a warts-and-all update on the the UFB build and how the UFB infrastructure is progressively coming online - progress, holdups, hickups and victories.

But what now? The next inevitable question will be how New Zealanders use it, both as consumers and as businesses wanting to make the most of this new capability. Rohan will talk about some of the opportunities which UFB will enable for the IT sector and IT professionals, as well as for exporters & businesses, local Councils, schools & in the health sector.

If you're interested in UFB and want an overview of progress and to find out how you can get the most out of it, this presentation is for you.

5:15pm for a 5:45pm start. Refreshments will follow presentation.

About The Speaker

Rohan MacMahon joined Crown Fibre Holdings (CFH) in April 2010. In his role as Strategy Director he is responsible for developing and implementing business strategy, engaging the many stakeholders in the Ultra-Fast Broadband initiative, and building industry understanding of Ultra-Fast Broadband products and services.

Rohan was previously General Manager of Planning for Telstra's Enterprise and Government division in Australia. Over 10 years at Telstra he held senior roles in strategy, marketing, business development and e-commerce.

Prior to Telstra, Rohan established a start-up company to build Web-based applications. He also worked as a Management Consultant at Accenture (then Andersen Consulting) in industries such as telecommunications, IT, financial services and consumer products.

Rohan holds degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Sydney.

The 2012 NZCS National Event Series

The 2012 NZCS National Event Series will include the following presentations:

May: UFB update from Rohan MacMahon, Strategy Director, Crown Fibre
June: Games Development from Stephen Knightly, Chair, NZ Game Devs Assn
July: ICT in Earthquake recovery from Julian Carver, Acting CIO of CERA
August: Advanced open networks from Steve Cotter, CEO of REANNZ
Sept: Security update from Andy Prow, CEO of Auro Information Security
Oct: Managing BYOD from Gary Griffiths, Good Technology APAC
Nov: Entrepreneurialism from Seeby Woodhouse, Founder of Orcon

Other than May, all events will run in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin. The National Series will begin in Dunedin in June.

Venue and refreshments provided by:

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband (Hamilton, 24/5/2012)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:28:42 +1200

National Series: Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband

24 May 2012: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Wintec City Campus, Events Room One Gallagher Hub Gate 3 Tristram Street Hamilton

Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband

The Government's Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) project is now in full swing in 17 towns and cities nationwide. How is it progressing and what are we going to do with it when it gets here?

If you're interested in UFB and want an overview of progress and to find out how you can get the most out of it, this presentation is for you.

Light lunch included.

About The Speaker

Rohan holds degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Sydney.

The 2012 NZCS National Event Series

The 2012 NZCS National Event Series will include the following presentations:

May: UFB update from Rohan MacMahon, Strategy Director, Crown Fibre
June: Games Development from Stephen Knightly, Chair, NZ Game Devs Assn
July: ICT in Earthquake recovery from Julian Carver, Acting CIO of CERA
August: Advanced open networks from Steve Cotter, CEO of REANNZ
Sept: Security update from Andy Prow, CEO of Auro Information Security
Oct: Managing BYOD from Gary Griffiths, Good Technology APAC
Nov: Entrepreneurialism from Seeby Woodhouse, Founder of Orcon

Other than May, all events will run in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin. The National Series will begin in Dunedin in June.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband (Auckland, 22/5/2012)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:36:55 +1200

National Series: Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband

22 May 2012: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

AWI International Education Group Level 5, 401 Queen Street Auckland Central 5:30pm for a 6pm start

Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband

The Government's Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) project is now in full swing in 17 towns and cities nationwide. How is it progressing and what are we going to do with it when it gets here?

If you're interested in UFB and want an overview of progress and to find out how you can get the most out of it, this presentation is for you.

5:30pm for a 6pm start. Light refreshments included

About The Speaker

Rohan holds degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Sydney.

The 2012 NZCS National Event Series

The 2012 NZCS National Event Series will include the following presentations:

May: UFB update from Rohan MacMahon, Strategy Director, Crown Fibre
June: Games Development from Stephen Knightly, Chair, NZ Game Devs Assn
July: ICT in Earthquake recovery from Julian Carver, Acting CIO of CERA
August: Advanced open networks from Steve Cotter, CEO of REANNZ
Sept: Security update from Andy Prow, CEO of Auro Information Security
Oct: Managing BYOD from Gary Griffiths, Good Technology APAC
Nov: Entrepreneurialism from Seeby Woodhouse, Founder of Orcon

Other than May, all events will run in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin. The National Series will begin in Dunedin in June.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

2012 Gibbons Lecture 4: Alan Turing and the development of Artificial Intelligence (Auckland, 17/5/2012)

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:19:23 +1300

2012 Gibbons Lecture 4: Alan Turing and the development of Artificial Intelligence

17 May 2012: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Building/room 423-342 University of Auckland Conference Centre 22 Symonds St Auckland

2012 Gibbons Lectures in association with NZCS

The 2012 Gibbons Lecture series, presented by the University of Auckland's Computer Science department in association with NZCS, is a free public lecture series this year focusing on the father of computing Alan Turing. All are welcome.

Alan Matheson Turing was born in 1912. It is now widely accepted that he was one of the most important founders of both theoretical and practical computing, although he died in 1954 just when the field of computing was getting underway. Many of his contributions were not widely recognized at first, but this year, the hundredth anniversary of his birth, he is being celebrated by a series of events organized world-wide. We are joining the festivities by devoting this year's Gibbons lectures to Turing and his influence.

Lecture 4: Alan Turing and the development of Artificial Intelligence

Throughout his career Alan Turing was intrigued by the operation of the human brain. His theoretical work was inspired by the question of the limits of what the brain could accomplish.

When computers became available he was intrigued by the relationship between brains and computers. In 1950 he published a paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" that is widely regarded as the foundation of the field of Artificial Intelligence. In this paper he proposed his "Turing Test", for deciding whether a machine shows intelligence - this continues to be inspirational up to the present day.

We will explore the concept of intelligence and look at arguments from both sides of the philosophical debate claiming that Artificial Intelligence is or is not achievable. With examples from the past and present, including current research at Auckland and further afield, we will also look at the impact Artificial Intelligence will have in the future and the profound impact it is likely to have on society.

Includes refreshments

About The Speaker

Ian Watson has a PhD in Computer Science from Liverpool University. His career has involved the practical application of many areas of Artificial Intelligence research, including Knowledge Engineering and Expert Systems.

His recent interests are in Case-Based Reasoning and Game AI.

About the Gibbons Lectures

The Gibbons Lectures is an annual series of talks given in the University of Auckland's Department of Computer Science in association with the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS).

There are 4 lectures delivered at weekly intervals in the first semester. The goal of each lecture is to describe detailed developments in a particular research area to a general but technical audience - to IT professionals, Computer Science students at all levels, and IT practitioners and students in other departments and outside the University.

Note that the 2012 Lecture 2 is a webcast only.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however please register below for catering and to secure your place.

(More Info)

Introduction to Software Testing (Hamilton, 15/5/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:52:56 +1300

Introduction to Software Testing

15 May 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Wintec City Campus, Bill Gallagher Events Room Two Gallagher Hub Gate 3 Tristram Street Hamilton Free Onsite Parking

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Project Management - Intro and Practice (Auckland, 15/5/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:48:48 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

15 May 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband (Christchurch, 14/5/2012)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:33:19 +1200

National Series: Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband

14 May 2012: 5:45 pm - 7:30 pm

Conference Room Trevinos Cnr Riccarton Road & Mona Vale Ave, Christchurch

Making the most of Ultra Fast Broadband

The Government's Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) project is now in full swing in 17 towns and cities nationwide. How is it progressing and what are we going to do with it when it gets here?

If you're interested in UFB and want an overview of progress and to find out how you can get the most out of it, this presentation is for you.

Refreshments included.

About The Speaker

Rohan holds degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Sydney.

The 2012 NZCS National Event Series

The 2012 NZCS National Event Series will include the following presentations:

May: UFB update from Rohan MacMahon, Strategy Director, Crown Fibre
June: Games Development from Stephen Knightly, Chair, NZ Game Devs Assn
July: ICT in Earthquake recovery from Julian Carver, Acting CIO of CERA
August: Advanced open networks from Steve Cotter, CEO of REANNZ
Sept: Security update from Andy Prow, CEO of Auro Information Security
Oct: Managing BYOD from Gary Griffiths, Good Technology APAC
Nov: Entrepreneurialism from Seeby Woodhouse, Founder of Orcon

Other than May, all events will run in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin. The National Series will begin in Dunedin in June.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Wellington, 14/5/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:49:22 +1300

Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

14 May 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

NZCS Head Office Level 24 Grand Plimmer Tower 2-6 Gilmer Terrace Wellington

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

Her experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

Debra holds the ITIL Expert certification and provides both consultancy and training services for ProActive Services.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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2012 Gibbons Lecture 3: Turing's achievements in practical computing (Auckland, 10/5/2012)

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:13:53 +1300

2012 Gibbons Lecture 3: Turing's achievements in practical computing

10 May 2012: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Building/room 423-342 University of Auckland Conference Centre 22 Symonds St Auckland

2012 Gibbons Lectures in association with NZCS

Lecture 3: Turing's achievements in practical computing

In mid 1945 Alan Turing was recruited by the British National Physical Laboratory to work on the design of what was intended to be Britain's first computer, the ACE. Turing produced a written proposal that was approved to proceed in early 1946.

For two years Turing worked on the design of ACE and its software. However, the ACE project did not progress as expected so, after a year at Cambridge University, Turing moved to Manchester University where he was responsible for the initial development of software for the world's first operating computer.

The NPL Pilot ACE, the initial implementation of Turing's designs, was finally operational in 1950 and led to the very successful English Electric DEUCE computers. Although we now acknowledge that Turing made great contributions to practical computing, this was not widely acknowledged from the time of his early death (1954) until the 1980s.

As well as summarizing Turing's practical accomplishments we will look into the circumstances of how and why he was so long marginalized in the accepted history of practical computing.

Includes refreshments

About The Speakers

Brian E. Carpenter joined the University of Auckland in September 2007. He was appointed Professor in January 2009. Before that, he spent ten years with IBM at various locations, working on Internet standards and technology, as a Distinguished Engineer and a member of the IBM Academy of Technology. Before joining IBM, he led the networking group at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1985 to 1996. This followed ten years' experience in software for process control systems at CERN, which was interrupted by three years teaching undergraduate computer science at Massey University in New Zealand.

Bob Doran is an Emeritus Professor in our department where he has been since 1982, including 11 years as Head of Department. He worked as a Computer Architect for mainframe computers at Amdahl Corporation in California. Prior to this he was with Massey University when Computer Science started in New Zealand. He has continued research interests in the history of computing.

About the Gibbons Lectures

The Gibbons Lectures is an annual series of talks given in the University of Auckland's Department of Computer Science in association with the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS).

Note that the 2012 Lecture 2 is a webcast only.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however please register below for catering and to secure your place.

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Birds of a Feather: The dollars and sense of contracting (Wellington, 07/5/2012)

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:44:47 +1200

Birds of a Feather: The dollars and sense of contracting

7 May 2012: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

The Ground Floor Bar, Wellesley Boutique Hotel, 2-8 Maginnity St, Wellington

With the current government changes in the public sector in full swing, the Wellington IT contracting market is thriving. As permanent ICT jobs come under scrutiny, contracting looks more and more appealing as a career option.

But what does going contracting involve?

What do you need to consider when you move out of the security of a permanent role?

How do you find and secure contracts?

Bev Bunker and Donna Harrison have between them over 20 years in the contracting environment. They will lead this discussion on the ups and downs of life as a contractor. Whether you are an experienced contractor, a novice or yet to get your toes in the water, join us. This is an opportunity to ask questions or just share experiences on what makes life as a contractor an enjoyable and financially-sound career option for ICT professionals

What is Birds of a Feather?

Birds of a Feather is an informal and facilitated group discussion on a specific topic. Come along and discuss the topic and catch up with others in the Wellington IT community over a beer or wine.

Registration Details:

Please register below.

Please Note: Gold Coin entry for NZCS members and $10 for non-members (towards catering) - Payable at the door.

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Open Data: What, where, how? (Wellington, 03/5/2012)

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:32:36 +1200

Open Data: What, where, how?

3 May 2012: 12:10 pm - 1:30 pm

Level 15 Unisys House 56 The Terrace Wellington

As part of the Declaration on open and transparent government the New Zealand Government has recently approved the "Principles for Managing Data and Information held by NZ Government".

These principles are all about making data open and accessible to the public, and commit agencies to actively release high value public data. The concept is to share government data and information, so that new uses can be made of them. Examples include large data sets held by GNS, LINZ and MED that could be combined to open up use of mineral assets.

But the "Open Data" initiative opens several cans of worms, as well as posing new challenges. This talk will look at the reality of the Open Data initiative and will include:

Scope - where could Open Data begin and end?
Does this initiative include documents and other information objects that are not normally in the public domain until transferred to Archives New Zealand?
Is the data ready for sharing? Is it trustworthy and in the public domain?
Does this conflict with only using data in accordance with the purpose for which it was captured?
What about the risks of sharing information that could identify individuals?
What do you have to do to get ready for Open Data?

Light Lunch Provided

About The Speakers

Clare Somerville is a founding director of the Knowledge Warehouse (Knoware), a business intelligence and data warehousing consultancy specializing in SAS software. She works with many government departments, banks, insurance companies and telecommunications, to review the management of data, identify issues and recommends improvements.

Trish O'Kane has 14 years of experience in information and records management, working with a wide range of government, local government and corporate agencies. She is a Charter Member (MRMA) of the Records Management Association of Australia and is active in Australasian and ISO committees.

Both Clare and Trish have written papers and given presentations relating to their respective areas of expertise at conferences in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and in Europe

Venue kindly provided by Unisys

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Waikato Birds of a Feather meetup: After-work drinks & nibbles, plus optional pub quiz! (Hamilton, 02/5/2012)

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:42:03 +1200

Waikato Birds of a Feather meetup: After-work drinks & nibbles, plus optional pub quiz!

2 May 2012: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

The Homestead Bar and Eatery, Cambridge Rd, Hillcrest, Hamilton

Here's an invitation to everyone in the IT community. Come join your friends and colleagues for a great evening of casual drinks and nibbles at Hamilton's newest venue. The Homestead offer a wide range of meals, nibbles, and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), as well as the exceptional & locally-roasted Weka coffee.

As a special treat (by virtue of it being Wednesday), The Homestead will be running their weekly pub quiz, hosted by the talented and well-known comedian Jan Maree.

Get your friends together and join the fun with Hamilton's first casual NZCS event of 2012!

Nibbles provided, attendees buy own drinks.

Registration Details:

Please register below.

Gold coin entry for NZCS members, or $10.00 for non-members - payable at the door.

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Risky Business or the Business of Continuity? (Christchurch, 26/4/2012)

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:47:36 +1200

Risky Business or the Business of Continuity?

26 April 2012: 5:45 pm - 7:00 pm

Conference Room (upstairs) Trevinos Cnr Riccarton Road & Mona Vale Ave, Christchurch

Business Continuity - isn't that the same as Disaster Recovery?

Actually, it's not! Disaster Recovery deals with continuity of specific parts of a business' infrastructure - computing, file access, information technology, and communications systems. Business Continuity is about the company or agency surviving and getting back to normal after a major disruption that could affect any of its vital demand or supply functions.

Typically, Business Continuity Management (BCM) addresses the key loss types - loss of access to people, loss of access to systems and loss of access to structure. This presentation gives an overview of the different types of continuity management terms that fall under the risk management umbrella and looks at the relationship between business continuity and disaster recovery.

Find out what IT professionals need to know about BCM, including what questions to ask to better customize disaster recovery capabilities to meet (or educate) business continuity planning assumptions.

About The Speaker

Kristin Hoskin is a Certified Emergency Manager, who provides mentoring and support across three main areas of risk management - emergency management, business continuity and risk communication.

Kristin is the Immediate Past-President of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Oceania Council and a former Branch Councillor for the NZ Branch of the Institution of Fire Engineers. Currently with the Kestrel Group, Kristin leaves shortly for Qatar to start her new role with Shell as Deputy Chief Emergency Response Officer for the world's largest Gas to Liquid (GTL) plant, Pearl GTL.

Networking afterwards over nibbles and drinks kindly sponsored by IBM NZ Ltd

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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2012 Gibbons Lecture 1: Alan Turing and the Unsolvable Problem (Auckland, 26/4/2012)

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:04:11 +1300

2012 Gibbons Lecture 1: Alan Turing and the Unsolvable Problem

26 April 2012: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Building/room 423-342 University of Auckland Conference Centre 22 Symonds St Auckland

2012 Gibbons Lectures in association with NZCS

Lecture 1: Alan Turing and the Unsolvable Problem

The "decision problem" (Entscheidungsproblem in German), proposed by the mathematician David Hilbert, was to devise a mechanical method for deciding whether or not any specific mathematical statement has a proof. In his first important accomplishment, Alan Turing (known as the father of computing) proved that no such method existed.

In doing so, he introduced his own abstract computer - the Turing Machine - to capture what was meant by a mechanical method. In passing, Turing showed that one Universal Turing Machine, mixing instructions and data in its memory, could achieve the work performed by any such machine - so explaining the power and generality of the modern computer.

Additionally, Turing showed that there were tasks that were beyond the power of any ordinary computer, in particular the halting problem, which is to decide whether or not any computer program will loop or run endlessly.

Turing's work laid the foundation for the theory of computing. Since his time this field has expanded in many ways. Among them are the use of Turing's notions to capture the concept of randomness and to investigate the nature of problems that, although unsolvable by ordinary computers, may be cracked by more unconventional means.

Includes refreshments

About The Speaker

Professor Calude has been with our Computer Science Department since he left his native Romania in 1992. He has made contributions to many areas of theoretical computer science with continuing interest in Algorithmic Information Theory and Quantum Computing.

His achievements are being recognised at a special conference to celebrate his entering his 7th decade in February 2012.

About the Gibbons Lectures

The Gibbons Lectures is an annual series of talks given in the University of Auckland's Department of Computer Science in association with the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS).

Note that the 2012 Lecture 2 is a webcast only.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however please register below for catering and to secure your place.

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NZCS #YoungIT: Entrepreneurship, Passion and Goals with @Seeby Woodhouse (Auckland, 19/4/2012)

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:51:39 +1300

NZCS #YoungIT: Entrepreneurship, Passion and Goals with @Seeby Woodhouse

19 April 2012: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Level 5, Microsoft House 22 Viaduct Harbour Ave Auckland

Taking a hundred bucks and turning it into a multi-million dollar leading ISP is no easy task. But what does it really take to achieve such results? Is it education or a 'knack for business' or is it something more?

In this not to be missed presentation, Orcon Internet founder Seeby Woodhouse (@seeby) will take you on a journey on transforming dreams into reality. Focused on his own experiences Seeby will give attendees an insight into what it takes to effectively retire at 30.

Seeby will look at entrepreneurship, passion, technology, discipline and how to achieve your goals. You really don't want to miss this one.

Also, if we are lucky Seeby will let us see the coin that inspired all of this! :)

This is the inaugural event for the 2012 NZCS #YoungIT series.

NZCS members and non-members welcome, but this will fill fast - registration is essential.

About Seeby Woodhouse

Serial Entrepreneur Seeby Woodhouse has been in the game of business for a long time. Having a desire to make money from a young age, Seeby maintained 5 simultaneous paper runs during his schooling at Auckland's Glenfield College, and still completed as one of the top students.

Seeby was awarded both the Ernst & Young, Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the HiTech Young Achiever of the year awards in 2004.

Having built from the ground up several businesses, including Orcon Internet, a radio station, owned Auckland's 'Crow Bar' and more recently founded Green Carbon Ltd (a company helping other companies measure, manage and offset their carbon footprint) Seeby understands what it means to be successful.

In recent times, Seeby has ventured into the tech world again and founded Voyager Internet Ltd, an ISP specialising in hosted solutions including, Shared Infrastructure, Managed Services, dedicated Hosting and Voice solutions. Seeby is the current CEO. In addition to this, Seeby also owns and manages a reasonable commercial property portfolio.

NZCS #YoungIT

NZCS #YoungIT is a networking group for 20- and 30-something ICT enthusiasts (generally those in their first 10 years of professional work experience and students).

NZCS #YoungIT runs regular events and presentations providing opportunities for young IT peeps to get together over beer and pizza and good company while also maybe learning something new...

Upcoming #YoungIT get-togethers:

19 April: Seeby Woodhouse on Entrepreneurialism
14 June: Jen and Justin Flitter on real social marketing
9 August: Nathan Mercer on tech gadgets and trends
4 October: Ben Gracewood on development trendz
29 Nov: End of year function TBA

NZCS membership is not required but members do get a gold star and the opportunity for early registration!

Special thanks to Microsoft for sponsoring the venue.

Registration Details

Registration is essential. No registration, no beer and pizza!

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Web Security Strategies for Developers (Wellington, 19/4/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:06:04 +1300

Web Security Strategies for Developers

19 April 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Room: Terrace 5

NZCS Security Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Equipment

Please bring along the following:

Laptop with Wifi
Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN Presents: Non-GUI Test Competencies: The Challenge (Wellington, 17/4/2012)

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:46:26 +1200

TPN Presents: Non-GUI Test Competencies: The Challenge

17 April 2012: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Increasingly forces are pushing testing teams into establishing and maintaining a test capability which is able to test in a GUI-less environment.

Forces? Time to market. Budget. Methodologies such as SOA. End of life responses such as Application Modernisation and the Composite Applications they deliver. Exposure of services in Business to Business (B2B) solutions. Etc.

As testers and as test teams how do we respond? Do we capitulate these quality responsibilities? Leave it to the developers and vendors? Cling onto a narrow spit of time and task that is GUI specific and User Acceptance? Or accept the challenge?

Simon is not an IT Kupe, not even an IT Cook. But he works with people who have followed the Kupes and Cooks before he did. He has gathered them on a panel to talk through what they did to address the challenge.

Come along to hear the presentation and join in the discussion.

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided by Assurity.

About The Speakers

Your compere is Simon Anderson. He is a Consultant for Assurity Consulting Ltd specialising in Testing Tools. He is an HP Software Accredited System Engineer and Trainer, and has had a 16 year love/hate relationship with testing. The panel is;

The Test Manager, Chris Hourigan, a veteran Test Program Manager for technically complex and distributed systems. Assurity Associate, pragmatist, realist and renaissance gentleman.

The Technical Tester, Noel Dykes, An Assurity Technical Tester beyond compare, whether performance or functional test automation you'll find him a few layers down in the stack, in the words of Christina Aguilera, if you ain't dirty you ain't here to party!

The Test Analyst, Amy Langbridge, In at the Deep end? An absolute cliff diver of a non-technical Graduate Tester for Assurity, when you're talking about earning your stripes you're talking about Amy.

The Developer, Nigel Charman, A name that is synonymous with Quality. A well-known and respected Wellington Agilist whose focus at Assurity is on putting the test into unit test.

TPN wish to thank Assurity for sponsoring the refreshments.

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

Registration Details:

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome.

NOTE: Please pay $5 at the door

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Introduction to Software Testing (Auckland, 16/4/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:48:33 +1300

Introduction to Software Testing

16 April 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.17

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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IT Governance Fundamentals (Auckland, 11/4/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:17:44 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

11 April 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Project Management - Intro and Practice (Wellington, 05/4/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:29:25 +1300

Project Management - Intro and Practice

5 April 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Room: Terrace 5

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the full day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Update on NZCS Activities and Wellington Branch AGM (Wellington, 29/3/2012)

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:53:48 +1300

Update on NZCS Activities and Wellington Branch AGM

29 March 2012: 5:45 pm - 7:30 pm

IBM Level 11, Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

Should the Society change its name?

As you may have seen, the NZCS has begun consultation on a significant name change for the Society. The rationale is simple: our current name, from 1967, no longer represents who we are as an organisation or the industry we are a part of.

Most other similar organisations have gone through the same name modernisation process as they've matured. The Society of Accountants is now the Institute of Chartered Accountants. The Society of Civil Engineers is now the Institute of Professional Engineers. Almost all other professionals have a similar name such as the Institute of Directors, Institute of Architects, Institute of Management and many more.

The suggestion is that now is the time for our organisation to become the Institute of IT Professionals. A full discussion document is available here and we want to know what you think!

Come and join the conversation with NZCS President Ray Delany and NZCS CEO Paul Matthews and the local Branch Committee as we discuss and debate this issue, plus hear about what NZCS has in store for 2012 and beyond.

This will be followed by the Wellington Branch AGM.

We ask that all members consider attending this presentation and AGM.

Arrival from 5:45pm for a 6:00pm start

This is a call to all members to the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Wellington Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies and Proxies
Minutes of last year's AGM
Matters arising
Chairman's report
Councillor's report
Treasurer's report
Result of the Election of Branch Committee
Election of Officers - Chair, Secretary, Treasurer

Followed by networking and refreshments.

Please email any Apologies of Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Registration Details

You can register for this event online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz. Registration is also important to ensure membership type is determined for voting purposes.

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

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MEGA-BREAKFAST: The up[load]s and down[load]s of Copyright Infringement (Wellington, 27/3/2012)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:49:53 +1300

MEGA-BREAKFAST: The up[load]s and down[load]s of Copyright Infringement

27 March 2012: 7:30 am - 9:00 am

The Grand Dining Room Level 2, Wellesley Boutique Hotel 2-8 Maginnity St Wellington

MEGA-BREAKFAST is coming to Wellington!

In light of recent allegations involving Megaupload's Kim Dotcom and his associates, copyright infringement in all its facets is back in the lime-light and individuals and businesses are left wondering how will all this affect them.

NZCS Wellington invites you to attend MEGA-BREAKFAST, an action packed, informative and entertaining breakfast presentation looking at this controversial issue in a little more detail.

MEGA-BREAKFAST has a panel of experts each presenting on 3 distinct areas:

What happened at Megaupload, and legal issues surrounding Copyright Infringement and, for instance, the associated SOPA/PIPA legislation you keep hearing about in the US.
Impact on Business, Innovation and very importantly, Cloud Services as a result. Could the Megaupload case set back trust in Cloud offerings?
Future of Copyright in an internet world and how agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership are significantly shaping this, in secret and in an environment where tech could be sold down the river.

MEGA-Breakfast has a panel of mega-experts including prominent IT Lawyer Rick Shera, InternetNZ CEO Vikram Kumar, and TPP-Watch Founder and University of Auckland Law School's Jane Kelsey. Not to be missed.

Includes full plated breakfast. Places are limited so get in quick!

About The Speakers:

Rick Shera is a leading New Zealand ICT Lawyer and has a Masters degree in internet and copyright law. Rick is a past vice president of InternetNZ where he headed up the team responsible for policy development of New Zealand's domain name dispute resolution service. He is a founding member of the Auckland District Law Society's Law and technology Committee and is chair of the Internet Safety Group. Rick is also very active in the social space often clarifying the myths surrounding the impacts of Copyright infringements from a legal perspective.

Vikram Kumar is the current CEO of InternetNZ. InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc.) is the non-profit open membership organisation dedicated to protecting and promoting the Internet in New Zealand and fostering a coordinated, cooperative approach to its ongoing development.

Vikram currently holds an MBA in International Business. Having recently been published in NZ's National Business Review magazine and NZCS' weekly Newsline publication, Vikram understands the complex issue of Copyright infringement and its associated impacts.

Professor Jane Kelsey has worked at the University of Auckland since 1979 and was appointed to a personal Chair in Law in 1997 where she teaches law and policy and international economic law. Jane is a frequent media commentator, public speaker and participant in international forums. Jane edited a book on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in 2010 and co-founded TPPWatch, a network of concerned unions, groups and individuals formed to organise and support initiatives to oppose the TPPA.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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IT Governance Fundamentals (Wellington, 23/3/2012)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:58:25 +1300

IT Governance Fundamentals

23 March 2012: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Update on NZCS Activities and Canterbury Branch AGM (Christchurch, 22/3/2012)

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:18:26 +1300

Update on NZCS Activities and Canterbury Branch AGM

22 March 2012: 5:45 pm - 7:30 pm

L233 (Council Meeting Room) CPIT City Campus Madras Street Christchurch

Should the Society change its name?

The suggestion is that now is the time for our organisation to become the Institute of IT Professionals. A full discussion document is available here and we want to know what you think!

This will be followed by the Canterbury Branch AGM.

We ask that all members consider attending this presentation and AGM.

Arrivals from 5:45pm for a 6:00pm start

This is a call to all members to the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Canterbury Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies and Proxies
Minutes of last year's AGM
Matters arising
Reports (Financial and others)
Result of the Election of Branch Committee
Election of Officers - Chair, Secretary, Treasurer

Followed by networking and refreshments.

Please email any Apologies of Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Directions

To get there, best to enter the main atrium (and library) by the Madras Street car park. Then go upstairs (stairs by Cafe X), then straight to the end of corridor and turn left to find L233. It should be relatively easy to find.

Registration Details

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

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Update on NZCS Activities and Otago/Southland Branch AGM (Dunedin, 22/3/2012)

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:59:50 +1300

Update on NZCS Activities and Otago/Southland Branch AGM

22 March 2012: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Room G203 G Block, Otago Polytechnic (opposite the Robertson Library) Entrance from Union Street East Dunedin

Should the Society change its name?

The suggestion is that now is the time for our organisation to become the Institute of IT Professionals. A full discussion document is available here and we want to know what you think!

This will be followed by the Otago Branch AGM.

We ask that all members consider attending this presentation and AGM.

Light lunch included.

This is a call to all members to the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Otago Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies and Proxies
Minutes of last year's AGM
Matters arising
Reports (Chair/Treasurer)
Result of the Election of Committee and National Councillor
Election of Officers - Chair, Secretary, Treasurer

Please email any Apologies of Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Registration Details

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

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Update on NZCS Activities and Auckland Branch AGM (Auckland, 15/3/2012)

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:08:40 +1300

Update on NZCS Activities and Auckland Branch AGM

15 March 2012: 5:45 pm - 7:15 pm

Upstairs, The Bluestone Room 9-11 Durham Lane Central City Auckland

Should the Society change its name?

We ask that all members consider attending this discussion and AGM.

The suggestion is that now is the time for our organisation to become the Institute of IT Professionals. A full discussion document is available here and we want to know what you think!

This will be followed by the Auckland Branch AGM.

Refreshments from 5:45pm for a 6:15pm start. Refreshments will also follow the AGM.

This is a call to all members to the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Auckland Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies and Proxies
Minutes of last year's AGM
Matters arising
Chairman's report
Councillor's report
Treasurer's report
Result of the Election of Branch Committee
Election of Officers - Chair, Secretary, Treasurer

Followed by networking and a cash bar.

Please email any Apologies of Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Registration Details

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

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Update on NZCS Activities and Waikato/BoP Branch AGM (Hamilton, 15/3/2012)

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:22:11 +1300

Update on NZCS Activities and Waikato/BoP Branch AGM

15 March 2012: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

The Long Room Wintec House Cnr Anglesea and Nisbet Streets Hamilton No On-Site Parking - Please use the parking building on Anglesea Street.

Should the Society change its name?

We ask that all members consider attending this discussion and AGM.

The suggestion is that now is the time for our organisation to become the Institute of IT Professionals. A full discussion document is available here and we want to know what you think!

This will be followed by the Waikato/BoP Branch AGM.

Light lunch included.

This is a call to all members to the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Waikato/BoP Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies and Proxies
Minutes of last year's AGM
Matters arising
Chairman's report
Councillor's report
Treasurer's report
Result of the Election of Committee and National Councillor
Election of Officers - Chair, Secretary, Treasurer

Please email any Apologies of Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Registration Details

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

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Birds of a Feather: The future is digital - what does this mean for NZ Inc? (Wellington, 12/3/2012)

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:01:57 +1300

Birds of a Feather: The future is digital - what does this mean for NZ Inc?

12 March 2012: 5:15 pm - 6:30 pm

The Ground Floor Bar, Wellesley Boutique Hotel, 2-8 Maginnity St, Wellington

In the 21^st century digital economy, global branding will be critical for future economic success.

Join us for a lively discussion on what "New Zealand" could mean in a flat weightless future. Following an introduction from Laurence Millar, the discussion will create ideas, words and phrases that describe what NZ Inc could mean in 2050. The brave-hearted may also like to contribute ideas for action.

Laurence Millar has developed a portfolio of roles since leaving the position of Government CIO in 2009; for this discussion he is speaking as a member of NZ Rise, the organisation that represents NZ owned digital technology companies.

What is Birds of a Feather?

Birds of a Feather is an informal and facilitated group discussion on a specific topic. Come along and discuss the topic and catch up with others in the Wellington IT community over a beer or wine.

Registration Details:

Please register below.

Please Note: Gold Coin entry for NZCS members and $10 for non-members (towards catering) - Payable at the door.

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Web Security Strategies for Developers (Auckland, 08/3/2012)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:34:52 +1200

Web Security Strategies for Developers

8 March 2012: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Students meet Industry BBQ (Christchurch, 07/3/2012)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:18:33 +1300

Students meet Industry BBQ

7 March 2012: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Students Association Area CPIT 130 Madras Street Christchurch

The popular annual NZCS "Students meet Industry" BBQ is an excellent event where future IT Professionals can mix and mingle with industry folk informally over a BBQ.

This is a great and fun event for both students and those working in the industry and we strongly encourage you to come along and support this event.

Students, this is your opportunity to:

Meet those already in the ICT Industry.
Learn about future employment opportunities.
Start making those important contacts with your future employer of choice.
You really need to be here!

Industry folk, this is your opportunity to:

Meet ICT Students who could be future employees.
Find out what the next generation are up to and meet some great people
Give a short introduction on what your company does and what it can offer to graduates.
We really need your support for this event

Students: Interested in starting an NZCS Chapter on campus or affiliating an existing group with NZCS? Ben Smith, NZCS National Engagement Coordinator will also be in attendance to talk about how to make this happen.

Special thanks to the Tertiary Institutions sponsoring this event:

Registration Details:

Please register below, or you can register via registrations@nzcs.org.nz

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MEGA-BREAKFAST: The up[load]s and down[load]s of Copyright Infringement (Auckland, 29/2/2012)

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:29:55 +1300

MEGA-BREAKFAST: The up[load]s and down[load]s of Copyright Infringement

29 February 2012: 7:30 am - 9:00 am

Prime Bistro PWC Building 188 Quay Street Auckland

NZCS Auckland invites you to attend MEGA-BREAKFAST, an action packed, informative and entertaining breakfast presentation looking at this controversial issue in a little more detail.

MEGA-BREAKFAST has a panel of experts each presenting on 3 distinct areas:

What happened at Megaupload, and legal issues surrounding Copyright Infringement and, for instance, the associated SOPA/PIPA legislation you keep hearing about in the US.
Impact on Business, Innovation and very importantly, Cloud Services as a result. Could the Megaupload case set back trust in Cloud offerings?
Future of Copyright in an internet world and how agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership are significantly shaping this, in secret and in an environment where tech could be sold down the river.

Includes full plated breakfast. Places are limited so get in quick!

About The Speakers:

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN Presents: Clear Communication - Oiling the Wheels (Wellington, 28/2/2012)

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:52:23 +1300

TPN Presents: Clear Communication - Oiling the Wheels

28 February 2012: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1 Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

David Rodriguez is a Testing Consultant working for Fujitsu in Wellington.

Testing professionals often have strong technical and analytical skills, but are less adept at expressing their findings. Clear and concise communication is an important skill for Test Analysts and Test Managers alike.

How often does it seem like your testing project is getting 'stuck in the mud'? David will look at some real life testing scenarios where improved communication helped to get the wheels turning again.

David will also explore ways to strengthen communication skills, including looking to other professions.

Come along to hear David's presentation and join in the discussion on this important and relevant topic.

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided.

About The Speaker

David Rodriguez has over 20 years IT experience covering Development, Project Management, Test Analysis and Test Management. He holds an MSc in Computing. In his spare time he dabbles in watercolours.

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue and Fujitsu for providing the refreshments.

Registration Details:

Please pay $5 at the door.

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending. NZCS members and non-members welcome.

(More Info)

Innovating to success: The Ian Taylor Story (Christchurch, 23/2/2012)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:27:40 +1300

Innovating to success: The Ian Taylor Story

23 February 2012: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Visions Restaurant CPIT School of Food and Hospitality Madras Street Campus Cnr Madras St & Ferry Road Christchurch Parking is available on the corner of Barbados street and St Asaph street

Ian Taylor HFNZCS is one of our sector's greatest innovators.

After a successful television career, Ian shot to fame in the computing world in 1992 by revolutionalising the way the world watched sport, with the creation of real-time 3D graphics for the Americas Cup.

In 1999 Virtual Spectator was born - a real-time 3D graphics tracking system enabling the Americas Cup to be tracked and viewed in 3D in real time. This created even more revolutionary graphics for TV as well as the ability to broadcast the race online in a digital form for the first time ever. This was later expanded to cover other sports such as Golf, Cricket, Motorsport, Gliding and Aerosports.

His company is credited with many other international breakthroughs in digital and 3D graphics, and were responsible for content as diverse as the Bluebird's Skiing Penguins.

Ian claims to know nothing about technology but, having recently turned 60, can claim to having been on hand throughout the 50 year journey to watch it develop. From having electricity arrive in his home at the age of 10 to seeing his son admitted as the first cochlea implant student to Otago Medical School, Ian has seen first hand the miracles that technology has delivered.

Ian's life thus far has been a fascinating journey. Come and join Ian as he leads us through the ups and downs and trials and tribulations along the way, as recounted by Ian and his team's incredible multimedia talent.

This is an exclusive opportunity to hear from one of the best.

About Ian Taylor

Ian Taylor (Ngati Kahungunu) is recognised as one of New Zealand's leading Maori innovators.

After a 20 year career with Television New Zealand, featuring in popular programmes such as Play School, Spot On and NZ Funniest Home Videos, Ian left in 1988 to establish three successful technology businesses from his base in Dunedin.

Taylormade Media, a television and multi media company, brought to life such things as the Bluebird Chips skiing penguins. Animation Research Ltd (ARL) was and still is one of the country's most celebrated high tech companies; and BookIt, a specialist on line booking company.

Taylor was inducted into the New Zealand Technology Hall of Fame in 2009 and was named North & South Magazines 2010 New Zealander of the Year.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Doing business in the cloud (Wellington, 23/2/2012)

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:51:27 +1300

Doing business in the cloud

23 February 2012: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM Level 11, Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

Should your business start using the Cloud? What does that even mean, anyway?

Cloud Computing has dramatically changed the way many businesses operate and has opened up exciting new opportunities. There are now 1000's of powerful yet easy to use "cloud based" (or Software as a Service - SaaS) web applications that can be used to help companies reduce costs and succeed in a fast changing business environment.

Many of these web applications now have APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) which allow web products to be integrated to create powerful web / mobile web solutions quickly and cost effectively.

In this down to earth presentation aimed at less technical business people (business owners, marketing managers and project managers) but suitable for techies too, 3months.com's Mark Pascall uses practical examples to outline the basics of cloud computing and some of the implications of this major paradigm shift.

Some of the questions/topics that will be covered:

What are "Cloud-based solutions" and what are the *real* pros/cons compared to traditional desktop alternatives?
Questions to ask when considering Cloud solutions
What are the key risks for you and your clients to be aware of?
Google Docs vs Office - can we really throw out those Microsoft licences?
The changing role of the IT department
What's an API and why is it so important?
Real life examples of how APIs can be used to integrate Cloud services.

Lunch will be provided at 12:10pm

About The Speaker

Mark Pascall has over 22 years experience in software development and 12 years running web software development company 3months.com.

His experience working on many high profile web projects in the UK and NZ has given him an excellent understanding of a broad range of web technologies and software development processes.

Over the last decade he has presented at over 20 conferences throughout New Zealand and written numerous articles for Computerworld, CIO Magazine and Fairfax Media.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Government's journey to the Cloud (Wellington, 26/1/2012)

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:08:09 +1300

Government's journey to the Cloud

26 January 2012: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Spectrum Presentation Theatre, BP House Cnr Customhouse Quay & Johnston St (access off Johnston Street) Wellington Main Entrance via Spectrum Health & Fitness Reception.

Stuart Wakefield, Director of the Office of the Government CIO, will share with us his view of the potential opportunity presented by Cloud Computing. He'll outline how it can enable the public sector to transform its business processes, lower its operating costs, and allow greater mobility for the public sector workforce.

This presentation is recommended for everyone interested in effective and efficient New Zealand government.

Lunch will be provided at 12:10.

About The Speaker

Stuart Wakefield has many years experience in corporate and government organisations, across a broad range of sectors, including primary industry, finance, postal, energy and health, in roles that have a common thread of enabling organisational strategy through the effective use of ICT.

Prior to joining DIA, Stuart led a change programme across Central Region DHB's to consolidate core systems and standardise business processes to drive back-office efficiency and enable sharing of clinical records across organisational boundaries.

In his current role Stuart leads the implementation of "Directions and Priorities" for Government's use of ICT, which are detailed on the GCIO website at www.ict.govt.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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IT-related Degree Accreditation Workshop (Wellington, 15/12/2011)

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:36:11 +1300

IT-related Degree Accreditation Workshop

15 December 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Kirk 204 Kirk Bullding Victoria University Kelburn Campus Kelburn Parade Wellington

NZCS would like to welcome academics and others interested in ICT-related tertiary education to attend this workshop to discuss New Zealand's plans for international accreditation of ICT-related degree programmes in New Zealand.

Presenting this workshop will be:

Professor Doug Grant from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Doug is Chair of the ACS Professional Standards Committee and has significant experience conducting the ACS Degree Accreditation Programme as well as undergoing accreditation in his own departments.
Professor Michael Johnson, Director of The Macquarie-DET ICT Innovations Centre and also heavily involved in ICT-related Degree Accreditation in Australia, both having been the process himself a number of times and also as part of Accreditation Panels of other institutions.
Paul Matthews, Chief Executive of NZCS and spearheading the implementation of Degree Accreditation in New Zealand.

The intention of this workshop is to discuss in detail the Seoul Accord-aligned Degree Accreditation programme being proposed for New Zealand and address any issues or questions raised by the tertiary community here.

Note that in this context we're using the term "ICT-related" to mean Computer Science, Information Systems/Science, Software Engineering, Applied Computing, ICT, and related programmes.

What is Degree Accreditation?

Most countries educationally comparable to New Zealand have independent professional degree accreditation programmes in place for ICT, where the ICT professional body in each country (ie the local equivalent of NZCS) is a vehicle for independent accreditation of degree programmes to international standards.

This is not unique to ICT; Both in New Zealand and abroad the same applies in Engineering, Accounting, Architecture and most other professions.

A number of countries have recently come together to cross-recognise ICT-related degrees programmes that meet international practice standards. This cross recognition agreement is called the Seoul Accord and under this agreement ICT-related degrees from Australia, Canada, USA, UK, Korea, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Japan are accredited by the national ICT professional body and mutually cross-recognised in each of the other signatory countries.

And as it currently stands, New Zealand isn't a party to this agreement. The consequent, of course, is that kiwi ICT-related degrees aren't recognised in those countries under the Seoul Accord. The impact of New Zealand's lack of participation hasn't been felt widely yet, but the implications are becoming more significant for New Zealand degrees and graduates.

Hence NZCS is proposing to implement ICT degree accreditation in New Zealand in partnership with the tertiary sector, with the intention of providing New Zealand tertiary institutions with the same opportunity to accredit and hence cross-recognise degrees with other Seoul Accord signatory countries.

Why now?

Globally ICT is growing up into a true profession and with that comes international standards and obligations. For professionals, ITCP is becoming more and more important. And if we want the great reputation of New Zealand ICT degrees to be maintained we need to be at the Seoul Accord table.

As well as this, anecdotally the impact on international student numbers in ICT is also being affected, with many choosing accredited courses in Australia rather than coming to New Zealand.

So in short, it's highly likely that in time, New Zealand graduates' degrees will only be globally recognised if they're from a Seoul Accord-accredited programme, whether we like it or not. And as New Zealand's ICT professional body, NZCS has an obligation to put this programme in place.

The approach

NZCS have been working on this project for some time, investigating all options and working with the tertiary sector to taylor the proposed model to the New Zealand environment.

The proposed approach is to partner with the Australian Computer Society to form an Australia/New Zealand ICT Accreditations Board, overseeing accreditation activities on both sides of the Tasman. This will be made up of academics and industry representatives selected from both Australia and New Zealand.

The benefit to this approach is that it allows us to leverage the successful Australian programme, which has been operating for over 20 years and is Seoul Accord compliant. ACS currently accredits every University in Australia, as well as the TAFEs that have started providing bachelor-level degrees.

NZCS and ACS have worked closely to ensure that the model and approach is suitable for both countries. The intention is that the implementation and operation of each country's Degree Accreditation will be run through the respective body in that country, with the Accreditations Board governing the process and managing the Accreditation process documentation.

The full Accreditations documentation is available in this ZIP archive. Those looking into this should also consider the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum which is likely to be integrated.

You can find out a little more about this initiative from this recent update.

Who should attend?

As well as the Heads of School or Department from tertiary institutions, we're hoping that a good contingent of academics from each of the relevant departments/schools in each significant tertiary institution throughout New Zealand will attend.

This is aimed at those within the academic community or that have a direct involvement with ICT-related tertiary education.

Whether you agree with the concept of Degree Accreditation or not, we strongly encourage you to attend to ensure you're engaged with the process, your concerns or context is being raised, and the presenters have the opportunity to talk through any issues you might have.

When is it?

We would have liked to offer these workshops in all main centres, however unfortunately we've had to restrict them to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. We STRONGLY encourage those from other regions to attend one of these - they are not just for the local institutions.

These are being held on the following dates:

Christchurch: Tuesday 13th December 2011, 1pm-5pm, CPIT
Auckland: Wednesday 14th December 2011, 1pm-5pm, Auckland University
Wellington: Thursday 15th December 2011, 1pm-5pm, Victoria University of Wellington

Please contact us if travel is a major issue. We may be able to arrange some for of video conferencing for one, although we strongly recommend being there in person.

What happens next?

Following the workshops a further formal Consultation process will be conducted, calling for further submissions on the proposed plan. This is to ensure there are no other outstanding matters that could prevent the successful roll-out of the programme. This will run through until mid February 2012.

The consultation will determine whether further significant work is necessary. If not, we'll announce the first institutions to work through the accreditation process with Accreditation visits occurring as soon as these institutions are able to collate the necessary information, intended to be Q2 2012.

Registration

These workshops are being held free thanks to support from NZCS and ACS. However registration is essential to secure your place.

Places are limited. In the event of filling the available space, preference will be given to staff of tertiary institutions.

Please either register below, or send details of the names, email addresses and institution of those attending to events@nzcs.org.nz

A special thanks to Victoria University of Wellington for providing the venue for this workshop.

(More Info)

NZCS Auckland Christmas Drinks (Auckland, 14/12/2011)

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 03:54:01 +1300

NZCS Auckland Christmas Drinks

14 December 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Sale Street Bar and Restaurant 7 Sale Street Freemans Bay Auckland

Say goodbye to 2011 and welcome in 2012!

Come and join the Auckland Branch of NZCS for a few festive drinks and nibbles on us!

A great opportunity to see what the AKL Branch Committee has been up to and to catch up with others from across the industry. No presentations or formality - just a good end-of-year catchup over a pint or two. Let’s all get into the Christmas spirit!

Nibbles and some drinks will be provided (before reverting to a cash bar).

Special thanks to DesignerTech for contributing to the bartab!

Registration Details:

Please register for catering purposes. You can register for this event below.

(More Info)

IT-related Degree Accreditation Workshop (Auckland, 14/12/2011)

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:16:45 +1300

IT-related Degree Accreditation Workshop

14 December 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Decima Glenn Owen G Glenn Building, Level 3 The University of Auckland Business School 12 Grafton Road Auckland

Presenting this workshop will be:

Professor Doug Grant from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Doug is Chair of the ACS Professional Standards Committee and has significant experience conducting the ACS Degree Accreditation Programme as well as undergoing accreditation in his own departments.
Professor Michael Johnson, Director of The Macquarie-DET ICT Innovations Centre and also heavily involved in ICT-related Degree Accreditation in Australia, both having been the process himself a number of times and also as part of Accreditation Panels of other institutions.
Paul Matthews, Chief Executive of NZCS and spearheading the implementation of Degree Accreditation in New Zealand.

Note that in this context we're using the term "ICT-related" to mean Computer Science, Information Systems/Science, Software Engineering, Applied Computing, ICT, and related programmes.

What is Degree Accreditation?

This is not unique to ICT; Both in New Zealand and abroad the same applies in Engineering, Accounting, Architecture and most other professions.

Why now?

As well as this, anecdotally the impact on international student numbers in ICT is also being affected, with many choosing accredited courses in Australia rather than coming to New Zealand.

The approach

NZCS have been working on this project for some time, investigating all options and working with the tertiary sector to taylor the proposed model to the New Zealand environment.

The full Accreditations documentation is available in this ZIP archive. Those looking into this should also consider the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum which is likely to be integrated.

You can find out a little more about this initiative from this recent update.

Who should attend?

This is aimed at those within the academic community or that have a direct involvement with ICT-related tertiary education.

When is it?

These are being held on the following dates:

Christchurch: Tuesday 13th December 2011, 1pm-5pm, CPIT
Auckland: Wednesday 14th December 2011, 1pm-5pm, Auckland University
Wellington: Thursday 15th December 2011, 1pm-5pm, Victoria University of Wellington

Please contact us if travel is a major issue. We may be able to arrange some for of video conferencing for one, although we strongly recommend being there in person.

What happens next?

Registration

These workshops are being held free thanks to support from NZCS and ACS. However registration is essential to secure your place.

Places are limited. In the event of filling the available space, preference will be given to staff of tertiary institutions.

Please either register below, or send details of the names, email addresses and institution of those attending to events@nzcs.org.nz

A special thanks to Auckland University for providing the venue for this workshop.

(More Info)

IT-related Degree Accreditation Workshop (Christchurch, 13/12/2011)

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:06:29 +1300

IT-related Degree Accreditation Workshop

13 December 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Imagitech Seminar Room Rakaia centre CPIT Madras Street Campus Christchurch

Presenting this workshop will be:

Professor Doug Grant from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Doug is Chair of the ACS Professional Standards Committee and has significant experience conducting the ACS Degree Accreditation Programme as well as undergoing accreditation in his own departments.
Professor Michael Johnson, Director of The Macquarie-DET ICT Innovations Centre and also heavily involved in ICT-related Degree Accreditation in Australia, both having been the process himself a number of times and also as part of Accreditation Panels of other institutions.
Paul Matthews, Chief Executive of NZCS and spearheading the implementation of Degree Accreditation in New Zealand.

Note that in this context we're using the term "ICT-related" to mean Computer Science, Information Systems/Science, Software Engineering, Applied Computing, ICT, and related programmes.

What is Degree Accreditation?

This is not unique to ICT; Both in New Zealand and abroad the same applies in Engineering, Accounting, Architecture and most other professions.

Why now?

As well as this, anecdotally the impact on international student numbers in ICT is also being affected, with many choosing accredited courses in Australia rather than coming to New Zealand.

The approach

NZCS have been working on this project for some time, investigating all options and working with the tertiary sector to taylor the proposed model to the New Zealand environment.

The full Accreditations documentation is available in this ZIP archive. Those looking into this should also consider the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum which is likely to be integrated.

You can find out a little more about this initiative from this recent update.

Who should attend?

This is aimed at those within the academic community or that have a direct involvement with ICT-related tertiary education.

When is it?

These are being held on the following dates:

Christchurch: Tuesday 13th December 2011, 1pm-5pm, CPIT
Auckland: Wednesday 14th December 2011, 1pm-5pm, Auckland University
Wellington: Thursday 15th December 2011, 1pm-5pm, Victoria University of Wellington

Please contact us if travel is a major issue. We may be able to arrange some for of video conferencing for one, although we strongly recommend being there in person.

What happens next?

Registration

These workshops are being held free thanks to support from NZCS and ACS. However registration is essential to secure your place.

Places are limited. In the event of filling the available space, preference will be given to staff of tertiary institutions.

Please either register below, or send details of the names, email addresses and institution of those attending to events@nzcs.org.nz

A special thanks to CPIT for providing the venue for this workshop.

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NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Wellington, 08/12/2011)

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:37:06 +1300

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

8 December 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Terrace Room 5

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN presents: The Christmas Panel (Wellington, 06/12/2011)

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:36:54 +1300

TPN presents: The Christmas Panel

6 December 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN VENUE: Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

TPN presents a very special Christmas Testing Panel.

Hear from five CapabilityTest Managers about their challenges, experiences and testing success stories, as we find out about what has helped and hindered them getting to where they are today.

With backgrounds in Government, Banking and Telecommunications these CapabilityTest Managers have an unrivalled wealth of knowledge and experiences. Plus they are willing to take questions from the floor! So, come prepared for an interactive and lively discussion with some festive refreshments and spot prizes.

The panel will include:

Matt Mansell - DIA
Carol Cornelius - IRD
Chris Stapleton - ANZ National Bank
Sue Brazil - Westpac
Simon Morris - Alcatel-Lucent

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles.

Test Professionals Network will provide the refreshments

TPN wish to thank the Inland Revenue for providing the venue.

Registration Details:

Please pay $5 at the door.

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Smartmeeting Workshop for Cloud Computing Code of Practice (Nationwide, 05/12/2011)

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:14:42 +1300

Smartmeeting Workshop for Cloud Computing Code of Practice

5 December 2011: 9:00 am - 11:00 am

Gen-i Smart Meeting Rooms Nationwide (See location details for your city below)

NZCS is in the process of facilitating the development a Code of Practice for Cloud Computing on behalf of the ICT sector.

The Code is being developed in consultation with all stakeholders in New Zealand and will benefit both suppliers and users of Cloud Computing Services.

If you're interested in Cloud Computing, come along and hear about this initiative and provide your input into the structure and approach that the code should take. This is the first consultation workshop covering structure, with topics such as the specific content held over the coming months.

Smartmeeting Locations

This workshop will be conducted via the Gen-I Smartmeeting full videoconference suite in the following locations.

There are limited places in each venue hence it will operate on a first-in basis, however we may need to restrict the number of attendees from any one organisation - we'll contact those that have registered if there is an issue.

The locations and number of seats are:

Auckland - 6 seats - Telecom Place, Victoria St. FULL, SORRY*
Wellington - 18 seats - Telecom Central, 48 Willis St FULL, SORRY*
Tauranga - 3 seats - lv 1 Telecom Exchange building. FULL, SORRY*
Napier - 3 seats, Telecom Exchange, 814 Browning St.
Hamilton - 3 seats, lv1, Gen-I House. FULL, SORRY*
Palmerston North - 3 seats, 53 Queen St.
Christchurch - 3 seats. Avonhead Tavern, 120 Withalls Rd. FULL, SORRY*
Dunedin - 3 seats. 18 Tennyson St. FULL, SORRY*

You'll be able to choose your location during registration.

* For those that are full please email info@nzcs.org.nz and ask to be put on a wait list. We'll then contact you if a space becomes available.

About the Project

Cloud Computing is a growth area in New Zealand and around the world and represents a significant opportunity for providers both domestically and globally.

However the reputation of the Cloud Computing community in NZ is threatened by the lack of standards and practice guidelines. This, combined with a lack of understanding of the accepted definitions of "cloud computing" and what it entails, results in a situation where services are being offered that go not meet what is generally considered acceptable standards of practice.

The New Zealand Cloud Computing Code of Practice is intended to address many of the social and industry focused challenges.

Support

The NZ Cloud Code Initiative is supported by many of New Zealand's most prominent cloud providers as well as international cloud leaders such as Google and Microsoft.

Financial contributors to the project include Xero, Gen-I, Equinox, OneNet, Webdrive, Google, Salesforce.com, InternetNZ, NZRise, EOSS Online Ltd, Systems Advisory Services and NZCS.

Thanks to Gen-I

A big thanks to Gen-I for making their Smartmeeting suites available for this initiative throughout New Zealand.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however registration is absolutely essential to secure your place. Those unregistered will not be able to access the rooms. Please register below.

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Business Intelligence: "More than just software" (Nelson, 01/12/2011)

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:11:11 +1300

Business Intelligence: "More than just software"

1 December 2011: 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Verdict cafe and bar, Bridge St Nelson

A real-world (and Nelson based) presentation on what B.I. means to a successful organisation and how it is being implemented. A small case study on a national primary producer/manufacturer and an introduction to the concept of collaboration in the South Island.

Business Intelligence has different connotations for different people. Some people think of B.I. as the glue that allows their business to run, others view it as an unnecessary overhead and many others aren't sure what Business Intelligence actually is!

While you won't walk away from this event with all the answers, the presentations will get you thinking about how you could apply B.I. or possibly how your decision-making could be improved by thinking more about the application of information.

After the presentations (about an hour) - please stay behind for a glass of something and kick off the festive season! Nibbles will be provided.

About The Speakers

Tony Millar has over 15 years experience of driving value from organisational investments in IT. After starting off in management accounting and transforming a large UK retailer's BI and performance management function, Tony has spent the last decade consulting and leading large complex BI projects in varied sectors throughout the UK, Europe, US and Australasia.

Along with his business knowledge in various sectors, Tony completed an MBA in 2003 researching the key variable in IT/IS success and concludes that any "IT payback" ultimately depends on the need for alignment between the IT and organisational strategy. Other qualifications include a B.Com from Canterbury (NZ), post graduate accounting (ACCA,UK) and project management ( PRINCE2 accredited practitioner).

As CEO of Montage; Tony brings a passion for success along with strong leadership that helps ensure alignment between people, process and technology

Hugh Stark cut his teeth on BI when Oracle pushed Discoverer back in the mid 1990s. Since moving back to New Zealand and starting at Port Nelson in 2004, the database might have changed to Microsoft SQL but the effort in the BI space has gone up almost at a logarithm rate per year.

The more data you store, the more people want to know about it and that is definitely the case at Port Nelson. The Port has spent a huge amount of time deploying BI via Excel, flat reporting, Adobe Air and SharePoint is at the doorstep. As ICT Manager of a very complex business, the requirements for data mean spending a lot of time with the business units and tailoring BI systems that meet their needs and adding value to their business streams and let's not forget the external customer and their constant need to understand their own market share

Montage Ltd will kindly be sponsoring this event.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however please register below for catering purposes.

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Consultation Workshop for Cloud Computing Code of Practice (Auckland, 01/12/2011)

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:26:37 +1300

Consultation Workshop for Cloud Computing Code of Practice

1 December 2011: 3:00 pm - 1:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.17

NZCS is in the process of facilitating the development a Code of Practice for Cloud Computing on behalf of the ICT sector.

The Code is being developed in consultation with all stakeholders in New Zealand and will benefit both suppliers and users of Cloud Computing Services.

Consultation Streams

Note that there are three streams over the two days. All streams will cover identical content and when you register you can select the stream that suits you:

1/12/2011: 3pm-5:30pm
1/12/2011: 6pm-8:30pm
2/12/2011: 11am-1:30pm

About the Project

Cloud Computing is a growth area in New Zealand and around the world and represents a significant opportunity for providers both domestically and globally.

The New Zealand Cloud Computing Code of Practice is intended to address many of the social and industry focused challenges.

Support

The NZ Cloud Code Initiative is supported by many of New Zealand's most prominent cloud providers as well as international cloud leaders such as Google and Microsoft.

Financial contributors to the project include Xero, Gen-I, Equinox, OneNet, Webdrive, Google, Salesforce.com, InternetNZ, NZRise, EOSS Online Ltd, Systems Advisory Services and NZCS.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however registration is essential to secure your place. Please register below.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to ICT Skills Mapping (Wellington, 30/11/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:27:29 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to ICT Skills Mapping

30 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NZCS Head Office Level 24 Grand Plimmer Tower 2-6 Gilmer Terrace Wellington

This half-day course is an introduction to ICT Skills Mapping focused on organisational design, role profiling, integrating skills and competencies, managing gaps and much more.

The workshop will bring attendees to a common level of knowledge in the use of skills frameworks such as SFIA, the Skills Framework for the Information Age and then show the value of using a framework such as SFIA to construct job descriptions and role profiles to allow more focused and effective resource allocation and development of career pathways

The workshop will consist of a mixture of presentations, discussions and practical exercises based on real-world examples.

The workshop covers an introduction to the following:

Essential elements of role profiles
How to integrate skills and capabilities
Flexible use of resources
Building motivation and engagement
Managing gaps and refining recruitment practices
SFIA, the Skills Framework for the Information Age
Constructing job descriptions and role profiles
Focused and effective resource allocation and development of career pathways

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will understand the concepts of:

Identifying the organisation structures and roles for the ICT team
Understanding defining ICT job profiles and mapping the skills and competencies to the roles
Evaluating your current staff against the requirements to identify the gaps
Designing development and training plan to close the gaps
Creating more effective job advertisements for better targeted recruitment

Target Audience

Those with existing or prospective responsibility for the development of ICT staff
All levels of management, and HR practitioners who are responsible for development of performance and capability within their organisation
Those interested in maximising the effective assignment of their people to roles and projects

About the Presenter

Don Robertson ITCP is a past President of NZCS. Don was involved in part of the research for the introduction of the IT Certified Professional (ITCP) programme for New Zealand which included the adoption of SFIA as the basis for competency evaluation. He is a respected seasoned professional having managed large ICT service organisations and managed many programmes and projects.

He brings a mixture of theory and practical experience to ICT skills and competency mapping. Don has a Diploma in Advanced Management, is a certified project manager and runs his own consulting business.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Auckland, 30/11/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:30:32 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

30 November 2011: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Progressive Enterprises Limited 80 Favona Road, Mangere, Auckland Conference Room 4 Onsite Parking Available

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Canterbury Xmas Get-Together (Christchurch, 24/11/2011)

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:21:02 +1300

Canterbury Xmas Get-Together

24 November 2011: 6:15 pm - 7:45 pm

The Cassels & Sons Brewery and Brew Bar, 3 Garland Road, Woolston, Christchurch

Well, what a year for Christchurch. This is our last Canterbury Branch event for 2011 and it's our Christmas function!

You're invited to join us for great company over wood-fired pizzas at this popular venue - one of only a handful of woodfire breweries in the world.

Cassells is part of the Christchurch rebuild and well worth a visit. There's a large carpark as well as on-street parking.

The large wood-fired pizzas are all $16 each - with great toppings to choose from, as you can see from the menu.

The plan is to order a selection of pizzas to share - so the food will be less than $15.00 each. Drinks are "buy your own".

We'll have an area to ourselves and a waiter attending to our group so come along and let your hair down with others in the Canterbury IT scene.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Web Security Strategies for Developers (Wellington, 22/11/2011)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:37:16 +1200

Web Security Strategies for Developers

22 November 2011: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Aura Information Security Level 12 Tourism & Travel House 79 Boulcott Street Wellington

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: Full Day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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2011 Student Research Contest (Wellington, 21/11/2011)

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:22:43 +1300

2011 Student Research Contest

21 November 2011: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Lecture Theatre Room 1 Government Buildings Victoria University 55 Lambton Quay Wellington

The Wellington Branch of the New Zealand Computer Society proudly presents the 2011 Student Research Contest.

The contest showcases the top honours students from Victoria University, and is a chance to see what research is currently going on at the University's computing and ICT groups.

Six students will present their work and we will have industry and academic judges on hand to find our champion for 2011.

Food and soft drink beverages will be provided.

Registration Details:

The event is free to everyone, however registration is essential. You can register for this event online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255.

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Consultation Workshop for Cloud Computing Code of Practice (Wellington, 21/11/2011)

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:20:33 +1300

Consultation Workshop for Cloud Computing Code of Practice

21 November 2011: 3:00 pm - 1:30 pm

The Travelodge Plimmer Room 2-6 Gilmer Terrace, Plimmer Towers Wellington

NZCS is in the process of facilitating the development a Code of Practice for Cloud Computing on behalf of the ICT sector.

The Code is being developed in consultation with all stakeholders in New Zealand and will benefit both suppliers and users of Cloud Computing Services.

Consultation Streams

Note that there are three streams over the two days. All streams will cover identical content and when you register you can select the stream that suits you:

21/11/2011: 3pm-5:30pm
21/11/2011: 6pm-8:30pm
22/11/2011: 11am-1:30pm

About the Project

Cloud Computing is a growth area in New Zealand and around the world and represents a significant opportunity for providers both domestically and globally.

The New Zealand Cloud Computing Code of Practice is intended to address many of the social and industry focused challenges.

Support

The NZ Cloud Code Initiative is supported by many of New Zealand's most prominent cloud providers as well as international cloud leaders such as Google and Microsoft.

Financial contributors to the project include Xero, Gen-I, Equinox, OneNet, Webdrive, Google, Salesforce.com, InternetNZ, NZRise, EOSS Online Ltd, Systems Advisory Services and NZCS.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however registration is essential to secure your place. Please register below.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Wellington, 21/11/2011)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:59:21 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

21 November 2011: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2 - 4 St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington Te Aro 4 room

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way (Auckland, 17/11/2011)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:33:27 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way

17 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.01

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Product Innovation for Tech Companies (Wellington, 16/11/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:14:01 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Product Innovation for Tech Companies

16 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NZCS Head Office Level 24 Grand Plimmer Tower 2-6 Gilmer Terrace Wellington

We've built something. Now what?

How do you commercialise a concept or product and take it off-shore? Or qualify the potential of your idea?

The need to innovate to stay ahead is a theme across government and businesses of all sizes in New Zealand. Large organisations often struggle with the chasm between coming up with an idea and getting it into delivery mode. Smaller companies are generally more nimble with getting their ideas from concept to concrete - but stall at the point of go to market.

There are a wide range of reasons many of our innovations don't make it as far as the global stage.

In some cases they don't pass the Google test: has it been done before? In other cases the market speaks: "we don't need it or we cannot buy it if you haven't told us about it".

In general it usually boils down to a clear view of your product's value proposition, market opportunity, target customer and market segment, and path to market.

The seminar is intended to give you an idea of what areas you need to focus on in your business planning and capability development, and it's likely not what you think.

Objectives

By the end of this interactive seminar you'll have a level understanding of some of the key considerations and pitfalls when getting your product to market.

The session will cover the top level lifecycle from idea to market and outline key considerations for each stage. Key discussion areas will include how to qualify an idea, the importance of a clear value proposition, how to understand the realistic size of a market opportunity, ways a New Zealand company can market and sell internationally, when and how to protect IP and much more.

Target Audience

Leaders within technology start-ups and mid stage businesses who are looking to take their product to the international market
People in any organization who have been given responsibility for taking an idea from concept to a market proposition
Founders and leaders of early to mid stage businesses that feel their businesses are stuck at a certain stage and need to do something differently to move forward - or that don't want it to be
Anyone considering taking a tech-related concept to market

Workshop Presenter

Caroline Dewe, Director at Alphero, is highly experienced in innovation both within New Zealand and internationally.

She has come from the school of hard knocks and brings real experience in the joys of marketing and selling New Zealand technology into European and SE Asian markets. Alphero is currently providing advice to businesses from start-up to corporate in how to accelerate their ideas and their businesses.

The workshop will include many practical examples and war stories of the good the bad and the truly unexpected.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Consultation Workshop for Cloud Computing Code of Practice (Christchurch, 16/11/2011)

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:51:50 +1300

Consultation Workshop for Cloud Computing Code of Practice

16 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm

NZi3 - New Zealand ICT Innovation Institute HP Seminar Room 69 Creyke Road Christchurch

NZCS is in the process of facilitating the development a Code of Practice for Cloud Computing on behalf of the ICT sector.

The Code is being developed in consultation with all stakeholders in New Zealand and will benefit both suppliers and users of Cloud Computing Services.

About the Project

Cloud Computing is a growth area in New Zealand and around the world and represents a significant opportunity for providers both domestically and globally.

The New Zealand Cloud Computing Code of Practice is intended to address many of the social and industry focused challenges.

Support

The NZ Cloud Code Initiative is supported by many of New Zealand's most prominent cloud providers as well as international cloud leaders such as Google and Microsoft.

Financial contributors to the project include Xero, Gen-I, Equinox, OneNet, Webdrive, Google, Salesforce.com, InternetNZ, NZRise, EOSS Online Ltd, Systems Advisory Services and NZCS.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however registration is essential to secure your place. Please register below.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Hamilton, 16/11/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:23:30 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

16 November 2011: 9:15 am - 5:00 pm

Long Room Wintec House City Campus Tristram Street Hamilton

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Birds of a Feather: Out with the old, in with 2012? (Wellington, 14/11/2011)

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:52:16 +1300

Birds of a Feather: Out with the old, in with 2012?

14 November 2011: 5:15 pm - 6:30 pm

The Ground Floor Bar, Wellesley Boutique Hotel, 2-8 Maginnity St, Wellington

New Career? Let's explore the options.

This NZCS event, Birds Of A Feather (BOAF), is your opportunity to come and participate in a discussion around career development and listen and learn from others also participating in the conversation. Paul Heath and Paul Webb will lead you through their experiences and then encourage others to do the same. The outcome for most will be to reflect on what has been achieved in 2011 and inspire a new goal for 2012.

Special guest Career Transition Specialist Gillian Jones from Change by Design.

Registration Details:

Please register below.

Please Note: Gold Coin entry for NZCS members and $10 for non-members (towards catering) - Payable at the door.

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NZCS Workshop: Product Innovation for Tech Companies (Auckland, 14/11/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:09:14 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Product Innovation for Tech Companies

14 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.01

We've built something. Now what?

How do you commercialise a concept or product and take it off-shore? Or qualify the potential of your idea?

There are a wide range of reasons many of our innovations don't make it as far as the global stage.

In some cases they don't pass the Google test: has it been done before? In other cases the market speaks: "we don't need it or we cannot buy it if you haven't told us about it".

In general it usually boils down to a clear view of your product's value proposition, market opportunity, target customer and market segment, and path to market.

The seminar is intended to give you an idea of what areas you need to focus on in your business planning and capability development, and it's likely not what you think.

Objectives

By the end of this interactive seminar you'll have a level understanding of some of the key considerations and pitfalls when getting your product to market.

Target Audience

Leaders within technology start-ups and mid stage businesses who are looking to take their product to the international market
People in any organization who have been given responsibility for taking an idea from concept to a market proposition
Founders and leaders of early to mid stage businesses that feel their businesses are stuck at a certain stage and need to do something differently to move forward - or that don't want it to be
Anyone considering taking a tech-related concept to market

Workshop Presenter

Caroline Dewe, Director at Alphero, is highly experienced in innovation both within New Zealand and internationally.

The workshop will include many practical examples and war stories of the good the bad and the truly unexpected.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing (Wellington, 10/11/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:23:01 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing

10 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing (Auckland, 09/11/2011)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:02:29 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing

9 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.15

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Matt Johnston is a Principal Consultant in Equinox's IT Architecture Practice. Matt has a broad and deep experience across all aspects of software development, including substantial focus on testing, performance testing, and test management activities. In addition to his consulting activities, Matt is a certified instructor in Equinox IT's training business.

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Christchurch, 08/11/2011)

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:55:24 +1200

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

8 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport 550 Memorial Avenue (Cnr Memorial and Orchard Rd) Christchurch 8053 Free Parking Available

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to ICT Skills Mapping (Auckland, 04/11/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:26:11 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to ICT Skills Mapping

4 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.01

This half-day course is an introduction to ICT Skills Mapping focused on organisational design, role profiling, integrating skills and competencies, managing gaps and much more.

The workshop will consist of a mixture of presentations, discussions and practical exercises based on real-world examples.

The workshop covers an introduction to the following:

Essential elements of role profiles
How to integrate skills and capabilities
Flexible use of resources
Building motivation and engagement
Managing gaps and refining recruitment practices
SFIA, the Skills Framework for the Information Age
Constructing job descriptions and role profiles
Focused and effective resource allocation and development of career pathways

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will understand the concepts of:

Identifying the organisation structures and roles for the ICT team
Understanding defining ICT job profiles and mapping the skills and competencies to the roles
Evaluating your current staff against the requirements to identify the gaps
Designing development and training plan to close the gaps
Creating more effective job advertisements for better targeted recruitment

Target Audience

Those with existing or prospective responsibility for the development of ICT staff
All levels of management, and HR practitioners who are responsible for development of performance and capability within their organisation
Those interested in maximising the effective assignment of their people to roles and projects

About the Presenter

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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2011 Gibbons Lecture 5: Alan Turing and the Secret Cyphers: Breaking the German Codes at Bletchley Park (Auckland, 03/11/2011)

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:08:21 +1300

2011 Gibbons Lecture 5: Alan Turing and the Secret Cyphers: Breaking the German Codes at Bletchley Park

3 November 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

University of Auckland Conference Centre Building/room 423-342, 22 Symonds St

2011 Gibbons Lectures in association with NZCS

Lecture 5: Alan Turing and the Secret Cyphers: Breaking the German Codes at Bletchley Park

It is now widely accepted that Alan Turing was one of the most important founders of both theoretical and practical computing, although he died in 1954 just when the field of computing was getting underway. After his fundamental work on the Theory of Computing, in 1939 Turing was recruited for the effort to decipher enemy codes at Bletchley Park. He disappeared from the public record and it was only many years later that it was widely known what he had accomplished. Turing initially worked on cracking the German "Enigma" codes which involved his devising electro-mechanical special-purpose computing machines known as "bombes."

The story of the Enigma cipher machine and its defeat by the Bletchley Park code-breakers has astounded the world. This lecture also describes Bletchley's success against a later, more advanced German cipher machine that the British codenamed Tunny. Unlike Enigma, which dated from 1923 and was marketed openly throughout Europe, the ultra-secret Tunny was created by scientists of Hitler's Third Reich for use by Hitler and his generals. Central to the Bletchley attack on Tunny was Colossus, the world's first large-scale electronic digital computer.

Includes refreshments

About The Speaker

Jack Copeland received his D.Phil. in Philosophy from the University of Oxford. He is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Turing Archive for the History of Computing at the University of Canterbury. His publications include the books The Essential Turing; Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine; Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers; and more than 100 articles on the philosophy and history of computing, the philosophy of mind, and philosophical logic.

About the Gibbons Lectures

In 2012, the hundredth anniversary of Turing's birth is being celebrated by a series of events organized world-wide. As our contribution, the 2012 Gibbons lecture series will be devoted to "The Turing Legacy" - this talk forms part of the series and is being recorded for later webcast. The Gibbons Lectures are presented in association with the New Zealand Computer Society.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however please register below for catering and to secure your place.

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NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Auckland, 03/11/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:42:32 +1300

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

3 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing (Dunedin, 02/11/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:18:58 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing

2 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

College Conference Room University of Otago College of Education 145 Union Street East Dunedin

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (Wellington, 01/11/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:33:12 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation

1 November 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NZCS Head Office Level 24 Grand Plimmer Tower 2-6 Gilmer Terrace Wellington

These days every organisation has a website. But getting people to your client's sites is hugely important but often overlooked.

This workshop will provide an introduction to the core concepts of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). You'll learn why SEO is such an important marketing tool for websites plus the key concepts related to how SEO works and what steps you can take to improve the discoverability and search rankings of your website.

The workshop will also outline the tools and websites that you can use to optimise your website and is aimed at all levels - website owners, online marketing, and developers.

The workshop includes the following:

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
What is SEO?
SEO and online marketing (SEM)
SEO Key concepts
SEO - Science or Magic?
Paid Ads
SEO in practice
- Page Optimisation
- Site Optimisation
- Link building
SEO and Social Media
Tools

Summary
SEO Resources
- Reading
- Online

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will understand:

The core concept of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
How to devise a basic SEO and SEM strategy for sites and clients
What resources are available and how to find them
The importance of ethical optimisation and marketing

Target Audience

Developers and designers involved in creating websites
Those who provide web-related services to their clients, or manage that process
Anyone responsible for administering a website or websites
Those with an interest in maximising exposure to online content

Your Presenter

John Clegg is an experienced internet technology consultant. He has been providing technology solutions and building large scale websites since 1999.

John was one of the founders of bidorbuy.com - an online auction site that operated in India and South Africa. More recently, John founded ProjectX technology, a niche online development company specialising in online mapping and addressing solutions. ProjectX built ZoomIn.co.nz - a community based business listing website and Smaps - the mapping site for Trade Me in 2006.

John has been providing SEO consulting and training since 2006.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Cloud services: Email and collaboration (Christchurch, 27/10/2011)

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:01:40 +1300

Cloud services: Email and collaboration

27 October 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Conference Room Trevinos Cnr Riccarton Road & Mona Vale Ave, Christchurch

One of the real growth areas in cloud computing is outsourced email and collaboration services. These services promise to remove the hassle and availability issues associated with on premise mail servers at a low cost. In addition they offer enhanced collaboration, access from anywhere, and a range of additional services.

But in reality, how well does this work and what are the pros and cons of the move "into the cloud"?

This event will feature a panel comprising representatives from companies who have made the move to Google Apps or Microsoft 365 (/BPOS). The panel will discuss why they moved the services into the cloud and provide a 'warts and all' view of what works well and what does not.

The panel will be supported by consultants from McDonalds IT (Google) and User Friendly Computing (Microsoft 365) who will provide information on their experiences with the services and respond to issues raised by the panel.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Location, location, location: Maps, iPads, Whio and earthquakes (Wellington, 27/10/2011)

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:04:58 +1300

Location, location, location: Maps, iPads, Whio and earthquakes

27 October 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM Level 11 Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

Geospatial applications are becoming pervasive, mainly due to the exponential growth of Smart Phones and iPads.

So, the need for location information and capabilities within IT systems is moving from a 'nice to have' to a 'must have' across a range of sectors from Emergency management, Intelligence and Defence to Marketing, Logistics and Conservation.

Scott Campbell will begin this session by looking at the What, Why and How of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in NZ including the challenges presented by mobile devices and the Cloud. You will see how Geospatial was heavily used in the Christchurch response and recovery efforts, what did and didn't work there, as well as how the technology is being used in less traditional areas such as marketing and social media analysis.

We will then look at an example of Enterprise-wide GIS at one of NZ's biggest users of geospatial, the Department of Conservation (DOC). DOC uses GIS tools in almost every part of their business in every area of the country.

James Read, GIS Technical Lead at DOC, will cover how and why Geospatial is a key part of their business and what the future holds.

Lunch will be provided at 12:10

About The Speakers

James Read has 12 years' experience in implementing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in large organisations including National Grid, Network Rail and the Crown Estate (UK). He moved to NZ to escape the commute and is now flying between Nelson and Wellington on a weekly basis. James currently works with the Department of Conservation as GIS Technical Lead.

Scott Campbell heads up technology for the GIS division of Eagle Technology and is responsible for driving technology direction for Eagle and its customers, focused upon the Esri ArcGIS stack. Scott has over 16 years' experience of implementing, designing, supporting, productising and playing with geospatial IT systems in the US, UK and New Zealand.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way (Wellington, 20/10/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:26:06 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way

20 October 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN Presents: Web Application Security Testing for Today's Biggest and Emerging Threats (Auckland, 19/10/2011)

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:54:09 +1300

TPN Presents: Web Application Security Testing for Today's Biggest and Emerging Threats

19 October 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Drake, 2 Drake Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland.

NZCS Test Professionals Network (TPN) presents: Web Application Security Testing for Today's Most Serious and Emerging Threats

In 2010, more than half of all cyber attacks targeted web applications and the trend continues.

In this presentation we'll look at how to test our web applications for vulnerabilities to secure and protect our organisation. It will also highlight some of the new trends that we need to be aware of. This will include combining insights from industry-leading research organisations such as IBM X-Force and OWASP.

Alan will present the latest and emerging threats, as well as principles to help you test web applications for security.

About The Speaker

Alan Kan is IBM Rational Software's technical leader in New Zealand. A frequent speaker at conferences, he evangelises software delivery best practice and helps organisations improve their software project delivery process. Alan is experienced throughout the software delivery process and one of his recent engagements was as tech lead - which also included test management responsibilities - in a US Department of Homeland Security initiative.

Alan's LinkedIn profile can be found here: http://nz.linkedin.com/in/zenmaster

We hope you can join us for this event.

The Auckland TPN Committee.

Event Schedule

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Registration & Networking
5:30 to 6:45pm - Presentation and Questions
6:45 to 7:00pm - Networking & Close Out

Cash Bar Available.

Registration Details:

Seats at this location are limited so registration will cut-off once we meet capacity.

Please RSVP by registering and paying online through the NZCS registration. You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

If you'd like to sponsor one of our events please feel free to contact one of the committee members.

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TPN Presents: Agile Testing at IAG (Wellington, 18/10/2011)

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:45:36 +1200

TPN Presents: Agile Testing at IAG

18 October 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Wellington NZCS Test Professionals Network Presents: Agile Testing at IAG

This will be a case study about the introduction of the Agile (Scrum Approach) at IAG from a testing perspective - where we started, where we are now along with our test strategy for the future. The presentation will also cover test automation as an important part of the journey.

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided by IAG

About The Speaker

Jeff Bedwell is currently the Test Manager at IAG and is responsible for championing the test automation strategy and process, as well as managing the Test team.

He has spent more than 25 years working at a variety of Insurance companies including Commercial Union, NZI and now IAG. During that time he covered most areas of insurance including sales, Head Office and branch management before moving into IT as an analyst around 15 years ago.

In IT he has worked as a Senior Analyst, Business Consultant, PM and Team leader before changing roles again and becoming the Test Manager at IAG around 4 years ago. He is a full member of the NZCS and also an advocate of educating students about Testing by presenting at a number of Auckland Universities.

Test Professionals Network wish to thank IAG for sponsoring the refreshments

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

Registration Details:

Please pay $5 at the door

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to ICT Skills Mapping (Christchurch, 17/10/2011)

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:57:40 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to ICT Skills Mapping

17 October 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NZi3 - New Zealand ICT Innovation Institute HP Seminar Room 69 Creyke Road Christchurch

This half-day course is an introduction to ICT Skills Mapping focused on organisational design, role profiling, integrating skills and competencies, managing gaps and much more.

The workshop will consist of a mixture of presentations, discussions and practical exercises based on real-world examples.

The workshop covers an introduction to the following:

Essential elements of role profiles
How to integrate skills and capabilities
Flexible use of resources
Building motivation and engagement
Managing gaps and refining recruitment practices
SFIA, the Skills Framework for the Information Age
Constructing job descriptions and role profiles
Focused and effective resource allocation and development of career pathways

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will understand the concepts of:

Identifying the organisation structures and roles for the ICT team
Understanding defining ICT job profiles and mapping the skills and competencies to the roles
Evaluating your current staff against the requirements to identify the gaps
Designing development and training plan to close the gaps
Creating more effective job advertisements for better targeted recruitment

Target Audience

Those with existing or prospective responsibility for the development of ICT staff
All levels of management, and HR practitioners who are responsible for development of performance and capability within their organisation
Those interested in maximising the effective assignment of their people to roles and projects

About the Presenter

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Latest and Greatest: Consumer IT Hardware Showcase (Hamilton, 12/10/2011)

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:16:23 +1300

Latest and Greatest: Consumer IT Hardware Showcase

12 October 2011: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

IBIS Hotel Pukeko Rooms 18 Alma Street Hamilton

Every techie needs their hardware fix. On behalf of their local resellers, Dove Electronics - in collaboration with NZCS - would like to invite you to an exclusive sneak-preview into some of the most outstanding new products that will be hitting shelves soon.

Note: This is next week and places are limited - please register below.

This will be one hour packed with real hardware, along with short presentations from some of Dove's product managers. If you like to stay abreast of progress in consumer IT gear, this is your chance to get ahead of the game. There will even be product managers available to answer questions.

This is a great way to update yourself on the most outstanding new products! Of course, it's also a great opportunity to catch up with the local IT crowd in a relaxed atmosphere.

Dove Electronics are one of New Zealand's largest distributors for the IT channel. They DO NOT sell to the public. However, they will provide a list of local resellers to any who are interested.

Please note - due to the short timeframe, this event will not be catered.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details, or alternatively register via our website and pay $5.00 at the door.

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NZCS Workshop: Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Wellington, 03/10/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:22:18 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

3 October 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NZCS Head Office Level 24 Grand Plimmer Tower 2-6 Gilmer Terrace Wellington

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

Duration: 1/2 day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

Leon Swart is a qualified IT Service Manager and an ITIL Infrastructure Manager. He has extensive experience in the ICT industry for over 20 years across a number of fields including Project Management, Operations Management, Vendor Management, Service Delivery Management, Information Management and Outsourcing. His involvement includes industries such as telecommunications, banking, outsourcing and technical vendor companies.

His experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

His focus have been around implementing ITIL processes in the work environment, particularly employed in roles where significant changes in structure and process were required to ensure profitable business units.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Keeping Up with Smart Phones (Wellington, 29/9/2011)

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:47:27 +1200

Keeping Up with Smart Phones

29 September 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

The recent growth in the smart phone market has been amazing. Our usage of mobile phones is changing and making phone calls are becoming a minority activity on them now. This rapid growth is presenting opportunities for new functions and applications but also risks for security and privacy.

Ross Hughson has been researching the smart phone market to understand what he needs to know as he starts to develop a solution for his business. Ross visited the USA in June as part of this research and attended the AlwaysOn Mobile conference in Silicon Valley. Following that, he facilitated a session in the Emerging Trends Stream at the recent NetHui entitled - The Changing Face of the Internet: Mobile and security.

In this session Ross will provide a view of what is happening in the smart phone market based on his own research and the discussion at the NetHui. He will discuss who is winning and losing, what are some of the trends he is seeing, talk about the consumerisation of IT and the impact this is having in the corporate IT space, and make some predictions as to what might happen next. He will also talk you through his thinking about how he is deciding what he will do in terms of delivering a smart phone based service for his business.

Lunch will be provided at 12:10pm

About The Speaker

Ross Hughson has had over 30 years in the IT industry mainly in the corporate IT world. He has held many roles ranging from Senior Manager Electronic Banking ANZ Bank, CIO Westpac Bank, and CIO Inland Revenue. Ross is now taking his career in a different direction and has founded a start up company - Personal Information Management Ltd.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Is Electronic Data driving NZ Industry? (Christchurch, 22/9/2011)

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:29:17 +1200

Is Electronic Data driving NZ Industry?

22 September 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Conference Room Trevinos Cnr Riccarton Road & Mona Vale Ave, Christchurch

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is becoming a must-have for NZ industry - driven by the demands of large retail customers, Customs and the ongoing need to reduce costs.

Data collection and its integration points are another "biggy" for Industry - know your standards!

With September's BusinessNZ Planning Forecast showing relatively strong growth in the NZ manufacturing sector - now's the time to find out what's happening with classic EDI, website integration and data collection.

Join us after the presentations for networking and refreshments.

About The Speakers

Matt Holland is the Chief Technology Officer at EMDA, a provider of technology-based business solutions for manufacturing and distribution companies throughout New Zealand and Australia.

CTO since 2008, Matt has developed EDI solutions for a number of leading NZ and Australian manufacturers.

Merv Horsford is a Professional Services Consultant at GS1. He is based in Auckland and works in the areas of GS1net, Supply Chain Enhancement, and eCommerce.

Before joining GS1, Merv worked as a developer and consultant for software companies specialising in the areas of Supply Chain and Financial Systems.

Special thanks to EMDA for sponsoring this event.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way (Christchurch, 21/9/2011)

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:59:37 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way

21 September 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Jade 19 Sheffield Crescent Burnside Christchurch

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Auckland, 20/9/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:24:25 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

20 September 2011: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 3.01

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Innovation Summit: Unblocking the Skills Pipeline (Auckland, 07/9/2011)

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 01:35:13 +1200

NZCS Innovation Summit: Unblocking the Skills Pipeline

7 September 2011: 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

OGGB Owen G Glenn Building 12 Grafton Road Auckland Case Room 3 PLEASE NOTE THE ROOM CHANGE

The ICT industry is growing fast, so why can't we attract enough talent?

According to the TIN100 report, exports from the top 100 technology companies in New Zealand add up to almost $5 billion and technology exports now rank second only to the dairy sector.

Our industry employs approximately 40,000 people, yet we import thousands of hi-tech positions a year and still can't keep up.

Technology is probably New Zealand's fastest growing sector and on its way to becoming New Zealand's top export earner. It's a high-value sector creating high-value jobs that will move our country forward, yet according to recent statistics and despite the recent recession, the ICT skills shortage continues to grow worse threatening this future.

What can we do about it?

The inaugural NZCS Innovation Summit: Unblocking the Skills Pipeline will bring together experts and those interested in the future of the IT industry to discuss, listen, debate and plan over free beer, wine, juice and pizza.

How do we address the skills shortage?

According to every statistic ICT is the best paid profession in New Zealand, yet University and Polytech enrolments are down. Kids in school aren't being attracted to our great industry. In short, the skills pipeline is seriously blocked and it's time we did something about it.

Through NZCS the ICT sector has embarked on several projects designed to unblock the skills pipeline however this clearly isn't enough.

NZCS Auckland Branch has put together a range of experts from across the ICT and education sectors to discuss what's being done and what should be done to address this very serious issue. But we also need to hear from you!

Come join the conversation and tell us what you think, or just come along and hear about what's happening in this space over free beer and pizza.

Panel and Short Presentations

The event will include a signficant panel and short presentations from the following team of experts:

Ian McCrae, CEO of Orion Health. Orion is New Zealand's largest software exporter and Ian brings a strong industry perspective to the discussion.
Greg Day, Founder of PeopleMine, GetStaffed and various other companies. Greg is an entrepreneur with strong views on the need to focus on entrepreneurial skills from an early age.
Paul Matthews, CEO of NZCS. Paul has been heavily involved in a number of educational initiatives including helping reshape how ICT is taught in schools.
John Hosking, Director of Centre for Software Innovation, Auckland University. John has been heavily involved in a number of initiatives in the education space.
Tim Bell, Associate Professor of Software Engineering, Canterbury University. Tim led the team charged with creating the new School ICT curriculum.
Mike Usmar, CEO of Computer Clubhouse. Computer Clubhouses provide a unique opportunity for kids to discover technology in a safe and supportive environment.
Lorraine Stefani, Director of Academic Development, University of Auckland. Lorraine's research includes the use of e-Portfolios and online learning.
Charmaine Pountney, Former Principal Auckland Girls Grammar. Charmaine's a strong advocate for diverse educational approaches in New Zealand.
Gordon Drydon, Author, The Learning Web. Gordon has been advocating a new approach to education and eLearning with a strong focus on Web 2.0.

The panel will be facilitated by Brett Roberts, NZCS Auckland Branch Chair.

These individuals are here to listen as much as talk and we really need to hear from you.

Free beer, wine, juice and Pizza.

Programme

5.30pm Arrival and refreshments
6.15pm Panel and short presentations
7.30pm Refreshments and discussion
8.30pm Finish

A Special Thanks to Lloyd Executive Recruitment for supporting this event.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential. NZCS Members can register for free below.

Non-members can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends (Wellington, 29/8/2011)

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:45:02 +1200

National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends

29 August 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

PowerHouse People L4 Deloitte House, 10 Brandon St, Wellington

So what are the latest and greatest in online trends in New Zealand and overseas?

Recently Trent Mankelow and his Optimal Usability team were asked to distil learning from research and design projects with 190 clients across 19 industries and present the most important online trends that are emerging here and overseas - a somewhat daunting challenge.

In this entertaining presentation Trent digs into this research to outline:

The three key attributes of world-class organisations, using local and overseas examples from a number of industries
How new devices are going to affect future experiences
Why the chief economist at Google thinks statisticians are sexy
What swearing, fairies, and dinosaurs have to do with a good customer experience
Why design is not the same as aesthetics
What you can do to join to fight for great online experiences in New Zealand

If you're interested in anything online you need to be at this presentation.

Assemble from 5.15pm, presentation will commence at 5.30pm sharp!

Includes refreshments from 6:30pm - 7pm.

About The Speaker

Trent Mankelow is the co-founder and CEO of Optimal Usability, New Zealand's leading usability consultancy company.

Since 2002 Optimal Usability has observed over 5,000 people interacting with all sorts of touchpoints, including websites, paper forms, kiosks, websites and IVR systems. Trent regularly speaks and writes about customer experience, service design and usability.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential and places are limited. NZCS financial members may register below now.

Others can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Auckland, 26/8/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:16:29 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

26 August 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago 385 Queen Street Auckland Room 3.01

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

Duration: 1/2 day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

His experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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In memory of Warren Marett (Christchurch, 25/8/2011)

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 01:53:04 +1200

In memory of Warren Marett

25 August 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Conference Room Trevinos Cnr Riccarton Road & Mona Vale Ave, Christchurch

In memory of Warren Marett

Warren Marett's passing in June this year was a great loss to the IT Community in Canterbury.

An NZCS Fellow, Warren was a member of the NZCS from 1971, after graduating the year before with a BSc (Hons) from the University of Canterbury.

Warren served on the NZCS Canterbury Branch Committee for 32 years, from 1979-2011, and also served for some years on the National Council.

Warren's voluntary IT service was matched by an exemplary career in IT:

Systems Programmer - NZ Motor Corp, 1971-1972
Business Systems Manager - Kodak, 1973-1976
Software Support Manager - Digital Equipment Corp, 1976-1981
Systems Manager - The Christchurch Press, 1981-1986
Associate Director, IT advisory services - Deloitte, 1986-2011.

Please join us over refreshments to:

Commemorate Warren's service and achievements.
Learn about the scholarship that Deloitte and the University of Canterbury are putting in place in memory of Warren.
Suggest and discuss how best the NZCS Canterbury Branch can provide a memorial to Warren.

Our special guest will be Mrs Jane Marett.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential - NZCS members can register below.

Non-members can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Introduction to SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age) (Wellington, 25/8/2011)

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:26:25 +1200

Introduction to SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age)

25 August 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

The worldwide trend to move IT towards a profession continues.

Two major planks supporting this move are professional skills frameworks and a common body of knowledge. This presentation focusses on SFIA the predominant skills frame work implemented by thousands of companies in many parts of the world.

The SFIA provides a common reference model for the identification of the skills needed to develop effective Information Systems (IS) making use of Information Communications Technologies (ICT).

SFIA can assist in identifying organisational structures and roles for the ICT team, defining ICT job profiles mapping the skills and competencies to the roles, evaluating your current staff against the requirements to identify the gaps, designing development and training plan to close the gaps and creating more effective job advertisements for better targeted recruitment.

The presentation will provide attendees with a brief overview of SFIA and is ideally suited to anyone with any responsibility or interest in ICT skills development or mapping.

Lunch provided 12:00 to 12:30.

About The Speaker

Don Robertson (MNZCS ITCP) is a past President of NZCS and was involved in the research for the introduction of the IT Certified Professional (ITCP) programme for New Zealand. This included the adoption of SFIA as the basis for competency evaluation.

He is a respected seasoned professional having managed large ICT service organisations and managed many programmes and projects both in New Zealand, Australia, UK and Europe.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Christchurch, 24/8/2011)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:47:43 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

24 August 2011: 9:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Jade 19 Sheffield Crescent Burnside Christchurch

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends (Auckland, 24/8/2011)

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:37:25 +1200

National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends

24 August 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Concordia Institute of Business Level 3, 20 Hobson Street Auckland CBD PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN VENUE

So what are the latest and greatest in online trends in New Zealand and overseas?

In this entertaining presentation Trent digs into this research to outline:

The three key attributes of world-class organisations, using local and overseas examples from a number of industries
How new devices are going to affect future experiences
Why the chief economist at Google thinks statisticians are sexy
What swearing, fairies, and dinosaurs have to do with a good customer experience
Why design is not the same as aesthetics
What you can do to join to fight for great online experiences in New Zealand

If you're interested in anything online you need to be at this presentation.

Includes refreshments.

About The Speaker

Trent Mankelow is the co-founder and CEO of Optimal Usability, New Zealand's leading usability consultancy company.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential and places are limited. NZCS financial members may register below now.

Others can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends (Hamilton, 24/8/2011)

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:21:57 +1200

National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends

24 August 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Long Room Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street Hamilton

So what are the latest and greatest in online trends in New Zealand and overseas?

In this entertaining presentation Trent digs into this research to outline:

The three key attributes of world-class organisations, using local and overseas examples from a number of industries
How new devices are going to affect future experiences
Why the chief economist at Google thinks statisticians are sexy
What swearing, fairies, and dinosaurs have to do with a good customer experience
Why design is not the same as aesthetics
What you can do to join to fight for great online experiences in New Zealand

If you're interested in anything online you need to be at this presentation.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Trent Mankelow is the co-founder and CEO of Optimal Usability, New Zealand's leading usability consultancy company.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential and places are limited. NZCS financial members may register below now.

Others can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN Presents: The role of professional standards in Software Testing (Wellington, 23/8/2011)

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:38:04 +1200

TPN Presents: The role of professional standards in Software Testing

23 August 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

NZCS Test Professionals Network presents: The role of professional standards in Software Testing

The role and relevance of standards in the software testing industry is a hotly debated topic.

This presentation looks at some of the controversy and asks the question "why do we need standards?" Steve will provide an overview of the new ISO Standard (29119) and the role that New Zealand is playing in its development.

Along the way you'll hear about the Standard's history and the process for developing standards, and find out why you need the tact and diplomacy of a hostage negotiator when working with an ISO Working Group.

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided by Qual IT.

About The Speaker

Steve Willsher was invited to get involved with ISO Standards by Matt Mansell of DIA. Steve and Matt represent New Zealand on Working Group 26 of the ISO/IEC Software and System Engineering committee, JTC1 SC7. They recently attended the SC7 Plenary session held in Paris.

For his day-job, Steve is a Senior Consultant at Qual IT where he has been responsible for the delivery of testing services at several of Qual IT's key clients. Specifically he has been involved in the delivery of organisational test process reviews, project test strategies, training and mentoring.

Steve has over 20 years experience in technical leadership roles gained in the information technology and aerospace engineering industries. Steve has extensive experience of IT delivery across the SDLC gained from his work in the public and private sector in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Test Professionals Network wish to thank Qual IT for sponsoring the refreshments

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

Registration Details:

Please pay $5 at the door.

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TPN Presents: An Emerging Role in Test Automation (Auckland, 23/8/2011)

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:12:38 +1200

TPN Presents: An Emerging Role in Test Automation

23 August 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Drake, 2 Drake Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland

NZCS Test Professionals Network (TPN) presents: An Emerging Role in Test Automation

With the wider acceptance of agile software development practices, test automation is becoming more important. There is currently a severe shortage of people with skills in this area. This event will focus on answering the following questions:

What skills are actually needed?
How can those skills be developed?
How much effort is required?
What background is needed?
What tools are available for your learning?

Then it will look at the pitfalls:

What are the issues that you're likely to face, given that little software is developed with test automation in mind?
What are some traps that many people fall into when approaching automation?

And finally:

What's it like working in test automation on an agile team?
On a non-agile team?

To conclude the evening, Rick will also provide us with a progress update on the tool development research project he was working involving The Universities of Auckland, Canterbury and Waikato in conjunction with Rimu Research Ltd, which he talked about a little over 12 months ago.

About The Speaker

Rick Mugridge is an expert in agile software development, working in NZ, Europe and USA as coach, architect, developer and consultant to people working in test automation.

He has developed FitLibrary, an open-source testing framework that works with FitNesse. He continues to develop tools for test automation, including for web systems, and with a current focus on legacy systems. He is the main author of "Fit for Developing Software", Prentice-Hall, 2005, which covers test automation techniques.

Rick has a PhD in Computer Science and has taught software engineering at the University of Auckland.

We hope that you can join us for this event.

The Auckland TPN Committee

Event schedule:

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Registration & Networking
5:30 to 6:45pm - Presentation and Questions
6:45 to 7:00pm - Networking & close out

Cash bar available.

Many thanks to Optimation for very kindly sponsoring the venue hire at the last event. If you'd like to sponsor one of our events then please feel free to contact one of the committee members.

Registration Details:

Seats at this location are limited so registration will cut-off once we meet capacity. Please have the correct change when you pay at the door. Receipts will be given.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Hamilton, 23/8/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:12:54 +1300

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

23 August 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Bill Gallagher Events Room Two Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street Hamilton

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Wellington, 17/8/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:43:49 +1300

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

17 August 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends (Christchurch, 11/8/2011)

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:07:07 +1200

National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends

11 August 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Jade 19 Sheffield Crescent Burnside Christchurch

So what are the latest and greatest in online trends in New Zealand and overseas?

In this entertaining presentation Trent digs into this research to outline:

The three key attributes of world-class organisations, using local and overseas examples from a number of industries
How new devices are going to affect future experiences
Why the chief economist at Google thinks statisticians are sexy
What swearing, fairies, and dinosaurs have to do with a good customer experience
Why design is not the same as aesthetics
What you can do to join to fight for great online experiences in New Zealand

If you're interested in anything online you need to be at this presentation.

Refreshments provided.

About The Speaker

Trent Mankelow is the co-founder and CEO of Optimal Usability, New Zealand's leading usability consultancy company.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential and places are limited. NZCS financial members may register below now.

Others can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing (Hamilton, 11/8/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:19:51 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing

11 August 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Wintec House Long Room Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street Hamilton

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

John O'Brien is a Senior Consultant in Equinox's IT Governance Practice. John has over 20 years of IT experience with a strong focus on testing, test management, and test strategy. In additional to his consulting and test management activities, John is a certified instructor in Equinox's training business and is an ISTQB certified testing professional.

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Should Government have an Agenda for a Digital Economy? (Wellington, 11/8/2011)

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 15:13:41 +1200

Should Government have an Agenda for a Digital Economy?

11 August 2011: 7:30 am - 9:00 am

The Grand Dining Room, Level 2, Wellesley Boutique Hotel, 2-8 Maginnity St, Wellington

Should Government have a plan for the Digital Economy?

With an election coming up, it would seem the governments should support the digital infrastructure, in the same way they support building of roads.

The globalised digital economy offers tremendous opportunities for people and companies who have the right skills and approach to market development.

Many countries have a national strategy for global competitiveness - New Zealand has the opportunity to make strategic choices about our brand and position in this new economy.

In this talk, Laurence Millar will outline his view of New Zealand's strengths and weaknesses in the digital economy, and describe an agenda for future national development.

Includes Breakfast from 7:30am. Speaker Begins 8:00am.

About The Speaker

Laurence Millar is an independent advisor, Editor at Large of FutureGov magazine and a Trustee of 2020 Communications Trust.

Since leaving the role of Government CIO in May 2009 Laurence has been operating as an independent advisor to government on the use of ICT. His assignments have included strategic advice to agencies in New Zealand and Australia, the development of the national e-government plan for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and World Bank assignments in South America and Asia.

Made possible with the support of Integration Works Ltd

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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High Performance Computing: Inside Waikato University's Symphony Cluster (Hamilton, 10/8/2011)

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:20:44 +1200

High Performance Computing: Inside Waikato University's Symphony Cluster

10 August 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room S.1.04 S Building, Waikato University Gate 1, Knighton Road Hamilton

Symphony is a cluster of computers, allowing researchers within The University of Waikato to explore uses for parallel computing without needing to find a lot of money up front. Its primary use is as a computing resource, with 92 computers of varying sizes available for a range of research computing tasks.

Symphony also offers a high-resolution display wall on level 1 of S block. This is used by researchers working with new ways of handling computer graphics, and by staff or students looking for a seriously high-resolution display for still or video images.

In this fascinating presentation Donald Neal will give an overview of Symphony and how it works.

Symphony is one part of the national BestGRID research computing resource.

Includes a light lunch.

Due to the shorter time allocated to this presentation, the speaker will begin at exactly 12:15. Please arrive at 12pm sharp so you have an opportunity to enjoy lunch before the presentation starts.

Directly following this event, Hoare Research Software are running a free seminar on parallel computing, with a focus on the MatLab mathematical programming environment. Click Here for info.

About The Speaker

Donald Neal is the high-performance computing staff of The University of Waikato.

His job includes keeping Symphony running, making it do new things, and in some cases thinking up new things for Symphony to do. With a background in both network engineering and systems administration, he is ideally placed to explain why what he just did stopped your job from running.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (Auckland, 04/8/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:29:04 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation

4 August 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

These days every organisation has a website. But getting people to your client's sites is hugely important but often overlooked.

The workshop will also outline the tools and websites that you can use to optimise your website and is aimed at all levels - website owners, online marketing, and developers.

The workshop includes the following:

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
What is SEO?
SEO and online marketing (SEM)
SEO Key concepts
SEO - Science or Magic?
Paid Ads
SEO in practice
- Page Optimisation
- Site Optimisation
- Link building
SEO and Social Media
Tools

Summary
SEO Resources
- Reading
- Online

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will understand:

The core concept of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
How to devise a basic SEO and SEM strategy for sites and clients
What resources are available and how to find them
The importance of ethical optimisation and marketing

Target Audience

Developers and designers involved in creating websites
Those who provide web-related services to their clients, or manage that process
Anyone responsible for administering a website or websites
Those with an interest in maximising exposure to online content

Your Presenter

John Clegg is an experienced internet technology consultant. He has been providing technology solutions and building large scale websites since 1999.

John has been providing SEO consulting and training since 2006.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing (Wellington, 02/8/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:16:23 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing

2 August 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Technology for the Airways (Christchurch, 28/7/2011)

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:38:55 +1200

Technology for the Airways

28 July 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Conference Room, Trevinos, Cnr Riccarton Road & Mona Vale Ave, Christchurch

Airways New Zealand, an SOE, looks after air traffic throughout NZ; at control towers located at main trunk and regional airports; at NZ's military bases and in our two radar centres in Auckland and Christchurch. Airways works with government, regulatory authorities, airlines, airports and the general aviation community to ensure pilots, passengers and goods reach their destination safely.

We will hear how Airways applies technology to deliver a world class Air Navigation Service for New Zealand, and has won awards for their innovations. In recent years, Airways has built a strong customer base internationally, and we will hear how they export technology around the world.

Join us for refreshments and networking after the presentation.

About The Speaker

Mark Griffin currently holds the position of Manager Research and Product Development with both domestic and international responsibilities. He has over twenty years' experience in the technical side of the aviation industry.

Combining the company wide IT team to extended services company wide, he also formed a new development team developing software solutions including operational roster systems, operational monitoring systems, ATC recruitment & selection systems, training solutions, billing and reporting systems.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Creating the Open Source Academy (Wellington, 28/7/2011)

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:38:40 +1200

Creating the Open Source Academy

28 July 2011: 12:15 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM Level 11 Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

The Catalyst Open Source Academy is an initiative designed to provide training and work experience for young New Zealand technologists.

The pilot programme was held for two weeks in January 2011. It gave 17 Secondary School students a taste of real open source development through a combination of classroom sessions and hands-on project work.

The aim was to get the students to the point where they could usefully contribute to a real (open source) project.

By organising and funding the Academy, Catalyst hoped to show young technologists how to participate in open source communities and to fully explore their passion for IT through freely available open source tools.

In this thought-provoking presentation Catalyst's Ian Beardslee will outline how they put the initiative together, what worked and what didn't, and lessons learnt from the project.

Light lunch will be provided

Lunch available from 12pm
Presentation 12.30-1.30pm

About The Speaker

Coming from an education and then a collective work environment, Ian Beardslee saw that opportunities available from using Open Source technologies meant that he needed to change to a more active role in open source community.

Ian has been at Catalyst IT for 5 years and picked up the co-ordination role of the Academy. He is a member of NZCS and is on the NZOSS Council.

When not at work he spends time avoiding house renovations by running around shooting people and cuddling his cat.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Web Security Strategies for Developers (Wellington, 27/7/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:33:01 +1300

Web Security Strategies for Developers

27 July 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

NZCS Security Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice (Hamilton, 27/7/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:39:06 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice

27 July 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Ventura Inn & Suites 23 Clarence Street Hamilton

This workshop follows on from well attended and highly successful "Introduction to Project Management" workshop run by NZCS which gave an introduction to project management addressing the basics of project management, its terminology and techniques.

In this interactive workshop you'll be led through real world examples from the experience your trainer brings, learning techniques and developing tools applicable to any type of small project. Working in small groups our exercises are designed to give you practical skills to develop, progress and implement commonsense Project Management in your workplace.

Working from a structured Case Study, the course covers the following:

Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Note that this can be combined with the "Introduction to Project Management" course on the same day, to provide a full-day broad introduction to Project Management theory and practice.

"Introduction to Project Management" isn't a formal prerequisite to this workshop, but is strongly advised.

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Colin Ellis hails from the UK and has close to 15 years multi-sector project, programme and programme office management experience. He has recently set up his own consultancy in Wellington as The PMO Guy and is currently on assignment at Ministry of Justice as Head of Project Services and is also providing project management training services to the public and private sector through Tregaskis Brown Ltd.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management (Hamilton, 27/7/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:14:39 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management

27 July 2011: 9:15 am - 12:30 pm

Ventura Inn & Suites 23 Clarence Street Hamilton

This half-day workshop will provide an introduction to the profession of project management and an overview of it's terminology, practices and techniques - perfect for anyone looking to change career or for anyone being asked to manage small projects.

You'll be led through straight forward practical examples from the real-world experience that your trainer brings. You'll learn approaches and techniques and be able to develop tools to help you manage any type of small project.

The course will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project

a. Start Up

- Justifying a project
- Developing a Business Case

b. Initiate

                      - Project Planning
                      - Developing a schedule
                      - Quality Planning

c. Delivery

       - Stakeholder Management
       - Quality Management
       - Benefits Management
       - Risk and Issue Management

d. Closedown

- Lessons Learned
- Post project reviews

Further training/certification options

Duration: ½ Day

Objectives

At the end of the course, delegates will be able to:
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Colin Ellis ("The PMO Guy") hails from the UK and has close to 15 years multi-sector project, programme and programme office management experience. He has recently set up his own consultancy in Wellington as The PMO Guy and is currently on assignment at Ministry of Justice as Head of Project Services and is also providing project management training services to the public and private sector through Tregaskis Brown Ltd.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Hamilton, 27/7/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:09:03 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

27 July 2011: 9:15 am - 5:00 pm

Ventura Inn & Suites 23 Clarence Street Hamilton

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course. You can also choose to do one or the other.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Annual General Meeting (Wellington, 15/7/2011)

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:37:00 +1200

NZCS Annual General Meeting

15 July 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

The Business Centre Ground Floor Radio New Zealand House 155 The Terrace Wellington

Please note that due to flight cancellations as a result of the ash cloud as well as illness, the National Council has postponed the NZCS AGM until 15 July 2011. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Notice of Annual General Meeting of NZCS

This is notice of the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Computer Society Inc.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society will be held at 5.30pm on 15th July 2011 in Wellington. The NZCS President, Deputy President, CEO and National Council will all be in attendance and the AGM will be followed by refreshments.

Note that all Members receive notice of the AGM, even those outside the Wellington region (who may want to send a Proxy).

Notes on the AGM

Apologies may be sent via email to info@nzcs.org.nz, faxed to 04 473 1025, or posted to PO Box 10044, Wellington.
We strongly recommend members unable to attend in person complete a Proxy Form.
You can download the AGM Agenda here and the 2010 AGM Minutes here.
You can download the Annual Report. Financials will be available to all members prior to the AGM.

Please note that this event is for NZCS Members Only.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential. Please register below.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (Wellington, 13/7/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:31:12 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation

13 July 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

These days every organisation has a website. But getting people to your client's sites is hugely important but often overlooked.

The workshop will also outline the tools and websites that you can use to optimise your website and is aimed at all levels - website owners, online marketing, and developers.

The workshop includes the following:

Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
What is SEO?
SEO and online marketing (SEM)
SEO Key concepts
SEO - Science or Magic?
Paid Ads
SEO in practice
- Page Optimisation
- Site Optimisation
- Link building
SEO and Social Media
Tools

Summary
SEO Resources
- Reading
- Online

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will understand:

The core concept of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
How to devise a basic SEO and SEM strategy for sites and clients
What resources are available and how to find them
The importance of ethical optimisation and marketing

Target Audience

Developers and designers involved in creating websites
Those who provide web-related services to their clients, or manage that process
Anyone responsible for administering a website or websites
Those with an interest in maximising exposure to online content

Your Presenter

John Clegg is an experienced internet technology consultant. He has been providing technology solutions and building large scale websites since 1999.

John has been providing SEO consulting and training since 2006.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle (Wellington, 08/7/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:19:21 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Strategically Managing the IT Service Lifecycle

8 July 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox Learning Suite Level 11 Equinox House 111 The Terrace Wellington

IT Service Management plays a strategic role in the definition, development and operation of IT services.

Duration: 1/2 day

Objectives

Understanding the strategic role of the Service Management lifecycle as recently defined in ITIL Version 3.
How the components parts of IT Service Management work and underpin the Lifecycle.
The session will also touch industry frameworks and standards to support IT Service management such as COBiT, ISO/IEC20000, SFIA, etc.

Target Audience

People in management and senior management
People who are new into the industry and have a service aspect to their role; in essence… everyone!
People in any organisation who have been given responsibility for improving aspects of their role, whether it be on a personal, team, or wider group level.
People who don't look at the word "Service" as something that would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customer.

Course Presenter

His experience includes involvement in the mainframe, network, server, workstation and distributed deployment and support from both an application and hardware perspective.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Product Innovation for Tech Companies (Wellington, 07/7/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:07:55 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Product Innovation for Tech Companies

7 July 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NZCS L24, Grand Plimmer Tower 2 Gilmer Terrace Wellington 6011 NZCS Boardroom

We've built something. Now what?

How do you commercialise a concept or product and take it off-shore? Or qualify the potential of your idea?

There are a wide range of reasons many of our innovations don't make it as far as the global stage.

In some cases they don't pass the Google test: has it been done before? In other cases the market speaks: "we don't need it or we cannot buy it if you haven't told us about it".

In general it usually boils down to a clear view of your product's value proposition, market opportunity, target customer and market segment, and path to market.

The seminar is intended to give you an idea of what areas you need to focus on in your business planning and capability development, and it's likely not what you think.

Objectives

By the end of this interactive seminar you'll have a level understanding of some of the key considerations and pitfalls when getting your product to market.

Target Audience

Leaders within technology start-ups and mid stage businesses who are looking to take their product to the international market
People in any organization who have been given responsibility for taking an idea from concept to a market proposition
Founders and leaders of early to mid stage businesses that feel their businesses are stuck at a certain stage and need to do something differently to move forward - or that don't want it to be
Anyone considering taking a tech-related concept to market

Workshop Presenter

Caroline Dewe, Director at Alphero, is highly experienced in innovation both within New Zealand and internationally.

The workshop will include many practical examples and war stories of the good the bad and the truly unexpected.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way (Auckland, 07/7/2011)

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:49:57 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way

7 July 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

AMES IT Academy 500 Queen St, Auckland CBD

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN: James Bach - The Dirty Secret of Formal Testing (Auckland, 05/7/2011)

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:34:49 +1200

TPN: James Bach - The Dirty Secret of Formal Testing

5 July 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Drake, 2 Drake Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland

Auckland NZCS Test Professionals Network in conjunction with Software Testing presents James Bach.

From James:

I can tell you this: I have arguably done the most rigorous testing that anyone has done in the testing business, which is testing for court cases. I once poured $250,000 of labor into a 10 minute test that was filmed for a jury. No commercial company can afford to be that meticulous. I've also tested a class III medical device. And I've noticed something important that no one talks about when they talk about formal testing. It seems to be a secret. A dirty secret. I will reveal it to you in this talk.

So come to my talk, or else you will forever wonder what that secret is.

Many thanks to Optimation for very kindly sponsoring the venue.

About The Speaker

James Bach is a software testing guru from the USA, who specialises in thinking about, teaching, and performing testing as a sophisticated thinking art. He is part of a community called the Context-Driven School, along with some of the best-known names in testing.

He calls his approach "Rapid Testing" and he will be in Auckland delivering training during the first week of July with SoftEd. James' style of rapid testing is tester-centric (as opposed to technique-centric) and is a blend of heuristic testing, risk-based testing, and exploratory testing. He also has a brand new talk which he is presenting exclusively at TPN.

We hope that you can join us for this event.

Event schedule:

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Registration & Networking
5:30 to 6:45pm - Presentation and Questions
6:45 to 7:00pm - Networking & close out

Cash bar available.

Registration Details:

All registrations to this event must be placed via the NZCS Website by 12:30pm July 4th, which can then be paid for at the door. Receipts will be given. Seats at this location are limited so registration will cut-off once we meet capacity.

Please note: There will be no door sales.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Birds of a Feather: Working Internationally (Wellington, 04/7/2011)

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:09:53 +1200

Birds of a Feather: Working Internationally

4 July 2011: 5:15 pm - 6:30 pm

Downstairs Bar, Wellesley Boutique Hotel, 2-8 Maginnity St, Wellington

Have you ever thought about working overseas?

As the NZ market tightens and work for senior and experienced ICT professionals becomes restricted the lure of working internationally gets more and more appealing to some. We have all seen some of our colleagues pack up their bags and head offshore. But what are some of the pros and cons of heading off yonder?

How do you find overseas contracts?
What are the pitfalls?
What are the opportunities?

This Birds of a Feather session invites ICT professionals and NZCS members to come together for an informal discussion on the issues and opportunities of working internationally, including discussion from some who have done it and returned.

About The Speaker

Peter Young (BSA International) will facilitate the discussion.

Peter has been implementing National Payment Systems in central banks in the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific for the last 10 years. He will lead the discussion with some interesting thoughts about the advantages of being a kiwi ICT consultant on the world stage.

He will also outline some of the "contractual" and other things to watch out for. He will be joined by some other ICT professionals who've moved to the international stage.

Registration Details:

Please register for this event below.

NOTE: Free for NZCS members to register and $10 (towards nibbles) for non-members.

However Gold Coin entry for NZCS members - Payable at the door.

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NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way (Wellington, 04/7/2011)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:29:17 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Developing software the Agile way

4 July 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Equinox House Level 11, 111 The Terrace, Wellington Central Equinox Training Room

Agile software development, with its focus on delivery of working software, intense collaboration and rapid feedback, can deliver better results for both the customer and the project team.

But what do we mean by agile, and how do we know if it's right for us?

The workshop covers the following:

The agile evolution
The agile manifesto - values and principles
Popular agile frameworks including Scrum, XP, Kanban
Applying common agile practices
Agile roles and responsibilities
Agile risk assessment

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a Certified Scrum Master and practicing IT consultant. Course concepts will be reinforced with real world examples.

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will understand:

The culture shifts that occur when moving to agile
Key agile concepts, practices and terminology
How team member roles change on an Agile software development project
The value in assessing a project's Agile potential in its early stages

Target Audience

IT Professionals and Managers who want to know more about agile concepts and terminology
Clients and other stakeholders of agile software development projects
Anyone considering getting involved in agile software development and wanting to get a good initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Auckland Innovation and Technology Summit (Auckland, 30/6/2011)

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:35:29 +1200

Auckland Innovation and Technology Summit

30 June 2011: 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm

OGGB-4 (room 260-073) Owen G Glenn Building 12 Grafton Road Auckland

Help shape the future of technology-led innovation in Auckland

Technology-led innovation in New Zealand faces many challenges, however none are insurmountable.

The NZCS Innovation and Technology Summit, in conjunction with Crown Fibre Holdings, Lloyd Executive Recruitment and the NetHui Conference brings together entrepreneurs, innovators, IT Professionals and others from across Auckland to work together to address the challenges and identify the opportunity of a future of technology-led innovation in Auckland.

It's a time to discuss, debate, reflect, then act.

What's it all about?

Auckland is now a new city. There are plenty of opportunities, but for our city to take advantage we need action. The purpose of this Summit is to come together to discuss how the ICT community can shape the future of innovation in Auckland and help get things on track to make Auckland the innovation and technology hub of the south pacific.

This is your chance to hear from some of the most successful innovators and entrepreneurs in New Zealand but more importantly, a chance to put across your ideas and provide input into the future of our great city. And best of all, it's free!

Panelists include:

Rod Drury, CEO of Xero
Ian McCrae, CEO of Orion Health
Roanne Parker, Owner of Jericho (digital marketing)
Michael Whitehead, Owner of WhereScape
Rhoda Holmes, Managing Director, Raghnall Ltd
Prof John Hosking, Director of Centre for Software Innovation (Auckland University)
Rohan MacMahon, Strategy Director at Crown Fibre
And others.

Example topics might include the opportunities of Ultra Fast Broadband for Auckland, how the new Auckland Council can be leveraged and what other opportunities are now in play.

The event and discussion will be facilitated by the new NZCS Auckland Branch Chair Brett Roberts.

However bring your thinking hats too - this isn't just a sit and listen session. You'll have the opportunity to participate directly in discussion and present your own ideas about making Auckland and New Zealand thrive. The outcomes of this Summit will feed directly into both local and central Government and industry.

Includes refreshments and light meal.

Format

Innovation, like Professionalism, is as much a mindset as it is a set of tools to measure it. So let’s cut through the cr*p and hear from some of the true Auckland ICT entrepreneurs and innovators about how we can get our new super Auckland on track.

Following a panel-style discussion all attendees will have a chance to shape and develop what's been discussed over beer/wine/juice and pizza, then present it back for discussion by a second panel.

Following the main discussion there'll be plenty of opportunity to debate and discuss over refreshments. And this isn’t just a talkfest – the points raised will feed directly into policy discussions at NZCS and through to Government, the Auckland Council and industry.

Also in attendance will be NZCS President Ray Delany, NZCS CEO Paul Matthews, the entire new Auckland Branch Committee and a selection of other leaders from throughout the industry and academia.

Draft Schedule of Event

The draft schedule will be:

5:30pm: Refreshments
6:00pm: First panel discussion of successful Auckland innovators
7:00pm: Break for beer/wine and pizza and group discussions on issues raised
7:30pm: Presentations from groups and second panel discussions of ideas
8:30pm: Closing Refreshments
9:00pm: Conclusion of event

(Agenda subject to change)

A Special Thanks to our Partners

An extra special thanks to premier partner Crown Fibre Holdings for providing the refreshments and Lloyd Executive Recruitment for supporting this event.

In Partnership with the NetHui Conference

This event is presented in partnership with the NetHui Conference (see www.nethui.org.nz). Please note, however, that registration to this event is still necessary even if you have already registered for NetHui.

Introducing the new-look NZCS Auckland Branch Committee

NZCS Auckland Branch Chair Brett Roberts will kick things off with an introduction of the "new look" NZCS Auckland Branch, plans for the year and a quick outline of what NZCS stands for.

Those that haven’t been involved over the last few years may find NZCS has changed - it’s not what you might think.

Registration Details:

Please note: REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL

Thanks to NZCS, Crown Fibre Holdings and Lloyd Executive Recruitment this event is FREE for all those in the ICT and business communities in Auckland – NZCS members and non-members alike.

However register early. Numbers are strictly limited and this event will likely fill fast.

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Social Media - Helping People in an Emergency (Wellington, 30/6/2011)

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:38:01 +1200

Social Media - Helping People in an Emergency

30 June 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

The September Earthquake in Christchurch brought an extraordinary response on-line. In February the on-line response was even better, and lessons learned were applied in Japan.

How did this happen? What is it about new media, and new ways of working, that brought this incredible response together; fast?

Josh Forde and Tim McNamara were part of an immediate response from like minded developers and others, that became a global team, energised by the earthquake in Christchurch.

It can happen again - with the glue we now call Social Media. Come along and hear the story, lessons learnt and how it could apply to your work.

Lunch provided 12:00 to 12:30.

About The Speaker

Josh Forde is a member of Enspiral, who kickstart online businesses and deliver bespoke applications for the web.

He has a background in Institutional Finance working for HSBC in London. In the early aftermath of the February Christchurch earthquake he contributed to the online community Crisis Commons that initiated the eq.org.nz website.

Relying on social media and Skype, he was involved in the team that recruited volunteers to staff the site, and organised the team that made the site usable in just 3 days.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN Presents: Rob O'Connell, Test Maturity Journey (Wellington, 28/6/2011)

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:28:21 +1200

TPN Presents: Rob O'Connell, Test Maturity Journey

28 June 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Test Maturity Journey - Stories from the Roadside

How many people in your organisations have undertaken a programme of improvement? How many have succeeded in realising even part of their aspirations in that journey? Why is it that our intentions and plans are so rarely realised?

Come on a journey, one where the learnings from experience give some ideas and insight into what works, and why some ideas, though helping in a tactical sense, often fail to realise and sustain the change improvements.

Are there ideas around holistic process improvement, structuring and garnering support that can help get better results and realise better outcomes for us as individuals as well as our organisations collectively?

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided by Assurity Consulting.

About The Speaker

Rob O'Connell has over 13 years experience as a test manager and project lead / manager, working in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Testing is Rob's long held area of specialisation, involving various projects across the finance, education, government, energy and insurance sectors. He has extensive experience in the area of the practice of quality and process improvement, and has spent much of the last 5 years involved in the delivery not just of testing services, but of practical process improvement across a number of industries, both in test practices, but also in testing tools.

He currently works for Assurity Consulting and is a member of the chair of the Wellington Test Professional's Network Committee.

Test Professionals Network wish to thank Assurity Consulting Ltd for sponsoring the refreshments.

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

Registration Details:

NZCS members and non-members welcome.

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

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NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Christchurch, 23/6/2011)

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:25:17 +1200

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

23 June 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Jade 19 Sheffield Crescent Burnside Christchurch

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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The CRCNet Project and software for rural wireless network planning (Hamilton, 23/6/2011)

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 03:03:14 +1200

The CRCNet Project and software for rural wireless network planning

23 June 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Gallagher Room 2 Wintec City Campus Tristram Street Hamilton

Providing broadband Internet access in rural areas is a challenge for many countries, including New Zealand. The rolling geography and sparsely populated areas make investment in wired infrastructure hard to recover.

Low cost wireless technologies, such as the 802.11 family of protocols, have been successfully used in many situations to solve this problem. However to date there have not been widescale deployments of 802.11 wireless to provide broadband Internet to rural communities. This is partially due to the high level of knowledge that is required to operate a rural wireless network.

In this presentation Waikato University PhD Candidate Sam Bartels will briefly outline the CRCnet project, which has created a wireless network platform which is currently used to connect a number of rural schools and communities to the west of Hamilton. Using the CRCnet platform the level of technical knowledge required to plan, build and operate a rural wireless network is significantly reduced.

However Sam's research goes one step further, hypothesising that, with the assistance of a suitable software tool, members of these rural communities could undertake the wireless network planning upon themselves. This presentation will outline this research in detail.

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Hamiltonian Sam Bartels is a member of Waikato University's WAND Research Group, a research group focused on a range of networking projects primarily focused on network measurement.

Sam is one of the programmers on the open source Greenstone Digital Library project, PhD candidate, and in his spare time enjoys brewing beer, computer games and the great outdoors.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Web Security Strategies for Developers (Christchurch, 17/6/2011)

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:52:33 +1200

Web Security Strategies for Developers

17 June 2011: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Jade 19 Sheffield Crescent Burnside Christchurch

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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The Government ICT Journey: How we are progressing and what's coming up? (Wellington, 16/6/2011)

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:08:38 +1200

The Government ICT Journey: How we are progressing and what's coming up?

16 June 2011: 7:30 am - 9:00 am

The Grand Dining Room, Level 2, Wellesley Boutique Hotel, 2-8 Maginnity St, Wellington

Government approved the Directions and Priorities for Government ICT in October 2010. Since then there has been much change to the New Zealand fiscal environment which has impacted the State Sector.

Part of the change has been the establishment of the Government ICT Council, made up of senior ICT executives from Government agencies and independendently chaired by ex-Kiwibank CEO Sam Knowles.

There are strong expectations for the public sector to join forces to reduce cost and improve service delivery. This requires cross agency collaboration within vertical accountabilities. The Directions and Priorities for Government ICT set expectations for ICT management and investment.

So what has been done and where are we heading? Join Sam Knowles, Chair of the Government ICT Council, in this NZCS breakfast as he outlines the overall strategy and future direction of ICT in Government.

Includes full sit-down Breakfast from 7:30am. Speaker Begins 8:00am.

This event will sell out - book early to avoid disappointment. Registration preference may be given to NZCS members.

About The Speaker

Sam Knowles has held senior positions for major banks in both Australia and New Zealand and has extensive experience in strategy, marketing, organisational capability building, and private and public sector governance.

Sam is perhaps best known for his role in establishing Kiwibank and subsequently leading the company through its transition from a start-up to an established business with over 700,000 customers, more than a 1000 employees and over $20B under management (combined loans and deposits).

Sam has recently taken up a number of governance roles in growth businesses with a technology focus. These roles include Chairman of Localist Ltd, Chairman of Unlimited Realities Ltd, a director of Xero Ltd and most recently as Independent Chair of the Government ICT Council.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing (Auckland, 15/6/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:15:24 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing

15 June 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

University of Otago House, Level 4 385 Queen Street, Auckland Room 4.12

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice (Auckland, 02/6/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:42:16 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice

2 June 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Cliftons Level 2, Tower Centre 45 Queen Street Auckland

Working from a structured Case Study, the course covers the following:

Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Note that this can be combined with the "Introduction to Project Management" course on the same day, to provide a full-day broad introduction to Project Management theory and practice.

"Introduction to Project Management" isn't a formal prerequisite to this workshop, but is strongly advised.

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management (Auckland, 02/6/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:20:47 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management

2 June 2011: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Cliftons Level 2, Tower Centre 45 Queen Street Auckland

The course will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project

a. Start Up

- Justifying a project
- Developing a Business Case

b. Initiate

                      - Project Planning
                      - Developing a schedule
                      - Quality Planning

c. Delivery

       - Stakeholder Management
       - Quality Management
       - Benefits Management
       - Risk and Issue Management

d. Closedown

- Lessons Learned
- Post project reviews

Further training/certification options

Duration: ½ Day

Objectives

At the end of the course, delegates will be able to:
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Auckland, 02/6/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:10:55 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

2 June 2011: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Cliftons Level 2, Tower Centre 45 Queen Street Auckland

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Dunedin, 01/6/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:56:51 +1300

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

1 June 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Scenic Hotel Southern Cross Cnr Princes & High Streets Dunedin

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

'Selling' the Quake (Christchurch, 26/5/2011)

Fri, 13 May 2011 09:38:36 +1200

'Selling' the Quake

26 May 2011: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Conference Room, Trevinos, Cnr Riccarton Road & Mona Vale Ave, Christchurch

Following the September 4th, 2010 earthquake the Christchurch City Council had the mammoth task of rebuilding the city's infrastructure. A Master Defect List was created in an excel spread-sheet to track the damage. The need for a more mature system was soon obvious and a project was kicked off, then February 22^nd 2011 occurred.

The Christchurch City Council needed to move fast. A solution that could be created quickly and cope with the organic nature of an emergency was needed. The Council found themselves looking inwards at their own systems and then soon found themselves looking towards "The Cloud".

In this presentation Cain Duell will outline benefits and pitfalls of their experience of deploying a cloud solution in an emergency situation. Salesforce.com has been implemented as a crucial part of Christchurch City Council's system for capturing asset damage data and the on-going management of the scoping and design of the work required to reinstate or replace damaged assets.

About The Speaker

Cain Duell is the Business Analysis Team Leader at the Christchurch City Council. He has a varied background from managing the distribution of baked goods across Ireland to installing network and CTV cabling in Greenwich University's historic Greenwich Campus.

Since completing his degree and starting work at the CCC, Cain has worked on a variety of projects in a variety of capacities. Notably he worked as the Functional Analyst and Technical Lead on the implementation of a Salesforce.com solution to manage community funding at the CCC. This was his first foray into the world of cloud computing and was sure not to be his last.

Join us for refreshments and networking after the presentation.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Business Process Management/Modelling: Myths and Surprises (Wellington, 26/5/2011)

Wed, 04 May 2011 15:53:01 +1200

Business Process Management/Modelling: Myths and Surprises

26 May 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Spectrum Theatre BP House Cnr Customhouse Quay & Johnston St. Wellington (Access off Johnston Street)

Business processes are one of the most important pieces of Intellectual Property your business or organisation owns and can be a key differentiator between your business and your competitors.

Business Process Management and Business Process Modelling (BPM) is the science of managing and modelling business processes and should be a fundamentally important component of business management. In this presentation Software Education's Shane Hastie will discuss the current state and good practice related to BPM from both a management and modelling perspective.

Shane will outline and compare the various modelling tools such as Lines & Boxes, UML, BPMN 2.0 and BPEL, explaining their relevance to the business management process, plus explore:

The fact that businesses are all about process
People and process
Mining processes from legacy systems
Processes as assets
The business process lifecycle

This presentation is recommended for anyone involved in business or organisational management or interested in the need to model and manage the business process lifecycle.

About The Speaker

Shane Hastie is the Chief Knowledge Engineer at Software Education where he has provided training and consultancy services since 2002.

Shane has designed and built complex software systems in the financial, agricultural, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, security and aviation industries. This real world experience combined with an innovative mindset and exceptional training skills means he is frequently asked to speak at software industry events.

Shane specialises in business systems analysis, requirements engineering, software project management, software testing and design techniques using traditional Object Oriented as well as Agile methodologies. He holds a Masters degree in Information Management (MIM), is a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), and a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®).

Most recently he has brought his passion for all things Agile to his involvement in the IIBA® working group currently creating an Agile extension to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®), building on that work he has been appointed as a member of the core team building the next version of the BABOK (v 3.0).

Light lunch will be provided

Lunch available from 12pm
Presentation 12.30-1.30pm (sharp)

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Auckland, 20/5/2011)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:03:46 +1200

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

20 May 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Cliftons Level 2, Tower Centre 45 Queen Street Auckland

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Students meet Industry BBQ (Christchurch, 19/5/2011)

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:22:50 +1200

Students meet Industry BBQ

19 May 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Mrs O's Lincoln University Christchurch

Our annual opportunity for industry people to talk about their organisations to tertiary education students has been delayed by the unfortunate circumstances this year, but we are pleased that we are going to be able to run it in May (in an indoor venue).

Come and meet tertiary ICT students from the Canterbury region at Mrs O's on the lovely Lincoln campus.

The ICT industry is vitally dependent on a good flow of graduates, so please join us and:

Let students meet real people from the Canterbury ICT industry
Tell students about your organisation and what it does
Meet students you might like to employ (even if you're not hiring at the moment)
Talk to and encourage students in their studies to help ensure that when you do need new people, there are good students available
Enjoy a relaxing time with some drinks and barbecue food

This event is organised by the NZ Computer Society and sponsored by CPIT, University of Canterbury and Lincoln University.

Thanks to:

Registration Details:

Registration is essential for catering purposes. You can register for this event online now below or email your registration to registrations@nzcs.org.nz.

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2011 Gibbons Lecture 4: Attached processors for real-time applications (Auckland, 18/5/2011)

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 03:24:26 +1200

2011 Gibbons Lecture 4: Attached processors for real-time applications

18 May 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Building/room 423-342 University of Auckland Conference Centre 22 Symonds St Auckland

2011 Gibbons Lectures in association with NZCS

Lecture 4: Attached processors for real-time applications

Although modern single processor computers can easily perform a billion calculations per second, they still cannot even match the capabilities of our vision systems!

However, specialized processors may be attached to a conventional computer to enhance its power. Such processors include reconfigurable logic chips - in which the computing circuits can be changed at will - and the very powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) which are of particular interest nowadays since there's one in almost every desktop computer.

In this lecture we'll look at harnessing a GPU's power to solve some problems that require enormous computing power - one example is human genome matching. Another is a system, developed in our Photogrammetry Laboratory, which can see a 3D world using stereo vision in the same way that our brain uses two eyes to work out the distance to objects that it can see.

Such systems will allow computers to take over many tasks that, for humans, are dangerous, boring or error-prone. But GPUs were designed for a specific application - rendering scenes rapidly for electronic games - and thus are more appropriate for some applications than for others.

Includes refreshments

About The Speaker

Assoc Professor John Morris has a PhD in optical spectroscopy from the University of Sydney, but after an encounter with a 30kV pulsed laser power supply, moved into the much safer computing field - encouraged by the fact that modern processors run on a mere (and touchable) 1.8V now.

He has taught in Melbourne, Tasmania, Western Australia, ChungAng (Seoul), KyungPook (Daegu) and Auckland and had post-docs in NRC Ottawa and Tokyo.

His main research interest is computer architecture and reconfigurable systems and is returning to his starting point in optics with a focus on intelligent vision systems. The high-resolution real-time stereo vision systems in the laboratory at Auckland are a first step in a grand goal to emulate human eye-brain capabilities.

About the Gibbons Lectures

The Gibbons Lectures is an annual series of talks given in the Department of Computer Science in association with the New Zealand Computer Society.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however please register below for catering and to secure your place.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice (Wellington, 18/5/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:37:27 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice

18 May 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NZCS Head Office Level 24 Grand Plimmer Tower 2-6 Gilmer Terrace Wellington

Working from a structured Case Study, the course covers the following:

Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Note that this can be combined with the "Introduction to Project Management" course on the same day, to provide a full-day broad introduction to Project Management theory and practice.

"Introduction to Project Management" isn't a formal prerequisite to this workshop, but is strongly advised.

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Wellington, 18/5/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:07:49 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

18 May 2011: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

NZCS Head Office Level 24 Grand Plimmer Tower 2-6 Gilmer Terrace Wellington

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management (Wellington, 18/5/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:08:20 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management

18 May 2011: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

NZCS Head Office Level 24 Grand Plimmer Tower 2-6 Gilmer Terrace Wellington

The course will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project

a. Start Up

- Justifying a project
- Developing a Business Case

b. Initiate

                      - Project Planning
                      - Developing a schedule
                      - Quality Planning

c. Delivery

       - Stakeholder Management
       - Quality Management
       - Benefits Management
       - Risk and Issue Management

d. Closedown

- Lessons Learned
- Post project reviews

Further training/certification options

Duration: ½ Day

Objectives

At the end of the course, delegates will be able to:
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice (Dunedin, 16/5/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:40:07 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice

16 May 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Scenic Hotel Dunedin City Cnr Princes & Dowling Streets Dunedin

Working from a structured Case Study, the course covers the following:

Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Note that this can be combined with the "Introduction to Project Management" course on the same day, to provide a full-day broad introduction to Project Management theory and practice.

"Introduction to Project Management" isn't a formal prerequisite to this workshop, but is strongly advised.

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Dunedin, 16/5/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:06:39 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

16 May 2011: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Scenic Hotel Dunedin City Cnr Princes & Dowling Streets Dunedin

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management (Dunedin, 16/5/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:17:32 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management

16 May 2011: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Scenic Hotel Dunedin City Cnr Princes & Dowling Streets Dunedin

The course will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project

a. Start Up

- Justifying a project
- Developing a Business Case

b. Initiate

                      - Project Planning
                      - Developing a schedule
                      - Quality Planning

c. Delivery

       - Stakeholder Management
       - Quality Management
       - Benefits Management
       - Risk and Issue Management

d. Closedown

- Lessons Learned
- Post project reviews

Further training/certification options

Duration: ½ Day

Objectives

At the end of the course, delegates will be able to:
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

2011 Gibbons Lecture 3: Co-operating computers - problems and prospects (Auckland, 11/5/2011)

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 03:16:53 +1200

2011 Gibbons Lecture 3: Co-operating computers - problems and prospects

11 May 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Building/room 423-342 University of Auckland Conference Centre 22 Symonds St Auckland

2011 Gibbons Lectures in association with NZCS

Lecture 3: Co-operating computers - problems and prospects

In recent years computer electronic circuitry has become so dense that even personal computers possess two or more processors, or "cores", and this number is likely to grow.

The largest computers have long made use of many processors programmed to cooperate in running problems of coordination and consistency. Large problems requiring large computers tend to be highly structured, and can be broken apart in many ways.

Even so, it has been challenging to solve a single problem using many processors, and as parallel processing comes to personal computers, the problems become much harder: their programs tend to be less structured and harder to divide.

For many problems today, it is difficult to get two computers to solve the problem faster than one. We now know that programming parallel computers is difficult, and new techniques must be developed to meet the challenge.

Includes refreshments

About The Speaker

Professor James Goodman received a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980. He then joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

His research is focused mainly on computer architecture: the hardware/software interface, and particularly on memory, multiprocessors and synchronisation.

His current interests are primarily focused on support for Transactional Memory, a programming model that dramatically simplifies programming for parallel computers. He joined the Auckland CS Department in 2003 while continuing his practical interests in collaboration with Sun Microsystems.

Goodman is most well known for his paper on "Using cache memory to reduce processor-memory traffic" where he was the first to describe snooping cache coherence protocols. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and a Fellow of the ACM.

About the Gibbons Lectures

The Gibbons Lectures is an annual series of talks given in the Department of Computer Science in association with the New Zealand Computer Society.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however please register below for catering and to secure your place.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to ICT Skills Mapping (Wellington, 11/5/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:25:18 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to ICT Skills Mapping

11 May 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Meetings on the Terrace 152 The Terrace Wellington

This half-day course is an introduction to ICT Skills Mapping focused on organisational design, role profiling, integrating skills and competencies, managing gaps and much more.

The workshop will consist of a mixture of presentations, discussions and practical exercises based on real-world examples.

The workshop covers an introduction to the following:

Essential elements of role profiles
How to integrate skills and capabilities
Flexible use of resources
Building motivation and engagement
Managing gaps and refining recruitment practices
SFIA, the Skills Framework for the Information Age
Constructing job descriptions and role profiles
Focused and effective resource allocation and development of career pathways

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will understand the concepts of:

Identifying the organisation structures and roles for the ICT team
Understanding defining ICT job profiles and mapping the skills and competencies to the roles
Evaluating your current staff against the requirements to identify the gaps
Designing development and training plan to close the gaps
Creating more effective job advertisements for better targeted recruitment

Target Audience

Those with existing or prospective responsibility for the development of ICT staff
All levels of management, and HR practitioners who are responsible for development of performance and capability within their organisation
Those interested in maximising the effective assignment of their people to roles and projects

About the Presenter

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Birds of a Feather: ISO/IEC 38500:2008 - Governance of IT (Wellington, 04/5/2011)

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:39:54 +1200

Birds of a Feather: ISO/IEC 38500:2008 - Governance of IT

4 May 2011: 5:15 pm - 6:30 pm

Juniper Restaurant & Bar 1/142 Featherston St, (corner with Johnston St) Wellington

NZCS presents NZCS Book Club: ISO/IEC 38500:2008 - the Governance of IT.

"Birds of a Feather" is an informal facilitated group discussion about a specific topic over a beer, wine or juice.

ISO/IEC 38500:2008 is an international ISO standard covering the governance of IT and this month's Birds of a Feather is focused on discussing this standard and what it means within the context of New Zealand.

Please come along prepared to discuss the "book" with Alison Holt, the Chair of the ISO technical group that produced it... whether you've read it or not! Alison will facilitate discussion over a glass or two of wine.

Join us at Junipers - Two for one on the bubbly!

If you'd like to purchase the standard before the session please go to the Standards New Zealand website.

About The Speaker

NZCS Fellow Alison Holt is the Chair of the ISO group that developed the ISO/IEC 38500:2008 Governance Standard. She has also been involved in practical implementation in a number of NZ organisations.

Registration Details:

Please register for this event below.

NOTE: Gold Coin entry for NZCS members and $10 for non-members - Payable at the door.

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TPN: Model-Oriented Test Automation - Fantasy or Reality? (Auckland, 04/5/2011)

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:08:25 +1200

TPN: Model-Oriented Test Automation - Fantasy or Reality?

4 May 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Drake, Conference Room (Upstairs), 2 Drake Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland.

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland) Presents:

Model-Oriented Test Automation - Fantasy or Reality?

Test automation can be a big challenge for testing organisations. Often, current technologies will demo well, but in daily use they fall flat in the ability to create test automation that keeps up with software changes. This often leads to fewer automated test scripts and higher costs associated with creating and maintaining them.

A new concept, called Business Dynamic Steering, has broken the mold to enable improved productivity in the creation of tests and in the ability to maintain these tests. Dynamic Steering accomplishes this by building a model of the application. Dynamic Steering uses a very direct test case methodology based on concrete values and a distinct execution path. In short, the basic workflow is to build the application model (proxies of the application's graphical and non-graphical interfaces for test automation), use the components to assemble test cases, and enter validation values and actions.

This model-oriented view of test case development, separating the application model from the creation of test cases, significantly simplifies maintenance of tests. Update the model, and all tests cases that utilize the components will be updated.

Who Should Care: Testing organisations that have been struggling to get the desired return on investment (ROI) from existing technologies should investigate emerging technologies that take model-driven approaches.

Presenters:

Thomas Hadorn, TRICENTIS (Australia & New Zealand)

Dominik Weissboeck, TRICENTIS (Australia & New Zealand)

We hope that you can join us for this event.

The Auckland TPN Committee

Event schedule:

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Registration & Networking
5:30 to 6:45pm - Presentation and Questions
6:45 to 7:00pm - Networking & close out

Attendance Cost:

All Welcome

$5.00 inc GST

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Wellington, 04/5/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:37:14 +1300

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

4 May 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Meetings on the Terrace 152 The Terrace Wellington

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

2011 Gibbons Lecture 2: eResearch in New Zealand (Auckland, 03/5/2011)

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 03:04:42 +1200

2011 Gibbons Lecture 2: eResearch in New Zealand

3 May 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Building/room 423-342 University of Auckland Conference Centre 22 Symonds St Auckland

2011 Gibbons Lectures in association with NZCS

Lecture 2: eResearch in New Zealand

"eResearch" is the application of modern, high-performance computing to scientific research.

It is a broad and fast-growing field in its own right, covering established and emerging compute platforms, computer-supported collaborative work, computational semantics, support for domain-specific tools and services, and information science methodologies.

Here we introduce the New Zealand eResearch initiative, and the associated BeSTGRID network, along with examples of the research that is being undertaken, both locally and nationwide.

Includes refreshments

About The Speaker

Mark Gahegan is Director of the Centre for e-Research and Professor in the School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science at the University of Auckland.

He recently relocated to New Zealand following nine years as Associate Director of the GeoVISTA Center for visualisation and spatial analysis research at Pennsylvania State University.

His degrees are in the computing and information sciences. His research interests are at the interface of the natural and computational sciences, concentrating on eResearch, knowledge representation, visualisation and geographical information science.

About the Gibbons Lectures

The Gibbons Lectures is an annual series of talks given in the Department of Computer Science in association with the New Zealand Computer Society.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however please register below for catering and to secure your place.

(More Info)

Web Security Strategies for Developers (Wellington, 28/4/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:30:13 +1300

Web Security Strategies for Developers

28 April 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Aura Information Security Level 12 Tourism & Travel House 79 Boulcott Street Wellington

These days websites are under constant attack and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 day

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Audience

This workshop is essential for:

All developers and designers working on web applications but without formal training in security
Anyone working in the website / web application space
IT Professionals interested in security issues

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Configuration Management: A new approach to the impact on businesses (Wellington, 28/4/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:33:25 +1200

Configuration Management: A new approach to the impact on businesses

28 April 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM Level 11 Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

Many people are uncertain of the meaning of the term Configuration Management. This paper will clarify the term configuration as applied to computers used in support of core business and answer the question "When does a computer system become a configuration?"

The proliferation of new computer-based products with attractive marketing makes the choice of business-support hardware and software difficult. Attempts to integrate packages without due regard to the existing system can lead to difficulties. The paper will outline the traditional approach to managing a configuration and considers growth and change.

This presentation will also propose improvements and advances to increase business efficiency.

About The Speaker

Dr George Allan started professional life as a mathematical statistician and cross-trained as a Systems Analyst.

He progressed through to project director, and in 1991, was appointed as lecturer in Information Systems Project Management at the University of Portsmouth. There he began his Configuration Management research.

George has now become one of the world's foremost exponents of Grounded Theory as a research methodology and has led research seminars at numerous Universities in England, Malaysia, Ireland, and the USA, as well as Auckland Wellington.

Light lunch will be provided

Lunch available 12-12.30pm
Presentation 12.30-1.30pm

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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2011 Gibbons Lecture 1: Computing outside the box (Auckland, 27/4/2011)

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 02:52:17 +1200

2011 Gibbons Lecture 1: Computing outside the box

27 April 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Building/room 423-342 University of Auckland Conference Centre 22 Symonds St Auckland

2011 Gibbons Lectures in association with NZCS

Lecture 1: Computing outside the box

Whitehead observed that "civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them." Thanks to Moore's Law, these operations can nowadays involve increasingly complex information manipulation and computation.

The outsourcing of computing via approaches such as utility computing, on-demand computing, grid computing, software as a service, and cloud computing can further enhance human capabilities, by freeing computer applications from the limiting confines of a single computer. Software that thus runs "outside the box" can be more powerful (Google, TeraGrid), dynamic (Animoto, caBIG), and collaborative (FaceBook, myExperient).

It can also be cheaper, due to economies of scale in hardware and software. Simultaneously, service-oriented architectures make it easier to integrate data and software from many sources. The combination of new functionality and new economics inspires new applications, reduces barriers to entry for application providers, and in general disrupts the computing ecosystem.

This lecture discusses new applications that outside-the-box computing enables; the hardware and software architectures that make these new applications possible; and the social dimensions of outside-the-box computing.

Includes refreshments

About The Speaker

Professor Ian Foster is Director of the Computation Institute, a joint institute of the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory.

Dr. Foster is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the British Computer Society. His awards include the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Next Generation award, the British Computer Society's Lovelace Medal, R&D Magazine's Innovator of the Year.

Ian received his undergraduate degree from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and a PhD from Imperial College, United Kingdom, both in computer science. His research deals with distributed, parallel, and data-intensive computing technologies, and innovative applications of those technologies to scientific problems in such domains as climate change and biomedicine.

Methods and software developed under his leadership underpin many large national and international cyber infrastructures. His research resulted in the development of techniques, tools and algorithms for high-performance distributed computing and parallel computing. As a result he is sometimes called "the father of the Grid".

About the Gibbons Lectures

The Gibbons Lectures is an annual series of talks given in the Department of Computer Science in association with the New Zealand Computer Society.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however please register below for catering and to secure your place.

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Finding Your Keys in the Dark: Unlocking Information across Structured and Unstructured Data (Wellington, 07/4/2011)

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:30:49 +1300

Finding Your Keys in the Dark: Unlocking Information across Structured and Unstructured Data

7 April 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM, Level 11 Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

Finding Your Keys in the Dark: Unlocking Information across Structured and Unstructured Data

Most Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse systems are based on structured data. But structured data is commonly estimated to be only around 15% of all the data in any organisation. So what about the rest? How real is your information if it is based on just 15% of the available data?

This presentation is based on the many years of practical experience that Trish and Clare bring from their respective worlds of structured and unstructured data management and information delivery. They will present some of the pain points, challenges and opportunities that span both structured and unstructured data, including: information strategies, search, mashups, master data, metadata, governance and compliance.

About the Speakers:

Trish O'Kane has 13 years of experience in information and records management, working with a wide range of government, local government and corporate agencies. She is a Charter Member (MRMA) of the Records Management Association of Australia and is active in Australasian and ISO committees.

Trish's current focus is on metadata frameworks, information architecture and the boundary between structured and unstructured information management.

Both Clare and Trish have written papers and given presentations relating to their respective areas of expertise at conferences in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and in Europe.

Light Lunch Provided

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN: Enterprise Tester - NZ-developed Test Tool, taking on the World! (Auckland, 05/4/2011)

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:11:46 +1300

TPN: Enterprise Tester - NZ-developed Test Tool, taking on the World!

5 April 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Drake 2 Drake Street Freemans Bay Auckland.

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

Enterprise Tester: A NZ-developed Test Tool, taking on the World!

Catch Limited is using innovative products, a low-cost internet strategy and disruptive pricing to shake up the software world; now they're reaching out to their local community.

This month CEO, Bryce Day, will be presenting on Catch's flagship product, Enterprise Tester, a web-based, open platform that integrates into leading products like the incident management and help desk product, JIRA from Atlassian.

Customers love this open web-based test platform and the support Catch provide. Come along to this month's TPN meeting to find out why!

Many thanks to Catch for very kindly sponsoring the venue hire.

About The Speaker

Bryce Day is the CEO of Catch Limited, and is about as passionate about software testing as a person can be. He currently travels around New Zealand, Australia and the United States, talking to customers about how they are using Enterprise Tester and finding out what features can be added to allow them to get even more out of their test platform.

Event schedule:

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Registration & Networking
5:30 to 6:45pm - Presentation and Questions
6:45 to 7:00pm - Networking & close out

Cash bar available

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details. Payment can also be made at the door. Receipts will be given.

Please note seats at this location are very limited

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"Meet the President" Evening and Auckland Branch AGM (Auckland, 31/3/2011)

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:27:48 +1300

"Meet the President" Evening and Auckland Branch AGM

31 March 2011: 5:45 pm - 7:15 pm

The Bluestone Room BlueStone Building 9-11 Durham Lane (West) Auckland

"Meet the President" Evening and Auckland Branch AGM

Come and meet the new NZCS President and hear what your Society's been up to.

Come and hear a short presentation from new NZCS President Ray Delany talking about the Society direction over the next 2-3 years, plus NZCS CEO Paul Matthews will give an update on current activities followed by the opportunity for informal discussion and Q+A.

This will be followed by the Auckland Branch AGM.

We ask that all members consider attending this presentation and AGM.

Refreshments from 5:45pm for a 6:15pm start (followed by cash bar and networking).

This is a call to all members to the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Auckland Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies and Proxies
Minutes of last year's AGM
Matters arising
Chairman's report
Councillor's report
Treasurer's report
Result of the Election of Committee and National Councillor
Election of Officers - Chair, Secretary, Treasurer

Followed by networking and a cash bar.

Please email any Apologies of Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Directions

Durham Lane is between Wyndham St and Victoria St West. When walking up Queen Street, turn right; past City Living Hotel.

If driving, turn left into Durham Lane when coming down Queen Street. You can't turn into Durham Lane from the other direction. Parking is next door.

Registration Details

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

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What's happening at NZCS? Meet the new President (and Waikato Branch AGM) (Hamilton, 30/3/2011)

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:37:02 +1300

What's happening at NZCS? Meet the new President (and Waikato Branch AGM)

30 March 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St.

This event has been moved to 5:30pm - apologies for any inconvenience.

What's been happening at NZCS?

Come and meet the new NZCS President and CEO over refreshments!

This will be followed by the Waikato/BoP Branch AGM.

Includes refreshments. We ask that all members in Hamilton show their support and come to this event.

This is a call to all members to the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Waikato/BoP Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies / Minutes / Matters arising
Reports
Result of the Election of Committee
Election of Officers (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer)

Please email any Apologies or Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz.

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

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Let your hair down with pizza and beer (and branch AGM) (Christchurch, 24/3/2011)

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:40:42 +1300

Let your hair down with pizza and beer (and branch AGM)

24 March 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Jade Software Corporation, 19 Sheffield Crescent, Burnside Christchurch

Pizza and Beer evening, Meet the new President, and Canterbury Branch AGM.

As we all know, Christchurch and Canterbury has been through a rough time. However now it's time to begin putting our lives back together and this event's a great opportunity to get together with others in the ICT industry over free beer and pizza.

Also in attendance to show support to Christchurch will be new NZCS President Ray Delany and NZCS CEO Paul Matthews to talk informally about what the Society's been up to and how we can continue to support our members and others in the Canterbury region.

This is a chance to relax, let your hair down and have a good natter over free beer and pizza.

Oh, and the Branch AGM will be held at the same time, but we promise to keep the formality to a minimum!

Bring your partner if you like, and see you there!

AGM Agenda

Apologies / Minutes / Matters arising
Reports (written)
Result of the Election of Committee and Councillor
Election of Officers

Please email any Apologies of Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however, we ask that you please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event online now by using this link registrations@nzcs.org.nz below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255.

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members and their partners only

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What's happening at NZCS? Meet the new President and Otago Branch AGM (Dunedin, 24/3/2011)

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:28:28 +1300

What's happening at NZCS? Meet the new President and Otago Branch AGM

24 March 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Plaza Conference Room Ground Floor Dunedin City Council 50 The Octagon Dunedin

What's been happening at NZCS?

Come and meet the new NZCS President and CEO over a free lunch!

This will be followed by the Otago/Southland Branch AGM.

Includes light lunch. We ask that all members in Otago show their support and come to this event.

This is a call to all members to the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Otago Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies / Minutes / Matters arising
Reports
Result of the Election of Committee
Election of Officers (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer)

Please email any Apologies or Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz.

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

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Privacy and the Global Cloud, Marie Shroff (Wellington, 17/3/2011)

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:19:31 +1300

Privacy and the Global Cloud, Marie Shroff

17 March 2011: 7:30 am - 9:00 am

The Grand Dining Room, Level 2, Wellesley Boutique Hotel, 2-8 Maginnity St, Wellington

Privacy and the Global Cloud, Marie Shroff

The Cloud has arrived, so what are the impacts on Privacy, and the role of the Privacy Commissioner?

Increasingly, we work and play in a cyber-world. Business and governments are fast becoming involved in offshore and cloud computing. Internationally, privacy commissioners are necessarily highly active in building new connections and strategies that will cater for this environment.

This presentation investigates this new global context, reviews the point at which New Zealand businesses and government are at, and discusses the opportunities and risks posed for those working in the ICT industry.

Join New Zealand Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff and other senior IT managers from around Wellington for Breakfast - Marie's experience has such immense relevance for all of our work as we start moving our data off-site and into the "cloud".

Includes Full Breakfast

About The Speaker

Marie Shroff was appointed to the independent statutory position of Privacy Commissioner in late 2003. Her responsibilities include independent comment on significant personal information policies and issues, providing opinions on privacy complaints made against government and business, monitoring government data matching and promoting good personal information handling practices in New Zealand.

Previously she was responsible, among other things, for guiding the Cabinet Office and Government House through the transition from a first past the post electoral system to proportional representation and coalition government in New Zealand. As Secretary/Clerk she worked with four Governors-General, six Prime Ministers, and governments of various parties, so perhaps it is surprising, or is it necessary, that she has a great sense of humour.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Wellington Branch AGM 2011 and "Meet the President" Evening (Wellington, 16/3/2011)

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:42:59 +1300

Wellington Branch AGM 2011 and "Meet the President" Evening

16 March 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The Business Centre Ground Floor Radio New Zealand House 155 The Terrace Wellington

Wellington Branch AGM 2011 and "Meet the President" Evening

This is a call to all members to the 46^th Annual General Meeting of the Wellington Branch of the NZCS.

A short presentation from new NZCS President Ray Delany will follow the AGM talking about the Society direction over the next 2-3 years, plus NZCS CEO Paul Matthews will give an update on current activities followed by the opportunity for informal discussion and Q+A over refreshments.

Come and meet the new NZCS President!

AGM Agenda

Apologies
Minutes of the meeting 4th March 2010
Matters arising
Chairman's report
Councillor's report
Treasurer's report
Result of the Election of Committee
Election of Officers

Please email any Apologies of Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

Attendance is free, however, we ask that you please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz.

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WFIA presents: Shaken but not Stirred (Auckland, 02/3/2011)

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:39:57 +1300

WFIA presents: Shaken but not Stirred

2 March 2011: 7:15 am - 8:30 am

The Bluestone Room BlueStone Building 9-11 Durham Lane (West) Auckland

NZCS "World Famous in Auckland" presents: Shaken but not Stirred

Ian Tuke Commercial Director at Plan-b, will share the recent experience of 3 well known NZ organisations as they were struck by significant disruptive events - including the Christchurch earthquake.

It will look at the different measures that the organisations had in place to ensure their businesses could keep serving their Customers and will provide good insight into lessons learned post-event.

He will also touch on how NZCS professionals can leverage the new Business Continuity standard to benefit your business.

Includes a full breakfast

About The Speaker

Ian has 19 years experience in helping organisations manage risk and supporting them through unexpected events.

He served in the NZ Police for 13 years, the majority of which was in the CIB. He then established and managing NZ Immigration's global verification function before moving into professional services, becoming a senior manager with KPMG's Australasian forensic practice.

This is Ian's 4th year at Plan-b, NZ's largest Business Continuity Service provider.

Directions

Durham Lane is between Wyndham St and Victoria St West.

When walking up Queen Street, turn right; past City Living Hotel.

If driving, turn left into Durham Lane when coming down Queen Street. You can't turn into durham Lane from the other direction. Parking is next door.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services (Wellington, 01/3/2011)

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:47:26 +1300

Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

1 March 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

PowerHouse People L4 Deloitte House 10 Brendon St Wellington

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT and the Future of Aged Care Services.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

The statistics around the aging population in New Zealand are worrying whichever way we look at it. Currently over 500,000 people are aged 65+, projected to double by 2028. By 2051, greater than 25% of our population is expected to be over 70.

This increase will bring about major logistical issues in how we, as a country, care for our elderly. More people will require support, and already the ratio of nurses and care-givers to elderly clients is low.

Can technology help bridge this gap?

The value of robotics for healthcare could be huge in terms of health, societal and economic benefits. Robots offer the promise of sustainable and affordable health provision without compromising quality of care.

Some products are already available, like the surgical robot Da Vinci, which helps the surgeon, who sits at a special console, to perform very precise minimally invasive surgery procedures, and the care-bot, which monitors patients and helps them with daily routine activities at the same time. These are just the beginning of a completely new way of delivering healthcare services.

In addition to this, the University of Auckland Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Intelligent Robot Division of Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and the Selwyn Foundation are jointly working on revolutionising the field with the creation of Charlie, the 21st Century Care-Giver.

Charlie(s) will help nursing staff and independently-living elderly with tasks that can be effectively managed by a robotic device, such as:

Vital signs monitoring and recording
Information management
Medication reminders
Patient identity and tracking
General fetch and carry tasks
Video and audio links to families and carers
Falls monitoring

In this presentation Gillian Reid FNZCS ITCP, Deputy Chair of the Selwyn Foundation, will outline how technologies such as Charlie are innovating aged-care healthcare, how and why Charlie was designed, and the impact early prototypes are making in trials at Selwyn Village in Auckland.

Beer, wine and nibbles will be provided.

About The Speaker

Dr Gillian Reid (QSM) is a Fellow of NZCS (FNZCS) and ITCP, and has been Head of the Computer Studies and Applied Mathematics Department of the Auckland Institute of Technology and a lecturer in Management at the University of Auckland.

She was the first IT Director of Sky City Ltd, and has worked as a senior ICT manager in software development companies and for international ICT service delivery companies such as IBM and EDS. She now has her own successful ICT Consultancy.

Along with these professional positions, she has applied her ICT knowledge to many executive positions in the voluntary sector. She was the first woman President of the New Zealand Computer Society. She is also a past President and Assistant Secretary General of the South East Asian Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC), and was awarded the QSM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2010 for services to the community.

She is currently Deputy Chair of the Selwyn Foundation, a large Anglican charitable trust operating over several sites throughout the upper North Island, that provides care for the elderly. It is in this role that she has been part of the strategic implementation of ICT in the Selwyn Foundation Group to change the way service delivery to the elderly is considered and managed.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Security Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers (Auckland, 01/3/2011)

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:23:51 +1300

Security Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers

1 March 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Cliftons Level 2, Tower Centre 45 Queen Street Auckland

Security Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers

Duration: 1/2 Day

These days websites are under constant attack, and it's incredibly easy for a developer or administrator to make seemingly minor mistakes that have catastrophic consequences.

This is an absolutely essential workshop for software and web developers, designers, web teams and administrators.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you'll have a good understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericsson.

Andy launched the Aura group of companies in 2001 and Aura Software Security has developed into one of NZ’s leading IT Security Consulting practises with many significant clients including the NZ Government, Xero, and Banking and Corporate companies in New Zealand and overseas.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NZCS Corporate Partners and approved organisations can opt to pay by invoice by calling 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee and business details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz. Credit criteria and other conditions apply.

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Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services (Hamilton, 01/3/2011)

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:44:04 +1300

Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

1 March 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Event Room 2 Bill Gallagher Centre City Campus Gate 5 Tristram Street Hamilton

Can technology help bridge this gap?

Charlie(s) will help nursing staff and independently-living elderly with tasks that can be effectively managed by a robotic device, such as:

Vital signs monitoring and recording
Information management
Medication reminders
Patient identity and tracking
General fetch and carry tasks
Video and audio links to families and carers
Falls monitoring

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services (Auckland, 24/2/2011)

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:41:50 +1300

Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

24 February 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

AWI International Education Group Ground Floor, 401 Queen Street Auckland

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT and the Future of Aged Care Services.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

Can technology help bridge this gap?

Charlie(s) will help nursing staff and independently-living elderly with tasks that can be effectively managed by a robotic device, such as:

Vital signs monitoring and recording
Information management
Medication reminders
Patient identity and tracking
General fetch and carry tasks
Video and audio links to families and carers
Falls monitoring

About The Speaker

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN: Brian Osman - Using Heuristics to Help Design your Tests (Wellington, 22/2/2011)

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:01:09 +1300

TPN: Brian Osman - Using Heuristics to Help Design your Tests

22 February 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1Grey Street Wellington

NZCS TPN Presents: Brian Osman, Using Heuristics to Help Design your Tests

On a lot of projects, testers are faced with limited time, incomplete documentation or are told to have a 'play in the system.' Often testers take an exploratory approach to testing but how do we design tests that allow us to be more effective and move beyond 'playing in the system'?

By definition, a heuristic is a fallible method to solve a problem and quite often testers encounter a number of situations where heuristics become a useful guide to test design. What we will explore is how heuristics can help guide our thinking towards test design, problem solving and problem finding.

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided by Software Education.

About The Speaker

Brian Osman holds ISTQB Foundation Software Tester Certification, as well as ISTQB Advanced Test Manager and ISTQB Advanced Test Analyst certification, and in 2010 Brian gained the ISTQB Advanced Level Technical Test Analyst certification, making him the first person in Australasia to gain the full suite of ISTQB advanced certifications.

Brian is also a member of the Association of Software Testing.

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

TPN also wish to thank Software Education for providing the drinks and nibbles.

Registration Details:

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome

NOTE: Please pay $5 at the door

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Seminar Series: Project Management in Practice (Christchurch, 22/2/2011)

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:06:01 +1300

Seminar Series: Project Management in Practice

22 February 2011: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm

All Seasons Hotel (formerly Hotel So) 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

Project Management in Practice

Duration: 1 Day

This course follows on from well attended and highly successful introduction to project management course run by NZCS. The half-day course gave an introduction to project management which addresses the basics of project management and its terminology and methods. This course builds on this by working through practical, hands on exercises with the intention that you will be able to practice your learnings in real life.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects

It is recommended that you complete the half day Introduction to Project Management before commencing this course.

Approach

You will work in small groups on exercises designed to give you real life skills. The course facilitator will assist you with his 20 years of hands on project management experience. Along with small group exercises there will be a review by the wider class of knowledge and techniques.

Course Content

The course covers the following:

The project organisation structure: In this exercise you will design a project organisation and understand what the project and specific roles of governance are. Along with this you will develop an understanding of how to pick the best people for these roles.
Project goals and objectives: In this exercise you will design a project organisation and understand how a business case relevant to a project is developed.
Risk analysis: In this exercise you will brainstorm project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise on one of them. You will develop an understanding of how to reduce the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project decision making: In this exercise you will describe a project decision making process and understand how the decision making process will work for the structure outlined above,
Planning: In this exercise you will work through specific planning techniques for an example project. You will understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur. You will also develop an understanding of the roles of specific plans for procurement, communications and human resource management.
Quality: In this exercise you will document a specific quality approach for a project and understand how to plan for a quality result and not over engineer.
Development of a PID or Charter: In this exercise you will fill out a PID or Charter for a specific project and understand the process of ensuring that that everyone has the same view of a project.
Change management: In this exercise you will work through a specific change management exercise and understand the change management processes.
Day to day project management: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and understand the specific things a Project Manager needs to do on a day to day basis.
Team interaction: In this exercise you will develop instructions for teams producing project deliverables and understand what formal and informal processes are required when interacting with teams.
Keeping a track of deliverables: In this exercise we will look at techniques for tracking project deliverables and understand what processes need to be in place to ensure the project keeps track everything it produces.

Your Trainer

Paul Sutton operates Project Results bringing hands on experience as a Technology Professional, Project Management Trainer, Coach and Practitioner. Paul has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Canterbury in Computer Science and Operations Research.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society he currently holds PMP^® and MSP^TM Practitioner certifications. He is also a Gateway Reviewer and an Accredited PRINCE2^TM Trainer.

The Course

Goal Professional Services provides expert project management consultancy and courseware across Australasia. Goal offers a wider range of course options and with a huge range of experience you can be sure you will be given best practice knowledge.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Seminar Series: Introduction to Project Management (Christchurch, 21/2/2011)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:00:27 +1300

Seminar Series: Introduction to Project Management

21 February 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

All Seasons Hotel (formerly Hotel So) 1st Floor Conference Room165 Cashel St Christchurch

Introduction to Project Management

Duration: 1/2 Day

This half-day course is an introduction to project management which addresses the basics of project management and its terminology and methods - perfect for anyone managing small projects already or looking to move into project management.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to apply a framework for effective management of small projects, without the overhead of a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects

Approach

You'll be led, not lectured, through real world examples from the real-world experience your trainer brings. You'll learn concepts and techniques applicable to any type of small project. We will provide you with simple tools and techniques to get you off to a flying start.

Course Content

The course covers the following:

The nature of project management
The role of the project sponsor
Risk and Issue management
Quality management
Stakeholders
Benefits
Procurement
Project planning
Project justification
The Planning Phase
The Delivery Phase
The Harvest Phase

Your Trainer

The Course

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Seminar Series: Project Management in Practice (Wellington, 18/2/2011)

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:28:22 +1300

Seminar Series: Project Management in Practice

18 February 2011: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Meetings on the Terrace Seminar Room 152 The Terrace Wellington

Project Management in Practice

Duration: 1 Day

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects

It is recommended that you complete the half day Introduction to Project Management before commencing this course.

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

The project organisation structure: In this exercise you will design a project organisation and understand what the project and specific roles of governance are. Along with this you will develop an understanding of how to pick the best people for these roles.
Project goals and objectives: In this exercise you will design a project organisation and understand how a business case relevant to a project is developed.
Risk analysis: In this exercise you will brainstorm project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise on one of them. You will develop an understanding of how to reduce the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project decision making: In this exercise you will describe a project decision making process and understand how the decision making process will work for the structure outlined above,
Planning: In this exercise you will work through specific planning techniques for an example project. You will understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur. You will also develop an understanding of the roles of specific plans for procurement, communications and human resource management.
Quality: In this exercise you will document a specific quality approach for a project and understand how to plan for a quality result and not over engineer.
Development of a PID or Charter: In this exercise you will fill out a PID or Charter for a specific project and understand the process of ensuring that that everyone has the same view of a project.
Change management: In this exercise you will work through a specific change management exercise and understand the change management processes.
Day to day project management: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and understand the specific things a Project Manager needs to do on a day to day basis.
Team interaction: In this exercise you will develop instructions for teams producing project deliverables and understand what formal and informal processes are required when interacting with teams.
Keeping a track of deliverables: In this exercise we will look at techniques for tracking project deliverables and understand what processes need to be in place to ensure the project keeps track everything it produces.

Your Trainer

The Course

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services (Christchurch, 10/2/2011)

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:38:40 +1300

Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

10 February 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

All Seasons Hotel (formerly Hotel So) 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT and the Future of Aged Care Services.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

Can technology help bridge this gap?

Charlie(s) will help nursing staff and independently-living elderly with tasks that can be effectively managed by a robotic device, such as:

Vital signs monitoring and recording
Information management
Medication reminders
Patient identity and tracking
General fetch and carry tasks
Video and audio links to families and carers
Falls monitoring

About The Speaker

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN: Optimal Usability - Shailesh Manga (Auckland, 10/2/2011)

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:49:18 +1300

TPN: Optimal Usability - Shailesh Manga

10 February 2011: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Drake, 2 Drake Street Freemans Bay Auckland.

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

Optimal Usability - Shailesh Manga

Optimal Usability provides consultancy services to help evaluate and improve the usability of products, services, environments and interactions.

Using scientifically rigorous processes grounded in psychology to help organisations simplify their interfaces, making them more intuitive and easier to use.

Their job is to find out what customers find confusing or frustrating, and then provide solutions. The result encourages and enables earlier adoption and higher productivity through increased usage, improved user satisfaction, and enhanced brand image.

About The Speaker

Shailesh has a passion for tackling complex problems (no doubt from his background as a physicist). He is skilled at helping organisations structure themselves and execute on projects to deliver world-class customer experiences. Shailesh's role as a Director of Optimal Usability connects him to many international usability and customer experience professionals. This broad knowledge allows Shailesh to challenge and extend New Zealand clients in the area of customer experience at both a strategic and project level.

Shailesh's recent activities have included spending 4 months in the US working with another User Experience firm, speaking at conferences, helping clients develop strategies that are customer focused, building up UX teams and incorporating service design into organisations. He also struggles to leave projects alone and most recently enjoyed working on the customer testing phases of the Air New Zealand Sky Couch project.

Event schedule

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Registration & Networking
5:30pm to 6:30pm - Speaker (including Q&A session)
6:30pm to 7:00pm - Networking & close out

NZCS members and non-members welcome

Cash bar available

Registration Details:

Please note seats at this location are very limited

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ISSIG: SANS 20 critical controls and DSD 35 mitigating controls (Wellington, 10/2/2011)

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:32:47 +1300

ISSIG: SANS 20 critical controls and DSD 35 mitigating controls

10 February 2011: 3:15 pm - 5:30 pm

Room 512A/B 5th Floor, WelTec 11 - 17 Church Street (off Boulcott Street) Wellington

NZCS Information Security SIG (ISSIG) presents:

Attacks occur all the time and thus far the response from most organisations is reactive. How do we change this around?

There are a number of resources and strategies available to the security professional. The SANS 20 critical controls and the DSD 35 mitigating controls are part of these. In the talk we will explore the attacks that have been occurring and which have been changing the landscape. We'll also explore how the controls can help improve the security in your organisation.

About the Speaker

Mark Hofman is a consultant at Shearwater Solutions. He is also an incident handler for the Internet Storm Centre as well as one of the SANS Institute's instructors. He has been working in information security since the early 90's.

He has worked for both private industry and government and has provided a wide range of information security consulting services to numerous organisations, including the financial sector, private sector, and government. Mark has had a number of publications and has trained and lectured internationally.

Agenda

3.15pm Assemble/Register

3.30pm Presentation

4.45pm Networking

Door Prize:

There will also be a $100 book token door prize for an ISSIG member selected at random.

Special Training Opportunity

SANS - Security 401: SANS Security Essentials Bootcamp Style 7 - 12 March 2011

SANS - Security 504: Hacker Techniques, Exploits & Incident Handling

SANS and Shearwater Solutions will be bringing SANS' most popular course to New Zealand for SANS Wellington 2011 on 7-12 March.

Course and registration details here: (http://www.sans.org/info/69284)

SANS have offered a 10% discount for ISSIG & NZCS members registering for the Courses.

This is a special opportunity for Info Sec professionals to take part in this SANS comprehensive Security Essentials training course and qualify to take the GSEC certification exam.

See an overview of the course here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpoep3Dskb0

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services (Dunedin, 10/2/2011)

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:22:17 +1300

Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

10 February 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Seminar Room, Centre for Innovation (Big glass building) St David Street Dunedin

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT and the Future of Aged Care Services.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

Can technology help bridge this gap?

Charlie(s) will help nursing staff and independently-living elderly with tasks that can be effectively managed by a robotic device, such as:

Vital signs monitoring and recording
Information management
Medication reminders
Patient identity and tracking
General fetch and carry tasks
Video and audio links to families and carers
Falls monitoring

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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WFIA: Privacy Issues - Home and Abroad (Auckland, 02/2/2011)

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:16:09 +1300

WFIA: Privacy Issues - Home and Abroad

2 February 2011: 7:15 am - 8:30 am

The Bluestone Room BlueStone Building 9-11 Durham Lane (West) Auckland

NZCS "World Famous in Auckland" presents: Privacy Issues – Home and Abroad

Privacy is an evergreen issue for the IT Industry and you’ll have noticed it hitting the headlines again in the last few days.

What is less well known is that our own Office of the Privacy Commissioner hosted the December Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum meeting here in Auckland. The Forum meets twice a year and includes delegates from ten countries including the USA, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea and New Zealand.

Join Assistant Privacy Commissioner Katrine Evans for breakfast and insights to both local and international privacy issues.

Includes a full breakfast

About The Speaker

Katrine Evans is the Assistant Privacy Commissioner (Legal and Policy).

Katrine joined the Office in August 2004, after a ten-year career as a law lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington. She is legal counsel to the Privacy Commissioner, leads and manages litigation and gives advice in the area of investigations.

She also manages the Office's communications, policy, technology and data matching work.

Directions

Durham Lane is between Wyndham St and Victoria St West.

When walking up Queen Street, turn right; past City Living Hotel.

If driving, turn left into Durham Lane when coming down Queen Street. You can’t turn into durham Lane from the other direction. Parking is next door.

Click Here for a map.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Overview of Government Common ICT Capability Roadmap (Wellington, 27/1/2011)

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:10:57 +1300

Overview of Government Common ICT Capability Roadmap

27 January 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Spectrum Theatre BP House Cnr Customhouse Quay & Johnston St. (Access off Johnston Street)

Following on from Stephen Crombie’s breakfast presentation last month, Brian More will present and explain a high-level conceptual overview of the Government Common ICT Capability Roadmap which has been created for the purpose of surfacing All-of-Government Common ICT capabilities and also one of the tools for driving, enabling and monitoring the new Directions and Priorities for Government ICT.

The outcome of this process will generate a dynamic All-of Government Common ICT Capability implementation.

A light lunch will be provided

About The Speaker

Brian More is the Chief Architect, Government Technology Services (GTS) at Department of Internal Affairs. His proven ability to lead people through change in a challenging environment led to his appointment in early 2010. This is a pivotal role managing complex relationships across All-of-Government and providing strategic, people, and technical leadership.

Brian’s experience spans more than 20 years in Information Technology across Public Sector, Telecommunications, Banking and Finance industries.

Prior to his current role he was General Manager, Group Technology at Telecom.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Waikato ICT Christmas Curry (Hamilton, 15/12/2010)

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:39:47 +1300

Waikato ICT Christmas Curry

15 December 2010: 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Little India 4 Alexandra Street Cnr Alexandra & Hood Streets Hamilton

Kick-start the summer heat with a delicious curry dinner held for the Hamilton ICT industry. We're holding a curry banquet at Little India with festive company and the opportunity to chat and network with others.

As well as the opportunity for informal discussion, our Waikato/BOP National Councillor, David Hallett is available to discuss the IT industry and profession in New Zealand, opportunities, and the big picture of where we're heading and why.

Registration Details:

It is essential to book for this event - no door registrations can be accepted!

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

Cash Bar Operating
NB: The event includes wine provided by NZCS, however additional drinks are at bar costs, payable to the wait staff.

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Project Management Discussion and Christmas Gathering (Nelson, 14/12/2010)

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:06:58 +1300

Project Management Discussion and Christmas Gathering

14 December 2010: 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Orangerie Restaurant, Monaco Resort, 6 Point Road, Nelson

Project Management Discussion and Christmas Gathering

Project Management is an ever-evolving discipline and one that most ICT professionals grapple with. There has been a focus on this area of late by a number of industry groups, including the NZCS and one of Nelsons biggest NZCS events was on the topic of different PM methodologies.

Given the time of the year, it has been decided to run a workshop/information session with a good opportunity for networking before everyone heads off for summer. The format will provide education, relevant real-world case studies and a good chance for discussion.

This event is being kindly sponsored by Datacom and in a break from the normal events, we are heading to Monaco for this one.

There will be finger food and a round of drinks for attendees so please register for catering numbers.

About The Speaker

Matthew Dodd has been in the IT industry for over 20 years. He has a software development background and has a wealth of project management experience gained both in Nelson but also in Australia and other parts of New Zealand.

Matthew will present some of his own experiences and facilitate a group learning session before handing over to three other Nelson ICT leaders for short presentations on a selection of Nelson projects from 2010.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event online now by using this link registrations@nzcs.org.nz, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your details.

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NZCS Innovation Day - Wellington (Wellington, 09/12/2010)

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:45:37 +1300

NZCS Innovation Day - Wellington

9 December 2010: 8:45 am - 6:30 pm

Civic Suite, Wellington Convention Centre 2nd Floor, Wellington Town Hall 111 Wakefield St Wellington

Innovation Day - this Thursday!

NZCS Innovation Day 2010 is a mini-conference packed full of keynotes, presentations, panels, and discussion about innovation and ICT.

Following many requests NZCS brings you this encore event to the hugely successful NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference in September.

If you didn't make it to Rotorua this is an event absolutely not to be missed. A combination of some of the country's leading ICT innovators and a crowd of people thirsty for innovation will make this an event like no other.

If you were at the Conference come along to this event to check out the presentations you missed and to continue the innovation story and discussion.

From the AirNZ SkyCouch to adaptive tech to succeeding in business - these fascinating presentations cover a huge spectrum of topics in and around ICT.

Full details at http://nzcs.org.nz/InnovationDay

Huge speaker lineup

Being an encore of the NZCS "50 Years of ICT Innovation" 50th Anniversary Conference we've secured some of the country's top entrepreneurs and innovators from throughout the ICT and creative sectors, including conference keynotes Rod Drury and Ian Taylor.

Please see http://nzcs.org.nz/InnovationDay for full details

Rod Drury: Building Global Technology Businesses from NZ

Founder of Xero, the award-winning Software-as-a-Service company currently redefining small business accounting, Rod Drury was previously founder and CEO of AfterMail which was acquired by Quest Software in January 2006 and subsequently won Best Exchange Product at TechEd 2006 in Boston.

Rod is passionate about inspiring New Zealanders to innovate, and will focus primarily on removing barriers to innovation in New Zealand.

More information on Rod's presentation

Ian Taylor: Innovation in the Deep South

Ian Taylor (Ngati Kahungunu) is recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading Maori innovators and has established three successful technology businesses from his base in Dunedin: Taylormade Media – a television and multi media company; Animation Research Ltd (ARL), one of the country’s most celebrated high tech companies; and BookIt, a specialist on line booking company.

Taylor revolutionalised the way the world watched sport with the creation of real-time 3D graphics for the Americas Cup. This was later expanded to cover other sports such as Golf, Cricket, Motorsport, Gliding and Aerosports.

More information on Ian's presentation

Trent Mankelow: The Skycouch: A lesson in User Centred Design

In this presentation Optimal Usability co-founder and CEO Trent Mankelow will outline the successfully focused approach taken with Air New Zealand’s new lie-flat Skycouch plus other user-centred products and services, in doing so outlining some of the essential usability secrets in the context of software.

More information on Trent's presentation

Marie Shroff: Privacy and Technology - Innovative Partners

"Privacy by Design" is an exciting and innovative discipline giving us a shared path to start the next 50 year journey. Privacy by Design is part of the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum, and this presentation will include practical advice on how IT professionals can think about this important concept while innovating in the future.

More information on Marie's presentation

Francois Marier: 35 Years of Open Source: From the University lab to Enterprise

Francois Marier will take you on a journey through the last 35 years of computing, and the likely future direction. Using portraits of notable personalities in the Open Source community and the wider industry, the basic tenets of Open Source will be explained through the events that defined this movement from its humble roots in the early computer clubs to the global industry it has spawned.

More information on Francois' presentation

Nicolas Steenhout: The Evolution of Assistive Technology into Everyday Products

Nicolas Steenhout is a person with a disability who has worked in disability awareness and services for many years.

This presentation will explore some of the hacks often developed by people with disabilities to handle the physical world as well as changes in the physical world intended for people with disabilities, and how these hacks and changes benefit the general public.

More information on Nicolas' presentation

John Rusk: Aerospace Project Management Meets Number 8 Wire

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a powerful technique for tracking and predicting the progress of projects. It has been used for many years in the American defense and aerospace industries, but has not yet become common practice in New Zealand. This presentation will show how EVM can be simplified to suit New Zealand conditions, with a particular emphasis on agile software development projects.

More information on John's presentation

Collaboration and Discussion

Innovation Day isn't just about expert and inspirational presentations - it's also an opportunity to engage, collaborate and discuss innovation in New Zealand.

Catalysing Innovation Panel

This panel of experts exploring how New Zealand can create the best possible environment for innovative and entrepreneurial success in ICT.

Panelists TBA

Innovation Hui

The Innovation Hui is your chance to discuss innovation in New Zealand. NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews will facilitate this all-of-room discussion on catalysing innovation. The ideas explored in this session will directly lead to NZCS policy and be presented to leaders in Government.

Full details of Innovation Day at http://nzcs.org.nz/innovationday

Draft Programme

This Draft Programme is subject to change. Please see below for more information about these presentations.

08:45am Arrival Coffee
09:10am Welcome
09:15am Rod Drury: The Next Phase: Building Global Technology Businesses from NZ
10:00am Trent Mankelow: The Skycouch: A lesson in User Centred Design
10:35am Morning Tea, sponsored by DesignerTech
10:55am John Rusk: Aerospace Project Management Meets Number 8 Wire
11:30am Nicolas Steenhout: The Evolution of Assistive Technology into Everyday Products
12:05pm Lunch, sponsored by 3Months.com
01:00pm Catalysing Innovation Panel
02:05pm Marie Shroff: Privacy and Technology – Innovative Partners
02:40pm Afternoon Tea, sponsored by Codec
02:55pm Francois Marier: 35 Years of Open Source: From the University lab to Enterprise
03:30pm Innovation Hui, facilitated by Paul Matthews
04:30pm Ian Taylor: Innovation in the Deep South
05:15pm Refreshments, sponsored by Microsoft
06:30pm Innovation Day concludes

All catering and refreshments provided.

Bring your whole team

As well as coming along yourself we strongly suggest bringing your whole team - you won't find a better end-of-year event to inspire and motivate your team, young and old alike.

It would be hard to find a better way to finish the year.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

There are strictly limited seats available at both these events - we strongly recommend getting in quick to avoid disappointment.

New Zealand has some of the most innovative and intelligent entrepreneurs and development teams in the world, but what differentiates a great product or service from a good one? Why do some companies struggle despite providing the best technology while others leap ahead?

In this presentation Optimal Usability co-founder and CEO Trent Mankelow will outline the successfully focused approach taken with Air New Zealand’s new lie-flat Skycouch plus other user-centred products and services, in doing so outlining some of the essential usability secrets in the context of software.

More information on Trent's presentation

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Xmas Party with Canterbury Software Cluster (Christchurch, 07/12/2010)

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:52:20 +1300

Xmas Party with Canterbury Software Cluster

7 December 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Club XO 1st Floor (above Liquidity) 128 Oxford Terrace Christchurch

Xmas Party with Canterbury Software Cluster

You are invited to join in the festivities when NZCS Canterbury Branch again joins with Canterbury Software Incorporated to celebrate Christmas in Canterbury.

Canterbury Software Incorporated are our hosts for this event and they are promising an Xmas Party with “lots of good times, great company, plenty of refreshments and a prize draw”.

The cost of attendance is $10 at the door for everyone plus any relevant charge shown below. Note that NZCS Canterbury Branch is sponsoring members for their additional per head charge.

Please ensure to register (since it's a combined event) no later than Friday 3 December.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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WFIA Breakfast: 100% Innovation - Export Growth and Productivity Opportunities for the ICT and Hi-Tech Industry (Auckland, 07/12/2010)

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:35:20 +1300

WFIA Breakfast: 100% Innovation - Export Growth and Productivity Opportunities for the ICT and Hi-Tech Industry

7 December 2010: 7:15 am - 8:30 am

The Bluestone Rooms Bluestone Building 9-11 Durham Lane (West) Auckland City

100% Innovation - Export Growth and Productivity Opportunities for the ICT and Hi-Tech Industry

Join us for this flagship NZCS Auckland branch event - the last “world famous in Auckland” breakfast for 2010.

This is a great opportunity to catch up with past speakers, sponsors, corporate partners and other significant professionals and executives from our Industry. And it’s wonderful start to the festive season.

Brett O’Riley of NZICT will wrap up the year just closing and look ahead to next year’s opportunities for our industry. NZICT represent the supply side of New Zealand's Information and Communications Technology and Hi-Tech industry; Software, Hardware, Services, Networks, Education and Training. They champion quality ICT to increase New Zealand's global competitiveness. They have had an eventful year including major initiatives and trade missions to the World Expo in China. Brett will tell us about the impact of some of these and how industry is positioned for 2011.

Includes full breakfast.

About The Speaker

Brett O'Riley has been involved with the Information & Communications Technology industry for 21 years. He has held senior roles in both established and start-up ICT companies, working in New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the USA. Brett is Vice Chairman of the Pacific Telecommunications Advisory Council, a director of several ICT companies and sports bodies, and Chief Executive Officer, NZICT Group.

Directions

Durham Lane is between Wyndham St and Victoria St West. If your coming up Queen Street, turn right into Durham Lane. The Bluestone Room is then on your right past City Life Hotel and there are parking buildings next door and across the road.

http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=9-11%20durham%20lane

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Seminar Series: Introduction to Project Management (Wellington, 02/12/2010)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:43:03 +1300

Seminar Series: Introduction to Project Management

2 December 2010: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Terrace Conference Centre Levels 2-4, St John House 114 The Terrace Wellington

Introduction to Project Management

Duration: 1/2 Day

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to apply a framework for effective management of small projects, without the overhead of a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

The nature of project management
The role of the project sponsor
Risk and Issue management
Quality management
Stakeholders
Benefits
Procurement
Project planning
Project justification
The Planning Phase
The Delivery Phase
The Harvest Phase

Your Trainer

The Course

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Innovation Day - Auckland (Auckland, 01/12/2010)

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:52:16 +1300

NZCS Innovation Day - Auckland

1 December 2010: 8:45 am - 6:30 pm

Auckland Room 1 SkyCity Auckland Convention Centre 88 Federal Street Auckland

NZCS Innovation Day 2010 is a mini-conference packed full of keynotes, presentations, panels, and discussion about innovation and ICT.

This event is TOMORROW!

Following many requests NZCS brings you this encore event to the hugely successful NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference in September.

If you were at the Conference come along to this event to check out the presentations you missed and to continue the innovation story and discussion.

From 3D graphics to cloud to succeeding in business - these fascinating presentations cover a huge spectrum of topics in and around ICT.

Full details at http://nzcs.org.nz/InnovationDay

Huge speaker lineup

Please see http://nzcs.org.nz/InnovationDay for full details

Rod Drury: Building Global Technology Businesses from NZ

Rod is passionate about inspiring New Zealanders to innovate, and will focus primarily on removing barriers to innovation in New Zealand.

More information on Rod's presentation

Ian Taylor: Innovation in the Deep South

More information on Ian's presentation

Rick Shera: GBH in the Cloud?

We're moving our lives to the cloud, whether we choose to or not or even whether we realise it or not.

Increasingly, this is not as an adjunct to proprietary desktop controlled systems but as a replacement for them. Rick Shera will discuss the significant ramifications of this not just for individuals but also for businesses that provide connectivity or services.

More information on Rick's presentation

Gavin Lennox: New Zealand’s 3D Heritage and Future

New Zealand has long been an early adopter of 3D technology – from early ray tracing research to high-profile projects like Virtual Spectator and Weta Digital’s involvement in the movie Avatar. In this presentation Gavin Lennox, CEO of Nextspace, will highlight successes and learnings from a range of New Zealand 3D and visualisation projects.

More information on Gavin's presentation

Dominic Stow: Organisational Culture – Enabling Innovation

As we emerge from recession, the demand for innovative IT solutions to enable the business strategy will grow. Dominic Stow will provide a thought provoking presentation into the challenges that organisations face in creating a culture of innovation.

More information on Dom's presentation

Hazel Jennings: Growing ICT innovation in the not for profit sector

The Not-For-Profit (NFP) sector in New Zealand is NZ$9.8 billion "industry" employing more people than the construction, transportation and utilities industries combined.

In this presentation Hazel Jennings discusses some of what the sector has been thinking about its ICT services and some of the innovations that have occurred as a consequence.

More information on Hazel's presentation

Ian Witten/David Milne: Thinking outside the Search Box

There are many opportunities to improve interactivity of information retrieval beyond the ubiquitous search box. In this talk Ian H Witten and David Milne describe ongoing New Zealand research into using Wikipedia to make other textual information sources easier to search and navigate.

More information on Ian and David's presentation

Collaboration and Discussion

Innovation Day isn't just about expert and inspirational presentations - it's also an opportunity to engage, collaborate and discuss innovation in New Zealand.

Catalysing Innovation Panel

NZCS Fellow Ray Delany chairs this panel of experts exploring how New Zealand can create the best possible environment for innovative and entrepreneurial success in ICT.

Panelists TBA

Innovation Hui

Full details of Innovation Day at http://nzcs.org.nz/innovationday

Draft Programme

This Draft Programme is subject to change. Please see below for more information about these presentations.

08:45am Arrival Coffee
09:10am Welcome
09:15am Rod Drury: The Next Phase: Building Global Technology Businesses from NZ
10:00am Rick Shera: GBH in the Cloud?
10:35am Morning Tea, sponsored by DesignerTech
10:55am Ian Witten / David Milne: Thinking outside the Search Box
11:30am Gavin Lennox: New Zealand’s 3D Heritage and Future
12:05pm Lunch
01:00pm Catalysing Innovation Panel, Chaired by Ray Delany
02:05pm Hazel Jennings: Growing ICT innovation in the not for profit sector
02:40pm Afternoon Tea, sponsored by Codec
02:55pm Dominic Stow: Organisational Culture – Enabling Innovation
03:30pm Innovation Hui, facilitated by Paul Matthews
04:30pm Ian Taylor: Innovation in the Deep South
05:15pm Refreshments, sponsored by Microsoft
06:30pm Innovation Day concludes

All catering and refreshments provided.

Bring your whole team

As well as coming along yourself we strongly suggest bringing your whole team - you won't find a better end-of-year event to inspire and motivate your team, young and old alike.

It would be hard to find a better way to finish the year.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

There are strictly limited seats available at both these events - we strongly recommend getting in quick to avoid disappointment.

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Christmas Champagne Breakfast Special (Wellington, 01/12/2010)

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 09:21:15 +1300

Christmas Champagne Breakfast Special

1 December 2010: 7:15 am - 9:00 am

Wellesley Boutique Hotel 2 Maginnity Street Wellington Map: http://tinyurl.com/2a6wlhm Breakfast is served from 7.30am. Talk starts at 8.00am.

Please join us for an end of year NZCS Christmas Breakfast Special.

This will be our final event for our 50^th anniversary year.

Alison Holt from Longitude 174 will present an update fresh from the ISO Software and Systems Engineering Standards meeting in Washington, and will talk about her IT Governance Frameworks Working Group agenda for next year. She will cover the development of governance standards in Cloud Computing, Digital Forensics, IT Audit….and a new area she is calling “IT Ethics”.

To end the year in style, Alison will present a Christmas story to reflect on the past year (where any resemblance with real names, places and actual conferences is purely co-incidental!) and will propose a toast to the future of IT as the New Zealand Computer Society embarks on the next 50 years……

Don Robertson, President of NZCS, will also be there to say a few words.

Includes full breakfast.

Glass of champagne included, sponsored by Microsoft!

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 16 - Organisation Change and Impact of ICT (Auckland, 30/11/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:53:07 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 16 - Organisation Change and Impact of ICT

30 November 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

The ICT Professional Knowledge Series is a new weekly series of seminars run in partnership with the Auckland Campus of Whitireia Polytech, designed to improve the understanding of professional issues for those practicing, or intending to practice, in ICT.

The series is very closely aligned to the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum which outlines the knowledge ICT Professionals should possess when practicing in New Zealand related to non-technical areas such as ethics and relevant legislation.

Tuesday the 30th of November: Organisation Change and Impact of ICT

This week's seminar is on Organisation Change and Impact of ICT and includes discussions on the role ICT plays in organisational change.

The topics covered include:

How programmes are established and managed to deliver business transformation
How projects are managed and deliverables achieved
The need to determine feasibility of potential solutions
That “stakeholders” exist, who and what they are, and that their expectations must be determined and managed

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

Approximately a third of the seminars will be specific case studies led by a practicing professional, with other sessions being a workshop-style discussion and analysis of a particular area of professional knowledge.

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

A clear understanding of the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum is a pre-requisite for ITCP Certification. Ongoing professional development is also a key requirement for retention of both NZCS membership and ITCP Certification.

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

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Seminar Series: Introduction to Project Management (Auckland, 30/11/2010)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:57:56 +1300

Seminar Series: Introduction to Project Management

30 November 2010: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Cliftons Level 2, 45 Queen St Auckland

Introduction to Project Management

Duration: 1/2 Day

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to apply a framework for effective management of small projects, without the overhead of a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

The nature of project management
The role of the project sponsor
Risk and Issue management
Quality management
Stakeholders
Benefits
Procurement
Project planning
Project justification
The Planning Phase
The Delivery Phase
The Harvest Phase

Your Trainer

The Course

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Succeeding with Agile - the pain and the gain (Wellington, 25/11/2010)

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 10:23:07 +1300

Succeeding with Agile - the pain and the gain

25 November 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Spectrum Presentation Theatre BP House Cnr Customhouse Quay & Johnston St (access off Johnston Street) Wellington (Main Entrance via Spectrum Health & Fitness Reception)

Heard about agile and unsure whether it will work in your environment or using agile but a little disappointed in the results? Then join us to learn first-hand how a local New Zealand company replaced their traditional software development approach with agile and successfully achieved;

faster time to market,
improved quality, and
greater control of their product development process.

The presentation will follow the agile "learning" journey, including the challenges and things that did not work. From the presentation you will take away the lessons learned that will help guide you in successfully adopting agile in your software development team.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

As Equinox’s Agile Practice Director, Pete Tansey has 25 plus years in IT, with the last four years focused exclusively in helping organisations adopt and succeed with agile approaches. In addition to his Practice Director and client consulting responsibilities, Pete also regularly speaks and delivers training on a range of agile topics both in New Zealand and overseas.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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What's Shaking in ICT (Christchurch, 24/11/2010)

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:28:37 +1300

What's Shaking in ICT

24 November 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

CPIT Room N611 6th Floor, Main Building (N Block), (near City Campus car park in Madras Street), City Campus, Madras Street Christchurch

Panel discussion: Risk Management of Technology and ICT for Dynamic Earthquake Maps during the September Earthquake

There isn’t a single person in Christchurch city who hasn’t been in some way and form affected by the earthquake on 4^th September.

Some of us have perhaps come to get a better appreciation of the role of technology in general and information technology in particular in our day to day lives. During the first days of the earthquake we sought information to keep up to date with developments and we realized how heavily we are reliant on some services – such as electricity supply.

This event brings together a panel of two experts who talk about their areas of expertise.

One speaker will discuss the way in which Orion NZ (the electricity distribution network company in central Canterbury) risk manages a vast electricity network and the success it had in re-establishing electricity supply to the city within a very short time.

The second speaker will talk about how ICT solutions and applications were used to help keep people in the city informed of aftershocks and their locations.

Includes Refreshments, sponsored by CPIT.

Speakers

Shane Watson, Engineering Manager, Orion New Zealand Limited

The topic of Shane’s presentation is “Resilience planning - focus and implementation strategies”. Shane has presented a similar topic to the CDEM conference in Christchurch in 2009. The presentation reflects the actual impact on Orion from the Canterbury September 4^th Earthquake.

Shane has over 25 years work experience in the electrical power industry ranging from design, and construction to asset management. He has been the Engineering Manager at Orion for 10 years and is responsible for the asset management of the electrical infrastructure which includes: managing teams overseeing the asset replacement and maintenance planning; undertaking and completion of works; and ensuring the standard of new construction and additions to the network.

Paul Nicholls, E-Learning Developer, University of Canterbury

Paul’s presentation is about how he became interest in the idea and eventually developed the dynamic earthquake map for the recent earthquake.

Paul is a graduate of Bachelor of Information and Communication Technologies from CPIT. Paul has been working in the web industry for 6 years (and tinkered for several years before that - stretching back to developing and maintaining the school website when he was at primary school). In his role as of E-Learning Developer he sees an opportunity to blend his web development skills with his desire to help people learn.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 15 - Business Acumen (Auckland, 23/11/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:09:17 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 15 - Business Acumen

23 November 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 23^rd of November: Business Acumen

This week's seminar is on Business Acumen and includes discussions on the commercial context in which organisations operate.

Topics covered include:

Governance e.g. role of board of directors, company structures and funding models
That there are various business models, and fundamental differences between public, private and not-for-profit sectors
The importance of global social, political, environmental and economic trends to an organisation

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

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Seminar Series: Online Security - Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks (Christchurch, 18/11/2010)

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:52:34 +1300

Seminar Series: Online Security - Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

18 November 2010: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

NZCS are proud to announce the next half-day Seminar Series in Christchurch.

Security Seminar: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

Duration: 1/2 Day

You can't fight a war that you don't know you're waging. You can't defend your websites against attack unless you know the tricks that the bad guys will use. Join Andy Prow, Managing Director of Aura Software Security, in this follow-on from the earlier National Series presentation as he demonstrates and discusses attacks and defences in action.

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

By the end of this session you'll have an understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Have an appreciation of how layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

The session will also give you some practical tips that you can apply straight away to help you design, build and manage more secure websites.

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericssons.

Andy launched the Aura group of companies in 2001, and Aura Software Security is now one of NZ’s leading IT Security Consulting practises with clients including the NZ Government, Xero, plus other Banking and Corporate companies here in New Zealand and overseas. Aura Software Security was named Electra Business of the Year 2010, also winning the category awards for Customer Service, New-Thinking and Hi-Growth.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICTTop100 Lunch: Soft Skills (Auckland, 17/11/2010)

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:43:53 +1300

ICTTop100 Lunch: Soft Skills

17 November 2010: 12:15 pm - 1:45 pm

The Blue Stone Rooms Blue Stone Building 9-11 Durham Lane (West) Auckland

ICTTop100 is a forum where senior ICT professionals and managers come together to discuss and debate a particular topic in detail, over a formal lunch.

Discussion takes place under the Chatham House rule, and the outcomes are then forwarded to various stakeholders (such as NZCS, Government, etc).

Soft skills

What do we mean? How will our staff acquire these Soft Skills?

Recruiters repeatedly say graduates need Soft Skills. What do they mean? How can we do this? Let us start by discussing these documents!

Directions

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 14 - When do ICT professionals need a lawyer? (Auckland, 16/11/2010)

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:11:30 +1300

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 14 - When do ICT professionals need a lawyer?

16 November 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 16^th of November: When do ICT professionals need a lawyer?

We have invited Rick Shera to join us for this week’s seminar. Rick is a lawyer at Lowndes Jordon and has substantial involvement with ICT. He has been on the board of InternetNZ and on Netsafe. He is active in discussions on the Patents and on the Copyright ACTA bills before Parliament.

Rick will discuss the following:

When do you need PI insurance?
Update on software Patents and Copyright
Model software development agreements
Now that there is Professional Certification (ITCP), how does a purchaser write this into a contract?
Mediation and arbitration clauses in contracts

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

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Disaster Recovery - SNAP TO IT - A Canterbury Quake Case Study (Nelson, 16/11/2010)

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:40:28 +1300

Disaster Recovery - SNAP TO IT - A Canterbury Quake Case Study

16 November 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

NMIT Campus - Room T309 322 Hardy Street Nelson (12pm for 12.30pm start)

SNAP Internet is a Canterbury success story. The small ISP has grown from strength to strength and now challenges the big telcos with competitive pricing, service and technology offerings.

SNAP Internet had a lot to lose when the quake hit. This presentation will focus on events and planning leading up to the DR incident, what happened in the “eye of the storm” and how SNAP has moved on since. There will also be a small insight into the rise and rise of SNAP, who are now have a significant Nelson customer base.

Light lunch served at 12pm, kindly sponsored by Computer Concepts Limited.

About The Speaker

Jamie Cairns is CEO of SNAP Internet Limited, “New Zealand’s Best ISP” for a second, consecutive year - awarded last month by the Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ).

With 17 years’ experience in the ICT arena, Jamie has worked within educational, enterprise, government, integrator and service provider organisations, specialising in network and communications solutions and bridging the gap between technical and management teams. Jamie graduated from Massey University with a BSc (Computer Science) and is also a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert.

In addition, Jamie is a Director of The Colocation Company, which opened its new colocation facility in Christchurch this year, and he is the current President of the Internet Service Providers Association of New Zealand (ISPANZ).

Registration Details:

Registration is essential - please register for this event below.

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Seminar Series: Online Security - Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks (Wellington, 15/11/2010)

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:32:02 +1300

Seminar Series: Online Security - Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

15 November 2010: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Meetings on the Terrace Seminar Room 152 The Terrace Wellington

NZCS are proud to announce the next half-day Seminar Series in Wellington.

Security Seminar: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

Duration: 1/2 Day

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

By the end of this session you'll have an understanding of some of the common attacks such as:

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF)
SQL Injection
Man-In-the-Middle attacks
Have an appreciation of how layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) that can help protect you from exploit chaining

The session will also give you some practical tips that you can apply straight away to help you design, build and manage more secure websites.

Your trainer

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericssons.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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"Down Memory Lane" - An NZCS 50th Anniversary event (Auckland, 10/11/2010)

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:32:58 +1300

"Down Memory Lane" - An NZCS 50th Anniversary event

10 November 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

University of Auckland Science Centre Building 303 38 Princes St, Room 279, Second floor (enter from a courtyard behind the Student Commons) Auckland CBD

Kicking off at 5:30pm with light refreshments, attendees will be split into small groups to tour the Department of Computer Science's great collection of exhibits.

Included are:

Many pre-computer mechanical and electro-mechanical machines
Early PCs and some early PDAs such as the Apple Newton
Early Apple Macintosh starting with the first Macs and Lisas which include many of the innovative design styles and advances over the years
The first digital computer used at The University of Auckland - an IBM 1620
Punched-card data processing

... and many other interesting items which we are sure (for some), will trigger memories of events long forgotten, and anecdotes which you may want to share (prize for the best story!)

Registration Details:

Numbers are limited, so this invitation is restricted to NZCS Members only (no charge). Book quickly to avoid missing out. Please register below. Registration is essential.

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TPN: Moving from Manual Testing To Automation (Auckland, 10/11/2010)

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:47:51 +1300

TPN: Moving from Manual Testing To Automation

10 November 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Drake - 1st Floor 2 Drake Street Freemans Bay Auckland

Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

Eric Jiang: Moving from Manual Testing To Automation

Software companies and IT professionals are now faced with the pressure of shrinking development life-cycles without risk to software quality. One solution to ease this pressure is to automate part of the testing process. Although there is a huge demand on automation engineers in the market, the thought of moving from manual testing to automation can seem daunting for both companies and test professionals.

This presentation is intended to address some of the issues and challenges when making this initial transition based on the speaker’s firsthand and recent experience. This will also cover some of the benefits of test automation, and comparisons to manual testing.

Objectives: Some thoughts and shared ideas on moving from manual to automated testing.

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

We would also like to thank Eric Jiang for offering his time to present.

The Auckland TPN Committee

About The Speaker

Eric Jiang is a test analyst with a special interest in automated testing. He’s currently working for Air NZ as a contractor. Companies he has worked in, include Provenco, GFG-group and Wright Express.

Eric holds a bachelor degree in Computer Systems Engineering and a Post graduate diploma in Computer science (with an emphasis on automated testing). He is currently working with Jim Buchan (Senior Lecturer in AUT) on developing a framework of analysis for understanding the benefits of test automation.

Eric has firsthand experience in designing and implementing automated test suites from scratch for desktop and online applications using both commercial and open-source tools.

This presentation is to relate his own initial and recent experience (whilst it is fresh) so that manual testers who are considering automation can appreciate what is involved when making the transition for the first time.

Event schedule

5:00pm to 5:30pm – Registration & Networking
5:30pm to 6:30pm – Speaker (including Q&A session)
6:30pm to 7:00pm – Networking & close out

Cash bar available

Also please note seats at this location are limited so registration will cut-off once we meet capacity.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 14 - Managing Personal Information (Auckland, 09/11/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:05:43 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 14 - Managing Personal Information

9 November 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 9^th of November: Managing Personal Information

This week's seminar is on Managing Personal Information and includes discussions on the principles that apply to personal information including identification, collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information.

Topics covered include:

The principles of privacy
Privacy Policies, and the important of adhering to them
Ethical issues of using personal information
How personal information can be identified & categorised
The concept of “privacy by design”

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

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Birds of a Feather: Continuing Professional Development is it important? (Wellington, 08/11/2010)

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:46:09 +1300

Birds of a Feather: Continuing Professional Development is it important?

8 November 2010: 5:15 pm - 6:30 pm

Ground Floor Bar Wellesley Boutique Hotel 2-8 Maginnity Street Wellington

This is an open invitation to those in Wellington's ICT community to meet informally over a drink and nibbles for a facilitated discussion on a relevant topic.

Come along and join in the discussion, facilitated so that everyone can have his or her say. Share your experiences, your war stories, your successes and your knowledge, or come along to learn from others.

Topic: Continuing Professional Development is it important?

During our last Birds of a Feather session we discussed ITCP and how necessary and relevant it was to us to be recognised as a professional. The topic of continual professional development was raised.

As IT professionals we work in a busy, pressured environment whether its project, operational or management. Finding time for extra study, self-learning or coursework can be difficult. While it's important to get qualifications and undertake education and training at the start of your career – how important is it as your career progresses? Do you need additional qualifications/certifications or training? Do you need to renew them?

Ours is an industry of constant change. How can you keep up with technology trends and what they mean? How do you prove that you are if you are asked?

How do you decide what you need to learn or get qualified in? How can the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) that the ITCP certification is based on assist?

This is an informal discussion around professional development and how we as busy professionals handle it. Come and discuss how you are doing, share your ideas and hear how others are going about it; what works and what doesn't.

About The Speaker

Don Robertson is the President of NZCS with a long established career in the ICT Sector covering many different job roles.

He was involved in some of the initial research for the ITCP introduction and a number of the recent NZCS initiatives. He runs his own Consulting business and is ITCP certified in Programme and Project Management.

Registration Details:

Please register for this event below.

NOTE: Free to register, however Gold Coin entry for NZCS members and $10 for non-members - Payable at the door.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 13 - Ethical Decisions (Auckland, 02/11/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:59:08 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 13 - Ethical Decisions

2 November 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 2^nd of November: Ethical Decisions

This week’s seminar is on Ethical Decisions and includes discussions on what constitutes an ethical decision and resolving them.

The topics covered will include:

The importance of ensuring a decision or advice is in the best interests of the client or employer
Importance of consideration and informing one’s clients or employers of the economic, social, environmental or legal consequences which may arise from decisions and actions

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

Developing a Mobile Framework Using JOOB (Christchurch, 28/10/2010)

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:23:40 +1300

Developing a Mobile Framework Using JOOB

28 October 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 165 Cashel St Christchurch

Join us for a heads-up on Jade Software’s newest innovation, JOOB, the high performance Solution Framework that is currently in beta, with a product launch scheduled for next month.

Developing a Mobile Framework Using JOOB

The JOOB team has been developing a mobile framework encompassing iOs, Windows Phone 7, and other mobile platforms. This framework has broad applicability in the mobile space, as a base for building business applications.

Mark will explain the architecture involved, including phone side and server side modules and the decisions underlying the selection of REST and JSON protocols.

About The Speaker

With 18 years in the IT industry, Mark Cox has extensive technical and commercial experience, with a particular focus on e-commerce. Currently a consultant for product innovation with Jade Software Corporation, Mark is working with the JOOB high performance database and social networking technologies and leads the JOOB mobile team, JOOB unwired.

Mark has worked in London with several investment banks, including Lehman Brothers and SBC Warburg. Also in the UK, Mark set up a company producing e-commerce software for the oil and gas industry.

On his return to NZ in the late 1990's, Mark was a consultant to Telecom NZ, as their technical architect for a number of high profile projects. Mark worked briefly with a 'dot-com' start-up in Sydney, before cofounding Fifth Web Limited in 2000. He wrote the first version of Fifth Web's server technology and designed the software and business processes for the settlement of managed fund trades in Australia.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Trends and Challenges of Wireless Communication Networks in Extreme Environments (Wellington, 28/10/2010)

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 09:43:04 +1300

Trends and Challenges of Wireless Communication Networks in Extreme Environments

28 October 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM Level 11 Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

The use of wireless communications is swiftly extending beyond networks for the average person to networks for embedded devices, sensors and autonomous systems, as well as networks for personnel in extreme environments—underground, underwater and in disaster situations.

This talk will discuss the challenges of designing robust wireless networks for communications in those extreme environments.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Winston K.G. Seah received the Dr.Eng. degree from Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. He is currently Professor of Network Engineering in the School of Engineering and Computer Science, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Prior to this, he has worked for more than 16 years in mission-oriented research, taking ideas from theory to prototypes, most recently, as a Senior Scientist (Networking Protocols) in the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), Singapore. He was also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and an adjunct faculty in the Graduate School for Integrative Science and Engineering in the National University of Singapore.

Winston is actively involved in research in the areas of mobile ad hoc and sensor networks, and co-developed one of the first Quality of Service (QoS) models for mobile ad hoc networks. His latest research interests include wireless sensor networks powered by ambient energy harvesting (WSN-HEAP), wireless multi-hop networks, and mobility-enhanced protocols and algorithms for networked swarm robotics and sensing applications in terrestrial and oceanographic networks.

He is on the Technical Program Committee of numerous conferences and reviewer of papers for many key journals and conferences in the area of wireless mesh, ad hoc and sensor networks. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and Professional Member of the ACM. http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Main/WinstonSeah

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN presents: Carol Cornelius - Is There a Point to Certification? (Wellington, 27/10/2010)

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:25:26 +1200

TPN presents: Carol Cornelius - Is There a Point to Certification?

27 October 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Is there a point to getting professional test certification? And if so, what is it?

ISTQB certification at foundation, advanced, and soon expert level have increasing buy-in from testers and employers. But why? What is certification giving a testing professional? How does that professional make use of their certificate once they have it? How does an employer or hiring employer view certification? What are they getting from a professional certification scheme?

This presentation will talk about what testers and employers think they’re getting from certification and what they actually should be getting.

Are testers disadvantaged by not having certification?
How should testers use the information they learn in certification programmes to be better testers?
Should employers and hiring employers use the certification scheme to help them be sure they get the professionals they think they’re getting?

Fill in the survey at www.surveygizmo.com/s3/366004/why-certify to contribute your thoughts to the purposes of certification and come along to the presentation to enjoy the debate.

About The Speaker

Carol Cornelius has worked in IT for over 20 years and has worked in the testing profession on and off for almost 10 of those. Carol comes from a development and Project Management background which have stood her in good stead for her testing roles which have focussed on managing and directing the testing services within organisations. She is currently the IT Capability Manager responsible for testing at the Inland Revenue in New Zealand.

Carol has been working on the ANZTB Exam Technical Advisory Group since 2008 and is a member of the ISTQB Exam Working Group. She has presented at conferences and professional networks in NZ and Australia.

Carol holds the ISTQB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing and a Distinction in the ISEB Software Testing Practitioner.

TPN wish to thank ANZTB for sponsoring the drinks and nibbles and Westpac for providing the venue.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling (Auckland, 26/10/2010)

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:24:06 +1300

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

26 October 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

AWI International Education Group Ground Floor 401 Queen Street Auckland (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on mapping ICT to the "real world" through business process modelling and BPMN 2.0.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

One of the major strengths of ICT is improving the efficiency and profitability of business, however to be successful it's essential that ICT accurately maps to the way organisations do business.

In that context, processes are at the heart of everything we do. No matter what it is. And in all facets of an organisation, some process is always being followed even if that process only exists in the heads of a few key personnel.

Business Process Mapping is all about capturing and documenting these processes in a standard manner all stakeholders understand. The correct documentation and execution of these processes is a key factor in building agile organisations and plays a primary role in enabling businesses large and small.

This presentation will look at how to document your existing processes in a standards compliant manner that will enable both Business and IT to finally talk the same language while providing key artefacts for process re-engineering projects and allowing for the possible direct execution of those processes in a BPMS.

This subject and presentation is essential for ICT professionals and Business Analysts alike who are serious about providing the maximum return to their organisations or clients for their ICT investment.

Special thanks to Integration Works Ltd for sponsoring this presentation.

About The Speaker

Steven McArdle has more than 25 years in the ICT sector and is currently employed as an SOA Solutions Architect by Integration Works Limited in Wellington.

About the National ICT Series

The NZCS National ICT Series is a series of monthly presentations bringing some of the country's top ICT-related thought leaders and speakers on a national circuit to present their view on interesting and informative subjects.

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics. From service management to open data access, from technical presentations to ICT in disaster zones, there'll be something there for everyone.

Launched in March 2010 in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin, these events promise to be informative and educational, often challenging the traditional view of ICT and its role in the organisation and wider environment.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN: Barcon Event - Meet the new ANZTB Board (Auckland, 26/10/2010)

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:53:25 +1300

TPN: Barcon Event - Meet the new ANZTB Board

26 October 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Heritage Hotel Auckland Calder Mackay Room 3 11 Wyndham Street Auckland

The NZCS Auckland TPN in conjunction with the ANZTB would like to invite you to attend a joint ANZTB/Auckland TPN event.

The evening will provide a brief overview of the new ANZTB Board members, news around the ANZTB Conference to be held in March next year and a general opportunity to meet new contacts, catch up with old friends and enjoy refreshments on us.

A similar event was held in the past and was highly successful.

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

We would also like to thank the ANZTB for sponsoring the event.

Thank you.

The Auckland TPN Committee

Drinks and nibbles will be provided.

Thanks to:

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling (Hamilton, 26/10/2010)

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:18:58 +1300

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

26 October 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St.

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on mapping ICT to the "real world" through business process modelling and BPMN 2.0.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

One of the major strengths of ICT is improving the efficiency and profitability of business, however to be successful it's essential that ICT accurately maps to the way organisations do business.

Special thanks to Integration Works Ltd for sponsoring this presentation.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Steven McArdle has more than 25 years in the ICT sector and is currently employed as an SOA Solutions Architect by Integration Works Limited in Wellington.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling (Wellington, 21/10/2010)

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:16:28 +1300

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

21 October 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

PowerHouse People L4, Deloitte House 10 Brandon Street Wellington (5pm for prompt start at 5.30pm)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on mapping ICT to the "real world" through business process modelling and BPMN 2.0.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

One of the major strengths of ICT is improving the efficiency and profitability of business, however to be successful it's essential that ICT accurately maps to the way organisations do business.

Special thanks to Integration Works Ltd for sponsoring this presentation.

Beer, wine and nibbles provided from 6.30pm - 7pm.

About The Speaker

Steven McArdle has more than 25 years in the ICT sector and is currently employed as an SOA Solutions Architect by Integration Works Limited in Wellington.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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The Research Students' Contest (Wellington, 20/10/2010)

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:22:41 +1300

The Research Students' Contest

20 October 2010: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Lecture Theatre Room 1 Government Buildings Victoria University 55 Lambton Quay Wellington

The Wellington Branch of the New Zealand Computer Society proudly presents the 2010 Student Research Contest.

The contest showcases the top honours students from Victoria University and Massey University, and is a chance to see what research is currently going on at the Universities' computing groups.

Six students will present their work and we will have industry judges on hand to find our champion for 2010.

Food and refreshments provided.

We look forward to seeing you there.

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All of Government ICT - A Road Map into the Future (Wellington, 20/10/2010)

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 10:35:28 +1200

All of Government ICT - A Road Map into the Future

20 October 2010: 7:15 am - 9:00 am

Wellesley Boutique Hotel 2 Maginnity Street Wellington Map: http://tinyurl.com/2a6wlhm Breakfast is served from 7.30am. Talk starts at 8.00am.

NZCS are very pleased to announce the return of NZCS Management Breakfasts in Wellington.

Government Technology Services (Department of Internal Affairs) is responsible for all-of-government ICT initiatives, as well as the provision of ICT services to the Department.

Stephen Crombie, General Manager of GTS, will present:

an overview of the Directions and Priorities for the Government's ICT
an overview of the Government Common ICT Capability Roadmap
approaches to industry engagement, and
next steps.

This will be an excellent presentation for Government ICT managers and professionals, those working with Government, and others interested in the future of ICT in New Zealand.

Includes full breakfast.

About The Speaker

Stephen Crombie is the General Manager of Government Technology Services.

Stephen has spent 30 years in the information and communications industry in senior management positions, including sales, marketing and operations in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. He has worked for Ericsson, Telecom New Zealand, Tait Electronics and as an independent consultant.

Stephen has an MSc in Management of Technology from the University of Sussex.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 11 - Commercial Law (Auckland, 19/10/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:45:23 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 11 - Commercial Law

19 October 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 19^th of October: Commercial Law

This week's seminar is on Commercial Law and includes discussions on legislation relating to procurement of services and technology solutions.

Topics covered include:

That there are legal requirements on companies during the tendering process
The existence and nature of legislation relating to contracts (e.g Fair Trading Act, Commerce Act, Consumer Guarantees Act)
The Commissioning Rule and concept of ownership of software
Software licensing and third party software issues, such as those of combining code under different licensing models
Difference between commercial, public domain, permissive (e.g. BSD/Apache) and protective (e.g. LGP, GPL, AGPL) licenses
Purpose of service contracts and SLAs
The role of non-disclosure agreements in regards to contracts

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling (Christchurch, 19/10/2010)

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:10:23 +1300

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

19 October 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on mapping ICT to the "real world" through business process modelling and BPMN 2.0.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

One of the major strengths of ICT is improving the efficiency and profitability of business, however to be successful it's essential that ICT accurately maps to the way organisations do business.

Special thanks to Integration Works Ltd for sponsoring this presentation.

About The Speaker

Steven McArdle has more than 25 years in the ICT sector and is currently employed as an SOA Solutions Architect by Integration Works Limited in Wellington.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling (Dunedin, 19/10/2010)

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:01:11 +1300

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

19 October 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Seminar Room Centre for Innovation (Big glass building) St David Street Dunedin

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on mapping ICT to the "real world" through business process modelling and BPMN 2.0.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

One of the major strengths of ICT is improving the efficiency and profitability of business, however to be successful it's essential that ICT accurately maps to the way organisations do business.

Special thanks to Integration Works Ltd for sponsoring this presentation.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Steven McArdle has more than 25 years in the ICT sector and is currently employed as an SOA Solutions Architect by Integration Works Limited in Wellington.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 10 - Project Delivery Risk (Auckland, 12/10/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:42:13 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 10 - Project Delivery Risk

12 October 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 12^th of October: Project Delivery Risk

This week's seminar is on Project Delivery Risk and includes discussions on the risks associated with the delivery of a project and appropriate mechanisms to manage them.

Topics covered include:

The key risks associated with projects and the importance of assessing them
The importance of project controls and governance structures to minimise project risk
The role of project quality and testing processes in reducing delivery risk

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

WFIA Breakfast: Connecting the Health Sector (Auckland, 06/10/2010)

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:46:44 +1200

WFIA Breakfast: Connecting the Health Sector

6 October 2010: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

The Blue Stone Rooms Blue Stone Building 9-11 Durham Lane (West) Auckland City

New Zealand has one of the best automated primary care systems in the world, with 97% of GPs using a highly functional interactive electronic medical records system. Well designed health IT makes a health system more efficient, vastly safer and it can save taxpayers money. But it is a lot more complicated than it looks.

There is a lot of debate over when and how to share patients’ records. Isn’t it much more efficient to hold a central record for each patient and then let all interested parties access it? If so, why has such a system designed in this manner failed so miserably costing UK taxpayers 1.5 billion pounds?

Health IT is one of New Zealand’s largest IT market segments and a hot topic with the Government keen to save money and boost productivity. Tom Bowden will look at how IT is contributing to health care in New Zealand and how this market is developing with new challenges and opportunities. In particular he will look at the latest trend to give every patient access to their own personal electronic health record; considering what works best and why and what this means to consumers of Healthcare.

Includes Full Breakfast.

About The Speaker

Tom Bowden is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of HealthLink, the largest provider of health sector communications and related services in Australia and New Zealand. Tom is currently representing New Zealand in a number of international research projects.

HealthLink was established in 1993 as a joint venture between Telecom New Zealand and Orion Health (one of the world’s largest non-US based health IT companies). In 1996 Telecom New Zealand sold its share of the venture to HealthLink staff members and it remains a privately held company. HealthLink ranks among the most significant organisations of its type in the world; connecting more than 9,000 health sector organisations who exchange more than 50 million items of clinical information annually. In New Zealand, HealthLink is used by every general practice, hospital and pathology laboratory.

Directions

http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=9-11%20durham%20lane

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 9 - Quality of Advice (Auckland, 05/10/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:27:52 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 9 - Quality of Advice

5 October 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 5^th of October: Quality of Advice

This week's seminar is on Quality of Advice and includes discussions on the importance of ensuring the work and advice you provide as a professional is of the highest standard.

The topics covered will include:

Professional limitations and when to seek further expertise
What is meant by “delivering on promise”
“Expert advice”, and managing conflicting opinions
The importance of continuing professional development

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

TPN: Effective Communication (Auckland, 30/9/2010)

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:43:41 +1200

TPN: Effective Communication

30 September 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Cliftons Training Facilities Level 2 45 Queen Street Auckland

Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

David Hayman: Effective Communication

Effective Communication is the cornerstone of pretty much everything we do. As a tester, communication can be the making or breaking of a project often before it even starts. We are all aware of the benefits of all levels of reviews even though they often remain difficult to implement in an effective manner.

This presentation is intended as a light hearted look [testers can be very serious sometimes!] at the effects of communication on our daily work and the impact it can have on our projects. David Hayman is not going to attempt any level of psycho analysis on hidden meanings or the complexities of body language. He hopes to trigger a few thought processes and maybe instigate a bit of discussion around what works and what doesn’t, when to say it and when not to, who to say it to and perhaps how to say it when no one wants to hear it.

Objectives: Some discussion, some laughter, some thoughts and some shared ideas

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

We would also like to thank David Hayman for offering his time to present, Qualit for sponsoring the event and finally to Cliftons for providing the venue.

Drinks will be provided, thanks to:

Thank you.

The Auckland TPN Committee

About The Speaker

David Hayman's IT experience extends over some 26 years and includes time spent as a programmer, systems analyst and project manager. The last 22 years has been focused on software testing which has provided significant experience in all aspects of the testing practice, its processes, methods, theories and practical applications.

David uses that long and varied practical experience to provide a range of testing solutions to clients across business areas including banking, insurance, government [local and central], utilities, finance, telecoms and software development across New Zealand, Australia, UK and Europe.

He is a frequent and thought provoking speaker at testing and management conferences around the globe. He is an accredited trainer of the ISTQB Foundation, Advanced Test Analyst and Advanced Test Manager certification courses and has been a member of the ANZTB Board since 2008; he is currently Vice Chair.

David is currently a Test Consultant and Test Practice Manager for Qual IT Solutions and is located in Auckland, New Zealand. He is also the Program Coordinator for the ANZTB 2011 Conference to be held 28-30 March 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Event schedule

5:00pm to 5:30pm – Registration & Networking
5:30pm to 6:15pm – Speaker (including Q&A session)
6:15pm to 7:00pm – Networking & close out

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Biometrics and Surveillance: The End of Civilisation? (Wellington, 30/9/2010)

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:24:24 +1200

Biometrics and Surveillance: The End of Civilisation?

30 September 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM Level 11 Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

In 1943 Ayn Rand wrote “Civilisation is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilisation is the process of setting man free from men.”

In this talk Laurence Edge will look at the state of modern biometric technologies and asks if their deployment does in fact protect identity or represent the ultimate challenge to it.

Light lunch provided.

About The Speaker

Laurence Edge is a Consulting IT Architect with Resultex Ltd and has over 30 years' experience in the IT industry.

Laurence’s business background includes utilities, Government agencies, banking and major computer manufacturers such as ICL, DEC, IBM. He was Lead Architecture at the UK Criminal Records Bureau prior to moving to New Zealand in 2006. Since living in NZ, Laurence joined the Architecture Practice of Resultex where he has been working with some of NZ’s largest private companies and Government organisations.

Laurence has a particular interest in the legal background to IT systems, holding a master’s degree in IT and Telecommunications Law, and specialising in privacy issues and biometrics.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Evening with Industry (Auckland, 29/9/2010)

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 10:48:12 +1200

Evening with Industry

29 September 2010: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Owen Glen Building 12 Grafton Rd, The University of Auckland City Campus, CBD

NZCS and the University of Auckland warmly invite you to participate in this unique Evening with the IT Industry event.

At this event we bring together leading IT managers and professionals in the industry and the senior class students from the tertiary educational institutions in Auckland majoring in the various computing disciplines (Information Systems, Computer Science, Information Technology, and Computing Systems) and provide a forum to mix and mingle while discussing IT staffing needs and expectations of the Industry / Business sector.

The Evening with the Industry is a very popular event with both IT professionals and students. Usually we had over 150 participants.

Organised by the Auckland Branch of the NZCS and hosted by the University of Auckland.

Soft drinks and pizza will be served. Door prize (Xbox) provided by Microsoft.

Opening

Welcome by Professor Michael Myers, Head of the Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, The University of Auckland School of Business.

Welcome by Mr. Peter Cornelius, Chair, Auckland Branch, New Zealand Computer Society.

Panel Discussion

Nigel Parker, Director of Developer and Platform Group, Microsoft
Raymond Hayter, MD, Hansen NZ (former Peace Software)
Michael Myers, HOD, The University of Auckland
Chris South, Team Manager, Hays Specialist Recruitment
Chandan Ohri, Partner, KPMG
Bennett Medary, Chair, NZICT

The Forum

Meeting company representatives.

Participants

CEO or CIO of leading IS companies, Auckland region.

Information Systems / Computer Science students from: the universities and technical institutes (around 250).

Registration Details:

NZCS members: free, all the others $5.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 8 - Role of Business and IS Strategy (Auckland, 28/9/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:17:23 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 8 - Role of Business and IS Strategy

28 September 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 28^th of September: Role of Business and IS Strategy

This week's seminar is on Role of Business and IS Strategy and includes discussions on the purpose of IS strategy and its components.

Topics covered will include:

That an IS strategy is aligned with the organisational goals
Different models for ICT selection e.g. Proprietary vs. Open source, custom vs. best of breed, lease vs. buy etc, and the general conceptual pros and cons of each approach
That risk profile impacts on approach to technology adoption

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

Fibre to the Door - Now what? (Christchurch, 23/9/2010)

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:04:52 +1200

Fibre to the Door - Now what?

23 September 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

Join us in getting back to business-as-usual after the earthquake! Hotel SO is open and our Presenter is the CEO of a national-award-winning ISP.

Jamie Cairns offers us an insight into the changing face of broadband to the premises and the shift in the bottleneck of Internet performance for Kiwis. Jamie will also discuss the ever-increasing divide between expectation and actuality in high-speed broadband, the localisation of content and how Internet Service Providers are gearing up.

In particular, Jamie will highlight the position of ISPs in the broadband market.

About The Speaker

Jamie Cairns is CEO of Snap Internet Limited, “New Zealand’s Best ISP” for a second, consecutive year - as awarded this month by the Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ).

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 7 - Compliance Frameworks (Auckland, 21/9/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:10:03 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 7 - Compliance Frameworks

21 September 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm to 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 21^st of September: Compliance Frameworks

This week's seminar is on Compliance Frameworks and includes discussions on the role of internal and external standards.

Topics covered will include:

The difference between certification, guidelines, standards, frameworks and methodologies
The concept of “good practice” rather than “best practice”
How standards can be used to help with legislative compliance
The role of good practice within ICT and an awareness of the existence of key frameworks (for example ITIL, CMM, Cobit)
The use of policies & standards to influence behaviour within the organisation (e.g. acceptable use policies)
The existence of mandatory requirements on Government departments and their suppliers (eg from SSC, OAG, MED

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

NZCS Conference BarCamp (Rotorua, 18/9/2010)

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:56:28 +1200

NZCS Conference BarCamp

18 September 2010: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Distinction Hotel and Conference Centre 390 Fenton Street Rotorua

BarCamp: Fostering Innovation in ICT

A BarCamp is a participant-driven conference, often known as an "unconference".

This Barcamp will focus on what New Zealand can do to foster innovation and success on the international stage.

As New Zealand seeks to grow economically and in a sustainable manner, exporting and global success becomes more important. So what can we, as a community and as a country, do to foster innovation and success on the international stage?

This will not be just a talkfest. The conclusions from this BarCamp will be incorporated into NZCS position statements and be advocated to the ICT Minister and others within Government and other stakeholders. We're serious about catalysing innovation, and if you are too then you should be involved.

The BarCamp is facilitated by Nat Torkington and sponsored by Catalyst IT.

Registration

Registration is essential as numbers are very limited.

NOTE: This page is for those NOT attending the preceding Conference (see www.innovation.org.nz). You do NOT need to register here if you've already registered for the conference.

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NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference (Rotorua, 15/9/2010)

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:14:04 +1200

NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference

15 September 2010: 5:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Distinction Hotel and Conference Centre 390 Fenton Street Rotorua

Calling all procrastinators and last-minute people!

If you do nothing else, check out: www.innovation.org.nz/speakers

It's not too late to register for the NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference next week.

This is a conference for innovators, entrepreneurs, educators and practitioners offering 8 major Keynotes, 40 presentations, 3 panels, an Innovation Barcamp and a number of workshops. One thing we can promise is it'll absolutely blow your mind.

This is no ordinary conference - this is THE ICT event for 2010 - a celebration 50 years in the making: half a century of ICT Innovation in New Zealand. This is a massive milestone and we've got a line-up to match.

Click Here for full details of the Keynote Speakers.

Two international presenters mix with a selection of the country's top ICT innovators to cover all aspects of ICT in New Zealand.

Join kiwi Craig Nevill-Manning (the founder of Google's first remote engineering centre in Manhattan, USA) and Canadian Greg Lane (the National Director of the Canadian Council of IT Professionals), along with New Zealand innovative entrepreneurs Ian Taylor (Founder, Animation Research Ltd), Sam Morgan (Founder, Trade Me), Rod Drury (Founder, Xero), Nat Torkington (creator of Kiwi Foo Camp and the Open Govt Project), Ian McCrae (Founder, Orion Health) and Sam Knowles (founding CEO of KiwiBank).

This is a wholly engaging event designed to ignite your entrepreneurial spirit and equip you with the tools to succeed. With inspirational speakers, numerous panels and a debate, plus a series of workshops designed to grow innovation (details coming soon) and a full Innovation Barcamp, this will be a truly enlightening experience.

This is just the start, however - with another 32 top-tier presentations, this is an event not to be missed.

You can view a full programme at www.innovation.org.nz/speakers

Workshops Now Registering

A number of Workshops are now available on Wednesday 15th September and Saturday 18th September.

These include:

Search Engine Optimisation: The Inside Story
Role Profiling and Refining Skills Capability
Making Projects Effective
Becoming an Innovator

Full details at www.innovation.org.nz/workshops

These workshops are HIGHLY recommended. Note that workshop costs are additional to conference registration.

Register Now!

Registrations are open and can be secured below.

Registration fee below INCLUDES attendance at the Conference Dinner and Saturday's BarCamp, but does not include workshops. You can register for workshops during conference registration.

Accommodation

Accommodation should be booked directly with the hotel, however NZCS has negotiated a significant package discount at the venue, with superior rooms from $140 incl GST per night.

Full details on accommodation rates and how to obtain this discount are available on the Conference Website.

You'll need to book early as the venue's accommodation will sell out fast. Alternatively, there are a number of other hotel and motel options in the area.

More information

Please see the conference website at www.innovation.org.nz for more information about this momentous event.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 6 - Risk Mitigation (Auckland, 14/9/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:00:26 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 6 - Risk Mitigation

14 September 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm to 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 14^th of September: Risk Mitigation

This week's seminar is on Risk Mitigation and includes discussions the concept of risk mitigation in relation to Information assets.

Topics covered will include:

The types of strategies for dealing with risk, including avoidance, acceptance and mitigation
The existence of security frameworks and when they apply
The importance of security awareness in the use of ICT, including physical security of information assets
The concepts of business continuity, disaster recovery and service continuity in relation to ICT
The role ICT audit plays with regard to risk mitigation
The role of ICT governance structures in risk mitigation

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 5 - Professional Behaviour (Auckland, 07/9/2010)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:51:34 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 5 - Professional Behaviour

7 September 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitieria Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 7th of September: Professional Behaviour

This week's seminar is on Professional Behaviour and includes discussions on what constitutes good professional behavior.

The topics covered will include:

Discretion in regard to client and employer affairs
The importance of cultural respect in the workplace, including the principles of the Human Rights Act and Treaty of Waitangi
What is meant by personal integrity in a professional sense
The importance of not denigrating or damaging reputation of competitors, clients or colleagues

ï»¿More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

ICT Professional Knowledge: Special Seminar with Warehouse CIO Owen McCall (Auckland, 31/8/2010)

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:44:16 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Special Seminar with Warehouse CIO Owen McCall

31 August 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitieria Polytechnic 450 Queen Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 31^th of August: Ask a CIO how to do IT

Owen McCall, CIO of The Warehouse will present and answer your questions about what a CIO of such a large (for NZ) organisation has to do to contribute to a very successful business, and the role of ethics and professionalism.

Bring your questions - we expect a vigorous facilitated discussion to follow.

The Warehouse has over 120 stores stocking over 80,000 SKUs. They have also just won an award for their new online purchasing web site.

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

SaaS Tools for 21st Century Service Providers: A Case Study (Christchurch, 26/8/2010)

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:05:04 +1200

SaaS Tools for 21st Century Service Providers: A Case Study

26 August 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

The NZCS Canterbury Branch invites you to join us for this special case study presentation by Ben Reid of Memia Cloud Consulting, an authorised Google Apps reseller.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

Today's service providers have never been better served by the wide variety and deep functionality of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications that are available now on the Internet.

Ben Reid will take us on a tour of the tools used at Memia Cloud Consulting for email, diary management, collaboration, office productivity, communications, accounting, time tracking and billing, customer contact management, sales process automation and customer support.

In short, a comprehensive suite of applications needed to operate a successful services business, available out of the cloud for just dollars per month with no complex IT or servers to manage.

About The Speaker

Ben Reid, founder of Memia Cloud Consulting, is a software and enterprise architect with 15 years of professional software and IT architecture experience.

Originally from the UK, Ben moved to NZ in 2004 and worked for four years as a software architect at HP Consulting until leaving to start Memia in 2008. Ben has worked in a wide range of vertical industries and technologies, and is driven by applying technology innovation to build business value.

Ben is a qualified TOGAF Enterprise Architecture practitioner and has worked as part of the IT architecture teams for some of NZ’s largest enterprises.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Building the First Open Source High School in New Zealand (Wellington, 26/8/2010)

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:27:24 +1200

Building the First Open Source High School in New Zealand

26 August 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Turnbull House 11 Bowen St Wellington

Albany Senior High School is New Zealand's first open source high school. Mark Osbourne will talk about why the school chose to use free software, the benefits this decision has brought about and most importantly what it means for the students.

Light lunch will be provided.

About The Speaker

Mark Osborne is Deputy Principal of Albany Senior High School on Auckland's North Shore. He has worked with many schools throughout New Zealand and Australia building capacity in e-learning. He is an open source and free culture advocate and is committed to openness, transparency and fairness.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

TPN: Rex Black: A taste of the ISTQB Advanced Technical Test Analyst (Auckland, 25/8/2010)

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:30:58 +1200

TPN: Rex Black: A taste of the ISTQB Advanced Technical Test Analyst

25 August 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Cliftons Training Facilities Level 2, 45 Queen Street Auckland

In this interactive presentation Rex Black will introduce you to the new ISTQB Advanced Technical Test Analyst qualification. You’ll be challenged to answer a sample question or two and will learn about the chapters and learning objectives for the ISTQB Advanced Technical Test Analyst qualification.

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

We would also like to thank Rex Black for offering his time to present, to Software Education for sponsoring the event and finally to Cliftons for providing the venue.

Thank you

The Auckland TPN Committee

About The Speaker

Rex Black is the immediate past President of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) and co-author of the ISTQB Foundation and Advanced Syllabus.

With a quarter of a century of software and systems engineering experience, Rex is President and Principal Consultant of RBCS, Inc., a leader in software, hardware and systems testing. Rex specialises in working with clients on engagements small, medium, and large to ensure complete satisfaction and positive ROI.

He is the most prolific author practicing in the field of software testing today. His popular book, Managing the Testing Process, has sold over 25,000 copies around the world, and he has also written a number of other books on testing which have also sold thousands of copies. In addition, he has written numerous articles and papers and has presented at hundreds of conferences and workshops around the world.

Event schedule

5:00pm to 5:30pm – Registration & Networking
5:30pm to 6:15pm – Speaker (including Q&A session)
6:15pm to 7:00pm – Networking & close out

Drinks will be provided.

Thanks to:

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 4 - ICT Organisation and Structure (Auckland, 24/8/2010)

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:59:42 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 4 - ICT Organisation and Structure

24 August 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitieria Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 24^th of August: ICT Organisation and Structure

This week's seminar is on ICT Organisation Structure and includes discussions on how ICT organisations are structured and the various roles and functions performed by ICT within the organisation.

Includes a general understanding of the following concepts:

The difference between decentralised vs centralised organisational models, and how they affect ICT
The key ICT roles in an organisation, and their purposes
That there are different models for ICT sourcing: in-sourcing, outsourcing, co-sourcing and off-shoring
That there are tendering models and requirements for each (eg including RFP, RFI processes)

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1^st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3^rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4^th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks (Auckland, 19/8/2010)

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:00:09 +1200

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

19 August 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

AWI International Education Group Ground Floor 401 Queen Street Auckland (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

Continuing a security theme, in the latest National Series event NZCS is present one of the country's experts in application and web security.

NOTE: Due to the NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference there will be no National Series event next month.

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

NZCS National ICT Event Series

You can't fight a war that you don't know you're waging. You can't defend your website against attack unless you know the tricks that the bad guys will use.

Join Andy Prow, Managing Director of Aura Software Security, as he demonstrates and discusses attacks and defences in action. By the end of this session you'll have an understanding of some of the common attacks such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF), and will have an appreciation of how layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) can help protect you from exploit chaining.

The session will also give you some practical tips that you can apply straight away to help you design, build and manage more secure websites.

About The Speaker

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericssons.

About the National ICT Series

The NZCS National ICT Series is a series of monthly presentations held in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin, and bringing some of the country's top ICT-related thought leaders and speakers on a national circuit to present their view on interesting and informative subjects.

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks (Hamilton, 19/8/2010)

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:42:53 +1200

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

19 August 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 2, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristam Street, Hamilton

Continuing a security theme, in the latest National Series event NZCS is proud to bring one of the country's experts in application and web security to Hamilton.

NOTE: Due to the NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference there will be no National Series event next month.

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

NZCS National ICT Event Series

You can't fight a war that you don't know you're waging. You can't defend your website against attack unless you know the tricks that the bad guys will use.

The session will also give you some practical tips that you can apply straight away to help you design, build and manage more secure websites.

Light lunch provided.

About The Speaker

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericssons.

About the National ICT Series

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Birds of a Feather: ITCP: Why is this important and how do I get Certified? (Wellington, 18/8/2010)

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:52:42 +1200

Birds of a Feather: ITCP: Why is this important and how do I get Certified?

18 August 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Katipo Cafe 76 Willis Street (Between the Majestic Centre and Metro New World, up a short flight of steps)

This is an open invitation to those in Wellington's ICT community to meet informally over a drink and nibbles for a facilitated discussion on a relevant topic.

Topic: ITCP - Why is this important for the ICT sector and how can I get Certified?

In 2009 NZCS released Information Technology Certified Professionalm ITCP, the certification for IT Professionals in New Zealand.

ITCP was created as a professional certification for those operating at a level where they possessed the experience and background to be providing professional advice in IT.

The main areas covered by the Certification are:

Skills and Knowledge
Professional Knowledge
Competency and Responsibility

Whilst it is still early days, ITCP has thus far been a significant success with several hundred having already completed their ITCP Certification and many more working through the process.

This is a great opportunity for those considering ITCP to find out more about what ITCP is, discuss why it so important for the ICT sector and what the application process entails.

Nibbles provided. Cash bar available.

About The Facilitator

Erin Connolly is the Manager of Professionalism at NZCS and oversees the ITCP application process plus wider Professionalism Programme.

Erin joined NZCS in 2009 from Career Services where she was part of a team that developed online interactive tools to help secondary school students make better career decisions. Prior to this Erin worked for Secondary Futures, a project funded by the Ministry of Education looking at what education might look like in 20 twenty years time.

Prior to that Erin has spent several years in Asia teaching English.

Registration Details:

Please register for this event below.

NOTE: Free to register, however Gold Coin entry for NZCS members and $10 for non-members - Payable at the door.

(More Info)

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 3 - ICT-related Laws (Auckland, 17/8/2010)

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:49:37 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 3 - ICT-related Laws

17 August 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytech 450 Queen Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 17^th of August: ICT-related Laws

This week's seminar is on ICT-related Laws and includes discussions on various important (NZ) laws that affect ICT operations.

Topics covered will include:

The Privacy Act and implications of breaches to the Act
NZ laws relating to electronic commerce
The Public Records Act & Archives Act and implications for ICT
The legal requirements for managing Spam
Legal issues of Intellectual Property, copyright and patents
Legal liability, professional liability, third-party liability
Legislation relating to electronic crime and its impact on ICT

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks (Wellington, 17/8/2010)

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:36:55 +1200

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

17 August 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

PowerHouse People L4, Deloitte House 10 Brandon Street, Wellington (5pm for prompt start at 5.30pm)

Continuing a security theme, in the latest National Series event NZCS is proud to present one of the country's experts in application and web security.

NOTE: Due to the NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference there will be no National Series event next month.

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

NZCS National ICT Event Series

You can't fight a war that you don't know you're waging. You can't defend your website against attack unless you know the tricks that the bad guys will use.

The session will also give you some practical tips that you can apply straight away to help you design, build and manage more secure websites.

Beer, wine and nibbles provided from 6.30pm - 7pm.

About The Speaker

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericssons.

About the National ICT Series

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks (Christchurch, 12/8/2010)

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:51:05 +1200

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

12 August 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

Continuing a security theme, in the latest National Series event NZCS is proud to bring one of the country's experts in application and web security to Christchurch.

NOTE: Due to the NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference there will be no National Series event next month.

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

NZCS National ICT Event Series

You can't fight a war that you don't know you're waging. You can't defend your website against attack unless you know the tricks that the bad guys will use.

The session will also give you some practical tips that you can apply straight away to help you design, build and manage more secure websites.

This event is NEXT WEEK. Apologies for the short notice.

About The Speaker

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericssons.

About the National ICT Series

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 2 - Information Risk Assessment (Auckland, 10/8/2010)

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:40:08 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 2 - Information Risk Assessment

10 August 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queens Street Auckland (Seminar runs from 6.15pm - 7.30pm)

Tuesday the 10th of August: Information Risk Assessment

This week's seminar is on Information Risk Assessment and includes discussions the concepts of risk assessment of Information assets.

Topics covered will include:

Quantifying the business impact of information risks
Risks to information confidentiality and mitigation concepts
Risks to integrity of information and mitigation concepts
Risks to information availability and mitigation concepts

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Every 1st Tuesday of the month)
ICT Risk (Every 2nd Tuesday of the month)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Every 3rd Tuesday of the month)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Every 4th Tuesday of the month)

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

(More Info)

TPN Presents: How to Ask Better Questions As Testers (Wellington, 10/8/2010)

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:43:21 +1200

TPN Presents: How to Ask Better Questions As Testers

10 August 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

The process of software development is also regarded as a process of human communication.

In short, beliefs about software are communicated as requirements. Software specifications are based on the requirements and are in turn communicated to programmers. Programmers communicate their beliefs about the software specifications to the computer in the form of program code.

Each of these communication steps may involve several different people and different communication media, both written and verbal. Each communication step is subject to ambiguity, and ambiguity can result in software defects.

These problems can be the result of transformational grammar. Under transformational grammar, our communication (what we say and write) are surface structure representations of a richer model of the world (deep structure).

The problem is the ambiguity created in the transformation from the deep structure to the surface structure statement. As we map our deep structure onto the surface structure by a process of transformation, deletion, distortion and generalization will occur.

But, all that information is accessible to you if you "ask the right questions".

About The Speaker

Dave Wilson has worked in the IT Industry for 11 years, trained as Systems Analyst, Programmer and Systems engineer, initially worked as a systems engineer building and running large British Government networks. He moved into testing from project management and computer system validation consultant work with Pfizer Global Engineering Group.

Dave has lived in NZ since 2004 and worked as a Test Manager for numerous large companies with many technologies including Ministry of Health, Vodafone, Southern Cross, ASB Bank and Westpac.
He is an expert in Test Management and Configuration Management and is a Prince2 Practitioner.

Dave's previous careers include:

Motor Engineer and garage owner
Farmer, tree grower, forestry and saw milling contractor
Commercial Landscape Gardener
Builder
Professional Soldier
Homeopathic and natural health practitioner

TPN wish to thank Fujitsu for sponsoring the drinks and nibbles and Westpac for providing the venue.

Registration Details:

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome. Please use the following links to register: Pay $5 at the door.

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ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 1 - Ethical Work Practice (Auckland, 03/8/2010)

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:29:37 +1200

ICT Professional Knowledge: Seminar 1 - Ethical Work Practice

3 August 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm

Whitireia Polytechnic 450 Queen Street Auckland

Tuesday 3^rd August: Ethical Work Practice

This week's seminar is on Ethical Work Practice and includes discussions on ethical issues and topics to support NZCS’s Code of Professional Conduct and Code of Practice.

Ethical work practice, professional behaviour, quality of advice and making ethical decisions will be covered in this session.

More information about this Series

The seminars will be run every Tuesday at the Whitireia Campus, 450 Queen Street at 5.45pm for a 6.15pm start. Enter the Queen Street entry.

[Parking: Coming up Queen Street, turn left past 450 Queen Street into Turner Street. There is plenty of street parking available.]

You may attend all sessions or just come along to those that interest you.

Professional Knowledge covers 4 areas:

Ethics and Code of Practice (Tuesday, 3 August)
ICT Risk (Tuesday 10 August)
Legal and Compliance Frameworks (Tuesday, 17 August)
Roles and Context of ICT within the Organisation (Tuesday, 24 August)

A clear understanding of the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum is a pre-requiste for ITCP Certification. Ongoing professional development is also a key requirement for retention of both NZCS membership and ITCP Certificaiton.

You can download the NZCS Professional Knowledge Curriculum here for more information.

Registration:

Only one email notice will be issued for each week's seminar, on the preceding Wednesday.

Please register below to secure your place.

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Seminar: Introduction to Project Management (Christchurch, 29/7/2010)

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:16:22 +1200

Seminar: Introduction to Project Management

29 July 2010: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Seminar Room Hotel So 165 Cashel St Christchurch

NZCS are proud to announce the first of a new half-day Seminar Series in Christchurch. These will cover a broad range of IT-related areas.

Introduction to Project Management

Duration: 1/2 Day

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to apply a framework for effective management of small projects, without the overhead of a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

The nature of project management
The role of the project sponsor
Risk and Issue management
Quality management
Stakeholders
Benefits
Procurement
Project planning
Project justification
The Planning Phase
The Delivery Phase
The Harvest Phase

Your Trainer

Wellington-based Paul Sutton operates Project Results bringing hands on experience as a Technology Professional, Project Management Trainer, Coach and Practitioner. Paul has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Canterbury in Computer Science and Operations Research.

The Course

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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IPv6 Is Coming - Is Your Organisation Ready? (Wellington, 29/7/2010)

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:24:39 +1200

IPv6 Is Coming - Is Your Organisation Ready?

29 July 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM Level 11 Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street Wellington

An article in New Zealand Computerworld on 20 July 2010 says "A group of international experts predict the date that IPv4, the current pool of internet protocol addresses, will run out is 18 July 2011, while the transition to IPv6, the new address pool, is occurring in fits and starts in New Zealand. A special taskforce under the auspices of InternetNZ has been set up and is headed by Murray Milner."

Hear Murray Milner address this from a business readiness, rather than technical, point of view.

IPv6 will be part of your business within the next year or so - coming whether you're ready or not. What must I do to ensure my business is ready when the inevitable time arrives? Is this Y2K all over again?

This will complement the recent ISSIG session which explored the potential security issues with the transition to IPv6.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Murray Milner is the Convener of the New Zealand IPv6 Task Force. He has 34 years of experience in the ICT industry.

Until September 2005 he was the Chief Technology Officer for Telecom New Zealand. During his career Murray has also held a variety of auxiliary positions within the wider industry, including: national, regional and international standards bodies; various government forums; national and international conferences and forums.

Murray has a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Canterbury. He has also undertaken post doctoral research in economics, public policy and telecommunication engineering at Carnegie Mellon and
Stanford Universities in the USA.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Seminar: Introduction to Project Management (Auckland, 27/7/2010)

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:49:31 +1200

Seminar: Introduction to Project Management

27 July 2010: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Cliftons Level 2, Tower Centre 45 Queen Street Auckland

NZCS are proud to announce the first of a new half-day Seminar Series in Auckland. These will cover a broad range of IT-related areas.

Introduction to Project Management

Duration: 1/2 Day

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to apply a framework for effective management of small projects, without the overhead of a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

The nature of project management
The role of the project sponsor
Risk and Issue management
Quality management
Stakeholders
Benefits
Procurement
Project planning
Project justification
The Planning Phase
The Delivery Phase
The Harvest Phase

Your Trainer

The Course

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Mid-Winter Dinner - With our CEO (Christchurch, 23/7/2010)

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:28:03 +1200

Mid-Winter Dinner - With our CEO

23 July 2010: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Hotel SO 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch 6.30 for a 7pm start

Warm-up your winter and learn more about what the NZCS is doing for you by joining us for a delicious dinner with festive company and the opportunity to chat with the Society’s CEO, Paul Matthews, who will have the latest news on current NZCS initiatives and our upcoming conference celebrating 50 years of ICT Innovation.

As well as the opportunity for informal discussion, Paul will give a short "State of the Nation" presentation discussing the IT industry and profession in New Zealand, opportunities, and the big picture of where we're heading and why.

Menu for Mid-Winter Buffet Dinner

Salads - Choice of 2 from

Roast Pumpkin, Baby Rocket, Red Pepper, toasted Seeds & Feta
Rosemary Roasted Potato, Wholegrain Mustard, Spring Onion & Crisp Streaky Bacon
Pesto Pasta, grilled Zucchini, Baby Spinach, Blue Cheese & Smoked Tomato
Mixed Greens w` Sweet Sherry Vinaigrette

Mains - Choice of 2 from

Cranberry Stuffed Turkey & Cranberry Relish
Honey & Mustard Glazed Ham
Roast stuffed Lamb Leg, Mint Jelly & Gravy

For the table -

Roast Potatoes
Seasonal Vegetables w` Rosemary Hollandaise

Dessert -

Pavlova, Sticky Kiwifruit & lots of Cream
Christmas Pudding w` Blackberry Compote & Brandy Custard

Registration Details:

It is essential to book for this event – no door registrations can be accepted and the maximum number that can be catered for is 40.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via credit card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your credit card details.

Cash Bar Operating

NB All drinks are additional and are at bar costs, payable to the wait staff.

Overnight package offered by Hotel SO:

Hotel SO has kindly put together an accommodation package that is available to anyone attending our Mid-Winter Dinner.

Accommodation for Friday night is $79.00 or $109.00. Car parking is available at $16.00 for 24 hours.

To take advantage of this package you need to contact Hotel SO directly – Chanelle Sefont at chanelle.sefont@hotelso.co.nz or direct dial 03 968 5009.

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The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime (Auckland, 22/7/2010)

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:20:05 +1200

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

22 July 2010: 5:45 pm - 7:15 pm

AWI International Education Group Ground Floor 401 Queen Street Auckland

In the latest National Series event, NZCS is proud to bring the head of the NZ Police's National eCrime Group to Auckland to present the latest in digital forensics and eCrime. This is not one to be missed!

National Series: The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

Digital Forensics and e-Crime is a rapidly developing and cutting edge discipline of ICT, contributing more and more significantly to crime investigations in New Zealand and globally every year.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is responsible for managing the digital forensics for the NZ Police via three e-Crime Labs throughout the country.

In this presentation Maarten Kleintjes, head of the NZ Police National Electronic Crime Group, will give an update on the latest local and international work in digital forensics and e-Crime including recent examples of high profile cases where digital forensics played a key part in cracking the case.

As the devices on which people process and store information have become more sophisticated, more widespread and more interconnected, the role of the E-Crime Lab has grown considerably. These days there are very few crimes committed that don’t have an electronic component to evidence and the number of exhibits have increased from around 40 a year in 1985 to over 16,000 in recent years. This ranges from people using their computer to research how to commit a crime (or ironically how to get away with it!), or emails or text messages which often unknowingly give the game away, through to more complicated analysis.

Maarten will also outline EVE, the Environment for Virtualised Evidence, the world-leading system created by the NZ e-Crime Group and launched last year to revolutionalise the efficient and timely collection, indexing and analysis of electronic evidence. This system dramatically changed the turnaround of a Detective submitting a computer for analysis and access to files and information from many months or years to several days.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is leading the world in the area of digital forensics, and this presentation will provide significant insight into this fascinating area.

About The Speaker

Maarten Kleintjes is the Manager of the National Electronic Crime Group for the New Zealand Police.

Maarten has a long, varied and distinguished background in the computer industry as an electronic engineer, technical investigator, consultant, software developer, educator and international seminar presenter.

Maarten commenced his career in the New Zealand Police in 1984 as Officer in Charge of the National Tape Laboratory specialising in covert evidence gathering and recovery through advanced signal processing. In 1993 he advanced into the position of Chief Technical Investigator and pioneered Computer Forensics in New Zealand. In 1999 he was appointed National Manager after successfully establishing the Electronic Crime Laboratory.

In 2009 Maarten was appointed Manager e-Crime Group and is responsible for the e-Crime Laboratory, the NC3 (National Cyber Crime Centre) and the e-Crime Research and Development group.

His interests have covered a wide range of topics including audio, video, operating systems, programming languages, cryptography and the Internet.

Maarten trained in New Zealand, Australia and the Netherlands in the area Electronic Engineering, Signal Processing and Computer Forensics. In his career with the New Zealand Police he has been involved in a large number of high profile investigations and he gives evidence in District and High Court on a regular basis as an expert witness.

In addition to his investigative work Maarten is much involved as an educator, lecturing at the Royal NZ Police College and other National and International Seminars.

About the National ICT Series

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime (Hamilton, 22/7/2010)

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:15:02 +1200

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

22 July 2010: 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

In the latest National Series event, NZCS is proud to bring the head of the NZ Police's National eCrime Group to Hamilton to present the latest in digital forensics and eCrime. This is not one to be missed!

National Series: The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

Digital Forensics and e-Crime is a rapidly developing and cutting edge discipline of ICT, contributing more and more significantly to crime investigations in New Zealand and globally every year.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is responsible for managing the digital forensics for the NZ Police via three e-Crime Labs throughout the country.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is leading the world in the area of digital forensics, and this presentation will provide significant insight into this fascinating area.

Includes light lunch.

Please note the slightly later starting time than normal.

About The Speaker

Maarten Kleintjes is the Manager of the National Electronic Crime Group for the New Zealand Police.

In 2009 Maarten was appointed Manager e-Crime Group and is responsible for the e-Crime Laboratory, the NC3 (National Cyber Crime Centre) and the e-Crime Research and Development group.

His interests have covered a wide range of topics including audio, video, operating systems, programming languages, cryptography and the Internet.

In addition to his investigative work Maarten is much involved as an educator, lecturing at the Royal NZ Police College and other National and International Seminars.

About the National ICT Series

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

ICTTop100 Lunch: Clever (Auckland, 21/7/2010)

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:56:19 +1200

ICTTop100 Lunch: Clever

21 July 2010: 12:15 pm - 1:45 pm

The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

ICTTop100 is a forum where senior ICT professionals and managers come together to discuss and debate a particular topic in detail, over a formal lunch.

Discussion takes place under the Chatham House rule, and the outcomes are then forwarded to various stakeholders (such as NZCS, Government, etc).

Clever, Leading Your Smartest Most Creative People

by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones.

We scan the ideas in this clever book about how to lead exceptionally talented people - in only 7 minutes - and then our talented attendees tell us how to really do it!

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime (Wellington, 15/7/2010)

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:07:41 +1200

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

15 July 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

PowerHouse People L4 Deloitte House 10 Brandon Street Wellington

In the latest National Series event, NZCS is proud to bring you the head of the NZ Police's National eCrime Group to present the latest in digital forensics and eCrime. This is not one to be missed!

National Series: The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

Digital Forensics and e-Crime is a rapidly developing and cutting edge discipline of ICT, contributing more and more significantly to crime investigations in New Zealand and globally every year.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is responsible for managing the digital forensics for the NZ Police via three e-Crime Labs throughout the country.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is leading the world in the area of digital forensics, and this presentation will provide significant insight into this fascinating area.

About The Speaker

Maarten Kleintjes is the Manager of the National Electronic Crime Group for the New Zealand Police.

In 2009 Maarten was appointed Manager e-Crime Group and is responsible for the e-Crime Laboratory, the NC3 (National Cyber Crime Centre) and the e-Crime Research and Development group.

His interests have covered a wide range of topics including audio, video, operating systems, programming languages, cryptography and the Internet.

In addition to his investigative work Maarten is much involved as an educator, lecturing at the Royal NZ Police College and other National and International Seminars.

About the National ICT Series

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime (Christchurch, 13/7/2010)

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:03:22 +1200

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

13 July 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

In the latest National Series event, NZCS is proud to bring the head of the NZ Police's National eCrime Group to Christchurch to present the latest in digital forensics and eCrime. This is not one to be missed!

National Series: The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

Digital Forensics and e-Crime is a rapidly developing and cutting edge discipline of ICT, contributing more and more significantly to crime investigations in New Zealand and globally every year.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is responsible for managing the digital forensics for the NZ Police via three e-Crime Labs throughout the country.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is leading the world in the area of digital forensics, and this presentation will provide significant insight into this fascinating area.

About The Speaker

Maarten Kleintjes is the Manager of the National Electronic Crime Group for the New Zealand Police.

In 2009 Maarten was appointed Manager e-Crime Group and is responsible for the e-Crime Laboratory, the NC3 (National Cyber Crime Centre) and the e-Crime Research and Development group.

His interests have covered a wide range of topics including audio, video, operating systems, programming languages, cryptography and the Internet.

In addition to his investigative work Maarten is much involved as an educator, lecturing at the Royal NZ Police College and other National and International Seminars.

About the National ICT Series

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

TPN: IAG's Agile Testing Strategy (Auckland, 13/7/2010)

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 04:31:26 +1200

TPN: IAG's Agile Testing Strategy

13 July 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Apiata Room Level 1, IAG NZI Centre 1 Fanshawe St Auckland

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

IAG’s Agile Testing Strategy

Jeff Bedwell, Test Manager of IAG, will be talking us through IAG’s agile testing strategy. In today’s IT industry, the agile methodology is seldom implemented effectively. Often times it takes a substantial investment of time, patience and discipline for a company to mature their agile approach.

IAG is one of these companies dedicated to refining their agile process.

Join us as Jeff talks us through the history behind the move to the agile methodology with one of the industry’s largest and most well known insurance firms. The talk will cover:

IAG’s background of testing beginning from the Waterfall Approach, Prince 2 methodology, and use of Rational Robot.
The move to Agile Testing, including examples of what did and did not work
Test pyramid and strategy
How SCRUM was introduced
Agile team approach - role clarity and separation
Reusable scripts
The team’s move from functional to technical testing
Open source software selection - Fitnesse/Slim
Champions
SOA – concentration of effort on reusable items
Successes to date

On behalf of the entire TPN, the committee would like to extend its thanks and appreciation to IAG who will be sponsoring the venue at their premises as well as the drinks for the evening.

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

About The Speaker

Jeff Bedwell is currently the Test Manager at IAG and is responsible for championing the automation strategy and process, as well as managing the Test Team. He has spent more than 25 years working at a variety of Insurance companies including Commercial Union, NZI and now IAG.

During that time he covered most areas of insurance including sales, head office and branch management before moving into TS as an analyst around 13 years ago. In TS he has worked as a Senior Analyst, Business Consultant, Project Manager and Team Leader before changing roles again and becoming the Test Manager at IAG around 3 years ago.

We hope that you can join us for this event.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

Event schedule:

5:00 to 5:30pm - Registration & Networking
5:30 to 6:45pm - Presentation and Questions
6:45 to 7:00pm - Networking & close out

Drinks will be sponsored by IAG (Up to two drinks per person).

(More Info)

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime (Dunedin, 13/7/2010)

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:21:23 +1200

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

13 July 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Seminar Room Centre for Innovation (Big glass building) St David Street Dunedin

In the latest National Series event, NZCS is proud to bring the head of the NZ Police's National eCrime Group to Dunedin to present the latest in digital forensics and eCrime. This is not one to be missed!

National Series: The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

Digital Forensics and e-Crime is a rapidly developing and cutting edge discipline of ICT, contributing more and more significantly to crime investigations in New Zealand and globally every year.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is responsible for managing the digital forensics for the NZ Police via three e-Crime Labs throughout the country.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is leading the world in the area of digital forensics, and this presentation will provide significant insight into this fascinating area.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Maarten Kleintjes is the Manager of the National Electronic Crime Group for the New Zealand Police.

In 2009 Maarten was appointed Manager e-Crime Group and is responsible for the e-Crime Laboratory, the NC3 (National Cyber Crime Centre) and the e-Crime Research and Development group.

His interests have covered a wide range of topics including audio, video, operating systems, programming languages, cryptography and the Internet.

In addition to his investigative work Maarten is much involved as an educator, lecturing at the Royal NZ Police College and other National and International Seminars.

About the National ICT Series

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

WFIA: Connecting Otara - The Technology behind NZ's most Connected Community (Auckland, 07/7/2010)

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:12:38 +1200

WFIA: Connecting Otara - The Technology behind NZ's most Connected Community

7 July 2010: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

The Computer Clubhouse provides a creative and safe after-school learning environment where young people from under-served communities work with adult mentors to explore their own ideas, develop skills, and build confidence in themselves through the use of technology.

Clubhouse 274 is an after-school drop in centre in Otara where members choose to come and work on projects that interest them. As well as having access to state of the art technology and programmes, the Clubhouse also uses volunteers as mentors to provide help and support.

In addition to facilitating the globally successful Computer Clubhouse learning model for its school age members and duplicating it around the country, Clubhouse 274 is also at the forefront of community connectivity. It hosts a fully integrated digital learning environment established between local schools and residents of the community.

With support from the local community, the ICT industry sector, and other private, community, local and national government bodies, 5000 families have access to a seamless set of digital solutions including:

A fibre network that is part of Vector’s Metro Ethernet, providing ultrafast broadband to
a free community-wide wireless network built by Rural Link to all Clover Park residents in association with community partners, Housing New Zealand
An online portal allowing the community to communicate and share digitally created content, developed at the University of Auckland and funded by the Ministry of Youth Development and Manukau City Council
Distribution of low cost digital devices through the Intel Classmate Laptop Project funded by Microsoft New Zealand and the Auckland Airport Community Trust
A Mobile Clubhouse 274 caravan to reach anywhere within the immediate precinct of the Computer Clubhouse Connected Community Project provided by Hewlett Packard New Zealand.

In this presentation Mike Usmar, CEO of the Computer Clubhouse Trust, will share with us details of the technology program that enables this celebrated community institution. Mike believes the Connected Community Project makes "Otara the most connected community in New Zealand."

Includes full breakfast

About The Speaker

Mike Usmar is CEO of Computer Clubhouse Trust, and the “World Famous in Auckland" (and the rest of NZ) Computer Clubhouse 274; a member of the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network based at the Museum of Science in Boston, and the recently launched Network of Aotearoa Clubhouses (NOAC), based in Otara, Manukau City.

He has led this organisation from 2005 when the first Clubhouse 274 opened in temporary facilities, and is widely credited for his leadership in the development of a vibrant series of clubhouses now opening across the country.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

ISSIG Quarterly Meeting: IPv6 - Coming Ready or Not! (Wellington, 06/7/2010)

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:15:01 +1200

ISSIG Quarterly Meeting: IPv6 - Coming Ready or Not!

6 July 2010: 3:15 pm - 5:15 pm

Room 512, 5th Floor WelTec 11 - 17 Church Street (off Boulcott Street) Wellington

Presentation: IPv6 - coming Ready or Not!

The need for your enterprise to be able to address IPv6 is rapidly approaching with the IPv4 addresses predicted by some to run out before the end of 2011. If you don’t have a plan to deal with IPv6, you are running out of time. As with all change on the Internet there are Information Security implications. Are you in a position to advise your enterprise on these issues? Our session this month will help you become aware of what the potential security issues are and give you guidance on how to deal with them.

Our Presenters are members of the IPv6 taskforce and ideally equipped to address us on the security issues and answer our questions.

Murray Milner is the Convener of the New Zealand IPv6 Task Force. He has 34 years of experience in the ICT industry. Until September 2005 he was the Chief Technology Officer for Telecom New Zealand. During his career Murray has also held a variety of auxiliary positions within the wider industry, including: national, regional and international standards bodies; various government forums; national and international conferences and forums.

Murray has a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Canterbury. He has also undertaken post doctoral research in economics, public policy and telecommunication engineering at Carnegie Mellon and Stanford Universities in the USA.

Dean Pemberton is a Senior Consultant with Prophecy Networks. His role has a particularly broad scope, ranging from ICT policy development with CIOs to overseeing deployment of infrastructure. Dean is regularly involved with InternetNZ, and is currently chair of the IPv6 Steering Group TechSIG. Dean has previously worked for Juniper Networks and Lucent Technologies in consulting and training roles.

Door Prize:

There will also be a $100 book token door prize for an ISSIG member selected at random.

Agenda

3:15pm Assemble/Register
3:30pm Presentation
4:45pm Networking

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Seminar: Introduction to Project Management (Wellington, 24/6/2010)

Mon, 24 May 2010 14:47:04 +1200

Seminar: Introduction to Project Management

24 June 2010: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Ferguson Room Engineering House 158 The Terrace Wellington

NZCS are proud to announce the first of a new half-day Seminar Series in Wellington. These will cover a broad range of IT-related areas.

Introduction to Project Management

Duration: 1/2 Day

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to apply a framework for effective management of small projects, without the overhead of a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects

Approach

Course Content

The course covers the following:

The nature of project management
The role of the project sponsor
Risk and Issue management
Quality management
Stakeholders
Benefits
Procurement
Project planning
Project justification
The Planning Phase
The Delivery Phase
The Harvest Phase

Your Trainer

The Course

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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The IT side of Business Continuity (Wellington, 24/6/2010)

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:49:44 +1200

The IT side of Business Continuity

24 June 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Organisations are increasingly putting the emphasis of Business Continuity into the capable hands of the IT manager or CIO.

It is important that the IT manager or CIO can communicate the boundaries of the IT department in terms recovery capability (RPO and RTO) in a language (BRO) that can be understood by the business.

The challenge of risk management (BCP/DR) remains high for organisations that require annual audits and this is going to get tougher with the publication of new international and local standards.

In this presentation Dean McCarthy will talk about the standards and the challenges of communications between business and IT.

Take Outs

Business Continuity Standards
Understanding your recovery capability
Boundaries of responsibility for Business and IT
Effective communication between IT and the Business

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Dean McCarthy is a business continuity management practitioner assisting organisations to identify, plan for, and recover from high impact incidents that may disable business operations.

He has a wealth of experience in business continuity management specialising in facilitated crisis simulation role play exercises and the interface between the business and IT.

He is a founder and director of BCM International where he draws on his experience to ensure businesses are aware of, and prepared for, the risks they face.

Business Continuity Management Consultant for the past 8 years
Planning and facilitation of large scale top management simulation exercises
Engagements in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, South Africa United Arab Emirates, China
Extensive IT background

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN: Test Automation with Legacy Systems (Auckland, 23/6/2010)

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:14:36 +1200

TPN: Test Automation with Legacy Systems

23 June 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Dining Room The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street, Auckland

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

Test Automation for Legacy Systems with Rick Mugridge.

Most software is developed without test automation in mind. The software usually changes over time and the systems are likely to have become rather tangled. This makes it hard to apply test automation at multiple levels. And it can be difficult to have clean test independence, especially when test systems are shared.

Test automation often has to be carried out through user interfaces, which tends to make automation slow and fragile. We look at the issues in applying test automation to legacy systems, including political ones, and look at some useful approaches.

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

About The Speaker

Rick Mugridge is an expert in agile software development, working in NZ, Europe and USA as coach, architect, developer and consultant to people working in test automation.

Rick has a PhD in Computer Science and has taught software engineering at the University of Auckland.

We hope that you can join us for this event.

The Auckland TPN Committee

Event schedule:

5:00pm to 5:30pm – Registration & Networking
5:30 to 6:45pm – Presentation and Questions
6:45 to 7:00pm - Networking & close out

Drinks will be available at a cash bar (cash only).

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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How Weather Forecasting Works (Christchurch, 22/6/2010)

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:15:20 +1200

How Weather Forecasting Works

22 June 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Seminar room L233 Level 2, Main Building, Above the City Campus Library CPIT, City Campus, Madras Street Christchurch

Ever wondered how weather forecasting works?

Twice a day, the UC Centre for Atmospheric Research publishes weather forecasts (at www.ucar.canterbury.ac.nz/weather). Most of us take these and other weather forecasts for granted, however there's a heap of work behind the scenes involved in getting these as accurate as possible.

What you may not know is that, in this case, data is analysed and the forecast calculated by the BlueFern BlueGene/L supercomputer (albeit using of a small fraction of its capacity).

In this presentation Tony Dale of BlueFern will run through the process of these twice daily forecasts from start to finish, including gathering the data and the complexities of the software used to analyse it, through to the final output you see on the site above.

Refreshments kindly sponsored by CPIT.

About The Speaker

Tony Dale Bsc(Hons), MSc, MNZCS ITCP, has over 20 years of experience in academic computing at the University of Canterbury. Tony has been a member of the BlueFern high performance computing unit since 2006, and is involved in all aspects of its supercomputing activities.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Open Source Software in Business: the strategic & the practical (Nelson, 18/6/2010)

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:28:32 +1200

Open Source Software in Business: the strategic & the practical

18 June 2010: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NMIT : T309 (third floor of T-block) Access T Block via Gate 7 on Nile Street (map)

Don Christie, the president of NZOSS will present a talk about the business uses of Open Source software and the increasing adoption of open source for business. Following this discussion will be Simon Gutschlag, talking about some real-world deployments that he has implemented to address business needs.

A workshop-type session will then be run with participation from the audience on Open Source tools used in business and where they have/have not been successful. A good chance to share learning’s and discuss where, how and when open source solutions make sense for business.

There will also be a presentation on an Open Source System that people can implement at home to great effect with very little cost involved – MythTV.

After the presentation, a few tables will be booked at the local pub for those keen on a buy-your-own Friday night ale!

Registration Details:

Please register for this event below. Thanks.

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Site Visit: Air New Zealand Corporate (Auckland, 16/6/2010)

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:05:14 +1200

Site Visit: Air New Zealand Corporate

16 June 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Air New Zealand Auditorium 185 Fanshawe Street Auckland CBD

Air New Zealand, world renowned airline and leading IT innovator, is hosting an exclusive evening for NZCS members.

Over many years Air New Zealand has built up a market-leading reputation of true innovation and IT has been central to their success. This is an exclusive opportunity to find out more about how innovation and IT works in practice at Air New Zealand.

Presenters include:

Julia Raue, CIO, Air New Zealand
Chris Trigg, GM IT Production, and
Young Ly, Manager Innovations and Ventures

The Programme:

Kicking off at 5:30pm with light refreshments, the presentation starts at 5:45 and concludes with Q & A at approximately 7:30pm.

During the evening guests will have a chance to try out the new Kiosk technology.

As well as an overview of the Group IT People structure and “people strategy”, find out about:

How AirNZ IT strategy aligns to the business
AirNZ’s financials/cost profile and key deliverables
The domestic and global experience
AirNZ challenges, what works, and what’s next.

There will be a showcase of technology, self service, and innovation.

Good Car Parking is available in the adjacent Wilson's Park or on the street.

Click Here for a map

Numbers are limited, so this invitation is restricted to NZCS Members only (no charge). Book quickly to avoid missing out.

Registration Details:

This event is for NZCS members only. Please register below. Registration is essential.

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Ethical Dilemmas - do they matter to IT professionals? (Wellington, 16/6/2010)

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:03:35 +1200

Ethical Dilemmas - do they matter to IT professionals?

16 June 2010: 5:15 pm - 7:30 pm

Perrets Corner Corner of Manners and Willis Street Wellington (Map)

Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather are informal events, generally held at a pub, with a facilitated discussion over a beer or wine on a matter of common interest.

Ethical Dilemmas - do they matter to IT professionals?

Last week at an NZCS Special General Meeting the members formally adopted a new Code of Professional Conduct which requires members as IT professionals to identify and resolve ethical dilemmas in their work and be encouraged to seek advice from other professionals when required.

The new Code of Professional Conduct is here: www.nzcs.org.nz/about/ethics

But what is an ethical dilemma anyway? Why should they matter to IT professionals?

Computers have changed the way we do things today, the way our offices are organised and tasks done. The ethical issues are therefore not simply issues that involve computers and their use of information technology more broadly, but more so in the way business is done. For example there are ethical issues in the use of technology in business, ethical issues dealing with the Internet and ethical issues resulting from the impact of computers and information technology on society. All are globally interrelated.

In the current economic climate work opportunities are tight and holding an ethical stance on a task may prevent or lose business opportunities. However, if our profession is to advance and mature it is important to demonstrate that we, the Information Technology industry, are able to think beyond the technology and act morally within the law.

This is the first of a number of discussions for members around the topic of professionalism and what it means to NZCS members. Please come along and share your war stories (experiences) and views.

About the Facilitator

Bev Bunker; Master Information Management, Dip Information Science, ITCP, MNZCS, CISA.

Bev is a senior Information and technology consultant with 20 years experience in the industry.

For her Master’s research she looked at role expectations for Local Government CIOs finding that business and relationship skills were valued as much as technology. She facilitated the development of the Professional Knowledge Curriculum which forms part of NZCS ITCP programme www.itcp.co.nz and has recently produced research on the impact of Digital Literacy on productivity and marginalised groups for NZCS.

She is actively interested in what skills and competencies IT professionals will require for the future.

Registration Details:

Please register for this event below.

Note that registration is free, however the following door costs will go towards providing nibbles:

Members, $2 at the door
Non-Members, $10 at the door

As with all Birds of a Feather events, a cash bar will operate throughout.

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TPN: Cloud Computing: A Tool and a Task (Wellington, 15/6/2010)

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:13:17 +1200

TPN: Cloud Computing: A Tool and a Task

15 June 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

NZCS Wellington Test Professionals Network presents:

Simon Anderson - Cloud Computing: A Tool and a Task

Cloud computing is an often appearing IT term these days. But what does it mean? How does it affect Testers? Simon defines Cloud Computing and investigates how it can aid and challenge Testers.

About the Speaker:

Simon Anderson is a Consultant for Assurity Consulting Ltd specialising in Testing Tools. He is a HP Software Accredited System Engineer and Trainer. He has had a 16 year love hate relationship with testing.

TPN wishes to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

TPN also with to thank Assurity for providing the drinks and nibbles.

Registration Details:

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome

NOTE: Please pay $5 at the door

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National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Dunedin] (Dunedin, 15/6/2010)

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:10:46 +1200

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Dunedin]

15 June 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Seminar Room Centre for Innovation (Big glass building) St David Street Dunedin

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT in a disaster zone and the role technology plays in saving lives.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone

As we know, ICT has transformed everyday life and changed the way we do things. As well as this, technology now plays a pivotal role in the global humanitarian and rescue response when disaster strikes around the world.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have established a number of IT & Telecommunications Emergency Response Units (ERUs) to help in the response to disasters and emergencies around the world. New Zealand's ERU was the 5th such unit and consists of a team of 20 with diverse backgrounds in telecommunications and ICT.

The Emergency Response Units are charged with putting in place emergency telecommunications infrastructure to support the rescue effort. Ongoing power and internet outages as well as IT system software and hardware failures within the country create significant difficulties for Red Cross to maintain ongoing contact with key partners, field staff and external contacts, making this role essential.

As an active member of the NZ Red Cross IT&T ERU, Steve Davis will outline the impact greater use of telecommunications and IT infrastructure has had on the rescue efforts in disaster-hit areas such as Haiti, Tonga and the Solomon Islands, the challenges faced, as well as some of the backgound to the Red Cross IT&T team.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Steve Davis has a background in Radio Communications and IT spanning more than 25 years and has been putting this to use in the fields of Emergency Management and Disaster Response through a number of agencies over the past 18 years.

Through an early interest in electronics and radio Steve obtained his amateur radio license in 1980, soon after becoming a member of the New Zealand Association of Amateur Radio Transmitters (NZART) and later joining the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications group (AREC). Steve has served as a member of the National Council for NZART, various offices for the local NZART branch and as Section Leader for the local AREC Section.

Through AREC Steve became involved in Land Search and Rescue in New Zealand and has responded to many searches to provide communications and IT support at the Incident Control Point. Steve has also participated in local, regional and national roles of the Land SAR organisation over many years.

In more recent times Steve has become a member of NZ Red Cross’s first International Emergency Response Unit, providing IT & Telecommunications support to International and Local Red Cross in times of a major disaster.

Steve is currently self employed providing training, consulting and contracting services in a range of fields in the ICT and Emergency Management sectors, and is active in NZCS, Scouts NZ, and the Mountain Safety Council.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Auckland] (Auckland, 10/6/2010)

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:06:50 +1200

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Auckland]

10 June 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

AWI International Education Group Ground Floor 401 Queen Street Auckland (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT in a disaster zone and the role technology plays in saving lives.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone

About The Speaker

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Wellington] (Wellington, 09/6/2010)

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:04:11 +1200

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Wellington]

9 June 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

PowerHouse People L4, Deloitte House 10 Brandon Street, Wellington (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT in a disaster zone and the role technology plays in saving lives.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone

About The Speaker

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Hamilton] (Hamilton, 09/6/2010)

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:01:05 +1200

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Hamilton]

9 June 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT in a disaster zone and the role technology plays in saving lives.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Christchurch] (Christchurch, 08/6/2010)

Sun, 23 May 2010 22:07:35 +1200

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Christchurch]

8 June 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT in a disaster zone and the role technology plays in saving lives.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone

About The Speaker

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Panel: The more things change, the more they stay the same! (Wellington, 03/6/2010)

Wed, 19 May 2010 10:33:24 +1200

Panel: The more things change, the more they stay the same!

3 June 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Spectrum Theatre (Previously BP Theatrette) corner of Johnston St and Customhouse Quay Wellington

In the last 50 years of Information Technology has anything really changed? Come share your experience with colleagues over nibbles and a glass of something refreshing.

In this humourous and entertaining panel session, as part of our on-going series of NZCS 50th Anniversary celebrations we offer up a panel of experts to comment on some issues that may or may not have changed over 50 years of computing and ICT in New Zealand.

Stephen Bell, journalist and commentator
Perce Harpham - pioneer ICT entrepreneur (creator of first software company in NZ)
Val Hooper - Professor of Information Management Victoria University
Simon Riley - Internet zealot and government advisor

Some pre-selected topics include:

Cloud computing
Government purchasing of ICT
Difficulties in finding good staff, or perceived lack of value in science and technology

If you feel there's a burning issue - perhaps you would like to suggest this to us via email (to info@nzcs.org.nz).

You will have the opportunity to comment yourself, as we will take comments from the floor after each topic.

Includes full refreshments

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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WFIA: Open Source Solutions with Commercial Solutions - a marriage made in heaven? (Auckland, 02/6/2010)

Thu, 13 May 2010 23:44:30 +1200

WFIA: Open Source Solutions with Commercial Solutions - a marriage made in heaven?

2 June 2010: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

NZCS "World Famous in Auckland" breakfast presents:

Open Source Solutions with Commercial Solutions - a marriage made in heaven?

Presented by John Holley, Group Manager ICT, Auckland Regional Council

John will discuss the Auckland Regional Council's (ARC) experiences in utilising open source solutions to enhance existing business processes and systems within the ARC.

Often it is believed that the use of open source solutions along side commercial solutions means compromise. In this presentation John will discuss the experiences of the ARC utlilising open source solutions, especially in conjunction with SAP.

He shows how suitable open source additions can both save money and improve business processes.

Includes full Breakfast

About The Speaker

John Holley is the Group Manager ICT for the Auckland Regional Council.

Before this, he has held a number of IT management, sales, and consulting roles, including at the University of Auckland and the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind.

He has been a school trustee for 12 years, including time as board chair for his children's primary school. He additionally provides consulting to a number of schools in the greater Auckland area on ICT and is a member of the Accelerating Aotearoa Taskforce.

In his spare time he is an officer in the NZ Army, which has included an operational deployment to East Timor in 2001, and instructs in operational planning and leadership at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Notice of Annual General Meeting and Special General Meeting of the NZ Computer Society Inc (Wellington, 28/5/2010)

Fri, 07 May 2010 17:51:34 +1200

Notice of Annual General Meeting and Special General Meeting of the NZ Computer Society Inc

28 May 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Chancellor 2 James Cook Hotel 147 The Terrace Wellington ** NOTE: CHANGE OF VENUE **

Notice of Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Computer Society Inc

The Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Computer Society Inc will be held at 5:30pm on Friday 28th May in Wellington.

The following documents relate to the Annual General Meeting:

If you are unable to attend please email your apologies to info@nzcs.org.nz

Note that Proxy appointments are no longer available within 48 hours of the AGM.

Notice of Special General Meeting of the New Zealand Computer Society Inc

A Special General Meeting of the New Zealand Computer Society Inc has been called for the following purposes:

Consider replacement of the existing Code of Ethics with a new Code of Professional Conduct

Make a series of related Constitutional changes

The Agenda for the Special General Meeting is here.

The proposed new Code of Professional Conduct can be viewed here.

The proposed Constitutional changes are available here.

The Special General Meeting will occur immediately following the Annual General Meeting, expected to be 6:15pm on Friday 28th May in Wellington.

If you are unable to attend please email your apologies to info@nzcs.org.nz

Note that Proxy appointments are no longer available within 48 hours of the AGM.

Registration Details:

We ask that all attendees register for catering purposes.

This event is open to NZCS Members Only.

Note that Proxy appointments are no longer available within 48 hours of the AGM.

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Using Open Source Software for Developing Web Sites - What's your flavour? (Christchurch, 27/5/2010)

Fri, 07 May 2010 02:18:44 +1200

Using Open Source Software for Developing Web Sites - What's your flavour?

27 May 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

The NZCS Canterbury Branch invites you to this special panel event - to hear from and share your views with three of Christchurch's most experienced developers using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) for their Web development work.

Using Open Source Software for Developing Web Sites - What's your flavour?

Our panel members are all passionate about FOSS and the particular software they have chosen to specialise in - Drupal for Dave Lane, Plone for Paul Roe and Joomla for David Noah.

Dave, Paul and David will share their insights on using this software. In particular, they will discuss Drupal, Plone and Joomla relative to the following aspects:

Selection process: date when they selected that software; the criteria used for its selection; functionability; standards and the client base it's aimed at.
Background: communities, resources, developer forums, conferences.
Architecture: design for maintainability and extensibility.
Security and performance of the software.

About Dave Lane

Dave is a Director of Egressive, which is dedicated to providing kiwi businesses with technically superior FOSS solutions and support. He holds an MSc (Mech Eng) and BSc (Physics).

In 1998, Dave left his job as a research scientist at a Crown Research Institute to found Egressive. When not acting as an advocate for FOSS and making submissions to select committees related to the evils of software patents and ACTA, Dave specialises in web development on the Drupal CMS platform, and system administration with Ubuntu Linux.

In addition to his technical activities, Dave tweets and blogs actively, is a keen cyclist and cycle advocate, an enthusiastic cook and baker, is in a rock band, enjoys dancing swing and loves being a dad. Dave also does a weekly, tech-related radio segment on PlainsFM 96.9.

About Paul Roe

Paul is a Director of TheVirtual and has been using FOSS to do all in-house development since the late 90's. He holds a BSc (Physics).

Having worked in IT since the mid 80's, Paul has developed software in a variety of languages on a diverse range of systems, from micro-controllers to mainframes. He founded his development company in 1990 and it was rebranded as TheVirtual in late 2002. Paul's frustration with orphaned and closed tools and platforms is what led him to FOSS. After experimenting with a few different languages and frameworks, Paul settled on Python and then Zope. Once Plone stabilised in 2002, most of his company's work was moved across to Plone, which has been a good fit for their web business.

Outside of work, Paul enjoys sailing hydrofoil skiffs (rclass.org), cycling and chasing around after his two boys.

About David Noah

David is Solutions Architect and Development Team Lead with hairyLemon Media Solutions, a Christchurch-based digital media agency. He holds a NZIM Dip Management and NZ Cert Data Processing (Computer Programming).

Since cutting his first website in 1995, David has enjoyed fooling around with content management, portal and intranet solutions. He has particular interests in usability, web standards and information architecture.

hairyLemon have been using the Joomla! Content Management System for approximately 18 months. They use it for traditional client site builds and also as a web application development platform, to deliver custom web functionality for clients with specialised needs.

Refreshments kindly sponsored by Novell.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS AI: What Is Knowledge Engineering? (Auckland, 20/5/2010)

Mon, 03 May 2010 12:02:46 +1200

NZCS AI: What Is Knowledge Engineering?

20 May 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

WT1103 Auckland University of Technology 360 Queen Street Auckland CBD

AUT’s Knowledge Engineering and Discovery Research Institute (KEDRI) develops new methods and systems for information and data modelling, data mining, knowledge discovery and computational intelligence, and applies them to important real-world problems. The methods are inspired by principles from nature such as biological neural networks and brain functions, genetics, evolution and quantum physics.

Today it is not enough to just have access to data and information - thanks to the Internet this has never been easier and with the newer technologies such as cloud computing data portability is potentially less of an issue as well. The question is how can we best utilise all this data to make our life easier?

It seems the more data we have the more complex the decision process becomes. Perhaps if we want technology to help make our life easier we need to first understand how we solve complex problems in our heads and then how much of that can currently be 'replicated by' or 'delegated to' a machine. What we are seeing in today's knowledge engineering world is the equivalent of the 'assembly line' in the industrial revolution. It is the start of a new generation of data mining, pattern recognition, autonomous learning and cognitive systems to help make our ever more complex world easier to comprehend.

Come along to an evening of knowledge engineering exploration and bring your own complex decisions to contemplate.

Who should attend

Anyone dealing with mountains of data at work wanting to know if technology can or cannot help them make better decisions. Anyone who is interested in or is studying artificial intelligence and wants to actually apply what they are learning. Anyone who is open to new technology and innovation solving today's business problems.

This event is open to NZCS members and non-members, registration is essential (as there are limited places).

About the NZCS Artificial Intelligence Specialist Group

We are a new specialist group within the NZCS keen to promote artificial intelligence awareness in the wider community and to bridge the gap between academic research and industry practice. Check out our community website http://nzaisg.ning.com/ to find out more and become a member of the group.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential - please register below to secure your spot.

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TPN: James Bach - Does It Match The Spec? Why Do We Care? (Wellington, 20/5/2010)

Thu, 13 May 2010 23:13:13 +1200

TPN: James Bach - Does It Match The Spec? Why Do We Care?

20 May 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Wellington Test Professionals Network presents:

James Bach - Does It Match The Spec? Why Do We Care?

We are delighted to say that once again James Bach, international software testing guru from the USA, will be in Wellington soon and he has kindly agreed to speak at our next TPN meeting.

James Bach presents Does It Match The Spec? Why Do We Care?

What does it mean for a product to match its specification? How should a good tester think about specifications and testing? What about specification by example? James will propose that we should not speak in terms of products "matching" specifications. Instead there are three things we are comparing: the imagined product, the described product, and the actual product. The job of the tester is to reveal problems and risks in these things themselves AND in how these things relate to each other.

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided by Software Education.

About The Speaker

For those of you who don't know James he specialises in thinking about, teaching, and performing testing as a sophisticated thinking art. He is part of a community called the Context-Driven School. Some of the best-known names in the testing field are part of this movement.

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

TPN also wish to thank Software Education for providing the drinks and nibbles.

Registration Details:

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome

NOTE: Please pay $5 at the door

(More Info)

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data (Wellington, 18/5/2010)

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:37:56 +1200

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

18 May 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

PowerHouse People L4, Deloitte House 10 Brandon Street, Wellington (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the concept of open data, and how it is transforming the ICT sector.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

Transformational ICT through Open Data

(Previously called "A Brave New World: Rebuilding Civil Society Online")

Throughout Europe in the 18^th Century the great Age of Enlightenment was born, a movement promoting the black arts of education, reason and logic in decision-making.

In this entertaining and informative presentation popular ICT commentator and online strategist Paul Reynolds will shine light on the new Internet-driven "Age of Enlightenment" happening right now, and how individuals and organisations can cash in on the phenomena by building upon the growing wealth of publicly-available open data covering everything from map and geospatial information, through to the human genome itself.

Exploring what is available and where is fascinating, and as Reynolds takes us through some of the more obscure and interesting datasets freely available, what we can do with it will surprise even the most data-aware information scientists amongst us.

Reynolds will argue that with the age of the Internet and the new age of Cloud Computing now upon us, the revolution is already here, with levels of information and data never seen before at our fingertips and the type, nature and volume of open data expanding rapidly.

Similarly, the scope and range of the tools being applied to open government and e-democracy are transforming the landscape we, as ICT professionals, operate in, also impacting on politicians, bureaucrats, citizens and business.

But where does the ICT profession sit in relation to these double revolutions? Managing information and data has responsibilities attached, and is the profession really ready and open to always-on ubiquitous networks, or will risk aversion, and a craving for the old certainties of centralisation send the baby with the bathwater?

In a truly inspired presentation designed to provoke discussion and debate Paul Reynolds's asks: Is the ICT profession ready for the 18th century?

About The Speaker

Paul Reynolds is an entertaining and colourful ICT commentator and consultant based in Auckland, with an avid interest in information access and cultural/techno change.

Paul presents a very entertaining regular insight into the Virtual World on Radio NZ, and is often at the forefront of discussion and debate around ICT issues, especially in relation to data and digital literacy.

Paul co-founded McGovern Online, an online media company with clients throughout New Zealand and in Australia, Fiji and the UK.

Until recently Paul was the Adjunct Director to the Digital Library at the National Library of New Zealand, has served on the Library and Information Advisory Commission and Government Digital Strategy Advisory Group and is on the board of the NZ National Digital Forum.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data (Hamilton, 18/5/2010)

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:40:37 +1200

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

18 May 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the concept of open data, and how it is transforming the ICT sector.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

(Previously called "A Brave New World: Rebuilding Civil Society Online")

Throughout Europe in the 18^th Century the great Age of Enlightenment was born, a movement promoting the black arts of education, reason and logic in decision-making.

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Paul Reynolds is an entertaining and colourful ICT commentator and consultant based in Auckland, with an avid interest in information access and cultural/techno change.

Paul co-founded McGovern Online, an online media company with clients throughout New Zealand and in Australia, Fiji and the UK.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data (Auckland, 13/5/2010)

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:43:46 +1200

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

13 May 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

AWI International Education Group Ground Floor 401 Queen Street Auckland (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the concept of open data, and how it is transforming the ICT sector.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

(Previously called "A Brave New World: Rebuilding Civil Society Online")

Throughout Europe in the 18^th Century the great Age of Enlightenment was born, a movement promoting the black arts of education, reason and logic in decision-making.

About The Speaker

Paul Reynolds is an entertaining and colourful ICT commentator and consultant based in Auckland, with an avid interest in information access and cultural/techno change.

Paul co-founded McGovern Online, an online media company with clients throughout New Zealand and in Australia, Fiji and the UK.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Successful Implementation of a Document Management System (Wellington, 13/5/2010)

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:06:56 +1200

Successful Implementation of a Document Management System

13 May 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Technical implementations, especially those that directly affect end-users and the way they do their jobs, are notoriously difficult to do well.

During the 2009/10 financial year, Palmerston North City Council rolled out the E-docs (Hummingbird) Document Management System to 450 users across the business. Councils are complex businesses with system users based not only in the office but also remote locations such as libraries, the depot, the arena, the lab and the crematorium.

The EDRMS promised to change the way everybody worked with documents and emails. Early on it was realised that the success of the roll-out depended upon good change management, education, communication and training. This was a people project. Come and hear about the people approach that made the project such a success.

Liz Stockley was the Information Manager at Palmerston North City Council and Shiree Hart was the Knowledge consultant from Allfields. Both were part of the team responsible for this successful rollout and will be sharing their knowledge and experience with us.

Please note: This event is in WELLINGTON

About Shiree Hart

Shiree has been a knowledge consultant with Allfields for 10 years. She has trained thousands of people in EDRMS and other organisation wide systems. As a trained teacher, Shiree believes professionally teaching staff a system should be a requirement, not an after thought. It should be budgeted properly and not scrimped on and thinking e-reading will do!

For the last 4 years Shiree has moved into working with clients on their Change and Project Management aspects of organisation wide rollouts. She takes a hands on approach and no two organisations can be rolled out using the same model. Each time it changes given the background, the constraints and the requirements.

When Shiree is not consumed by technology, she can be found out on the water in Evans Bay, getting close up to the resident seal, or tying down mooring lines in a good southerly!

About Liz Stockley

Since her arrival in New Zealand in January 2003 life has been a whirlwind of new environments, expectations and experiences. Liz has balanced the thrills of NZ (bungi jumping, sky diving, scuba diving, helicopter flying etc) with the serenity of the countryside (tramping, camping and fishing). She has also met her husband and now has two beautiful daughters, Isabel (3 1/2) and Kathryn (2 1/2).

For 5 years Liz has worked as a consultant in the information management arena, concentrating mainly on Public sector customers in central and local government and associated agencies. She subsequently joined Palmerston North City Council as Manager of Information managing a team of 24 specialists in the fields of IT, Applications Development, Records Management, GIS and Technical Projects.

Registration Details:

Please register below to confirm your place.

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NZCS Nelson Presents: SQL Services - A Nelson success story (Nelson, 13/5/2010)

Mon, 03 May 2010 11:12:27 +1200

NZCS Nelson Presents: SQL Services - A Nelson success story

13 May 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

NMDHB Seminar Room 2, Braemar Campus Waimea Road NELSON

Who are SQL Services?, How did they do so well based out of Nelson?, What do they see as DBMS trends in 2010?

We are very lucky in Nelson to have some highly skilled ICT professionals and organisations that are at the leading edge of their respective technical disciplines.

SQL Services is an organisation that has grown organically to be one of the largest Database Management organisations in New Zealand and are now owned by a large off-shore organisation known for smart investment choices.

Grant will take us through the SQL Services story. How they came to be in the market, how they managed to bite a big piece of the database administration services from Nelson and how the business is trending at the moment.

The second part of Grants talk will focus on the trends he is seeing in SQL and Oracle database management, how Database Management Systems are evolving and where he sees the next 5 years going in terms of data management and trends.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Grant Newport is the CEO of SQL Services. Born in Nelson and attended Waimea College

Worked for Post Office / Telecom for around 7 years before being made redundant

Worked for NMDHB on deployment of Oracle based Patient Management system which was first real introduction to relational databases

Moved to Australia to work for CSC in Perth and Melbourne for around 3 years

Came back to Nelson on a contract with NMDHB

Employed by SQL Services in 1999 as DBA based on previous experience at NMDHB and CSC

Trained and certified as Microsoft Certified DBA

Promoted to Operations Manager and then General Manager and member of Board of Directors reporting to Dimension Data management in Australia

This event is being kindly sponsored by Gen-I and a light lunch will be provided prior to a 12.30pm presentation.

Nelson Events Mailing List

Note that this event was sent to the Wellington Branch List, which covers the Nelson Area. If you are in Nelson or would like to see Nelson events, please subscribe to the Nelson Events list. You can do this by logging into the NZCS website and selecting "Mailing Lists".

Future events will be broadcast to the Nelson list only. Thanks.

Registration Details:

Please register below. Registration is essential for catering purposes.

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National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data (Christchurch, 11/5/2010)

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:34:09 +1200

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

11 May 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the concept of open data, and how it is transforming the ICT sector.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

(Previously called "A Brave New World: Rebuilding Civil Society Online")

Throughout Europe in the 18^th Century the great Age of Enlightenment was born, a movement promoting the black arts of education, reason and logic in decision-making.

About The Speaker

Paul Reynolds is an entertaining and colourful ICT commentator and consultant based in Auckland, with an avid interest in information access and cultural/techno change.

Paul co-founded McGovern Online, an online media company with clients throughout New Zealand and in Australia, Fiji and the UK.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data (Dunedin, 11/5/2010)

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:55:32 +1200

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

11 May 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Seminar Room Centre for Innovation (Big glass building) St David Street Dunedin

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the concept of open data, and how it is transforming the ICT sector.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

Transformational ICT through Open Data

(Previously called "A Brave New World: Rebuilding Civil Society Online")

Throughout Europe in the 18^th Century the great Age of Enlightenment was born, a movement promoting the black arts of education, reason and logic in decision-making.

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Paul Reynolds is an entertaining and colourful ICT commentator and consultant based in Auckland, with an avid interest in information access and cultural/techno change.

Paul co-founded McGovern Online, an online media company with clients throughout New Zealand and in Australia, Fiji and the UK.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Major KiwiSkills Launch Event (Auckland, 06/5/2010)

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:40:20 +1200

Major KiwiSkills Launch Event

6 May 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Level 5, Microsoft House 22 Viaduct Harbour Ave Auckland 5pm for a 5:30pm start

NZCS are proud to invite you to the:

KiwiSkills Launch Event

Join NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews and members of the NZCS management team, KnowledgeWeaversNZ Principle Beverley Bunker, Opp Spokesperson on Small Business and Manukau East MP Hon Ross Robertson, Microsoft NZ CEO Kevin Ackhurst and others as we outline and launch the major new NZCS digital literacy programme, KiwiSkills.

A recent research report completed by KnowledgeWeaversNZ and commissioned by NZCS found that New Zealand is losing at least $1.7 BILLION every year in lost productivity by not tackling ICT competence in the workplace.

The report also found that Digital Literacy is now "an essential life skill and the right of every NZ citizen".

That's all well and good, but what can YOU do about it? How can you help New Zealand tackle this issue, and what options are available for you and your colleagues or clients?

There are a number of excellent programmes throughout New Zealand targeted at those with little or no computing skills, however very little focusing on the vast majority of technology users that have basic skills, and it is these people that benefit the most from improved digital literacy.

Introducing: KiwiSkills

KiwiSkills is a multi-pronged programme designed from the ground up to tackle digital literacy in New Zealand.

KiwiSkills focuses on removing the barriers to upskilling staff and the community, including introducing a series of benchmarks, internationally-recognised standards that kiwis can aspire to, providing quick and easy access to the training, testing and support programmes available throughout New Zealand, plus engaging businesses and the community to work together on dealing with this once and for all.

You're Invited!

NZCS invites you to the launch of the KiwiSkills Programme in Auckland next Thursday, 6th May. This will be an excellent opportunity to find out more about KiwiSkills, and look at how you can get involved to make a difference in New Zealand.

Join NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews and members of the NZCS management team, KnowledgeWeaversNZ Principle Researcher Beverley Bunker, Opp Spokesperson on Small Business and Manukau East MP Hon Ross Robertson, Microsoft NZ CEO Kevin Ackhurst and others as we outline and launch the KiwiSkills Programme.

Major Announcements

This event will include a series of Major Announcements representing a level of investment and commitment not seen before by NZCS. This will be a historic occasion and one you don't want to miss.

Prize Draw

Ten attendees will win a full 7-module ICDL online training package worth $149 each, courtesy of NZCS.

Formalities begin at 5:30pm and will be followed by full refreshments.

Registration Details:

This event is free, however registration is essential. Please register below or email registrations@nzcs.org.nz to secure your place.

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YITPG Presents: Engaging online with Social Media #yitpg (Auckland, 29/4/2010)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:02:03 +1300

YITPG Presents: Engaging online with Social Media #yitpg

29 April 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Level 5, Microsoft House 22 Viaduct Harbour Ave Auckland 5:45pm start.

NZCS Young IT Professionals Group presents: Justin Flitter

Social Media, its everywhere! But what is it... really? How can we embrace this new way of interacting with others? How can we build communities and networks around us using Social Media?

Join serial tweeter Justin Flitter (Twitter: @justinflitter), as he guides us through what is Social Media, and how do people and brands build and maintain communities and social networks?

This will be followed by Beer and Pizza and a chance to share your views. yum!

If you're a business and you're not engaged with social media, you're missing out on a huge opportunity. If you're just a dude or dudette, it's time to engage!

Justin will also talk us through current tools available in the Social Media marketplace, and how we can use these to our advantage.

BUT WAIT theres more... This'll also be an interactive presentation, so those tweeters are encouraged to bring their phones and PDAs along and join in the presentation.

Justin has a wealth of experience to share. How to get the most RT's. What and what not to say. How to deal with negative tweets, how often to tweet. Strategies for business. Developing a strong Personal Brand. Career development and more

Includes Beer and Pizza. Yum.

Young IT Professionals Group Proudly Supported by:

About @justinflitter

Well known blogger and tweeter Justin Flitter is the ASIA Pacific Business Manager for Zendesk.com. Previously Justin worked as the National Contact Centre Team Leader for Student Job Search and as the Customer Service Manager for Fishpond.co.nz/.com.au

Over the last year Justin has helped grow Zendesk's social media sites, tweeting, chatting and supporting their customers through Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.

With around 13,000 followers Justin actively uses Social Media for Business Development and Personal Branding.

Justin blogs at http://iamflitter.com and runs FlitterMedia.co.nz, a Social Media Consulting and Mentoring business with Graeme Russell, Hamish Coleman Ross and Jen Corbett. Justin is passionate about Social Customer Service, Engaged Communities and encourages CEO's to put the conversation at the heart of their business.

A special thanks to Microsoft for sponsoring the venue.

NZCS Young IT Professionals Group (YITPG)

YITPG is a new Specialist Group of NZCS, basically a networking group for 20- and 30-something ICT enthusiasts (those with up to 10 years’ professional work experience) and students.

YITPG will be running regular events and providing opportunities for young IT peeps to get together over beer and pizza and good company, while also maybe learning something new...

Join the mailing list (below) and come along!

Young IT Professionals Group Mailing List

This event has reached you through the NZCS Auckland Events list, however future YITPG events will be sent to the YITPG Mailing List. To add yourself to this list, simply log in, click here, select the YITPG Auckland list, and click "Save", and hey presto - you'll be invited to all future Young IT Professional events!

Registration Details:

Registration is essential. No registration, no beer and pizza!

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS AI: How intelligent is Business Intelligence today? (Auckland, 28/4/2010)

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:36:57 +1200

NZCS AI: How intelligent is Business Intelligence today?

28 April 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The University of Auckland Dept of Computer Science Level 2, Room 279 Science Centre Building 303 38 Princes St Auckland Map

NZCS Artificial Intelligence Specialist Group Presents:

How Intelligent is Business Intelligence today?

Come and listen to a real business intelligence war story straight from the field and then participate in a interactive debriefing session led by an experts panel of artificial intelligence researchers, innovators and business intelligence solution providers.

Business Intelligence (BI) is a well worn industry term but just how intelligent is it? Ben Gracewood (http://ben.geek.nz) our guy from the 'front' (who is also a great storyteller) has volunteered to share one of his recent experiences with a large fast moving consumer goods company implementing a BI system to manage demand forecasting. We will then hand the discussion over to the experts panel to review that experience and share some insight into artificial intelligence capabilities and BI solutions that could be applied to the requirements. Later in the discussion there will be some time set a side for attendees to put their questions or suggestions to the experts panel.

Who should attend: Anyone who is thinking of getting more knowledge out of the business data they are amassing on a daily basis. Anyone who thinks that the answers lie in the numbers but has no way of demonstrating that with their current technology. Anyone who is interested in or is studying artificial intelligence and wants to actually apply what they are learning. Anyone who is open to new technology and innovation solving today's business problems.

This event is open to NZCS members and non-members, registration is essential (as there are limited places). For further information including venue directions, car parking options and panel participation please contact pennya@featureit.co.nz

About the NZCS Artificial Intelligence Specialist Group

Registration Details:

Please register for this event below.

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The Cloud in 2010: After the hype! (Christchurch, 22/4/2010)

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:02:53 +1300

The Cloud in 2010: After the hype!

22 April 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

The NZCS Canterbury Branch invites you to join in the stimulating discussion that Cloud-watchers Ben Kepes of Diversity and Ben Reid of Memia will be generating when they present on the state of "the Cloud" in 2010.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

The Cloud in 2010: After the hype!

First, The Cloud - A Post-hype Reflection. Cloud Computing analyst and commentator Ben Kepes tiptoes through the tulips of what is happening "in the Cloud" in 2010.

Late 2009 saw almost every vendor producing "cloud-specific" marketing material and tailored cloud offerings. In an IT world where almost everything is offered "as a Service", where the Cloud is seemingly the panacea for hunger, disease and early balding and where traditional business models are falling by the wayside - profit? Who needs profit?

Then, a big question from Ben Reid - 21st Century CIO: All your IT is in the Cloud - now what?

The founder of New Zealand-based Memia Cloud Consulting will present on the immediate future of IT management for businesses of all sizes, given the current momentum towards placing IT solutions in the Cloud. What if all your systems were cloud based? First, is it possible? What will be the differences for IT managers when there are no servers or software left to manage? What will be the practical impact on running your organisation's IT and what new techniques will the CIOs of the future need?

About Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes is an analyst, an entrepreneur, a commentator and a board member.

His business interests encompass a diverse range of industries from manufacturing to property to technology. As a commentator, he has a broad presence both in the traditional media and as an extensive blogger.

He sits on the boards of a number of organisations, both commercial and not-for-profit. Ben is well connected having spoken at length with the vast majority of SaaS players in existence. He is editor of CloudAve.com, a specialist Cloud Computing blog and principal of Diversity Analysis a broad spectrum consultancy specialising in SaaS, Cloud Computing and business strategy.

About Ben Reid

Ben Reid, founder of Memia Cloud Consulting is a software and enterprise architect with 15 years of professional software and IT architecture experience.

Originally from the UK, Ben moved to NZ in 2004 and worked for four years as a software architect at HP Consulting until leaving to start Memia in 2008.

Ben has worked in a wide range of vertical industries and technologies, and is driven by applying technology innovation to build business value. Ben is a qualified TOGAF Enterprise Architecture practitioner and has worked as part of the IT architecture teams for some of NZ's largest enterprises.

Refreshments kindly sponsored by Novell.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Successful Implementation of a Document Management System (Napier, 22/4/2010)

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:39:36 +1200

Successful Implementation of a Document Management System

22 April 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Eastern Institute of Technology Lecture Theatre 1, K1 Building Eastern Institute of Technology Gloucester Street Taradale

Technical implementations, especially those that directly affect end-users and the way they do their jobs, are notoriously difficult to do well.

During the 2009/10 financial year, Palmerston North City Council rolled out the E-docs (Hummingbird) Document Management System to 450 users across the business. Council's are a complex business with system users based not only in the office but also remote locations such as libraries, the depot, the arena, the lab and the crematorium.

Please note: This event is in NAPIER. A similar event will be publicised for Wellington soon.

About Shiree Hart

Shiree has been a knowledge consultant with Allfields for 10 years. She has trained thousands of people in EDRMS and other organisation wide systems. As a trained teacher, Shiree believes professionally teaching staff a system should be a requirement, not an after thought., It should be budgeted properly and not scrimped on and thinking e-reading will do!

When Shiree is not consumed by Technology, she can be found out on the Water in Evans Bay, getting close up to the resident seal, or tying down mooring lines in a good southerly!

About Liz Stockley

Since her arrival in New Zealand in January 2003 life has been a whirlwind of new environments, expectations and experiences. Liz has balanced the thrills of NZ (bungi jumping, sky diving, scuba diving, helicopter flying etc) with the serenity of the countryside (tramping, camping and fishing). She has also met my husband and now has two beautiful daughters, Isabel (3 1/2) and Kathryn (2 1/2).

Registration Details:

Please register below to confirm your place.

(More Info)

ICTTop100 Lunch: Technology in 2060 (Auckland, 21/4/2010)

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:55:01 +1200

ICTTop100 Lunch: Technology in 2060

21 April 2010: 12:15 pm - 1:45 pm

The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

ICTTop100 is a forum where senior ICT professionals and managers come together to discuss and debate a particular topic in detail, over a formal lunch.

Discussion takes place under the Chatham House rule, and the outcomes are then forwarded to various stakeholders (such as NZCS, Government, etc).

Technology in 2060: 50 Years from now

2010 is the 50th anniversary of NZCS and ICT in New Zealand. But what technology will we be using 50 years from now, and how can we exploit this now?

Registration Details:

NOTE: Those that are already registered for all 10 ICTTop100 lunches do NOT need to re-register.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability (Dunedin, 19/4/2010)

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:27:53 +1300

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

19 April 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:45 pm

Seminar Room Centre for Innovation (Big glass building) St David Street Dunedin

NZCS are proud to bring you the second of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the paradigm shift required to develop for a mobile platform such as the iPhone.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

Many believe that the introduction of the iPhone brought about a fundamental shift in the usability, functional abilities, and expectations of phone and PDA users.

However along with this shift came a new challenge: how to develop for this revolutionary platform?

Join John Ascroft, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) of Jade Software Corporation, and Hadley Trounson, a member of Jade's development team as they take you through the iPhone environment and its focus on user-centric design and market driven innovation.

The Jade team will also outline the total shift in developmental paradigm encountered, plus their experiences in introducing the new platform and the technical development challenges encountered along the way.

This will be a thoroughly enthralling presentation and not one to be missed.

Includes light lunch.

About John Ascroft

John Ascroft is Jade's Chief Innovation Officer, based in Christchurch and a member of the Jade senior management team.

His current responsibilities include the Jade High Performance Technology division and the corporate Innovation program.

John joined the company in 1983 and has held a variety of technical and management roles in the research, development and marketing areas, including a one year assignment as VP North America based in Atlanta, Georgia.

John has a BComm in Accounting, is a Member of the New Zealand Computer Society, and his outside interests include flying, motorcycles and history, but not usually at the same time.

Special thanks to the Dunedin City Council (DCC) Economic Development Unit for helping to bring this event to Dunedin.

Thanks also to Jade for part-sponsoring this presentation

A special thanks to Jade Software for making it possible for us to bring you this event.

Canterbury based Jade Software Corporation Limited (Jade) is an information technology research and development organisation with over 25-years experience in supplying innovative software solutions and services.

They specialise in providing high-performance, smart technology solutions to complex business problems.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability (Auckland, 15/4/2010)

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:57:36 +1300

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

15 April 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

AWI International Education Group Ground Floor 401 Queen Street Auckland (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS are proud to bring you the second of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the paradigm shift required to develop for a mobile platform such as the iPhone.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

Many believe that the introduction of the iPhone brought about a fundamental shift in the usability, functional abilities, and expectations of phone and PDA users.

However along with this shift came a new challenge: how to develop for this revolutionary platform?

This will be a thoroughly enthralling presentation and not one to be missed.

About John Ascroft

John Ascroft is Jade's Chief Innovation Officer, based in Christchurch and a member of the Jade senior management team.

His current responsibilities include the Jade High Performance Technology division and the corporate Innovation program.

John has a BComm in Accounting, is a Member of the New Zealand Computer Society, and his outside interests include flying, motorcycles and history, but not usually at the same time.

Special thanks to Jade for part-sponsoring this presentation

A special thanks to Jade Software for making it possible for us to bring you this event.

They specialise in providing high-performance, smart technology solutions to complex business problems.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability (Wellington, 14/4/2010)

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:35:35 +1300

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

14 April 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

PowerHouse People L4, Deloitte House 10 Brandon Street, Wellington (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS are proud to bring you the second of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the paradigm shift required to develop for a mobile platform such as the iPhone.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

Many believe that the introduction of the iPhone brought about a fundamental shift in the usability, functional abilities, and expectations of phone and PDA users.

However along with this shift came a new challenge: how to develop for this revolutionary platform?

This will be a thoroughly enthralling presentation and not one to be missed.

About John Ascroft

John Ascroft is Jade's Chief Innovation Officer, based in Christchurch and a member of the Jade senior management team.

His current responsibilities include the Jade High Performance Technology division and the corporate Innovation program.

John has a BComm in Accounting, is a Member of the New Zealand Computer Society, and his outside interests include flying, motorcycles and history, but not usually at the same time.

Special thanks to Jade for part-sponsoring this presentation

A special thanks to Jade Software for making it possible for us to bring you this event.

They specialise in providing high-performance, smart technology solutions to complex business problems.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability (Hamilton, 14/4/2010)

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:20:33 +1300

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

14 April 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

NZCS are proud to bring you the second of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the paradigm shift required to develop for a mobile platform such as the iPhone.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

Many believe that the introduction of the iPhone brought about a fundamental shift in the usability, functional abilities, and expectations of phone and PDA users.

However along with this shift came a new challenge: how to develop for this revolutionary platform?

This will be a thoroughly enthralling presentation and not one to be missed.

Includes light lunch

About John Ascroft

John Ascroft is Jade's Chief Innovation Officer, based in Christchurch and a member of the Jade senior management team.

His current responsibilities include the Jade High Performance Technology division and the corporate Innovation program.

John has a BComm in Accounting, is a Member of the New Zealand Computer Society, and his outside interests include flying, motorcycles and history, but not usually at the same time.

Special thanks to Jade for part-sponsoring this presentation

A special thanks to Jade Software for making it possible for us to bring you this event.

They specialise in providing high-performance, smart technology solutions to complex business problems.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

TPN Presents: Testing is Asking Questions (Wellington, 13/4/2010)

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:24:44 +1300

TPN Presents: Testing is Asking Questions

13 April 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Wellington Test Professionals Network presents: Testing is Asking Questions

Something testers should be good at, or get good at, is asking questions. But they often fail to do this, when conforming to a process, subject to organisational silos or faced with tight time-frames.

Agile methods present greater opportunities for testers to contribute in positive and constructive ways earlier in the SDLC, but even within traditional frameworks it is important we get good at challenging executing software, draft designs, cumbersome processes and disjointed thinking.

This topic is about how even grass-roots testers can return real value to their team and organisation through raising perceptive and relevant questions of running software and of people. Differences and opportunities available to testers when Agile practices are employed will be discussed.

Refreshments included.

About The Speaker

Kieron Horide-Hobley has over ten years experience in software testing, and nearly twenty years in IT.

He has a degree in Engineering and a penchant for breaking things to find out how they work, so found a home as a tester.

Having worked in a variety of sectors and industries, Kieron has perspectives on testing that are sometimes a step removed from production-line, gated software development, while keeping true to what’s important to his clients.

He is a certified Scrum Master and has run into plenty of pseudo-Agile projects, yet miraculously keeps smiling.

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

TPN also with to thank Fronde for providing the drinks and nibbles.

Registration Details:

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome

NOTE: Please pay $5 at the door

(More Info)

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability (Christchurch, 12/4/2010)

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:31:19 +1300

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

12 April 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

NZCS are proud to bring you the second of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the paradigm shift required to develop for a mobile platform such as the iPhone.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

Many believe that the introduction of the iPhone brought about a fundamental shift in the usability, functional abilities, and expectations of phone and PDA users.

However along with this shift came a new challenge: how to develop for this revolutionary platform?

This will be a thoroughly enthralling presentation and not one to be missed.

About John Ascroft

John Ascroft is Jade's Chief Innovation Officer, based in Christchurch and a member of the Jade senior management team.

His current responsibilities include the Jade High Performance Technology division and the corporate Innovation program.

John has a BComm in Accounting, is a Member of the New Zealand Computer Society, and his outside interests include flying, motorcycles and history, but not usually at the same time.

Special thanks to Jade for part-sponsoring this presentation

A special thanks to Jade Software for making it possible for us to bring you this event.

They specialise in providing high-performance, smart technology solutions to complex business problems.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

TPN: Microsoft's New Test Technologies (Auckland, 07/4/2010)

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:03:59 +1300

TPN: Microsoft's New Test Technologies

7 April 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

MPC Room Level 5 - Microsoft Building 22 Viaduct Harbour Ave Auckland

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

Microsoft's New Test Technologies with Wayne Ewington

With the upcoming release of Visual Studio 2010 (in April), there are exciting new offerings for those involved with application testing - new technologies, new features, and better ways to ensure testing is fully integrated into the software development lifecycle.

This session will provide an overview of Microsoft's new test technologies, including demos of the product set.

The session will highlight:

Fast forwarding through manual tests
Reproducing bugs on a common virtualised environment
Automatically attaching context to bugs
Visibility to the test progress
Deep collaboration with the development team

Not to be missed for QA Testers, Manual Testers, QA Managers, Test Leads, Development Managers, particularly if your organisation already does .NET development.

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

Refreshments

Refreshments will be provided on the night by Dot Net User Groups Inc.

About The Speaker

Wayne Ewington has more than 22 years in the IT sector including six years in IT Management positions. He focuses on development and project management working primarily with technologies such as Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Windows SharePoint Services, as well as development tools such as Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) and Team Foundation Server. Wayne is both a 'VSTS Extended Ranger' and an 'Information Worker Subject Matter Expert', one of a small group of people within Microsoft recognised as being an expert in their specialised areas.

In addition, Wayne is also a certified Microsoft Solutions Framework Trainer and helps organisations deliver successful projects.

We would like to thank Microsoft for sponsoring the event and Wayne Ewington for offering his time to present.

Registration Details

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

Venue

Note: Doors open at 5pm for a 5.30pm start. In case of any difficulty entering the building, please contact Dean Edwards on 021 570 618

(More Info)

WFIA: Cloud on the Ground - Cloud Computing in the NFP Sector (Auckland, 07/4/2010)

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:16:16 +1300

WFIA: Cloud on the Ground - Cloud Computing in the NFP Sector

7 April 2010: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

NZCS World Famous in Auckland presents:

Cloud on the Ground - A Practical Example of the Benefits of Cloud Computing in the not-for-profit sector

Speaker: Ray Delany, Chief Executive, Designertech

Cloud Computing is the current buzzword-du-jour of the IT industry. While varieties of Cloud Computing are amongst the fastest-growing services in the industry, the proportion of organisations that have actually committed to the model remains relatively low.

In this presentation Ray Delany will discuss some of the benefits that can be obtained, and the barriers to adoption.

A recent implementation of a form of Cloud Computing at the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society will be used as an example of what can achieved, what some of the issues to watch out for are, and the benefits that can be realised through the power of the model.

Includes full Breakfast

About The Speaker

Ray Delany is a Fellow of the NZCS and a regular contributor at the WFIA breakfasts and other NZCS initiatives.

Ray has been an advocate of the value of Utility Computing and Cloud Computing for small-medium enterprises and the not-for-profit sector for some years.

As Chief Executive of Designer Technology Limited he is actively involved in delivering these solutions in the real world.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm (Wellington, 30/3/2010)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:39:48 +1300

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm

30 March 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

PowerHouse People L4, Deloitte House 10 Brandon Street, Wellington (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

NZCS are proud to kick off the new National ICT Series, beginning with well-known IT Skeptic Rob England presenting on what would appear to be regarded as the utopia of service management, RealITSM...

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm

Idealised models such as ITIL®, COBIT and ISO20000 are all very well for theoretical discussions, but more and more people are discovering these models just don't fit the way we do things in the real world.

Join the movement that is sweeping the ITSM community. Find out about Real ITSM, as it is done in the real world.

Making IT Real. Get Real. RealITSM, that is...

In this light-hearted and humorous presentation Rob England, the wellknown "IT Skeptic", introduces Real ITSM, as documented in the book "Introduction to Real ITSM" (see www.realitsm.com).

RealITSM is the methodology of implementing IT service management as it is done now in the real world, thereby saving costs, minimising impact and ensuring acceptance.

Realitsm (pronounced "realism" with a slight lisp) is the underlying philosophy of primarily ensuring a tranquil life for IT staff. After all, life is hard for us IT types!

The main threats to IT stability, or at least the stability of the IT team, are change, accountability and reduced spending. Realitsm is about eliminating these threats from the IT environment, in the best interests of all in IT. A harmonious IT environment requires adherence to the following Realitsm principles:

Ensure a stable operating environment
Maximise adaptability to change
Promote involvement through collectivist decision-making
Maintain morale through reduced group accountability
Maximise revenue and funding for the IT department
Maximise benefit and value for the IT staff

Realitsm may be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, however by reflecting on the motivations of teams and managers that unknowingly subscribe to some of its principles, a level of clarity on the importance of service management becomes apparent.

This is a not-to-be-missed presentation for anyone in the Service Management space or those interested in a humorous presentation from one of the more colorful figures in New Zealand's IT scene.

About The Speaker

Rob England, an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), is a "portfolio entrepreneur" working on multiple activities via his company, Two Hills. These include IT commentator, speaker and consultant (ITSM, culture change...), blogger, speaking coach, sales coach, trainer, published author, small business researcher, and nascent internet businessman.

Rob does remote consulting, writing and editing for a variety of clients internationally. He provides local consulting and training to a number of business and government clients on Service Management (ITSM) topics, especially ITIL. He also specialises in helping change IT culture, through a CC plan, workshops and structured courses such as The Seven Tasks of EnGrok.

Rob is also well known for his controversial website, The IT Skeptic (Google page-rank 4, tens of thousands of readers worldwide).

He runs a stable of other diverse sites including Real ITSM (a funny one), Ops4Less (cut the cost of IT operations), He Tangata (IT is the people), Chocolate in the Morning, and others, all built in his own Drupal-based technology stack.

Rob's goal is to maintain his relaxed lifestyle while becoming a millionaire by the end of 2010. Details of the plan are somewhat sketchy.

He lives in idyllic but breezy Pukerua Bay, Wellington, New Zealand with his wife and son. Pukerua Bay is most famous as the home town of Peter Jackson, but Rob hopes to change that.

Rob's profile (including links) is at http://www.twohills.co.nz/profile

About the National ICT Series

Launching in March 2010 in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin, these events promise to be informative and educational, often challenging the traditional view of ICT and its role in the organisation and wider environment.

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Update briefing on ACTA from MED to NZCS members (Wellington, 26/3/2010)

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:59:24 +1300

Update briefing on ACTA from MED to NZCS members

26 March 2010: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade HSBC Tower 195 Lambton Quay Wellington

ACTA, or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, is an important and potentially somewhat concerning Agreement currently being negotiated by a number of countries, including NZ, in secret.

ACTA has the potential to significantly effect how we use the Internet, allegedly potentially requiring countries to implement what some would regard as draconian steps to reduce piracy online.

The treaty is being spearheaded by the United States, the European Community, Switzerland and Japan, but also including Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Canada and the European Union.

You can read a recent Blog post by NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews outlining ACTA in brief here.

NZCS's Position

Whilst it is fair to say that NZCS is concerned by the ACTA process, and by what would appear to be being included, New Zealand officials certainly appear to be the voice of common sense in negotiations and NZCS is awaiting detailed information to form a formal view.

One area of concern, however, is the secrecy in the process. The Society has expressed concern directly to the Ministries concerned, who have given assurances that they have also attempted to improve the transparency of process.

Update from MED and MFAT

Officials from the Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be providing a special update to NZCS members in Auckland and Wellington.

This will be a summary of progress achieved at the 7th round of negotiations held in Mexico in February, as well as seek any additional input on proposed provisions for enforcement of intellectual property rights in the digital environment (the government is currently seeking public submissions on this aspect of ACTA and it will be one of the topics on the agenda for discussion by delegations at the 8th round.)

We strongly encourage you to attend this briefing and ask questions of the officials presenting.

Registration Details:

There is no charge to attend this briefing, however places are limited and registration is essential.

Further Information

Here is some further information about ACTA:

Wikipedia
MED's ACTA Page
acta.net.nz - a site put together by a consortium raising concerns about ACTA

Note that InternetNZ are also holding a "PublicACTA" event in Wellington on 10th April. Please contact InternetNZ at rsvp@internetnz.net.nz to register for that event.

(More Info)

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm (Christchurch, 25/3/2010)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:34:23 +1300

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm

25 March 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm

Join the movement that is sweeping the ITSM community. Find out about Real ITSM, as it is done in the real world.

Making IT Real. Get Real. RealITSM, that is...

In this light-hearted and humorous presentation Rob England, the wellknown "IT Skeptic", introduces Real ITSM, as documented in the book "Introduction to Real ITSM" (see www.realitsm.com).

RealITSM is the methodology of implementing IT service management as it is done now in the real world, thereby saving costs, minimising impact and ensuring acceptance.

Realitsm (pronounced "realism" with a slight lisp) is the underlying philosophy of primarily ensuring a tranquil life for IT staff. After all, life is hard for us IT types!

Ensure a stable operating environment
Maximise adaptability to change
Promote involvement through collectivist decision-making
Maintain morale through reduced group accountability
Maximise revenue and funding for the IT department
Maximise benefit and value for the IT staff

This is a not-to-be-missed presentation for anyone in the Service Management space or those interested in a humorous presentation from one of the more colorful figures in New Zealand's IT scene.

About The Speaker

Rob is also well known for his controversial website, The IT Skeptic (Google page-rank 4, tens of thousands of readers worldwide).

Rob's goal is to maintain his relaxed lifestyle while becoming a millionaire by the end of 2010. Details of the plan are somewhat sketchy.

He lives in idyllic but breezy Pukerua Bay, Wellington, New Zealand with his wife and son. Pukerua Bay is most famous as the home town of Peter Jackson, but Rob hopes to change that.

Rob's profile (including links) is at http://www.twohills.co.nz/profile

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm (Plus Branch AGM) (Dunedin, 25/3/2010)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:28:31 +1300

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm (Plus Branch AGM)

25 March 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Seminar Room Centre for Innovation (Big glass building) St David Street Dunedin

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm

Join the movement that is sweeping the ITSM community. Find out about Real ITSM, as it is done in the real world.

Making IT Real. Get Real. RealITSM, that is...

In this light-hearted and humorous presentation Rob England, the wellknown "IT Skeptic", introduces Real ITSM, as documented in the book "Introduction to Real ITSM" (see www.realitsm.com).

RealITSM is the methodology of implementing IT service management as it is done now in the real world, thereby saving costs, minimising impact and ensuring acceptance.

Realitsm (pronounced "realism" with a slight lisp) is the underlying philosophy of primarily ensuring a tranquil life for IT staff. After all, life is hard for us IT types!

Ensure a stable operating environment
Maximise adaptability to change
Promote involvement through collectivist decision-making
Maintain morale through reduced group accountability
Maximise revenue and funding for the IT department
Maximise benefit and value for the IT staff

This is a not-to-be-missed presentation for anyone in the Service Management space or those interested in a humorous presentation from one of the more colorful figures in New Zealand's IT scene.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Rob is also well known for his controversial website, The IT Skeptic (Google page-rank 4, tens of thousands of readers worldwide).

Rob's goal is to maintain his relaxed lifestyle while becoming a millionaire by the end of 2010. Details of the plan are somewhat sketchy.

He lives in idyllic but breezy Pukerua Bay, Wellington, New Zealand with his wife and son. Pukerua Bay is most famous as the home town of Peter Jackson, but Rob hopes to change that.

Rob's profile (including links) is at http://www.twohills.co.nz/profile

About the National ICT Series

We intend to bring these events and nationally-recognised speakers to Dunedin every month, however need sufficient attendance to justify it. If you want regular free/inexpensive ICT events in Dunedin, please come along and bring others!

Special thanks to the Dunedin City Council (DCC) Economic Development Unit for helping to bring this event to Dunedin.

Notice of Annual General Meeting of the Otago Branch of NZCS

The event will be immediately followed by the Annual General Meeting of the Otago/Southland branch of the NZ Computer Society Inc.

The Agenda is as follows:

Comments from the Committee
Presentation of Branch Financials
Election of Branch Officers (Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, National Councillor, Committee Members)

This is also the time for NZCS members to put their hand up for election to the Otago/Southland Branch Committee. This is a very rewarding experience and your opportunity to do a little to help the local ICT community.

Proxies and nominations for Branch Committee and Officers can be made via email to info@nzcs.org.nz.

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

The Apple iPad: Groundbreaking or Hype? (Wellington, 25/3/2010)

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:08:25 +1300

The Apple iPad: Groundbreaking or Hype?

25 March 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Like it or not, the new Apple iPad is coming! Its US release date is April 3, with the NZ launch not likely to be far behind.

After months of feverish speculation and hype, Apple's presentation of the iPad to the world was greeted with typical geekish negativity.

Tech bloggers slated the device for its lack of multitasking, its lack of a camera, its lack of openness, ..., and the list goes on.

However sometimes we lose touch with what people want from technology. Maybe it's time to put some positivity back into the picture!

Come along to this lunchtime session by Mike Pearson to talk about:

The potential of Apple's new device to encourage new ideas and new ways of doing things.
The Apple iPhone business model vs the Google Android business model
The implication of smartphones for the enterprise and education

An excellent presentation for technologists wanting to truly understand the game-changing nature of tools such as the iPad.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Mike Pearson is a well regarded futurist, specialising in the use of technology to maximise business value for an enterprise. He has a reputation for challenging conventional views and recognising opportunities that are 3-5 years in the future.

Mike has a proven track record in designing innovative solutions unique to New Zealand, that are recognised internationally e.g. our country’s online authentication solution and the government’s internal secure email solution.

From the beach at Paraparaumu Mike provides advice to a range of clients, helping them work better with technology and challenging them to articulate a business strategy that maximises their investment.

Mike's profile is at http://linkedin.com/in/mikepearsonnz

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Update briefing on ACTA from MED to NZCS members (Auckland, 23/3/2010)

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:35:08 +1300

Update briefing on ACTA from MED to NZCS members

23 March 2010: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Level 11, ANZ Centre 23-29 Albert Street Auckland

ACTA, or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, is an important and potentially somewhat concerning Agreement currently being negotiated by a number of countries, including NZ, in secret.

ACTA has the potential to significantly effect how we use the Internet, allegedly potentially requiring countries to implement what some would regard as draconian steps to reduce piracy online.

You can read a recent Blog post by NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews outlining ACTA in brief here.

NZCS's Position

Update from MED and MFAT

Officials from the Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be providing a special update to NZCS members in Auckland and Wellington.

We strongly encourage you to attend this briefing and ask questions of the officials presenting.

Registration Details:

There is no charge to attend this briefing, however places are limited and registration is essential.

Further Information

Here is some further information about ACTA:

Wikipedia
MED's ACTA Page
acta.net.nz - a site put together by a consortium raising concerns about ACTA

Note that InternetNZ are also holding a "PublicACTA" event in Wellington on 10th April. Please contact InternetNZ at rsvp@internetnz.net.nz to register for that event.

(More Info)

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm (Auckland, 18/3/2010)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:08:53 +1300

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm

18 March 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:15 pm

AWI International Education Group Ground Floor 401 Queen Street Auckland (5:30pm for a 6pm start)

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm

Join the movement that is sweeping the ITSM community. Find out about Real ITSM, as it is done in the real world.

Making IT Real. Get Real. RealITSM, that is...

In this light-hearted and humorous presentation Rob England, the wellknown "IT Skeptic", introduces Real ITSM, as documented in the book "Introduction to Real ITSM" (see www.realitsm.com).

RealITSM is the methodology of implementing IT service management as it is done now in the real world, thereby saving costs, minimising impact and ensuring acceptance.

Realitsm (pronounced "realism" with a slight lisp) is the underlying philosophy of primarily ensuring a tranquil life for IT staff. After all, life is hard for us IT types!

Ensure a stable operating environment
Maximise adaptability to change
Promote involvement through collectivist decision-making
Maintain morale through reduced group accountability
Maximise revenue and funding for the IT department
Maximise benefit and value for the IT staff

This is a not-to-be-missed presentation for anyone in the Service Management space or those interested in a humorous presentation from one of the more colorful figures in New Zealand's IT scene.

NZCS National Update

Immediately prior to Rob's presentation NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews will give a short presentation on the Society's significant plans for 2010.

NZCS's Manager of Professionalism, Erin Connolly, will also be in attendance to answer any questions about ITCP and other projects.

About The Speaker

Rob is also well known for his controversial website, The IT Skeptic (Google page-rank 4, tens of thousands of readers worldwide).

Rob's goal is to maintain his relaxed lifestyle while becoming a millionaire by the end of 2010. Details of the plan are somewhat sketchy.

He lives in idyllic but breezy Pukerua Bay, Wellington, New Zealand with his wife and son. Pukerua Bay is most famous as the home town of Peter Jackson, but Rob hopes to change that.

Rob's profile (including links) is at http://www.twohills.co.nz/profile

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm (Plus Branch AGM) (Hamilton, 18/3/2010)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:37:56 +1300

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm (Plus Branch AGM)

18 March 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:45 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm

Join the movement that is sweeping the ITSM community. Find out about Real ITSM, as it is done in the real world.

Making IT Real. Get Real. RealITSM, that is...

In this light-hearted and humorous presentation Rob England, the wellknown "IT Skeptic", introduces Real ITSM, as documented in the book "Introduction to Real ITSM" (see www.realitsm.com).

RealITSM is the methodology of implementing IT service management as it is done now in the real world, thereby saving costs, minimising impact and ensuring acceptance.

Realitsm (pronounced "realism" with a slight lisp) is the underlying philosophy of primarily ensuring a tranquil life for IT staff. After all, life is hard for us IT types!

Ensure a stable operating environment
Maximise adaptability to change
Promote involvement through collectivist decision-making
Maintain morale through reduced group accountability
Maximise revenue and funding for the IT department
Maximise benefit and value for the IT staff

This is a not-to-be-missed presentation for anyone in the Service Management space or those interested in a humorous presentation from one of the more colorful figures in New Zealand's IT scene.

Note: Light lunch provided.

NZCS National Update

Immediately prior to Rob's presentation Paul Matthews (NZCS Chief Executive) will give a short presentation on the Society's significant and wide-ranging plans for 2010.

NZCS's Manager of Professionalism, Erin Connolly, will also be in attendance to answer any questions about ITCP and other projects.

About The Speaker

Rob is also well known for his controversial website, The IT Skeptic (Google page-rank 4, tens of thousands of readers worldwide).

Rob's goal is to maintain his relaxed lifestyle while becoming a millionaire by the end of 2010. Details of the plan are somewhat sketchy.

He lives in idyllic but breezy Pukerua Bay, Wellington, New Zealand with his wife and son. Pukerua Bay is most famous as the home town of Peter Jackson, but Rob hopes to change that.

Rob's profile (including links) is at http://www.twohills.co.nz/profile

About the National ICT Series

We intend to bring these events and nationally-recognised speakers to Hamilton every month, however need sufficient attendance to justify it. If you want regular free/inexpensive ICT events in Hamilton, please come along and bring others!

Notice of Annual General Meeting of the Waikato Branch of NZCS

The event will be immediately followed by the Annual General Meeting of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty branch of the NZ Computer Society Inc.

The Agenda is as follows:

Comments from the Chair
Presentation of Branch Financials
Election of Branch Officers (Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Committee Members)

This is also the time for NZCS members to put their hand up for election to the Waikato/BoP Branch Committee. This is a very rewarding experience and your opportunity to do a little to help the local ICT community.

Proxies and nominations for Branch Committee and Officers can be made via email to info@nzcs.org.nz.

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Students meet Industry BBQ (Christchurch, 16/3/2010)

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:29:46 +1300

Students meet Industry BBQ

16 March 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

University of Canterbury Staff Club Ilam Rd, Christchurch (entrance opposite University of Canterbury Students' Assn building)

Come and meet tertiary ICT students from the Canterbury region.

The ICT industry is vitally dependent on a good flow of graduates, so join us and:

let students meet real people from the Canterbury ICT industry that they hear and read so much about,
tell students about your organisation and what it does,
meet students that you might like to employ (even if you're not hiring at the moment),
talk to and encourage students in their studies to help ensure that when you do need new people, there are good students available,
enjoy a relaxing time with some drinks and barbecue food.

This event is organised by the NZ Computer Society and sponsored by the CPIT, University of Canterbury and Lincoln University computing departments.

Thanks to:

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Wellington Branch AGM 2010 (Wellington, 04/3/2010)

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:23:03 +1300

Wellington Branch AGM 2010

4 March 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Fergusson Room NZCS/IPENZ Engineers Building 158 The Terrace Wellington

This is a call to the 45^th Annual General Meeting of the Wellington Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies
Minutes of the meeting Thursday 26 February 2009
Matters arising
Chairman's report
Councillor's report
Treasurer's report'
Election of Officers
Election of Committee

Please email any Apologies of Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

Immediately following the AGM, we will provide refreshments and receive and overview of what we can expect during 2010 from our Computer Society as we celebrate 50 years and prepare for the future:

Liz Eastwood about the plans for the 50th Celebration, and
Paul Matthews will talk about the key plans for the NZCS

Attendance is free, however, we ask that you please register below for catering and organising purposes.

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TPN: Stories for grown-ups: Creating user stories and how this affects testers (Auckland, 04/3/2010)

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:52:17 +1300

TPN: Stories for grown-ups: Creating user stories and how this affects testers

4 March 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Presidents Room The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street, Auckland

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

Stories for grown-ups - Creating user stories and how this affects testers with Sandy Mamoli.

Now we're running Agile - help! "I don't recognise my job anymore and I'm supposed to work with user stories instead of functional specifications - HELP?!"

Scrum Coach and Agile advocate Sandy Mamoli will share her experiences as a Scrum Coach at the ACC and Sony Ericsson in this "warts and all" presentation. Hear real life stories about working with Agile and being an Agile tester. Find out what works and what doesn't. Get insights into challenging the norm and how to write good user stories. Most of all get answers to "what are user stories anyway, do I need them and what they have to do with testing!"

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

We would also like to thank Sandy Mamoli for offering her time to present.

Thank you,

The Auckland TPN Committee

About The Facilitator

Sandy Mamoli is one of NZ's leading agile advocates and is a Certified Scrum Master. She became New Zealand's first Certified Scrum Practitioner in October 2007. Sandy has a passion for using agile to bring true business value to companies and is motivated by helping organisations understand and adopt the fundamentals of Scrum.

One of Sandy's major agile initiatives was working on Sony Ericsson's global enterprise website, which was a distributed agile programme of work (Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Mumbai). She has since coached many project teams including teams at the ACC and NZ on Screen and is currently working as an independent Scrum Coach at the National Library, Assurity and for a large financial organisation.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NZCS members and non-members welcome.

Event schedule:

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Registration & Networking
5:30pm to 6:15pm - Speaker (including Q&A session)
6:15pm to 7:00pm - Networking & close out

Drinks will be available at a cash bar.

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Notice of AGM: Auckland Branch of NZCS (Following WFIA) (Auckland, 03/3/2010)

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:15:19 +1300

Notice of AGM: Auckland Branch of NZCS (Following WFIA)

3 March 2010: 8:30 am - 9:00 am

The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland CBD

Notice of the 2010 Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) Auckland Branch

The Auckland Branch AGM will follow the WFIA Event on the morning of Wednesday 3rd March 2010.

Agenda

Welcome
Apologies
Proxies
Minutes of the previous AGM and matters arising
The Chairman's annual branch report
The Treasurer's annual branch report
Election of Auckland Branch Committee officers and Auckland Branch Committee members
General Business

You can download a proxy authorisation form here and a nomination form here.

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WFIA: Opportunities & Challenges in e-Democracy (Auckland, 03/3/2010)

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:19:47 +1300

WFIA: Opportunities & Challenges in e-Democracy

3 March 2010: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

NZCS World Famous in Auckland presents:

Engaging Your Customers On-line - Opportunities & Challenges in e-Democracy

Speaker: Carol Hayward, Research Manager, Rodney District Council

This month's event will look at the current state of local government e-democracy and the expected areas of future activity.

The effective use of ICT has the potential to lower the barriers to democratic engagement and to provide the tools that communities can develop and manage for themselves.

This session will review the lessons learned internationally and provide valuable insights into customer or citizen expectations.

Includes full breakfast.

NOTE: The Auckland Branch AGM will be held immediately following this event - all members are urged to attend.

About The Speaker

Carol Hayward is Research Manager at Rodney District Council and has a background in e-participation and democratic engagement. She previously worked at Bristol City Council in the UK as part of the Local e-Democracy National Project and subsequently gained European funding to continue progressing e-participation activities while evaluating and promoting lessons learned.

Since moving to New Zealand in October 2008, Carol has worked with the Association of Local Government Information Managers (ALGIM) to develop a local government survey on current and future e-democracy practices which formed the basis of an e-Democracy white paper, launched at ALGIM's conference in November 2009.

Back in Rodney, Carol provides strategic input to the Council's website development and social media activities and has led the introduction of the Council's e-panel, online forums and related activities.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Transpower's Market Systems Project (plus Branch AGM) (Christchurch, 25/2/2010)

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:23:15 +1300

Transpower's Market Systems Project (plus Branch AGM)

25 February 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Hotel So 1st Floor Conference Room 165 Cashel St Christchurch

Transpower is investing significantly in the next generation of information technology and telecommunications hardware and software. In July 2009 Transpower's System Operator successfully completed and launched the $70 million Market Systems Project (MSP), replacing a 13 year old system.

MSP involved a major upgrade to the software and hardware supporting theelectricity market and system operation functions, positioning the SystemOperator as a world leader in this area.

MSP is critical to the electricity industry as a whole, as it looks to continue to improve the ability to deal with the increased complexity of load growth and increasing amounts of renewable generation. Now fully operational, MSP will deliver wide-ranging benefits to the industry(and hence ultimately to consumers). Its introduction has already led to a number of enquiries from interested grid operators internationally.

About The Speaker

Kieran Devine is an electrical engineer with more than 30 years experience within the electricity industry both in New Zealand and abroad. He is currently General Manager of System Operations forTranspower New Zealand Ltd, the owner/operator of New Zealand's high-voltage electricity transmission grid.

Kieran is responsible for real time Scheduling, Despatch, and Security of the New Zealand Power System, together with the management of the real time Wholesale Electricity Market, as theSystem Operator.

He completed bachelors and masters degrees in engineering at the University of Canterbury, and an MBA with Distinction from Victoria University of Wellington. Kieran is a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Engineers (NZ), and a member of UK and USA counterpart organisations - the IET and IEEE, respectively. He is also a member of the Institute of Directors of New Zealand, a former director of WEL Networks and past Chairman of the NZ Electricity Market, Rules Committee.

Notice of Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Computer Society will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday 25^th February at the Hotel So 1^st Floor Conference Room, 165 Cashel Street, Christchurch.

The Agenda, Nomination and Proxy Forms, and the minutes of last year's ADM are available here:

2010 Agenda
2009 Draft Minutes
2010 Nomination Form (for Officers)
2010 Proxy Form (if you are unable to attend in person)

We urge all members to attend the AGM.

Adrien Borrie, MNZCS ITCP
Secretary, Canterbury Branch

Registration Details:

NZCS members can register for this event below.

Non-members can register via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN: Exploratory Testing and Session-based Test Management (Wellington, 23/2/2010)

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:44:15 +1300

TPN: Exploratory Testing and Session-based Test Management

23 February 2010: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington Please note the slightly later start time.

Brian Osman - What is Exploratory Testing and how does it work with Session-Based Test Management?

Think James Bach, think Exploratory testing ... is it a structured approach or is it just a free for all hacking session?

Session Based Test Management (SBTM) not only enables a test team to manage and structure Exploratory Test sessions, but also provides a framework for reporting back to stakeholders on progress. What's more, it helps keep test teams performing with high levels of creativity, engagement and fun!

This 45 minute presentation will cover:

What is Exploratory Testing
How to structure your Exploratory Testing
What is Session-Based Test Management
The information produced by Session-Based Testing
How to help your team improve its Exploratory Testing activities

About The Speaker

Brian Osman provides training and consultancy in software testing for Software Education. He brings over 11 years of software testing experience to the training courses he delivers for Software Education and the consultancy services he offers to Software Education customers.

A hugely popular trainer, Brian has worked with a variety of industries, covering topics as diverse as Advanced Test Management, Agile Testing and Web Based Testing.

Brian holds both the Advanced Test Analyst and Advanced Test Manager Certification through ISTQB and is a member of the Association of Software Testing.

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

TPN also wish to thank Software Education for providing the drinks and nibbles.

Registration Details:

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome.

NOTE: Please pay $5 at the door

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NZCS ISSIG: Weather Report from the Internet Storm Centre (Wellington, 18/2/2010)

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:19:13 +1300

NZCS ISSIG: Weather Report from the Internet Storm Centre

18 February 2010: 3:15 pm - 5:30 pm

Room 512A/B 5th Floor, WelTec 11 - 17 Church Street (off Boulcott Street) Wellington

The threats we face are ever changing, but how are they different from 1 year, 2 years, 3 years ago? What can we expect in the future?

As one of the handlers at the Internet Storm Centre, Mark Hofman has a unique view of the internet and the different threats present.

The Internet Storm Centre sees what was, is and will be and how they evolve. In the presentation Mark will go through a number of the things that the Centre has seen and how they evolve.

Door Prize:

There will also be a $100 book token door prize for an ISSIG member selected at random.

About The Speaker

Mark Hofman is a consultant at Shearwater Solutions. He is also an incident handler for the Internet Storm Centre as well as one of the SANS Institute's instructors.

He has been working in information security since the early 90's. He has worked for both private industry and government and has provided a wide range of information security consulting services to numerous organisations, including the financial sector, private sector, and government.

Mark has had a number of publications, has trained and lectured internationally.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential - NZCS ISSIG Members can register below, free of charge.

NZCS members and non-members can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

Special Training Opportunity

SANS - Security 401: SANS Security Essentials Bootcamp, 15-20 March 2010

SANS and Shearwater Solutions will be bringing SANS' most popular course to New Zealand for SANS Wellington 2010 on 15-20 March.

Course and registration details here: (http://www.sans.org/info/51414)

SANS have offered a 10% discount for NZCS or ISSIG members registering for the Bootcamp - simply enter the code "NZCS" at stage 3 of the registration process.

This is a special opportunity for Info Sec professionals to take part in this SANS comprehensive Security Essentials training course and qualify to take the GSEC certification exam.

See an overview of the course here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpoep3Dskb0

(More Info)

ICTTop100 Lunch: Top Ten Predictions for 2010 (Auckland, 17/2/2010)

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:29:49 +1300

ICTTop100 Lunch: Top Ten Predictions for 2010

17 February 2010: 12:15 pm - 2:00 pm

The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

ICTTop100 is a forum where senior ICT professionals and managers come together to discuss and debate a particular topic in detail, over a formal lunch.

Discussion takes place under the Chatham House rule, and the outcomes are then forwarded to various stakeholders (such as NZCS, Government, etc).

iStart Top Ten Predictions for 2010

iStart Magazine predicted the following as their top 10 in Quarter 1, 2010:

Planning for economic uncertainty.
Consolidated buying as government cuts costs.
Unconventional allies for growth.
ICT: Role in reducing climate change CO2 gases.
Restructure of ultra-fast broadband plan.
Fibre for schools policy under spotlight.
Customer care strategies will move to the forefront.
Mobility set to grow.
The Cloud - a hybrid approach.
ROI and the business outcome.

So what do you think? Let's put our heads together and identify the way forward!

Register for the next 10 lunches and save!

You can register for the next 10 ICTTop100 lunches and save considerably, equalling $35+GST per lunch. Note that this applies to the following 10 lunches whether you attend or not.

Note that you CAN send someone else in your place if you are unable to attend. For instance, a company may purchase a 10-pack and send different staff each month.

Registration Details:

NOTE: Those that are already registered for all 10 ICTTop100 lunches do NOT need to re-register.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN: Get Ready for Web Application Security Testing (Auckland, 16/2/2010)

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:54:46 +1300

TPN: Get Ready for Web Application Security Testing

16 February 2010: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Auckland Room The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

Get Ready for Web Application Security Testing with Alan Kan.

Traditionally, penetration testing and ethical hacking are topics for security professionals. These were normally done after software testing was completed. As web applications become more popular target for hackers, some organisations are starting to include security testing in the test cycle rather than treating it as an afterthought. This has shifted the responsibility of security testing to testing professionals.

In this session, Alan will provide you an overview of the security landscape, introduce some of the most exploited vulnerabilities, how to test for them, and how you can get ready for web application security testing

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

Refreshments provided

(Note: Event is being re-sent due to additional places being available)

About The Speaker

Alan Kan is the Technical Manager for IBM Rational in New Zealand. A frequent speaker in conferences, he promotes software delivery best practices and helps organisations to enhance their software delivery processes.

Alan is also currently leading a project to connect Rational users in New Zealand. He holds a Master's in information systems from the University of Auckland, and is a certified Project Management Professional. IBM Rational offers a platform for governing software and systems delivery, ensuring software quality, functionality, security, reliability and performance in development and production.

We would also like to thank Qual IT for sponsoring the event and Alan Kan for offering his time to present.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS 50th Anniversary Quiz (Wellington, 11/2/2010)

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:10:50 +1300

NZCS 50th Anniversary Quiz

11 February 2010: 5:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Upstairs "back bar" at Loaded Hog pub 57 Customhouse Quay Wellington (the waterfront, near Meridian on one side) (Quiz starts at 6pm)

You think you know it all? - put your skills to the test with our 50th Anniversary quiz night.

Quizmaster Noel Cheer

This year is the 50th anniversary of the NZ Computer Society's formation, so to kick off the year in Wellington we've developed a special quiz night.

The questions have been drawn up and the history books have been out (ok we used Wikipedia a lot!) The timescale of the questions ranges from 50 years ago to last week, so we recommend you form teams of mixed ages, to cover the spectrum.

Anyone not already in a team will be assigned a place on arrival.

Quiz starts 6pm.

Snacks and Nibbles will be provided, and there will be a cash bar.

About The Quizmaster

Noel Cheer was employed by IBM New Zealand -- from anonymity in 1961 until obscurity in 1997 -- in a range of activities which spanned repairing electric typewriters to reassuring self-intimidated middle managers that the new-fangled Personal Computers of the 1980s were relevant to business and posed no threat to either themselves or to IBM's core business.

(Well, one out of three isn't too bad!).

As Noel's interest in the equipment that he helped sell morphed from fixing it to using it, his job description took on the rosy title of Market Support Manager in which role he was IBM's face in the Unix group, UniForum.

Noel's career in IBM was, for the most part, happy with his more than 12 years of retirement blessed by a pension enabling him to use computers to eke out his limited writing and television presenting skills.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential - NZCS members may register at no cost below.

Non-members can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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WFIA Breakfast: 10 (Of The Many) Things Your Marketing Department Does Not Know... (Auckland, 03/2/2010)

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:40:03 +1300

WFIA Breakfast: 10 (Of The Many) Things Your Marketing Department Does Not Know...

3 February 2010: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

In today's business IT is often tasked with taking care of the website that marketing is responsible for.

Indeed, this is the very website that marketing is reliant on for sales or leads but..... there are a number of things that the marketing department just doesn't know about web projects and online marketing.

This event will explore those knowledge gaps and help you to help them.

Includes full breakfast.

About The Speaker

Grant Osborne is a results-driven and performance-focused online marketing professional. Grant has over 6 years experience in online marketing management roles, and has developed innovative digital marketing solutions for a number of leading NZ, Australian and International companies.

After his time in the UK as Online Marketing Manager of several Internet start-ups, Grant came home to NZ and joined First Rate as an Internet Marketing consultant, then moved into the role of Consulting Manager.

Most recently Grant invested his talents in the hospitality industry as the Online Marketing Manager for Accor Hotels NZ & Fiji before returning to the Q Group in his current role as Director of Strategy & Performance.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Nelson NZCS Christmas Gathering (Nelson, 21/12/2009)

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:57:18 +1300

Nelson NZCS Christmas Gathering

21 December 2009: 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm

The Honest Lawyer 1 Point Road Monaco, Nelson

Its time to say goodbye to another year. The NZCS hasn't been as active as it could have been but there have been a couple of good events during the year. At this time of the year it's a good chance to get together and talk about the year in review and say farewell to friends for the christmas break.

This year we are going to try something a little different! Please come along to the Honest Lawyer on Monday the 21st with a story about a project or initiative that went well in 2009 and one that went pear-shaped, or not-so-well.

We'll sit around with a beer at some stage and go around the group listening to war stories - it's always good to hear from people doing similar things to others and the things they have learnt from... Don't be afraid, it's not compulsory but there is a lot of experience out there and here is a chance to all hear the great things that we've all been up to here in the sun capital!

The team at TelstraClear are kindly sponsoring the event with nibbles for us, but it will be a cash bar.

Join the Nelson Mailing List

You've received this event notification as you're on the Wellington Events List (Nelson is a sub-branch of Wellington), however we've just established a mailing list specifically for the Nelson IT community.

Those in Nelson should join the Nelson NZCS Events Mailing List to receive notification of future Nelson events. If you received this via email, click here and select "Nelson Events" and save. Alternatively, just log into the NZCS system and select it there.

If you know of others who should be on the list but don't have a profile, please direct them to:
http://www.nzcs.org.nz/membership/newcontact?m=23

Registration Details:

Please register below for catering purposes.

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Birds of a Feather: The Challenges of Contract Tendering (Wellington, 16/12/2009)

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:05:26 +1300

Birds of a Feather: The Challenges of Contract Tendering

16 December 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The Waterloo Bar and Grill Waterloo Quay Wellington (was the Ferryman Hotel) www.thewaterloo.co.nz

This is an open invitation to those in Wellington's ICT community to meet informally, for the last time in 2009, over a drink and nibbles for a facilitated discussion on a relevant topic.

Topic: The Challenges of Contract Tendering

Getting work in the current environment is a real challenge for a lot of professionals. With most of the larger Government and Public sector work now being tendered out through GETS, IT professionals are not alone in taking on the often arduous task of responding to RFPs and RFT's. This discussion is focused on the challenges IT professionals have in this area and exploring ways of making the process easier and, hopefully, producing more professional and successful tenders.

The discussion is facilitated so that everyone can have their say. The nominal charge, payable at the door, is a gold coin entry for members (subsidised by NZCS) and $10 for non-members to cover costs.

Nibbles provided. Cash bar available.

Facilitator

Steven Howard. MA (Psych), DipSocSci. (Computer Science), BSc. (Math)

Steven's has over 20 years experience in the IT industry including management roles in IT security and risk, contract governance, customer support and business planning. In 2003, he embarked on a career change which took him into full time studies towards a Master of Arts degree in social psychology and training in personal coaching.

He completed his MA in 2007, graduating with the award of first class honours. Steven's consulting career commenced while completing his studies and since then he has been involved in helping some of New Zealand's largest companies to shape winning contract proposals. Steven is highly talented at interpreting corporate cultures and assisting technical people to write for business audiences.

Registration Details:

Please register for this event below.

NOTE: Free to register, however Gold Coin entry for NZCS members and $10 for non-members - Payable at the door.

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Meeting to discuss new Artificial Intelligence Specialist Group (Auckland, 08/12/2009)

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:16:58 +1300

Meeting to discuss new Artificial Intelligence Specialist Group

8 December 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Meeting Room 1, e-Centre Gate 5 Oaklands Rd Massey University, Albany Auckland 0632

[Note that this meeting is now full. Please contact pennya@featureit.co.nz for more information]

NZCS is currently considering the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence Specialist Group and several members have called a meeting to discuss and gauge interest.

NZCS Specialist Groups (also known as Special Interest Groups or SIGs) are sub-groups of the Society that share an interest in a specialist ICT area such as Security (ISSIG) or Professional Testing (TPN).

NZCS SGs meet regularly and provide a range of events and speakers in their subject of expertise, as well as providing input and information to the Society in their chosen field to assist with NZCS's public advocacy.

Artificial Intelligence Specialist Group

A meeting to discuss forming a new NZCS Artificial Intelligence Group has been called for Tuesday, 8 December 2009, 5:30 pm onwards in Meeting Room 1 at e-Centre, Gate 5 Oaklands Rd, Massey University, Albany 0632.

This meeting is open to all NZCS members (any grade) and prospective members with an interest in Artificial Intelligence either in a commercial or research context.

Please contact Penny Anderson on email pennya@featureit.co.nz for further information regarding this Specialist Group.

Registration Details:

Please register your interest below if you intend to attend, to assist with logistics.

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WFIA Breakfast: Value of IT in the Organisation: Current Scenario (Auckland, 02/12/2009)

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:19:19 +1300

WFIA Breakfast: Value of IT in the Organisation: Current Scenario

2 December 2009: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

Despite all of the hype and media attention on the power of technology, IT teams and the IT industry as a whole is often viewed by their organisational peers and "bosses" as being underperforming and a drag on the organisation.

Owen McCall, Chief Information Officer at The Warehouse will explore why this is and set out a plan that he believes will support addressing this value creation gap.

Includes full breakfast

About The Speaker

Owen McCall has held the post of Chief Information Officer at The Warehouse Limited since November 2003, having previously worked for Deloitte Consulting since 1986 in various consulting roles through to Partner level.

He has 22 years experience working in IT and the professional services industry with broad experience in all aspects of the systems lifecycle. The main emphasis that he brings to all jobs is to determine how to use IT to add real value.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Canterbury Christmas Party [Members only] (Christchurch, 01/12/2009)

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:23:38 +1300

Canterbury Christmas Party [Members only]

1 December 2009: 5:15 pm - 7:30 pm

Club XO 128 Oxford Terrace (The Strip) Christchurch (Above Liquidity Bar and Restaurant)

Canterbury Software Cluster

and Canterbury Branch NZCS

Christmas Party

This is an invitation to NZCS members to join the Canterbury Software Cluster at the combined NZCS/CSi Christmas Party.

This event is for NZCS and CSi members only and is free for NZCS members. To help estimate numbers we would appreciate it if you would please Register below.

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Panel on ICT Skills Gap [NOTE: New Venue] (Christchurch, 26/11/2009)

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:22:54 +1300

Panel on ICT Skills Gap [NOTE: New Venue]

26 November 2009: 5:45 pm - 7:15 pm

Imagitech Theatre - A134 Ground Floor, Main Building, Near City Campus Library CPIT, City Campus, Madras Street Christchurch [NOTE: This is a new venue]

In this day and age access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) plays an absolutely essential role in both economic and social development.

Over the last decade investment on ICTs has become the largest component of capital expenditure within most organizations. The increasing investment on ICTs and accelerated adoption of ICT solutions (to digitize businesses and modernize communities) have introduced challenges. Today, more than ever, organizations and societies depend on skilled ICT workers to keep up with the pace of adapting ICTs and benefit from their investments on ICT solutions and applications.

Concern about the shortage of ICT and eTechnology skills is world-wide. The world has become aware that growth in adoption of ICT is outstripping the supply of adequately trained and skilled ICT workforce and the situation is unlikely to improve. It is clear that, either directly or indirectly, one of the key roles of tertiary education is to develop, prepare and supply adequately skilled ICT workers to respond to the needs of Industry.

As an exciting closure to the 2009 South Island Digital Careers Expo, NZCS Canterbury Branch has organized for a panel of experts from various sectors to discuss the ICT skills gap and possible solutions that can be considered to address the increasing demand on ICT skills. The panellist will represent views from various professional bodies and organizations such as: the tertiary sector, Department of Labour, Accelerated Auckland, Canterbury Development Corporation and human resources management functions of technology companies within the Canterbury region.

This will be an exceptional opportunity to be part of an interactive discussion suitable for industry, students, academia, and anyone interested in becoming aware of ICT skills shortage issues and the concept of a greater tertiary-industry partnership.

Includes Refreshments, sponsored by CPIT.

Panellists

Anthony Thomas - Sector Manager, ICT - Canterbury Development Corporation

Anthony has both worked and studied internationally from 1992 through to 2009. He completed an MBA at the University of Bristol in 1999 following which has held roles with a focus on collaborative strategies with the Commonwealth Secretariat (London), Virgin (Sydney) and News Digital Media (Sydney). Anthony joined CDC in February 2009 as ICT Sector Manager.

Judith Speight - ITT WRKZ Ltd

Judith is a graduate of the University of Auckland; she works across the public and private sectors as a catalyst, strategist and advisor.

Judith is a current councillor for InternetNZ and NACCQ, a director of ITT WRKZ Limited and trustee for Carers New Zealand. At an operational level Judith leads Accelerating Aotearoa, a charitable organization that works with Communities, Government, Education providers and the Private Sector to build New Zealand's competitiveness by improving the digital skills and abilities of New Zealanders.

Historical roles include membership of New Zealand's APEC TEL delegation, Government's Broadband Forum, Minister for Communication's Electronic Commerce Action Team, the Prime Minister's Y2K Task Force, Chairman of the Telecommunications Users Association (TUANZ), member of Internet NZ's Executive Board & Trustee for the e-regions Trust.

In 2007 Judith was recognised internationally with a Champion of Digital Literacy award in Orlando, Florida for her work to address the Digital Divide.

Matt Hoskin, Manager, Relationship Management Team, Immigration NZ

Matt manages the Relationship Management team within Immigration New Zealand, where he has worked since 2005. A small team, the Relationship Managers assist sectors and employers to find, recruit and retain the skilled migrants that they need. Prior to that Matt worked for Venture Southland, the region's economic development agency, where he set up the regional skilled migrant recruitment and retention programme. Originally from the UK, Matt has degrees in Law and International Relations.

Panel Chair: Mehdi Asgarkhani, Faculty of Commerce, CPIT

Mehdi is currently a principal lecturer (strategic management of ICTs) and academic leader at Faculty of Commerce (CPIT). He is currently the chair of the NZCS Canterbury branch committee and has been previously involved (prior to joining CPIT) in the ICT sector in various roles including, Managing Business Support Services, Business Strategy Analyst; Project Director; and ICT Solutions Consultant.

Mehdi's industry based research includes the effectiveness and the role of ICT solutions within various sectors of the industry (with focus on the public and education sectors), strategic management of technology, ICT governance and strategies for developing closer alliance between the ICT education sector (tertiary) and the ICT industry. He has had numerous publications (both in NZ and internationally) in the strategic use of ICTs in the public sector and tertiary education.

Registration Details:

NZCS Members and Corporate Partners should register below for catering purposes.

Others can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Evolution of Development Methodologies - John Fisher (Wellington, 26/11/2009)

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:50:27 +1300

Evolution of Development Methodologies - John Fisher

26 November 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Spectrum Theatre (Previously BP Theatrette) BP House, 20 Customhouse Quay Wellington

Evolution of Development Methodologies - A Personal Perspective

The manner in which business needs have been documented and implemented has changed dramatically over the 50 or so years that computers have been around. This presentation traces the history of methodology from the early days through to the present.

Changes in approaches to systems development have been largely dictated by the hardware and software capabilities of the time coupled with continuing refinements in how the real world is perceived and can be modeled and simulated. Starting in the 60's when The Beatles were the rage, it traces methodology from a simple "get it written" approach to "Enterprise Architecture" as seen through the eyes of someone who has "been there, done that".

The methodology path evolves through the structured approaches of the 70's and on to the "ultimate" of Information Engineering. From there it meanders through object orientation and the birth of UML in the 90's. It ends with a picture of methodology today which mixes the best of the past with the realities of now and the impact of Zachman, TOGAF and Enterprise Architecture.

John Fisher looks at these significant developments in a lighthearted, though sometimes serious way, based on his own experiences. The objective of this talk is to both inform and entertain.

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

John Fisher has been involved in IT for 45 years, and has worked on transaction and database based systems almost exclusively for his entire career, more recently focusing on the areas of information architecture and knowledge systems.

At Ministry of Education he is currently an Enterprise Architect responsible for the development of Sector Business Architectures and their integration into a TOGAF based enterprise architecture framework. He is working in this area with Overseas Education Agencies such as JISC (UK) and SURF(Netherlands). He is Vice President of the New Zealand Chapter of the Association of Enterprise Architects (a/EA)

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Birds of a Feather: ICT Continuity in Constrained Economic Times (Wellington, 18/11/2009)

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:41:17 +1300

Birds of a Feather: ICT Continuity in Constrained Economic Times

18 November 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The Waterloo Bar and Grill Waterloo Quay Wellington (was the Ferryman Hotel) www.thewaterloo.co.nz

This is an open invitation to those in Wellington's ICT community to meet informally over a drink and nibbles for a facilitated discussion on a relevant topic.

Topic: ICT Continuity (IT DR) in Constrained Economic Times

We will review some survey figures and then discuss what we can do to continue to maintain and build the resilience of the ICT Systems and Services we provide to our organisations.

The discussion is facilitated so that everyone can have their say. The nominal charge is a gold coin entry for members (subsidised by NZCS) and $10 for non-members to cover costs.

Nibbles provided. Cash bar available.

Facilitator: David Thompson, CBCI

David is a Business Continuity and ICT Disaster Recovery practitioner who has managed a number of teams in the actual recovery of people, property and systems after several disaster incidents. These events include the Hutt Valley and Queenstown floods, and throughout New Zealand, hazardous materials contamination, denial of access and ICT systems failures.

He works with a wide range of clients in the public and private sectors in New Zealand bringing his expertise in Business Continuity Management, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Continuity Management, Crisis Management, Emergency Response management to enable the building of a greater resilience within those organisations.

David is also a recognised leader, trainer and international public speaker in the Business Continuity industry. He holds the Certified Business Continuity Institute accreditation.

David's commitment to building resilience within organisations also finds expression in his roles as the Chair of the New Zealand Advisory Committee and NZ Representative, for Continuity Forum, the business continuity and disaster recovery association in Australasia. David is also a member of the NZ Society for Risk Management.

Registration Details:

Members may register for this event below.

Non-members may register via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NOTE: Gold Coin entry for NZCS members.

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New Microsoft platforms overview (Nelson, 18/11/2009)

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:50:35 +1300

New Microsoft platforms overview

18 November 2009: 7:30 am - 9:00 am

Computer Concepts Ltd 7 Forests Rd Stoke, Nelson

NZCS Nelson Sub-branch Presents:

In 2009 Microsoft has released 3 new significant platforms that have to be understood given their significance in the business client/server marketplace. This presentation covers off those "big 3".

Windows 7
Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

Come along and expect to be informed as to the advancements made in Microsoft's server/client computing and the changes to their core messaging system.

This is a unique opportunity to get a peak at these new releases in a relaxed atmosphere where you are not be "sized up" for a sale. The presentation will be delivered by Microsoft but the presentation will be an overview of the platforms, not a sales pitch.

Everyone is welcome.

Includes light breakfast

Join the Nelson Mailing List

If you know of others who should be on the list but don't have a profile, please direct them to:
http://www.nzcs.org.nz/membership/newcontact?m=23

Registration Details:

Computer Concepts are kindly sponsoring this event and putting on some breakfast for participants. Please be sure to register in advance, however, for catering purposes.

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TPN Presents: Exploratory Testing with Session-based Test Management (Auckland, 17/11/2009)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:19:53 +1300

TPN Presents: Exploratory Testing with Session-based Test Management

17 November 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Auckland Room The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

When is enough, enough? Manage Exploratory Testing with Session-Based Test Management with Brian Osman.

When is enough testing enough? How does a test team know when they are done? Session Based Test Management (SBTM) not only enables a test team to manage and structure Exploratory Test sessions, but also provides a framework for reporting back to stakeholders on progress. What's more, it helps keep test teams performing with high levels of creativity, engagement and fun!

This 45 minute presentation will cover:

How to structure your Exploratory Testing
The information produced by Session-Based Testing
How to help your team improve its Exploratory Testing activities

We would be grateful if you could please forward this invite to others who may be interested in the event.

We would also like to thank QualIT, who are sponsoring the event.

Refreshments provided

About The Speaker

Brian provides training and consultancy in software testing for Software Education. He brings over 11 years of software testing experience to the training courses he delivers for Software Education and the consultancy services he offers to Software Education customers.

A hugely popular trainer, Brian has worked with a variety of industries, covering topics as diverse as Advanced Test Management, Agile Testing and Web Based Testing.

Brain holds Advanced Test Analyst Certification through the ISTQB and is a member of the Association of Software Testing!

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Using social media to build personal/professional learning networks (Napier, 12/11/2009)

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:27:46 +1300

Using social media to build personal/professional learning networks

12 November 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Room R101 Eastern Institute of Technology 501 Gloucester Street Taradale Napier 4112 (Different venue - Food and Wine Building at the back of the EIT Campus next to the construction site )

NZCS Napier Sub-Branch Presents:

Using social media to build personal/professional learning networks

With the proliferation of web2.0 tools and the ensuing information overload as everyone has become a publisher, it can be hard to keep the signal-to-noise ratio down.

However, these very social media tools can also help. They can be used to build a filter - a professional learning network - that will help you navigate your way around networks to connect with knowledge and experts to inform your everyday practice.

On this presentation Joyce Seitzinger will look at common elements of social media and include examples and stories from those who rely on their PLN every day.

NOTE: Please join the Hawkes Bay mailing list (below) to receive future event notifications

Student Presentations

Students will be displaying their posters developed for their final BCS degree project (developed around a project undertaken for industry or an internship in industry). You will have the opportunity to discuss their final project with them. There will also be 10 minute presentations from two of the Students.

Refreshments Provided

About The Speaker

Joyce Seitzinger is an e-learning instructional designer and project manager who has worked on online learning projects since 1999.

Despite having a Bachelors Degree in Celtic Studies, one of her first jobs was in e-learning and its creative and innovative nature has kept her there.

Joyce moved to New Zealand in 2006 to work as e-learning advisor in tertiary education, currently at EIT Hawke's Bay. She has a Master of Education Technology from the University of Southern Queensland and is the co-convenor of the ITPNZ eLearning Forum.

Her special interests include Moodle, networked learning, instructional design & staff development for e-learning.

Join the Hawkes Bay Mailing List

You've received this event notification as you're on the Wellington Events List (Hawkes Bay is a sub-branch of Wellington), however we've just established a mailing list specifically for the Hawkes Bay IT community.

Those in Hawkes Bay should join the Hawkes Bay NZCS Events Mailing List to receive notification of future Hawkes Bay events. If you received this via email, click here and select "Hawkes Bay Events" and save. Alternatively, just log into the NZCS system and select it there.

If you know of others who should be on the list but don't have a profile, please direct them to:
http://www.nzcs.org.nz/membership/newcontact?m=22

Registration Details:

Registration is essential to secure your place and for catering purposes. Please register below.

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Personalising Learning Environments with Quick Response (QR) Codes (Hamilton, 10/11/2009)

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:43:56 +1300

Personalising Learning Environments with Quick Response (QR) Codes

10 November 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Events Room 2, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton

It is increasingly recognised mobile learning (m-learning), in its variety of forms, is shaping, and being shaped by, the way we live, work and learn.

However, m-learning implementations are often heavily "keypad" dependent. The protracted and often clumsy method of accessing stored information and services through the limited input functionalities of mobile phones is time-consuming, frustrating and affects uptake of these m-technologies. To increase the impact of m-deployments a number of institutions are using Quick Response (QR) Codes to provide learners with speedy and ready access to information, services and assessments that are location sensitive.

What Are QR Codes

While the information contained in a normal bar code is presented in a horizontal direction, the information contained in a QR code is presented in both the vertical and horizontal direction. This means substantial more amounts of information (such as website addresses, text and numerical information, and contact details) can be stored within the code. The contained in the QR code can de-coded by a "smart-phone" with an embedded camera and code reading software installed. And example (for Wintec Research Archive is shown in figure 1 on the right.

Benefits

Embedding QR codes into learning environments, both physical and electronic, will enable learners to move from one place to the next, and to be able to use readily-available, handheld computing devices and communication technology to access localised content anywhere and at anytime.

About The Speaker

Dr John Clayton is a New Zealand e-learning educator with extensive knowledge of deploying, using and evaluating e-learning technologies. He is currently the manager of the Emerging Technologies Centre at the Waikato Institute of Technology and for the last three years has been a member of the New Zealand Ministry of Education e-Learning Reference Group.

Dr Clayton has been the project leader of a number of significant government funded e-learning deployment projects including the Open Source Courseware Initiative and the Open Source Learning Object Repository Project. He has recently led New Zealand Ministry of Education research funded projects investigating The Role of e-Learning in Building Workforce Capability to Meet Regional National Industry Needs and a second project investigating E-Learning Activities in Aotearoa / New Zealand Industry Training Organisations. He has recently completed the ICT PD Cluster Programme Research Review Project.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free, however please register below to secure your place.

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TPN Presents: Test Estimation - Getting the Picture (Wellington, 10/11/2009)

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:42:09 +1300

TPN Presents: Test Estimation - Getting the Picture

10 November 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Wellington NZCS Test Professionals Network presents

David Rodriguez is a Testing Consultant working for Fujitsu in Wellington. On a regular basis he provides test estimates for client projects.

It can be very challenging to create accurate estimates when project requirements are not clear, or the technology is unfamiliar. Since estimates form the basis of project cost it is important to form a clear picture of what the testing will entail. David will look at the close link between devising the test strategy and creating the test estimate. He will explain techniques which are available to support the estimation process.

Come along to hear David present his experiences with test estimation and join in the discussion on this important and relevant topic.

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided.

Refreshments Provided

About The Speaker

TPN wish to thank Westpac for providing the venue and Fujitsu for providing the refreshments.

Registration Details:

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome.

NOTE: Please pay $5 at the door

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Insights, Predictions and Suggestions about Information Systems (Auckland, 04/11/2009)

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:22:03 +1300

Insights, Predictions and Suggestions about Information Systems

4 November 2009: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

NZCS World Famous in Auckland (WFIA) Presents:

Insights, Predictions and Suggestions about Information Systems 2009

As well as being indispensable tools that support business processes, computers and information technology (IT) are a rich source of strategic or competitive advantage for the businesses that use Information Systems well.

For others, IT is just a necessary cost of doing business. An Information System (IS) is the combination of Information Technology (IT or ICT) and the people who use it. Once this is understood, it becomes apparent that business will be more successful when the right IS is doing the right things in the right ways.

One of the major factors driving the speed of change in IT is described by Moore's Law. This law recognises that since the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958, the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated has increased exponentially, doubling approximately every two years. (2 x Power @ ½ $ / 24mths). This phenomenon was first observed and documented in a 1965 paper by Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore.

Moore's Law has consistently delivered Cheaper-Faster-Better computing power, and in 2005, was not expected to stop for at least another decade. This steady IT innovation generates newly viable IS solutions for old issues as well as new choices for new opportunities ... relentlessly redefining the paradigm for IS and its application. Getting the best possible value for business from the right IS will continue to be an opportunity for leadership and management; welcomed and embraced by the bold to their benefit, missed by many to their cost as they wonder what happened ...

So, how do you work through the maze of options in the dynamic world to implement the IS solutions that are right for you? Ian Howard, Independent Consultant, Facilitator and Coach offers some Insights, Predictions and Suggestions about Information Systems 2009.

Please feel free to review this presentation that can be accessed from the i&A website - so you can bring along an informed view for a vigorous discussion at the Nov 09 WFIA.

Includes full breakfast

About The Speaker

Ian Howard is Managing Director of i&A, an Auckland based consultancy that provides independent IS Consulting and Professional Services for business across a wide range, scale and complexity of projects.

Ian is an experienced senior Consultant, Facilitator and Coach with extensive professional and commercial expertise garnered from long term, deep and wide involvement with a range of initiatives, people and projects across many business sectors.

In addition to his fascination with Leadership, Management and the Human Condition, Ian has a particular interest in the effective application of IS to business. He is a Fellow of the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS), a member of the Institute of Directors and holds a Commerce degree in Economics from the University of Auckland

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Data Warehousing to Maximise Business Intelligence (Wellington, 29/10/2009)

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:14:52 +1300

Data Warehousing to Maximise Business Intelligence

29 October 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM Level 11, Majestic Building 100 Willis Street Wellington

The Gartner 2009 conference on Business Intelligence found a discontinuity between what businesses want from Business Intelligence (BI) and what IT is delivering.

The demand is for Strategic BI, but IT departments are not delivering a BI Strategy - they focus on point solutions. IT compare the cost of centralising BI into a Data Warehouse against the ease of implementing Data Marts, whereas the Business sees the significant benefits of a Data Warehouse and the cost of fragmented Data Marts.

In this session Roy Elgar will cover:

Key success factors in delivering Strategic BI - governance, roadmaps, logical and physical models and data architecture
Measuring Success in Data Warehousing - 5 stages of DW growth and exploitation, examples from around AsiaPacific and Japan
Technology trends - why ELT (Extract, Load and Transform) is replacing ETL (Extract, Transform and Load), in-DW applications and in-DW data mining,

This interactive presentation will explain how a good DW strategy and implementation delivers value to both Business and IT.

Includes Light Lunch

About The Speaker

Roy Elgar has 30 years of data and database experience, from early mainframe and mid-range systems to today's massively parallel Data Warehouses, working in UK, NZ, India, China, Korea and Malaysia. His industry experience covers Retail Banking, Insurance, Cards, Telecommunications, Health, Manufacturing and Government.

While at a major international bank based in Scotland, Roy was the technical leader for a project to merge 3 Data Warehouse systems on different platforms (Teradata, IBM Unix and mainframe) into a single Enterprise Data Warehouse Environment.

Since the early 90s, Roy has specialised in the practical design, development, implementation and growth of Data Warehouse environments to support business change and growth. He has completed ELT Design Reviews for the largest bank in China and the largest mobile carrier in India, recommending process and data design changes to meet required Service Level Agreements. He has also developed design guides, logical and physical data models, education and training materials.

Roy is a frequent speaker at EDW seminars globally and has been recognised for innovative and productive work in Data Warehousing including 2 selections for IBM Winning Team Forums and became a Teradata Knowledge Star Winner in 2007.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS "Brown Bag" Lunch (Christchurch, 28/10/2009)

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:31:03 +1300

NZCS "Brown Bag" Lunch

28 October 2009: 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Office of Farrow Jamieson Level 9 Forsyth Barr House (Armagh Street) Christchurch (Click Here for map)

Join us for the 1st of what may become a regular event.

NZCS Canterbury recently started the informal ‘Birds of a Feather' sessions as something a bit different and on a different night to our regular monthly presentations. So let's try something that may appeal to those in the central city that can't make it to evening events.

This is an open invitation to those in Canterbury's ICT community to meet informally at lunch time, potentially once a month, in addition to our current monthly events.

Participants bring along your own lunch, ‘brown bag style'.

Tea and coffee will be available thanks to Farrow Jamieson

Topic: Open discussion and networking

For this first session we will leave it pretty informal and open, but here are a few ideas that can be tossed around.

Do we want to do a regular lunch event, and if so an informal or formal style?
Is a central venue the best place for these, or other, NZCS events?
What topics, speakers etc would you like to hear/see at events?
Anything else?

Come along and have a chat and do some networking.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free, however we'd really appreciate you registering so we know who's coming, and for catering the tea and coffee. Thanks!

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YITPG Presents: Geek bling with @nzben #yitpg (Auckland, 22/10/2009)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:08:52 +1200

YITPG Presents: Geek bling with @nzben #yitpg

22 October 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Level 5, Microsoft House 22 Viaduct Harbour Ave Auckland

NZCS Young IT Professionals Group presents: Ben Gracewood

Interested in the latest gadgets and gizmos? Want to know what's happening in the tech space?

Join Ben Gracewood (Twitter: @nzben), technology test-driver for TVNZ's Breakfast Programme, as he presents the latest in geek bling - tech gadgets and gizmos that do really cool things.

Ben will also talk about his predictions for the future - what's around the corner in geek toys and how will it make life more interesting?

This is the inaugural event for the Auckland NZCS Young IT Professionals Group (YITPG), a new NZCS Specialist Group focusing on 20- and 30-somethings.

NZCS members and non-members welcome, but registration is essential please!

Includes free Pizza and Beer. Yum.

About @nzben

Ben is a certified gadget-freak, self-styled technologist, raconteur, mentor, manager, megalomaniac.

By day he is a mild-mannered software development executive. Having no suit to tear off, he instead transforms himself into a super gadget-freak by blogging (ben.geek.nz) and tweeting (@nzben) about all things shiny and electronic.

In his spare time you can find him moving various vehicles around via remote control, reading hard sci-fi, tinkering with electronics, fixing the house, and other such interesting and diverse pastimes as may catch his fancy.

You can see him on TVNZ Breakfast here (he's the one not crashing the helicopter...)

Special thanks to Microsoft for sponsoring the venue.

NZCS Young IT Professionals Group (YITPG)

YITPG is a new Specialist Group of NZCS, basically a networking group for 20- and 30-something ICT enthusiasts (those with up to 10 years’ professional work experience) and students.

YITPG will be running regular events and providing opportunities for young IT peeps to get together over beer and pizza and good company, while also maybe learning something new...

Join the mailing list (below) and come along to this inaugural event!

Young IT Professionals Group Mailing List

Registration Details:

Registration is essential. No registration, no beer and pizza!

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Social Media for Business 101 (Christchurch, 22/10/2009)

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:57:57 +1300

Social Media for Business 101

22 October 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 165 Cashel Street Christchurch (Ground Floor Meeting Room) Click Here for map

Business is moving on from traditional one-way marketing. Organisations embracing social media marketing are reaping the rewards.

Simply put, the benefit of social media is that, by engaging your public on a personal, conversational basis, your public actually pays attention to what you have to say. Social media provides a very cost-efficient means of targeting and connecting with any given audience.

Blogs, Facebook and Twitter have radically changed the face of customer relationship management. The technology and applications can seem daunting. Learn the fundamentals of social media technology and how to get started or find out how to develop your existing skills in this area.

Refreshments kindly sponsored by Novell

About The Speaker

Kaila Colbin, PMP, is an entrepreneur and social commentator who arrived in NZ from the US four years ago. She is the founder of Missing Link Consultants Limited, a communications and marketing consultancy with a focus on social media and also a co-founder of Falcon Training Limited, a project management training company.

Recognised as an innovative voice on web trends and global online communities, Kaila is an ambassador for the Web Genome Project, a movement to map the virtual topography of the Web; the voice of the former VortexDNA blog (now the Web Genome Project blog); and a regular contributor to Search Insider and Network World.

Registration Details:

This event is free for NZCS members, however registration is essential.

Non-members may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Member's Networking Evening (Wellington, 21/10/2009)

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:41:40 +1300

Member's Networking Evening

21 October 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Robert Walters Level 8, Featherston House 119-123 Featherston Street (Entrance off Waring Taylor Street) Wellington (Map)

Introducing the Wellington branch networking event, a chance to meet informally with your peers.

The format of the event is informal with no specific topics, other than our common interest in advancing professionalism in ICT, and is intended to provide a relaxed atmosphere for you to meet and network with your fellow members over a drink and a bite to eat.

There is a lot happening in the industry at present so come along and share your thoughts and discuss the "goings on" with your peers and colleagues.

Many thanks to Robert Walters for providing us with this opportunity to share with fellow members for an informal networking opportunity.

Refreshments Provided

About This Month's Sponsor - Roger Walters

Robert Walters plc is one of the world's leading specialist professional recruitment consultancies with 37 offices spanning 16 countries. They place candidates on a permanent, contract and interim basis in accountancy & finance, banking, operations, legal, information technology, sales & marketing, human resources, support & administration. www.robertwalters.com

Registration Details:

Members may register for free below. Please ensure you register as this assists us with catering. Thanks.

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ICTTop100 Lunch: Cloud Computing and SaaS (Auckland, 21/10/2009)

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:20:00 +1300

ICTTop100 Lunch: Cloud Computing and SaaS

21 October 2009: 12:15 pm - 1:45 pm

Auckland Club 34 Shortland St Auckland

ICTTop100 is a forum where senior ICT professionals and managers come together to discuss and debate a particular topic in detail, over a formal lunch.

Discussion takes place under the Chatham House rule, and the outcomes are then forwarded to various stakeholders (such as NZCS, Government, etc).

Cloud Computing and SaaS

Currently HOT issues - but what is Cloud Computing and Software as a Service?

What are the issues?
Promises of no capital costs, no startup costs, low training costs?
Would you contract out your core apps? Your volume apps? Your unique apps?
Service Levels?
Backup?
Retreival of all your own data? Moving on?
What is the ROI? What admin costs do you incur and/or save?

These are just some of the issues to be discussed!

Registration Details:

NOTE: Those that are already registered for all 10 ICTTop100 lunches do NOT need to re-register.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Birds of a Feather: Open Source Software in the Real World (Christchurch, 13/10/2009)

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:23:16 +1300

Birds of a Feather: Open Source Software in the Real World

13 October 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Pegasus Arms Bar 14 Oxford Terrace Christchurch (Click here for map)

This is an open invitation to those in Canterbury's ICT community to meet informally each month over a drink and/or counter meal, in addition to our current monthly events.

These Birds of a Feather events are popular at other NZCS branches and we welcome this opportunity to discuss issues and practices of interest to our industry in Canterbury.

Come along and join in the discussion, facilitated so that everyone can have his or her say! Share your experiences, your war stories, your successes and your knowledge, or come along to learn from others.

No cover charge, cash bar, and counter meals available.

Topic: Open Source Software in the Real World

In these economic times, can you afford not to be using Open Source Software? Or is Commercial Software still the way to go?

Open Source software is increasingly being adopted by organisations to meet their needs for an enriched choice of tools and applications that on economic grounds they may not be able to justify developing themselves from the ground up. Earlier this year Don Christie spoke to the Canterbury Branch on this topic and the opportunities sounded attractive, and Gavin Treadgold presented the Sahana Project to us.

Have you had some real world experience with the adoption of, enhancement of, and/or submission of improvements back to Open Source software? How does this compare to commercial offerings, in function, support, stability, and other factors?

Whether you like the concept of Open Source software or not, come along, share your experiences, and have a chat on this theme over a drink and some networking.

Registration Details:

This event is free for members and non-members, however please register below to secure your place.

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Enterprise Architecture (Napier, 08/10/2009)

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:43:24 +1200

Enterprise Architecture

8 October 2009: 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Room A101 (Different Venue - 4 Storey Building, Lecture Theatre on Ground Floor) Eastern Institute of Technology 501 Gloucester Street Taradale Napier 4112

Enterprise Architecture is a relatively new discipline, which treats a business - including its supporting ICT capabilities - as a whole, with a view to increasing its capabilities.

To date, its adoption has largely been in the domain of Government and Big Business, but it is applicable to enterprises of any type or size. In fact, it could have a greater effect on the efficiency of a smaller enterprise in a significantly shorter time.

This presentation will outline the purpose and objectives of Enterprise Architecture (EA) and then describe its components and their relationships in more detail. In addition, some of the challenges of EA introduction and implementation will be discussed.

Topics will include:

An outline of the objectives of EA
Strategies for obtaining Business Buy-In
Outline of an implementation methodology
Modelling approaches for the integration of the various architectures
Affordable tools to support EA development

About the Speaker:

John Fisher has been involved in IT for 45 years, and has worked on transaction and database based systems almost exclusively for his entire career - most recently focusing on the areas of information architecture and knowledge systems.

At the Ministry of Education, he was originally responsible for defining the Information Architecture and monitoring the information and knowledge management initiatives for both the Ministry and the Education Sector.

His current focus is the development of Sector Business Architectures and their integration into a TOGAF based enterprise architecture framework.

He is working in this area with Overseas Education Agencies such as JISC (UK) and SURF(Netherlands), and is Vice President of the New Zealand Chapter of the Association of Enterprise Architects (a/EA).

Interests outside work include Railway Modelling and Cowboy Action Shooting.

Light refreshments will be provided prior to a 5.30pm presentation, sponsored by NZCS Wellington Branch.

Registration Details:

Registration is necessary to confirm numbers for catering. Please register online or e-mail reservations@nzcs.org.nz.

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Benefits Management using Strategic Journey Mapping (Auckland, 07/10/2009)

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:03:52 +1200

Benefits Management using Strategic Journey Mapping

7 October 2009: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

Delivering value from change initiatives in today's complex and competitive environment poses significant challenges to managers.

Operational improvements must be undertaken to ensure that planned business results are achieved.

Programmes and Projects are the normal vehicles for implementing change initiatives. Programme and Project management with a strong focus on project delivery is necessary to achieve new capabilities but it is often insufficient to deliver the final business benefits promised. This is where Benefits Management comes in.

What is Benefits Management?

Are you asked, or do you ask yourself, the following questions?

How do I translate my strategic goals into initiatives and projects?
How do I communicate to my staff, why they are working on these initiatives and what they are delivering?
Are we really doing the right projects at the right time?
What happens if I delay or cancel this project?
When do I get the benefits from the project?
Am I delivering benefits or just another project?

If so, you are not alone because research shows that the targeted benefits from significant business change initiatives are poorly defined and managed within organisations throughout the world:

86% of organisations lost up to 25% of target benefits across their entire portfolio
59% of organisations have no or only informal benefits-management process (41% have)
18% of those who had a formal process stringently enforce it (thus only 7% effectively track)
Only 2% of organisations surveyed achieved targeted benefits all the time.

Source: Based on KPMG Global IT Project Management Survey in October 2005 on 600 companies from 22 countries

Benefits Management using the Strategic Journey Mapping (SJM^TM) methodology is an approach to effectively plan, manage and deliver outcomes from the concept stage to achievement of benefits.

The presentation will review current issues faced, available literature on the subject and outline a methodology that can make a significant difference.

Includes full breakfast

About Xelocity

Xelocity is a New Zealand owned Consulting and Enabling Solutions Company focused on delivering powerful business results to the clients through a combination of excellence and velocity.

Xelocity provides services and solutions to a range of multinational clients and vertical markets. The company has proven improvement value propositions around strategic foresight, Supply Chain Excellence, project implementation, operational excellence and benefits realisation.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN Presents: Rescuing the Testing Project (Auckland, 30/9/2009)

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:07:10 +1200

TPN Presents: Rescuing the Testing Project

30 September 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Main Dining Room The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

NZCS Test Professionals Network (Auckland)

As a testing consultant, Geoff Horne is often called upon to help rescue runaway testing projects.

In this presentation, Geoff looks at common causes of such problems, what to do to remedy them, and how to prevent their recurrence.

If your testing is taking longer than planned . . . or you are finding too many (or too few) defects . . . or your test project has simply lost its way, then this session will be most useful.

Find out if you are operating with faulty assumptions, learn how to identify the causes of your problems, and develop a strategy and plan to fix them.

Whether your issues relate to test planning, analysis, design, execution, management, or reporting, this proven approach will assist in getting your testing back on an even keel.

Drinks available at a cash bar (cash only).

About The Speaker

Geoff Horne is based in New Zealand and has founded and run two testing companies which have grown to enjoy an international clientele in Australia, UK, & USA. He has over 30 years experience in IT including software development, sales and marketing and IT and project management.

In 1994, almost by accident, he found himself involved in testing a complex fault management system which led to further testing and QA assignments covering a wide range of applications and tools.

Geoff's companies were subsequently founded to bring a full range of testing consultancy services to the IT Industry. Of late, he has focused on a few select Australian clients running complex test projects in a programme test management capacity.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Richard Stallman on Software Patents (Hamilton, 30/9/2009)

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:03:49 +1200

Richard Stallman on Software Patents

30 September 2009: 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton

In this insightful discussion, international Free Software advocate Richard Stallman (RMS) will argue that software patents seriously and significantly obstruct software development.

Software patents are patents that cover software ideas. Stallman will argue that they restrict the development of software to the point that the risk of legal action as a result of design decisions is dramatically raised. Stallman will also make the point that patents in other fields restrict factories, but in IT, software patents restrict every computer user and consumer.

Stallman will also present some of the international research and economic data related to this issue.

Light refreshments provided.

About The Speaker

Richard Stallman is a software developer and software freedom activist.

In 1983 he announced the project to develop the GNU operating system, a Unix-like operating system meant to be entirely free software, and has been the project's leader ever since. With that announcement Stallman also launched the Free Software Movement. In October 1985 he started the Free Software Foundation.

Full profile here (and here).

Registration Details:

Registration is free but essential. Places are limited - please register below to secure your place.

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Aligning ICT Tertiary Education with Industry Needs (Christchurch, 24/9/2009)

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:26:38 +1200

Aligning ICT Tertiary Education with Industry Needs

24 September 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Seminar room L233 Level 2, Main Building, Above the City Campus Library CPIT, City Campus, Madras Street Christchurch

Few would argue that, whether directly or indirectly, one of the key objectives of tertiary education is to prepare students for the needs of Industry and their career.

A big part of this is solid, practical experience of what our exciting sector offers. However, how can students gain the practical experience they need while studying, and how can the industry and tertiary sector partner to make this available in a win-win-win situation?

The answer can be found in the concept of internship, or "co-opting" students.

In this thought-provoking presentation Ian Wells will outline how Trimble Navigation has found an ideal solution to their testing needs by pairing up interned undergraduate students with Master Testers, thereby providing vital industry experience as well as meeting the needs of their business.

This is a positive and creative programme providing practical experience to students (as well as helping pay their fees!) plus cost-effective and dynamic workers to meet the needs of industry. But why does Trimble have to go as far as the University of Waterloo to find a programme with the flexibility of hiring full-time students at any time of the year, and via a simple process?

While there are very good internship programmes in operation in and around New Zealand Ian will outline how the more comprehensive Waterloo programme works so well for them, the students, and the Institution, and ask whether it's time to consider moving these type of partnerships to something more similar to that programme.

Two students, Michael Trengrove from Lincoln University and Jeffrey Ho from Waterloo University will also discuss respective tertiary sector institution and business interactions from a student's perspective.

This will be an excellent interactive discussion suitable for industry, students, academia, and anyone interested in the concept of a greater tertiary-industry partnership.

This event is sponsored by CPIT, including drinks and nibbles following the presentation.

About The Speaker

Ian Wells is Technical Services Manager for the Mapping and GIS division of Trimble Navigation based here in Christchurch. He is responsible for testing all GPS hardware, software and firmware released by the division. He can be contacted at ian.wells@trimble.co.nz or through linkedin.com.

Registration Details:

This event is free for NZCS Members and Corporate Partners, however registration is essential.

Non-members can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Project Management Unbundled (Nelson, 24/9/2009)

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:10:43 +1200

Project Management Unbundled

24 September 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Room M308 (3rd Floor of Library Learning Centre) Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology Nelson (See Map)

Why do ICT projects fail, and what basic steps you can take to ensure success?

Martin Aitken will explore two key topics in this project management overview:

The key ways to project your projects against failure
A comparison of the key project management methodologies

A clear understanding of project management methodologies and relevant certifications are becoming increasingly important for everyone involved in IT projects today. Martin will explain to us the difference between the Project Management Professional (PMP) and PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments) certifications. Is one better than the other?

Martin will look at the organisations behind these two certifications and will also clarify the benefits of methodologies such as SCRUM and Agile.

Includes Light Lunch

About the Speaker

Martin Aitken is a professional trainer at Project Plus. He began his career in Information Technology as a COBOL programmer on ICL mainframes and has worked in a variety of roles since in the UK, Saudi Arabia, Holland, Asia and New Zealand. His predominant area of specilisation has been in the Financial Services sector and, over the last 3 years, e-government projects.

Martin has worked primarily in software related projects, but also has wide-ranging experience in other types of project management, communications and senior management roles. He has both PMP and PRINCE2 certifications.

Martin's visit is sponsored by Project Plus and NZCS Wellington Branch.

This event is being kindly sponsored by SQL Services

A light lunch will be provided prior to a 12.30pm presentation, kindly sponsored by SQL Services.

Registration Details

Registration is essential to secure your place and confirm numbers for catering. Please register online below.

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Web Services in the Real World (Wellington, 24/9/2009)

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:55:34 +1200

Web Services in the Real World

24 September 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

The original intent of the Internet was to allow computer systems to compute and collaborate.

However, achieving this goal has always been laborious, complex and fraught with difficulties. A raft of technologies known collectively as Web Services have emerged in recent years and have proven to fulfill some of the promises envisioned in the Internet's early years.

In this informative talk Mike Reid will discuss how Web services are implemented in the software-as-a-service and cloud computing models. The session will include the practical aspects of making Web services fit for use in any organisation.

Topics include:

What web services really are
Advantages and different approaches of Web service models
Practical Web service design, and
Considerations when building Web services

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Like most professional developers Mike Reid had an interesting in computing from an early age. Rather than study Computer Science, he pursued studies in Physics and Mathematics.

While working toward a PhD in Astrophysics he wrote a large amount of scientific software for finding and modeling gravitational micro-lensing events as part of the MOA project - a joint New Zealand/Japanese team. MOA were the first to discover extra-solar planets using the gravitational micro- lensing technique and have now discovered several planets, including the lowest mass extra-solar planet detected so far, and a system containing multiple planets.

After achieving a PhD, he went on to work on real-time software for scientific instruments, and discovered that his scientific background provided a different practical perspective on computing. Since he began consulting with Argonaut Ltd he has developed systems in areas as diverse as traffic information, health systems, hardware device control and measurement.

Recent projects including building and training other developers in the design and implementation of Web services that scale to millions of transactions per day.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Birds of a Feather: Virtualisation (Christchurch, 08/9/2009)

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:17:07 +1200

Birds of a Feather: Virtualisation

8 September 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

The Bar @ Hotel So 165 Cashel Street Christchurch (Click here for map)

This is an open invitation to those in Canterbury's ICT community to meet informally each month over a drink and/or counter meal, in addition to our current monthly events.

These Birds of a Feather events are popular at other NZCS branches and we welcome this opportunity to discuss issues and practices of interest to our industry in Canterbury.

No cover charge, cash bar and counter meals ($10 ea) available.

Virtualisation

Virtualisation is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as an operating system, a server, a storage device or network resources.

It has been happening for many many years in our industry with virtual memory and virtual machines dating back to almost the start of computing. However in the past few years there has been an explosion and now it is virtual everything.

Whether it is the desktop, the server, applications, storage or even the network, Virtualisation seems to be the buzz at the moment.

There are various offerings from the open source and commercial communities - mostly "Free" but what is the real cost, and who is using what?

Come along and have a chat on this theme over a drink and some networking.

Registration Details:

This event is free for members and non-members, however please register below to secure your place.

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WFIA Breakfast: Creating Market Demand (Auckland, 02/9/2009)

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:57:15 +1200

WFIA Breakfast: Creating Market Demand

2 September 2009: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

Creating Market Demand: Increasing revenue and margins by unblocking your customer's profitability.

The presentation will show local case study that demonstrates how revenue can be increased by focusing on lifting your clients' profitability. This strategy looks at the whole market 'value-stream' (from suppliers through to final end-user customers) to identify what things, in our control are constraining our customers profitability at the root-cause level. We use that 'true root-cause insight' to create an offer that solves a whole host of symptomatic problems, and is very hard for competitors to match.

We call this value proposition a Mafia Offer. A Mafia Offer is one that "meets a client's significant needs to the extent that no significant competitor can," (Dr Eli Goldratt) and is "an offer so good, that your customers can't refuse it, and your competitors can't or won't offer the same." (Dr Lisa Lang)

This presentation unpacks the system and process of developing and implementing a Mafia Offer, and closes with an invitation to join an open-source community of entrepreneurially minded individuals and organisations wanting to develop this in New Zealand.

Includes full breakfast

About The Speaker

Peter Schibli is an experienced business improvement consultant, who has delivered profit growth programmes to over 50 businesses as well as holding senior management positions. Peter has led Landmark Education's, 'Team Management and Leadership' programmes and has facilitated hundreds of teams. Peter is a Six-Sigma Black-Belt, Lean and TOC practitioner. He has been trained in the Theory of Constraints 'Marketing Solutions' technology in the Netherlands by Goldratt Solutions for Sales.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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The Sahana Project - Free Open Source Software for Disaster Management (Christchurch, 27/8/2009)

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:10:20 +1200

The Sahana Project - Free Open Source Software for Disaster Management

27 August 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 165 Cashel Street Christchurch (Ground level meeting room)

In the days following the impact of the Boxing Day Tsunami on Sri Lanka, in addition to the humanitarian crisis, it also became apparent that there was an information problem. Hundreds of programmers were assembled under the Lanka Software Foundation and over the course of a week created a web application to register missing persons, camps, and the swelling numbers of NGO's in Sri Lanka. This system was called Sahana - Sinhalese for 'relief'.

Since then, Sahana has been rewritten, and has been deployed at many of the large disasters over the past 5 years, and has won numerous open source awards and accolades.

The aspirations on the project are captured in the following goals:

Primary: Help alleviate human suffering and help save lives through the efficient use of IT during a disaster

Bring together a diverse set of actors from Government, Emergency Management, NGOs, INGOs, spontaneous volunteers and victims themselves in responding effectively to a disaster

Empower the victims and their next of kin and better enable them to help themselves

Protect victim data and reduce the opportunity for data abuse

Provide a Free and Open Source solution end-to-end available to everyone

Includes drinks and finger food sponsored by Novell (www.novell.com).

About The Speaker

Gavin Treadgold (Director - Kestrel Group Limited)

Gavin has had a lifelong interest in technology after being introduced to his first computer at the age of 10. He left university in 1996 to start a web development company and developed New Zealand's first online pharmacy.

After becoming involved in Civil Defence rescue in 1997, he became increasingly interested in how information technology could be applied to Emergency Management. Returning from an internship in Washington DC with the DC Emergency Management Agency in 2002, Gavin was founder of Kestrel Group - a risk, continuity and emergency management consultancy.

Gavin specialises in reviewing emergency management arrangements, developing plans, and co-ordinating exercises. His experience covers a range of sectors including CDEM, health, central government, lifelines and the private sector. Much of Gavin's work for Kestrel has focused on the details involved in producing operational response plans.

Gavin became involved in Sahana mid-way through 2005, and is a member of the Project Management Committee and a member of the Board.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Legal Aspects of Cloud Computing (Wellington, 27/8/2009)

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:35:50 +1200

Legal Aspects of Cloud Computing

27 August 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Spectrum Theatre (Previously BP Theatrette - accessed from Johnston Street) BP House, 20 Customhouse Quay Wellington

Cloud Computing - we are hearing a lot about it lately and there are many views on it. But like anything new it raises fresh legal and privacy issues and those looking at Cloud Computing solutions as an alternative to the traditional ways of delivering IT services need to be aware of these issues and the impact they could have.

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Michael Wigley is a well known legal buff and is one of the few New Zealand lawyers who specialises in technology, IT and telecommunications. Allied with that background is extensive involvement in providing opinions and advice on complex legal issues, often with heavy technical, commercial and strategic components. Michael has a particular involvement in procurement issues acting for vendors and purchasers, within and outside the public sector. He is closely involved in telecommunications regulatory work.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Evening with Industry (Auckland Students) (Auckland, 25/8/2009)

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:03:23 +1200

Evening with Industry (Auckland Students)

25 August 2009: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Auckland University Cap and Gown Lounge (Beneath Shadows) From Princes St (see Map) Auckland

NOTE: This event was full, however we've opened up some more spaces. Places are very limited however - please register quickly to avoid disappointment.

An event for tertiary CS/IS/IT and other ICT-related students to find out what it takes to get a job, and what the process involves to prepare for the competitive job market at this time.

It's a chance for students to meet industry people, learn about the different kinds of jobs available, and what various jobs entail.

Non-students also very welcome! Come and mix and mingle with the ICT professionals of tomorrow.

Includes free soft drinks and nibbles

About The Speaker

Speakers include Andrew Wilshire, Fonterra CTO; Dominic Stow from Fronde; Leon McAlister from Hays IT, and others including Microsoft and Simpl.

Registration Details:

This event is free for NZCS members and non-members.

Please register below to secure your place and to assist with catering.

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ICTTop100 Lunch: A review of the Code of Professional Conduct (Auckland, 19/8/2009)

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:32:10 +1200

ICTTop100 Lunch: A review of the Code of Professional Conduct

19 August 2009: 12:15 pm - 2:00 pm

Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

ICTTop100 is a forum where senior ICT professionals and managers come together to discuss and debate a particular topic in detail, over a formal lunch.

Discussion takes place under the Chatham House rule, and the outcomes are then forwarded to various stakeholders (such as NZCS, Government, etc).

NZCS Draft Code of Conduct

The NZCS has begun the drafting of the Code of Professional Conduct, a replacement for the existing Code of Ethics.

The NZCS has asked the ICTTop100 Group to review it. Please read it and we will discuss our initial reactions to it.

You can download a copy of the Code here.

Registration Details:

NOTE: Those that are already registered for all 10 ICTTop100 lunches do NOT need to re-register.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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AUT, in conjunction with NZCS, presents "A Data Deduplication Storage System" (Auckland, 17/8/2009)

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:26:11 +1200

AUT, in conjunction with NZCS, presents "A Data Deduplication Storage System"

17 August 2009: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

WA 220, AUT City campus - Map at http://www.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/18155/map_city_campus.pdf

Data protection has been a challenging problem for enterprise data centers, with a process that is often high-cost, inefficient and error prone. Disk-based deduplication storage has emerged as the new-generation storage system for enterprise data protection.

Deduplication - or global compression - removes redundant data segments in a large storage system to compress data into a highly compact form and makes it economical to store backups on disk and to transfer them across a wide area network for disaster recovery.

The key technical challenge is to achieve high deduplication throughputs with minimal hardware requirements such that a deduplication storage system can be substantially more efficient than tape libraries, while their costs are substantially lower than those of the traditional storage systems.

This talk first presents the design and implementation of a deduplication storage system for data protection and nearline storage use cases, and then describes several techniques to address the deduplication throughput challenge. We will show that the resulting system can achieve over 700MB/sec deduplication throughput on a commodity server.

We will also show that such a system can reduce the storage footprint and network bandwidth requirement for real-world backup datasets by a factor of 10 to 50 and reduce the power consumption of storage for data protection by an order of magnitude. We will then discuss the impact of deduplication technology in future storage systems.

About The Speaker

Kai Li is a Charles Fitzmorris professor at the Computer Science Department of Princeton University. His research interests include operating systems, computer architecture, distributed systems, scalable display systems.

He has led several research projects at Princeton including the Shared Virtual Memory project which studies how to build shared memory on a cluster without physically shared memory, the Scalable I/O project which attacks I/O bottleneck problems for supercomputers, the Scalable High-performance Really Inexpensive MultiProcessor (SHRIMP) project which investigates how to build high-performance servers on a cluster, and the Scalable Display Wall project which explores how to build and use a high-resolution, wall-size display system to visualize massive datasets.

During his sabbatical from Princeton in 2001, he co-founded Data Domain, Inc which built the first commercial deduplication storage system and became the leading company in the deduplication storage market.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Introduction to Videoconferencing and Site Visit (Christchurch, 13/8/2009)

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:45:59 +1200

Introduction to Videoconferencing and Site Visit

13 August 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

IP Communications Ltd Pathway House 68 Durham Street South Sydenham, Christchurch

Come and join us and gain hands on experience how videoconferencing has developed over the recent years and it is assisting businesses.

The session includes:

A non-technical explanation of videoconferencing
An overview of the latest trends
An explanation of how organisations can save time and money
A live, hands-on demonstration of high definition video and the videoconferencing bureau room

You'll also get the chance to experience the latest in high definition technology as we call live locations in New Zealand.

You should attend if...

You are keen to gain an overview of the different types of systems (Skype, desktop, room, telepresence, etc.)
You want to know what to consider when installing a video system into an organisation.
You are curious on how video communications has evolved from its standard definition beginnings to the high definition solutions available today.
You want to understand the costs and ROI of videoconferencing.
You are interested to know how a bureau service operates, the costs, how you book, etc.
You need to know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of modern videoconferencing solutions.
You are interested to know how video is currently being used.

Space is limited to 30 places. Registrations close Friday 7th August 2009

About The Speaker

Richard Bishop, Managing Director - IP Communications Limited

Founded in 2006, IP Communications Limited is a videoconferencing company that specialises in the design, deployment and support of high-definition videoconferencing solutions. IP Communications also operates VideoLink, the first public videoconferencing bureau established in the South Island.

In a career that spans 20 years, Richard has a wealth of national and international business experience from the research, finance and technology industries. Richard has worked in senior roles within large national organisations, US multinationals, research organisations, start-ups and SMEs. During this time Richard has developed his experience and passion for technology-based communication solutions.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free for members, however please register below - numbers are strictly limited.

Non-members can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN presents: James Bach - The Myths of Rigor (Wellington, 13/8/2009)

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:57:40 +1200

TPN presents: James Bach - The Myths of Rigor

13 August 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

We are delighted to announce that once again James Bach, international software testing guru from the USA, will be in Wellington soon - he has kindly agreed to speak at our next TPN meeting.

James Bach presents The Myths of Rigor: "I keep hearing that rigor is important in software engineering. Well, it's not that simple. Rigor is not an ingredient, like sand, that you spread on icy roads to keep from slipping off. Rigor is no simple fix. Rigor is complex. Rigor can be useful or it can be dangerous, or both at once. In this talk I outline the typical arguments in favor of rigor and try to show how to counter them with a more sophisticated view of intellectual work processes."

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided by Software Education.

About The Speaker

For those of you who don't know James, he specialises in thinking about, teaching, and performing testing as a sophisticated thinking art. He is part of a community called the Context-Driven School. Some of the best-known names in the testing field are part of this movement.

James Bach is in New Zealand to speak at Software Education's annual STANZ Conference, running in Wellington 24-25 August.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Evening with Industry (Wellington Students) (Wellington, 05/8/2009)

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:57:51 +1200

Evening with Industry (Wellington Students)

5 August 2009: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Theatre 101, MacLaurin Theatre, Kelburn Campus Victoria University of Wellington View Map

An event for tertiary CS/IS/IT and other ICT-related students to find out what it takes to get a job, and what the process involves to prepare for the competitive job market at this time.

It's a chance for students to meet industry people, learn about the different kinds of jobs available, and what various jobs entail.

Non-students also very welcome! Come and mix and mingle with the ICT professionals of tomorrow.

Includes free beer and pizza

About The Speaker

Speakers include recent graduates who are now working at KPMG, Intergen, BNZ, and other prominent companies.

Registration Details:

This event is free for NZCS members and non-members.

Please register below to secure your place and to assist with catering.

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WFIA Breakfast: Outsourced Bespoke Development (Auckland, 05/8/2009)

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:40:39 +1200

WFIA Breakfast: Outsourced Bespoke Development

5 August 2009: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

"Outsourced Bespoke Development" - Why there has never been a better time for it!

As Software Products and Software-as-a Service (SaaS) continue to grow in sophistication, companies in these difficult times are still having to do more with less so cost savings naturally is a high priority, and making that informed critical call to buy or custom build a software solution is where it all starts.

Partly due to the current financial crisis, outsourcing a custom solution is becoming appealing to both end user organisations as well Software Product and SaaS companies for many reasons.

These include:

You are totally in control of the software, make changes when you like to accommodate the way you work as your business changes;
The solution perfectly aligned with your business strategy and internal processes;
Unique functionality/capabilities enable you to differentiate from the competition.

To meet the above needs, Augen's model of local engagement combined with offshore resources provides scalability and significantly lowers overall cost. Progressively over the next several years, bespoke development is expected to become more and more dependent on lower cost offshore resources.

Augen has been a pioneer in the NZ custom software development sector since 1993. The company is a dedicated software services provider with over 450 successful projects under its belt, including custom/bespoke applications, SaaS products, client/server as well as web-based solutions, spanning from SME to large enterprise environments.

Includes full Breakfast

About The Speaker

Mitchell Pham - Director, Augen Software Group

Mitchell Pham is one of the Augen Software Group's founding directors and has been serving as its General Manager Software Solutions. Originally a software developer, he has moved on to undertake leadership and management roles in Software Development, Software Consultancy, Products & Services Development, Marketing and Business Development.

Mitchell brings more than 16 years of his ICT experience in the software sector to the Augen team. Within that time, he has been involved with a number of software product/SaaS businesses. He has, in particular, wide ranging exposure to the nature and challenges of product & service development, revenue & engagement models, protection of intellectual property, sales & marketing channels, business offerings & capabilities, internationalisation and speed-to-market.

Born in Vietnam, Mitchell came to New Zealand as a refugee at the age of 13. In 2005 he led the Augen Software Group into Asia, when he established their subsidiary development centre in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Today, he continues to champion Augen's business capabilities in Asia and the benefits and opportunities it can bring to the New Zealand software sector.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Who moved the future? (Wellington, 30/7/2009)

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:33:46 +1200

Who moved the future?

30 July 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM, Level 11, Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street, Wellington

By now we were all supposed to have flying cars, holidays on the moon and household robots. What we've ended up with is spam, speed cameras and The Pirate Bay.

While society and business evolve relatively slowly, technology - particularly IT - moves faster than many of us feel comfortable with.

Vik Olliver takes stock of the last year's advances in IT, reveals some of the great hidden technologies, polishes his crystal ball, and looks at why we're still struggling in an IT dystopia.

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Vik Olliver is a Senior Analyst with Catalyst IT Ltd., a researcher on the RepRap Project, NZOSS committee member and an emergency medic with the fire brigade.

He also runs an IT News Clippings service that comes in very handy when creating presentations on the current and future state of IT. He does this from the Waitakere rainforest, but enjoys coming to Wellington regularly.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Get your head out of the clouds and into the "Cloud" (Christchurch, 23/7/2009)

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:27:59 +1200

Get your head out of the clouds and into the "Cloud"

23 July 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 165 Cashel Street Christchurch (Ground level meeting room)

Managing your data, backing up critical data and being prepared for disasters is critical for all organisations.

Implementing the right IT infrastructure that caters for growth can save you time, money and resources, and optimise your operational efficiency.

NZCS invites you to attend a meeting that considers the challenges of performing effective backups, creating robust disaster recovery plans and managing common data growth problems.

In this context the speakers will discuss virtualisation and cloud computing, considering insights such as the issues being faced, how organisations can utilise these concepts, what the business benefits are, and whether they are right for your organisation.

You will hear case studies of how organisations have successfully virtualised their data, and developed disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.

Refreshments are kindly being sponsored by Revera and Hitachi Data Systems.

About The Speaker

Andrew Chapman from Revera and Kerry Sims from the Wellington office of Hitachi Data Systems will be the presenters.

Revera is a New Zealand-owned company that specialises in providing IT infrastructure services. It has a local 'infrastructure-as-a-service' capability called "Datacloud" based around data centres in Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Christchurch.

Hitachi Data Systems Corporation provides services-oriented storage solutions that enable heterogeneous storage to be dynamically provisioned according to business needs and centrally managed through storage virtualisation software.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN: Experiences of Software Testing in Agile Projects - A Panel Discussion (Auckland, 07/7/2009)

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:03:52 +1200

TPN: Experiences of Software Testing in Agile Projects - A Panel Discussion

7 July 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Main Dining Room The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street, Auckland

Experiences of Software Testing in Agile Projects - A Panel Discussion Facilitated by Gillian Clark.

Continuing our series on Software Testing within Agile software development, we have gathered both testers and consultants from a range of companies who practice Agile techniques for a panel discussion. Gillian Clark from Assurity Consulting, who is a founding member of the Agile Professionals Network, will facilitate.

This event brings together those with real experience implementing Agile practices in their day to day work life. We plan to cover topics such as,

How Agile is your company?
The tester's roles in the team?
How does testing work within your Agile projects?
What has changed about your testing practices e.g. Regression Tests and Automation?

The event will be a mixture of sharing experiences, questions from the audience and panel discussion. Join us for a lively and fun event.

Drinks will be available at a cash bar (cash only).

About the Facilitator - Gillian Clark (Assurity Consulting)

Gillian has extensive, multi national, experience in IT management. She is a founding member of the Agile Professionals Network, a qualified Scrum Practitioner, a Scrum Product Owner, and a certified Agile Project Leader (foundation). A leading agile advocate within New Zealand, Gillian has spoken at many events. She is a principal consultant at Assurity Consulting where she provides coaching and consultancy to clients for Agile Development and Agile Project Management.

About the Panel

Our panel includes,

Rick Mugridge, Rimu Research (Rick is the lead author of "Fit for Developing Software", Prentice-Hall, 2005)
Stephen Acott, Air New Zealand
Ben Coop, Fronde
Joe Marshall, Zeacom
Helen Walters, Assurity Consulting

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Annual NZCS Dinner (Christchurch, 04/7/2009)

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:32:19 +1200

Annual NZCS Dinner

An Invitation to the Annual Dinner

Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Computer Society Inc.

The Canterbury Branch of NZCS invites you to the NZCS Annual Dinner on Saturday 4^th July 2009

Native Garden Café, Untouched World, 155 Roydvale Avenue, Burnside

Commencing at 6:30 p.m. for drinks, sitting down at 7 p.m.

This is a full three-course dinner for all those in the Canterbury region, members and non-members welcome.

Cost : $55-00 per person. A selection of quality wines will be available on a cash basis at $7-50 per glass.

NOTE: Registration and Payment required before the event

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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WFIA Breakfast: Doing Business in the Cloud: Why there has never been a better time for Cloud Computing (Auckland, 01/7/2009)

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:37:45 +1200

WFIA Breakfast: Doing Business in the Cloud: Why there has never been a better time for Cloud Computing

1 July 2009: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

Software-as-a Service (SaaS) or Cloud Computing continues to dominate the business and IT agendas and is becoming the model of choice for an increasing number of organisations. A recent Gartner survey reported 90 per cent of enterprise organisations plan to maintain or increase their investments in SaaS. Further research shows that CIOs believe 56% of software will be delivered as a service within five years.

Amplified by the current financial crisis, cloud-based technologies are becoming an appealing solution to IT organisations - meeting their IT hardware, software and scalability needs at low cost therefore, enabling innovation and growth. Most IT organisations have, or will in the next five years, become partly dependent on cloud-based multitenant architecture, and some of them will begin developing their own custom applications on Platform-as-a-Service as well.

Salesforce.com has pioneered the SaaS industry movement for over ten years providing over 58,000 customers with web-based solutions for sales, service, marketing and call centre operations to streamline Customer Relationship Management (CRM) processes.

Includes full Breakfast

About The Speaker

Aden Forrest has over twenty years experience in information technology and is responsible for supporting and leading Salesforce.com's New Zealand operations, including customer support, alliances, sales & marketing and services.

Prior to joining Salesforce.com, Aden has held sales & marketing leadership roles with Siebel, Edenbrook UK, E.piphany EMEA, Oracle UK, Oracle New Zealand and Marketing Technologies Ltd.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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IntelliConnect - An innovative research platform (Christchurch, 25/6/2009)

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:33:06 +1200

IntelliConnect - An innovative research platform

25 June 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 165 Cashel Street Christchurch (Ground level meeting room)

IntelliConnect^TM is CCH's newly launched online search platform, designed to transform the way that its customers research CCH's online information products.

Based on an intuitive, Google®-like search engine, IntelliConnect^TM was built from the ground up, based on thousands of hours of customer input. The result is a leading-edge design in search and content publishing technologies that provide intelligent information, connected to the way professionals search and use information and workflow tools.

CCH New Zealand Limited is part of the Tax, Accounting & Legal Division of Wolters Kluwer, a multinational publisher and information services company. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, has annual revenues (2008) of €3.374 billion, employs approximately 19,544 people worldwide and maintains operations across Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region.

Includes Refreshments

About The Speaker

Matthew Leonelli is the South Island Account Manager for CCH New Zealand Limited. His background includes 10 years of sales and sales management experience in document efficiency solutions and strategic staffing for "Fortune 500" organisations.

Matthew has a B.Sc. in Human Development from the University of Utah and his interests include playing golf, tramping, skiing, fishing, running and travel. He and his family arrived in New Zealand in 2008.

NZCS wishes to thank Novell for sponsoring this event.

Registration Details:

Members may register at no charge below. Please register to secure your spot.

Non-members can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Owning ITIL (Wellington, 25/6/2009)

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:49:50 +1200

Owning ITIL

25 June 2009: 12:15 pm - 1:45 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Some ITIL projects are misbegotten: they should never have been approved.

Rob England will provide some practical guidelines to help decide whether a project should go ahead at all, and if they do then how to keep them on track. Instead of 3 out of 10 projects being successful, Rob believes the a ratio of 5 out of 7 is achievable.

Rob will outline an approach to approving, governing and administering ITIL projects to ensure maximum value on investment.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Rob England is a "portfolio entrepreneur", working on multiple activities via his company, Two Hills. These include IT commentator, speaker and consultant (ITSM, culture change...), blogger, speaking coach, sales coach, trainer, published author, small business researcher, and nascent internet businessman.

Rob is also well known for his controversial website, The IT Skeptic (Google page-rank 4, tens of thousands of readers worldwide).

Rob's goal is to maintain his relaxed lifestyle while becoming a millionaire by end of 2010. Details of the plan are sketchy.

He lives in idyllic but breezy Pukerua Bay, Wellington, New Zealand with his wife and son. Pukerua Bay is most famous as the home town of Peter Jackson, but Rob hopes to change that.

Rob's profile (including links) is at http://www.twohills.co.nz/profile

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Annual General Meeting (Wellington, 19/6/2009)

Sat, 30 May 2009 15:07:05 +1200

NZCS Annual General Meeting

19 June 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Ferguson Room 158 The Terrace Wellington

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

New Zealand Computer Society Inc

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society will be held at 5.30pm on 19th June 2009 in Wellington.

The following documents are available:

Proxy Form (if you are unable to attend in person)

We strongly recommend members unable to attend in person complete a Proxy Form.

Apologies may be sent via email to info@nzcs.org.nz, faxed to 04 473 1025, or posted to PO Box 10044, Wellington.

Other Business

NZCS CEO Paul Matthews recently put a paper to Council recommending that Councillors and Branch Chairs, as well as possibly Secretaries and Treasurers, be exempt from NZCS membership dues.

As this affects Councillors directly, National Council has put the following two motions to the AGM for consideration:

That membership dues be waived for members holding the positions of NZCS National President, Deputy President, Branch Chair or National Councillor;
That membership dues be waived for members holding the positions of NZCS Branch Treasurer or Branch Secretary.

Note that this meeting is for members of NZCS only.

Please register below for catering purposes. Thanks!

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Project Management Unbundled, Martin Aitken (Nelson, 11/6/2009)

Sun, 31 May 2009 13:52:20 +1200

Project Management Unbundled, Martin Aitken

11 June 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Room A211 Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology Nelson Campus Map: tinyurl.com/nmit-a211

Why do I.C.T. projects fail and what the basic steps you can take to ensure success?

Martin Aitken will explore two key topics in this project management overview.

Firstly, the key ways to protect your projects against failure, and secondly, a comparison of the key project management methodologies.

Martin will also look at the organisations behind these two certifications and will also clarify the benefits of methodologies such as SCRUM and Agile.

Includes Light Lunch

About The Speaker

Martin Aitken began his career in Information Technology as a COBOL programmer on ICL mainframes and has worked in a variety of roles since in the UK, Saudi Arabia, Holland, Asia and New Zealand. His predominant area of specilisation has been in the Financial Services sector and, over the last 3 years, e-government projects.

This event is being kindly sponsored by SQL Services.

A light lunch will be provided prior to a 12.30pm presentation

Registration Details:

All welcome, however registration is essential to confirm numbers for catering. Please register below to secure your spot.

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JADE Case Management & Intelligence System (Christchurch, 28/5/2009)

Wed, 06 May 2009 08:37:19 +1200

JADE Case Management & Intelligence System

28 May 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Canterbury Innovation Incubator 200 Armagh Street Christchurch

After Jade had built a case management and intelligence system for the Australian Federal Police, it became clear that law enforcement agencies throughout the world could use this innovative new application.

This presentation will cover the early development of JADE Investigator, the features that make it unique and successful, and how and why it has already been deployed in law enforcement agencies in 18 countries.

The presenter will also discuss his experiences with law enforcement agencies in the US market, and talk about the huge differences between policing there and in New Zealand.

Includes Refreshments.

About the Speaker

Greg Thompson has more than 20 years experience in international sales and marketing, and has held senior management roles at several leading Canterbury technology exporters, including Tait Electronics, HumanWare, and Jade Software Corporation.

In these roles he has worked extensively in the United States, the UK, Europe and Asia, often developing export markets for new products and services. From 1994 he spent two years based in England establishing Cardinal Network's UK operation (now Jade's UK subsidiary), and in 2004 he was based in California on assignment as President of HumanWare's US subsidiary. He travels overseas on business extensively, and currently at Jade Software he has a focus on introducing a new investigation management and intelligence analysis product to law enforcement agencies throughout the United States.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Cloud Computing - 'Now where did I put that cloud again?' (Wellington, 28/5/2009)

Mon, 18 May 2009 15:49:06 +1200

Cloud Computing - 'Now where did I put that cloud again?'

28 May 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Spectrum Theatre (Previously BP Theatrette) BP House, 20 Customhouse Quay Wellington (NOTE: Previously advertised as at "IBM")

Cloud computing, the end game of Service Oriented Infrastructure, is apparently the new utopia!

We hear about getting our computing power and services "from the Cloud" and most of us already do get some of our services this way, storage of our photos and all manner of life events on social networking sites, e-mail accounts etc.

Is the Cloud ready for the Enterprise? What are the implications and considerations of getting applications and services bundled with storage, memory processing and security from the Cloud. How do YOU prepare for this new computing paradigm?

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Peter Shephard is a Senior Consultant working at Datacom Systems Wellington, specialising in Infrastructure Architecture and Systems Integration. Peter has been with Datacom for over 9 years. During this time he has worked in a number of roles with key Datacom clients, which amongst others include:

As the Systems Architect for the New Zealand Post Account,
As the Programme Manager responsible for the delivery of the Census 2006, Online Option developed by Datacom for Statistics New Zealand.

Prior to Datacom Peter worked for IBM NZ as a Senior Systems Engineer, and in South Africa as Principal Network Architect for Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA) which at the time was the largest bank in Africa.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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TPN Wellington: What are the Risks of Risk Based Testing? (Wellington, 27/5/2009)

Wed, 13 May 2009 03:22:09 +1200

TPN Wellington: What are the Risks of Risk Based Testing?

27 May 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Matt Mansell is the Manager of Testing Services at the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and has implemented Risk Based Testing on a number of projects. In the last two years, DIA have been working to build risk analysis in as the basis of their testing.

In that time they have learnt some lessons about the risks of this approach. In this talk, Matt will share some of the hardest lessons learnt and discuss how they have been refining their test processes to mitigate the risks of risk based testing.

Some of the topics Matt will discuss are:

The old double downgrade
Ostrich based risk analysis
The risk proliferation minefield
The risk with using risk to descope testing
The lack of risk buy in leading to risk sell outs

There will be plenty of time for discussion and everyone will be encouraged to take part in what should be a very interesting Q&A session.

Come along to hear Matt Mansell present his experiences with Risk Based Testing and join in the discussion on this important and relevant topic.

The presentation will be followed by a networking session with drinks and nibbles provided.

About The Speaker

Matt Mansell is the Test Manager for the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) in New Zealand. DIA has a medium sized team that is responsible for governance over the whole test lifecycle; although they largely perform the System, System Integration and Acceptance testing. With a diverse application environment (over 30 different core applications) the team is required to be versatile and adaptable.

As a manager, Matt's passion is to develop the best test team in the market. Personally, he has been in testing for 10 years and in management for two. He also has a degree in Psychology and Philosophy, as well as a post graduate diploma in secondary teaching. Matt is deeply interested in what it takes to make a good test professional and how to grow people in to test professionals.

TPN wishes to thank Westpac for providing the venue.

Registration Details

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome.

Registration costs $5, however please pay this at the door.

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ICTTop100 Lunch: What does Certification mean for you? (Auckland, 20/5/2009)

Mon, 18 May 2009 15:03:38 +1200

ICTTop100 Lunch: What does Certification mean for you?

20 May 2009: 12:15 pm - 1:45 pm

Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

ICTTop100 is a forum where senior ICT professionals and managers come together to discuss and debate a particular topic in detail, over a formal lunch.

Discussion takes place under the Chatham House rule, and the outcomes are then forwarded to various stakeholders (such as NZCS, Government, etc).

Certification: What does it mean for you?

This month's ICTTop100 will be discussing Certification, and what internationally-aligned certification means for you.

Certification has been approved by the NZCS National Council. It will be to international standards and will be recognised in UK, Australia, USA, Canada and many other parts of the world.

But what does it mean for you, as an ICT leader?

In brief, and as well as entry requirements, Certification has three parts:

2 Skills in the Skills Framework for the Information Age at Level 5 or more
Understanding of non-technical knowledge, such as Ethics, Good Practice and Law.
Proof of general knowledge over the Core Body of Knowledge

Certification has been driven by a number of factors, including the failures of large government contracts. Certification will allow purchasers to insist that experienced and qualified staff will be provided as the primary resource on their projects.

More information at www.itcp.co.nz

Please read the material on the site and get ready for vigorous discussion.

What does it mean for You?
What should employers do? Recording your staff Skills - now and what you want them to be!
Recording job profiles?
What should vendors do?
What should purchasers do?
What should PTEs do?
How will it affect our AUPs and SOPs?
How will it effect Recruiters and job applicants?

Let us discuss these topics and prepare our plans as a sector.

IMPORTANT: New Series of Lunches

Note that the previous series of 10 lunches has now concluded. All attendees please re-register below to book for the next 10 lunches in 2009.

Registration Details:

NOTE: Those that usually register for all 10 ICTTop100 lunches DO need to re-register for the next series of 10.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

Registration for 10 Lunches, and NZCS Membership

As ICTTop100 is a series of lunches, we strongly recommend registering for the next 10 rather than each individually.

Additionally, attendees may choose to register for the next 10 lunches as well as NZCS membership and receive a considerable discount. This is open to existing members as well as those wishing to join NZCS.

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WFIA Event: Global Perspective on Cyber-warfare, Cyber-terrorism, and Cyber-crime (Auckland, 06/5/2009)

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:26:50 +1200

WFIA Event: Global Perspective on Cyber-warfare, Cyber-terrorism, and Cyber-crime

6 May 2009: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

The Cyber world and real world used to be two separate worlds that rarely collided. However today the intersections between both worlds are getting bigger and the actions in the cyber world are affecting the real world.

Cyber warfare is defined as the use and management of information in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent (business or military). The objective of the attacks are to derive tactical information, spreading propaganda, undermining and weakening the opposing force. These attacks may have government support as well as the involvement of foreign governments, the usage of various types of DDoS, cyber zombies, cyber mules and the defacement of websites, attacks may originate from around the world with the use of cyber mules.

Countries at war are now employing cyber attacks as weapons that weaken the economy, defense or communication of enemy nations. Simultaneously, cyber criminals are working together to disseminate information and means for hackers to hack into systems and launch attacks. While there is immense cooperation between criminals, organizations and governments lack coordination or cooperation in overcoming cyber crime and terrorism. There is a need for international cooperation and joint exercise between countries to combat these attacks. Most importantly more awareness on cyber warfare must be done.

Includes Full Breakfast

About The Speaker

Dr Lech Janczewski has over thirty five years experience in information technology. He was the managing director of the largest IBM installation in Poland and project manager of the first computing centre in the Niger State of Nigeria. He is Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, Department of Information Science and Operations Management.

His area of research includes management of IS resources with the special emphasis on data security. Dr Janczewski wrote above 300 publications presented in scientific journals, conference proceedings and books. He is the chairperson of the New Zealand Information Security Forum, secretary of the IFIP TC-11 Committee (information security) and the Fellow of the New Zealand Computer Society.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Simple steps to improving IT Governance (Wellington, 30/4/2009)

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:32:43 +1200

Simple steps to improving IT Governance

30 April 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM, Level 11, Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street, Wellington

Simple Steps to Improving IT Governance

People and Communication, not Process!

Join Warwick Sullivan as he discusses the current shortcomings in the area of suitable IT Governance, why getting this right is so important to the success of IT projects (and, in fact, organisations), and the recipe for improving IT governance and hence reducing the likelihood of IT project failure.

Warwick will map out a solution based on a greater emphasis on people and communication, rather than the process-based approach taken by some organisations.

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Warwick Sullivan is the founder of Sandcastle Consulting specialising in the governance of business projects with IT components, strategic development, and service management. He is a certified ITIL Expert, MSP practitioner, PRINCE2 practitioner, governance of enterprise IT, qualified in CobIT, ValIT, and ISO9000 auditing.

After having held senior roles responsible for the provision of ICT services in government, defence and commercial interests he understands how to apply best practice and methodologies to improving ICT services and gaining value from the investment in technology and people.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Imagine Cup 2009: Finals Evening (All Welcome) (Auckland, 29/4/2009)

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:03:25 +1200

Imagine Cup 2009: Finals Evening (All Welcome)

29 April 2009: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

University of Auckland Business School Owen Glenn Building Grafton Road Auckland

The Imagine Cup, sponsored by Microsoft, is an annual global competition which encourages students to use technology to transform great ideas into real world solutions.

Here in New Zealand student teams from around the country have put together outstanding and in some cases ingenious technology solutions to some of the world's toughest problems. A selection of teams have made it to the New Zealand final, and one team will win a trip to Egypt to pitch their idea against the world.

NZCS is very proud to be a strategic partner for the 2009 Imagine Cup.

You're invited to take part in this momentous occasion as an audience member, as the finalists present and demonstrate their unique solution to a panel of influential industry judges live, and you can decide for yourself who should take out the title of Imagine Cup 2009 NZ.

This will be a great night out of fun and entertainment, so come and support the next generation of kiwi entrepreneurs and have a great time in the process.

Light dinner and drinks provided.

There will also be a prize draw for attendees - be in to win a host of prizes including 1 of 3 Microsoft XBox Consoles.

Attendance is free of charge (for members and non-members), however places are limited so please register early to secure your spot.

Registration

Please click the link below to register.

(Note that if you have registered through a different site, please do NOT register again).

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Kete: online digital knowledge for libraries and communities [WLUG] (Hamilton, 27/4/2009)

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:03:05 +1200

Kete: online digital knowledge for libraries and communities [WLUG]

27 April 2009: 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

MS4.G.02, University of Waikato, Hamilton. (map)

Kete: online digital knowledge for libraries and communities

Hamilton City Library is using Kete to create an online knowledge basket of Hamilton history. Learn more from Rae McCormick and Smita Biswas of the Library and Walter McGinnis of Katipo Communications.

Kete (Maori for 'basket') is an open source collaborative content and knowledge management system, developed by Katipo Communications Ltd and the Horowhenua Library Trust for building online community-driven history and memories.

Hamilton City Library is using Kete to build a resource of Hamilton's heritage, recording stories, photographs, videos and audio recordings.

Join us for a discussion covering how you can be involved, how Kete was developed, and how Kete helps the community to make their own stories and knowledge more accessible.

Kete was the 2007 winner of the 3M Award for Innovation in Libraries, sponsored by 3M New Zealand in conjunction with the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa.

Kete was also awarded Special Mention for excellence in e-content (North America and Oceania region) at the 2007 World Summit Awards.

http://ketehamilton.peoplesnetworknz.info
http://kete.net.nz
http://www.katipo.co.nz

About The Speaker

Walter McGinnis is lead developer of Kete. Kete is a digital archiving tool, a web-based application using the Ruby on Rails framework. This event is organised by the Waikato Linux User Group.

Registration Details:

Please register for this event online now by using the link below.

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Customer Focused Design (Christchurch, 23/4/2009)

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:24:18 +1300

Customer Focused Design

23 April 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Canterbury Innovation Incubator 200 Armagh Street Christchurch

How do you develop products that your customers will love and rave about?

Designing software or web applications that really hit the mark can happen by chance but rarely does.

Customer Focused Design is both a philosophy and methodology which can systematically produce products that are more readily adopted, sell more and have lower support costs.

In this informal talk, Alan Cox, CEO of LeftClick, will outline the principles and tools of Customer Focused Design, where you can apply it, and why it makes extremely good business sense.

Refreshments included.

About The Speaker

Alan Cox is CEO of Christchurch based LeftClick, which specialises in customer focussed design for e-commerce and web based applications. Whilst often touted as a user-experience guru, Alan is far more humble in saying that he's simply a practitioner of advanced common sense and good practice.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free for members and staff of Corporate Partners, however registration is essential. Please register using the link below.

Non-members are very welcome. Please register below via Credit Card. NZCS Corporate Partners and approved organisations can opt to pay by invoice by calling 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee and business details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz. Credit criteria and other conditions apply.

Thanks to Canterbury Innovation Incubator for providing their venue

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TPN: The Challenges of Testing on Agile Projects (Auckland, 21/4/2009)

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:59:54 +1200

TPN: The Challenges of Testing on Agile Projects

21 April 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Presidents Room The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street, Auckland

Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

Gillian Clark - An Introduction to Agile Development

Jim Highsmith (amongst other things, the director of the Agile Project Management Advisory Service for the Cutter Consortium) has said "Agile is a way of thinking, not a particular practice."

Whilst this is true and very relevant - it doesn't really answer the question 'but what is Agile, with a capital A'.

This presentation is aimed at explaining what Agile is (from a software development perspective) and examines:

Why Agile?
Some of the flavours of Agile development
The Agile Manifesto
The key features of any Agile process
Some key reasons why agile fails

During this event, you will hear Gillian Clark, a founding member of the Agile Professionals Network talk to you about what Agile actually is and what that may mean to you as a test professional.

- The Auckland TPN Committee

Drinks will be available at a cash bar (cash only).

About The Speaker

Gillian has extensive, multi national, experience in IT management, is a founder member of the Agile Professionals Network is a leading agile advocate within New Zealand is an Agile Project Management trainer; agile development coach, provides coaching and consultancy for Agile Development; is a qualified Scrum practitioner a Scrum Product Owner, and a certified Agile Project Leader (foundation).

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NZCS Members and Non-Members welcome.

Event schedule:

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Registration & Networking
5:30 to 6:15pm - Speaker including Q&A session
6:15 to 7:00pm - Networking & close out

(More Info)

ISSIG: Key Presentations from SourceBoston2009 (Wellington, 20/4/2009)

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:58:25 +1200

ISSIG: Key Presentations from SourceBoston2009

20 April 2009: 3:15 pm - 5:15 pm

Room 613A/B, 6th Floor WelTec 11 â€“ 17 Church Street (off Boulcott Street) Wellington

NZCS Information Security Specialist Group (ISSIG) Quarterly Meeting

Report on Key presentations from SourceBoston2009 11^th - 13^th March 2009

The SourceBoston2009 conference brought together many of the movers and shakers in Info Security in the 21^st century.

Join Alisdair McKenzie as he presents on some of the presentations at this conference. Among the major speakers were:

Amit Yoran (Risk Metrics & Management)
Marcus Ranum (Anatomy of a Security Disaster)
Jermiah Grossman (Get Rich or Die Trying - Making Money on the Web the Black Hat Way)
Adam Shostack (The Crisis in Information Security)
Christofer Hoff (The Frogs who desired a King - Virtualisation and Cloud Computer Computing)
James Atkinson (Horseless Carriage Exploits and Eavesdropping Defenses)

Please Click here for more information about the speakers and topics.

Schedule

Assemble/Register - 3.15
Presentation - 3.45
Networking - 4.45

About The Speaker

Alisdair McKenzie was fortunate to be in USA at the time of the conference (courtesy of ISACA), and was able to attend the event. He was impressed by the quality of the speakers and the relevance of the topics they covered. He has video of several of the sessions he took part in and has assembled a presentation session of highlights from the conference including those highlighted above.

Door Prize

There will also be a $100 book token door prize for an ISSIG member selected at random.

Registration Details:

ISSIG Members should register below (no charge).

Others can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

ICTTop100 Lunch: ICT Management Competencies (Auckland, 15/4/2009)

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:43:22 +1200

ICTTop100 Lunch: ICT Management Competencies

15 April 2009: 12:15 pm - 2:00 pm

Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

ICTTop100 is a forum where senior ICT professionals and managers come together to discuss and debate a particular topic in detail, over a formal lunch.

Discussion takes place under the Chatham House rule, and the outcomes are then forwarded to various stakeholders (such as NZCS, Government, etc).

The Key Competencies of ICT Managers

This month's ICTTop100 will be discussing the Key Competencies of ICT Managers.

To lead competent teams in ICT the manager - whatever their title - needs their own role-specific competencies.

What are those competencies? When are they needed? When operating in what facet of your role?

Let us survey the full range, the options and the alternatives.

Are these needs addressed by courses? Are the courses readily available? At the right price?

Here are some possible courses we might discuss:

Critical Thinking
Customer Services
Group Facilitation
Influencing Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Negotiation Skills
Writing for Success
Resolving Conflict

And many more.

What are the really important competencies of CTOs and CIOs?

Registration Details:

NOTE: Those that are already registered for all 10 ICTTop100 lunches do NOT need to re-register, however DO need to reply to the previous email.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

TPN Presents: Developer testing: The times they are a'changing (Wellington, 24/3/2009)

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:21:28 +1300

TPN Presents: Developer testing: The times they are a'changing

24 March 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Westpac Level 1, Optimation House 1 Grey Street Wellington

Automated developer testing has evolved into a mainstream practice in the last few years. Integrating developer testing with other code quality practices, such as continuous integration, test driven development and static analysis, provides systems of a higher technical quality.

The success of developer testing has spawned new practices such as behaviour driven development and executable specifications. These practices encompass a team approach to improving business quality, and further reduce the amount of rework required during the testing/QA cycle.

In this presentation, Nigel Charman examines the impact of these different practices on the tester, using role play to explore the changes in team dynamics with the different practices. A brief overview of the tools that support each practice is presented, and the economics of developer testing will be discussed.

About the Speaker

Nigel Charman is a Senior Consultant with Assurity Consulting, where he specializes in the implementation of Agile and Development Quality initiatives. He also spends some of his time getting his hands dirty as a software developer in the health and electricity sectors and as a co-developer on the open source JiBX/WS project. Nigel has over 20 years of software development experience and is a co-leader of the Wellington Java Users Group.

TPN wish to thank Assurity Consulting for sponsoring the event and Westpac for providing the venue.

Registration Details:

TPN is a non-profit organisation set up to support all Wellington testing. Confirming attendance at this event is a commitment to attend. Please do not book if you will not be attending.

NZCS members and non-members welcome

NOTE: Please pay $5 at the door

(More Info)

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification (Nelson, 20/3/2009)

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:59:55 +1300

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification

20 March 2009: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

NMDHB Seminar Centre â€“ Room Two Opposite side of Waimea Rd from Emergency Department Nelson Hospital Nelson

This is your chance to have your say about the upcoming Professional Certification Programme.

[NOTE: This has been sent to the Wellington Area list as there is currently no list for the Nelson region. Please accept our apologies if you are receiving this and are outside this area]

Certification Programme

NZCS is in the process of designing and implementing a Professional Certification Programme for ICT Professionals.

This internationally-aligned certification has the potential to redefine our profession, and put ICT on equal footing with other professions, such as Accountancy, Medicine and Engineering.

"Professional Certification" is the cornerstone of a profession, and helps define and recognise true professionals. This is an overarching certification and is NOT the same as technical certifications; ie it is similar to "Chartered Accountant" or "Chartered Engineer" certifications for those professions rather than technical certifications (such as Microsoft or Cisco certs), although technical certifications are aligned with it.

Certification Workshops

This facilitated interactive workshop is your chance to not just hear about the detail of how this programme will work, but to provide significant feedback into the process as well.

Senior NZCS staff will work through the details step by step then lead discussion around why particular routes have been chosen and decisions made, other options available, and what the participants believe are the best options.

Who's invited?

Everyone is welcome. Professional Certification is for the entire sector - not just existing NZCS members - and we encourage everyone to come along and get involved.

Consequently, please pass this invitation along to anyone you believe may be interested in attending.

More information

The full model will be released at the beginning of March and sent to everyone on the NZCS Mailing List.

In the meantime, please visit www.nzcs.org.nz/certification for more information, particularly the "Certification Update" document and Frequently Asked Questions.

Registration

Registration is essential. Places will be filling fast, and registration is necessary for catering and logistic purposes.

To register, simply click the Registration link below. Registration is free.

(More Info)

Student Event: Welcome to Wellington! (Wellington, 19/3/2009)

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:15:22 +1300

Student Event: Welcome to Wellington!

19 March 2009: 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Student Union Hall Victoria University of Wellington Kelburn Campus, Kelburn Parade Wellington

Calling all ICT and engineering students!

[Please pass this on to any computing/ICT/engineering students you know]

The New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) is sponsoring a social evening for you to meet and get to know other ICT students, them to meet you, and meet some tertiary staff that you'll be getting to know better over the next year or two.

The invitation is going out to Students from all tertiary institutions in the Wellington region. We're anticipating a good turnout, with free pizzas on offer, but as always there is a limit to the space available.

How to get registered

To avoid disappointment (and help with planning and catering) please register (below) by Friday, 13th March 2009 (self initiative test 1 and IT orientation).

If you achieve registration and make it to the event we look forward to welcoming you!

Places are limited, so no registration, no pizza!

Where is it?

Campus information and a map is available here.

The student Union building is located at grid (i, 23). Access can be gained to the Student Union building from Salamanca Rd, Kelburn Parade or McKenzie Terrace. Buses 17, 18, 20, 22 and 23 go to the Kelburn campus and you can also use the cable car.

Spread it around!

All ICT/Computing/Engineering students in the Wellington region are welcome. Oh, and did we mention the free pizza?

(More Info)

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification (Christchurch, 19/3/2009)

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:12:11 +1300

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification

19 March 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Hotel So Conference Room 165 Cashel Street Christchurch (Assemble from 5pm, workshop starts 5:30pm sharp)

This is your chance to have your say about the upcoming Professional Certification Programme.

Certification Programme

NZCS is in the process of designing and implementing a Professional Certification Programme for ICT Professionals.

This internationally-aligned certification has the potential to redefine our profession, and put ICT on equal footing with other professions, such as Accountancy, Medicine and Engineering.

Certification Workshops

This facilitated interactive workshop is your chance to not just hear about the detail of how this programme will work, but to provide significant feedback into the process as well.

Who's invited?

Everyone is welcome. Professional Certification is for the entire sector - not just existing NZCS members - and we encourage everyone to come along and get involved.

Consequently, please pass this invitation along to anyone you believe may be interested in attending.

More information

The full model will be released at the beginning of March and sent to everyone on the NZCS Mailing List.

In the meantime, please visit www.nzcs.org.nz/certification for more information, particularly the "Certification Update" document and Frequently Asked Questions.

Registration

Registration is essential. Places will be filling fast, and registration is necessary for catering and logistic purposes.

To register, simply click the Registration link below. Registration is free.

(More Info)

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification (Dunedin, 18/3/2009)

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:07:11 +1300

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification

18 March 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

University of Otago Executive Residence School of Business 68 Forth Street, Dunedin (Assemble from 5pm for a start at 5:30pm sharp)

This is your chance to have your say about the upcoming Professional Certification Programme.

Certification Programme

NZCS is in the process of designing and implementing a Professional Certification Programme for ICT Professionals.

This internationally-aligned certification has the potential to redefine our profession, and put ICT on equal footing with other professions, such as Accountancy, Medicine and Engineering.

Certification Workshops

This facilitated interactive workshop is your chance to not just hear about the detail of how this programme will work, but to provide significant feedback into the process as well.

Who's invited?

Everyone is welcome. Professional Certification is for the entire sector - not just existing NZCS members - and we encourage everyone to come along and get involved.

Consequently, please pass this invitation along to anyone you believe may be interested in attending.

More information

The full model will be released at the beginning of March and sent to everyone on the NZCS Mailing List.

In the meantime, please visit www.nzcs.org.nz/certification for more information, particularly the "Certification Update" document and Frequently Asked Questions.

Registration

Registration is essential. Places will be filling fast, and registration is necessary for catering and logistic purposes.

To register, simply click the Registration link below. Registration is free.

(More Info)

ICTTop100 Lunch: NZCS Professional Certification (Auckland, 18/3/2009)

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:06:30 +1300

ICTTop100 Lunch: NZCS Professional Certification

18 March 2009: 12:15 pm - 2:00 pm

Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

ICTTop100 is a forum where senior ICT professionals and managers come together to discuss and debate a particular topic in detail, over a formal lunch.

Discussion takes place under the Chatham House rule, and the outcomes are then forwarded to various stakeholders (such as NZCS, Government, etc).

NZCS Professional Certification

This month's ICTTop100 will be discussing NZCS Professional Certification.

As most will know, NZCS has now released a draft model for professional certification in New Zealand, which maps to the certifications available in many other countries around the world. Professional certification from an independent professional body is an essential element of every profession, and the equivalent programmes in other countries have led to significant benefits to the profession and the public.

This month's ICTTop100 will be focusing primarily on:

The overall proposal
Should we stay fully aligned to the BCS, ACS, CIPS, and IFIP
How we will encourage our staff to qualify
What will we write in a contract as a vendor
What will we write in a contract as a purchaser

You can view the Draft Model here. We strongly recommend you read it before attending, and be ready for some vigorous discussion and debate!

Registration Details:

NOTE: Those that are already registered for all 10 ICTTop100 lunches do NOT need to re-register.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification (Wellington, 17/3/2009)

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:34:43 +1300

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification

17 March 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

PowerHouse People Ltd L4 Deloitte House 10 Brandon Street, Wellington (Assemble from 5pm, Workshop will start at 5:30pm sharp)

This is your chance to have your say about the upcoming Professional Certification Programme.

Certification Programme

NZCS is in the process of designing and implementing a Professional Certification Programme for ICT Professionals.

This internationally-aligned certification has the potential to redefine our profession, and put ICT on equal footing with other professions, such as Accountancy, Medicine and Engineering.

Certification Workshops

This facilitated interactive workshop is your chance to not just hear about the detail of how this programme will work, but to provide significant feedback into the process as well.

Who's invited?

Everyone is welcome. Professional Certification is for the entire sector - not just existing NZCS members - and we encourage everyone to come along and get involved.

Consequently, please pass this invitation along to anyone you believe may be interested in attending.

More information

The full model will be released at the beginning of March and sent to everyone on the NZCS Mailing List.

In the meantime, please visit www.nzcs.org.nz/certification for more information, particularly the "Certification Update" document and Frequently Asked Questions.

Registration

Registration is essential. Places will be filling fast, and registration is necessary for catering and logistic purposes.

To register, simply click the Registration link below. Registration is free.

Thanks to Powerhouse People for sponsoring this event and providing refreshments.

(More Info)

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification (Hamilton, 11/3/2009)

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:29:45 +1300

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification

11 March 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Wintec City Campus (Gate 5) The Bill Gallagher Hub Anglesea Street, Hamilton (Assemble from 5pm for a start at 5:30pm sharp)

This is your chance to have your say about the upcoming Professional Certification Programme.

Certification Programme

NZCS is in the process of designing and implementing a Professional Certification Programme for ICT Professionals.

This internationally-aligned certification has the potential to redefine our profession, and put ICT on equal footing with other professions, such as Accountancy, Medicine and Engineering.

Certification Workshops

This facilitated interactive workshop is your chance to not just hear about the detail of how this programme will work, but to provide significant feedback into the process as well.

Who's invited?

Everyone is welcome. Professional Certification is for the entire sector - not just existing NZCS members - and we encourage everyone to come along and get involved.

Consequently, please pass this invitation along to anyone you believe may be interested in attending.

More information

The full model will be released at the beginning of March and sent to everyone on the NZCS Mailing List.

In the meantime, please visit www.nzcs.org.nz/certification for more information, particularly the "Certification Update" document and Frequently Asked Questions.

Registration

Registration is essential. Places will be filling fast, and registration is necessary for catering and logistic purposes.

To register, simply click the Registration link below. Registration is free.

(More Info)

Students meet Industry BBQ (Christchurch, 10/3/2009)

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:09:31 +1300

Students meet Industry BBQ

10 March 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

University of Canterbury Staff Club Ilam Rd, Christchurch (entrance opposite University of Canterbury Students' Assn building)

Come and meet tertiary ICT students from the Canterbury region.

The ICT industry is vitally dependent on a good flow of graduates, so join us and:

let students meet real people from the Canterbury ICT industry that they hear and read so much about,
tell students about your organisation and what it does,
meet students that you might like to employ (even if you're not hiring at the moment),
talk to and encourage students in their studies to help ensure that when you do need new people, there are good students available,
enjoy a relaxing time with some drinks and barbecue food.

This event is organised by the NZ Computer Society and sponsored by the CPIT, University of Canterbury and Lincoln University computing departments.

Thanks to:

(More Info)

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification (Auckland, 10/3/2009)

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:07:54 +1300

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification

10 March 2009: 5:15 pm - 7:30 pm

NOTE THE SLIGHTLY LATER START TIME WE230 Lecture Theatre Auckland Uni of Technology (AUT) St Paul St Auckland Click Here for a map (Assemble from 5:15pm, Starts 5:30pm

This is your chance to have your say about the upcoming Professional Certification Programme.

Certification Programme

NZCS is in the process of designing and implementing a Professional Certification Programme for ICT Professionals.

This internationally-aligned certification has the potential to redefine our profession, and put ICT on equal footing with other professions, such as Accountancy, Medicine and Engineering.

Certification Workshops

This facilitated interactive workshop is your chance to not just hear about the detail of how this programme will work, but to provide significant feedback into the process as well.

Who's invited?

Everyone is welcome. Professional Certification is for the entire sector - not just existing NZCS members - and we encourage everyone to come along and get involved.

Consequently, please pass this invitation along to anyone you believe may be interested in attending.

More information

The full model will be released at the beginning of March and sent to everyone on the NZCS Mailing List.

In the meantime, please visit www.nzcs.org.nz/certification for more information, particularly the "Certification Update" document and Frequently Asked Questions.

Parking

There is no parking on the AUT Campus grounds
There is limited "Pay and display" parking on St Paul's Street (taken mainly by students)
The Wilson's Car Park on St Paul's Street is probably most convenient park - $3 per half hour up to a maximum of $8
The map (above) shows the two best ways to access the lecture theatre - follow the red lines

Registration

Registration is essential. Places will be filling fast, and registration is necessary for catering and logistic purposes.

To register, simply click the Registration link below. Registration is free.

(More Info)

Don Christie: Using Open Source to Build Innovative Solutions (plus Branch AGM) (Christchurch, 05/3/2009)

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:36:01 +1300

Don Christie: Using Open Source to Build Innovative Solutions (plus Branch AGM)

5 March 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 165 Cashel Street Christchurch

Don Christie: Using Open Source to Build Innovative Solutions

Don Christie has an extremely interesting story of innovative success relevant to those in both the commercial and open source software spaces.

As a founder of what is now New Zealand’s largest open source solutions provider, Don is one of the first people to build a truly viable and successful commercial model in New Zealand around open source software and has managed to build his company to almost 100 employees.

Don's company Catalyst IT, which was voted in NBR Magazine earlier this year as the most exciting company in New Zealand, provides significant solutions to companies such as Telecom, Fairfax, the TAB, plus a host of Government agencies. Catalyst also architected, designed and developed, host and maintain NZ Registry Service's core system, the Shared Registry System (SRS) which maintains the .nz domain space (ie handles all .nz internet addresses).

In this intriguing presentation, come and hear what inspired Don to take his passion for Open Source to the mainstream and the hurdles he has had to overcome along the way. Don will also discuss his keys to success in turning concepts into reality, an integral step on the path of innovation. The insight presented by Don will be of huge interest to others aspiring to be the best in their field through hard work and true innovation.

Don is also the organiser of the NZ Open Source Awards and president of the NZ Open Source Society.

Canterbury Branch AGM

The 45th Annual General Meeting of the Canterbury Branch of NZCS will be held prior to the commencement of this presentation.

The following forms are available for the AGM:

AGM Agenda
Branch Committee and Officer Nomination Form
Proxy Form (if you are unable to attend in person)
Minutes from Previous Meeting

Schedule of Events

5:00pm: Networking
5:30pm: AGM
5:40pm: Don Christie speaks

Registration Details

REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL.

Members can register for free below. Others may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Notice of Annual General Meeting (Auckland Branch) (Auckland, 04/3/2009)

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:23:39 +1300

Notice of Annual General Meeting (Auckland Branch)

4 March 2009: 8:30 am - 9:00 am

The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland CBD

Notice of the 2009 Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) Auckland Branch

The Auckland Branch AGM will follow the WFIA Event on the morning of Weds 4th March 2009.

Agenda

Welcome
Apologies
Proxies
Minutes of the previous AGM and matters arising
Items for General Business
The Chairman's annual branch report
The Treasurer's annual branch report
Election of Auckland Branch Committee officers and Auckland Branch Committee members
General Business

You can download a proxy authorisation form here and a nomination form here.

Ann Mckenzie
Chairperson , Auckland Branch

(More Info)

WFIA Breakfast: The Importance of Industry Image rather than Industry Wars (Auckland, 04/3/2009)

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:15:45 +1300

WFIA Breakfast: The Importance of Industry Image rather than Industry Wars

4 March 2009: 7:00 am - 8:30 am

Main Dining Room, The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street Auckland

Kevin Ackhurst - Microsoft New Zealand

Kevin Ackhurst, Managing Director of Microsoft NZ, will present on the topic "The Importance of Industry Image rather than the Ravages of Industry Wars".

Full synopsis to come.

The WFIA Breakfast will be followed by the Auckland Branch AGM.

Includes Full Breakfast

About The Speaker

Kevin Ackhurst is the Managing Director of Microsoft New Zealand. He has a wealth of industry and Microsoft experience in diverse regions and multiple business groups.

Kevin is passionate about people development, diversity and energising customer and partner experiences with Microsoft. Kevin has been with Microsoft for 10 years and came to New Zealand from Microsoft Corporation's Public Sector team where he was General Manager, Operations and Business Strategy, based in Redmond, Washington. In this role he was instrumental in assisting Microsoft teams around the world work with governments focused on developing digital strategies to transform their economies.

Prior to this role, Kevin was Public Sector Director for Australia for nearly four years, leading a team which drove significant public sector engagement projects. Kevin focused on work with national and local government agencies to identify and accelerate innovative uses of IT that help address key public service challenges. In Australia, Kevin also worked as Director of Services for three years, with responsibility for customer support, consulting and customer service. Kevin joined the Microsoft Australian team from Microsoft South Africa where he was a Managing Consultant. His career began as a lecturer in systems simulation, modeling and industrial engineering practices at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa where he graduated with Bachelor's Degree (Hons) in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

Kevin lives in Auckland. Outside work, Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife, Jodie and sons Thomas and Kieran, as well as skiing, watching great rugby teams, reading, and listening to music.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

(More Info)

Notice of Annual General Meeting (Waikato Branch) (Hamilton, 03/3/2009)

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:22:16 +1300

Notice of Annual General Meeting (Waikato Branch)

3 March 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Events Room 2, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristam Street, Hamilton

This is notice that the 2009 Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) Waikato / BoP Branch is to be held on the 3rd March 2009.

Come and enjoy refreshments and finger food from 5.30pm while you mix and mingle with your fellow NZCS Waikato / BOP Branch Professionals. The Waikato / BoP Branch AGM will follow.

We ask all Waikato and Bay of Plenty members to attend the AGM.

Agenda

Welcome
Apologies and Proxies
Minutes of the previous AGM and matters arising
Items for General Business
The Chairman's annual branch report
The Treasurer's annual branch report
Election of Waikato Branch Committee officers and Waikato Branch Committee members
General Business

You can download a proxy authorisation form or a nomination form.

David Hallett
Chair, Waikato/BoP Branch

(More Info)

TPN: The Challenges of Testing on Agile Projects (Auckland, 03/3/2009)

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:33:25 +1300

TPN: The Challenges of Testing on Agile Projects

3 March 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The Presidents Room The Auckland Club 34 Shortland Street, Auckland

Test Professionals Network (Auckland) presents:

Dealing with the Testing Challenges of Agile Methodologies
by Rex Black

A number of companies have adopted Agile methodologies, for various reasons ranging from speed of delivery, flexibility in rapidly changing situations, to just plain trendiness. Every software development lifecycle model, sequential or spiral, incremental or Agile, has testing implications.

Some of these implications ease the testing process. Some of these testing implications challenge testing. In this talk, Rex Black discusses those Agile testing challenges so that you can recognize and resolve these challenges in your company if it adopts an Agile approach.

About the Speaker

Rex Black (USA) is a leader in software, hardware, and systems testing with 35 years of software and systems engineering experience. He is the President of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board and President and Principal Consultant of Rex Black Consulting Services Inc. Rex's popular book, Managing the Testing Process has sold over 25,000 copies around the world, including Japanese, Chinese, and Indian releases. Some of his other books, like Critical Testing Processes and Effective and Efficient Software Testing, have also been published in Hebrew, Indian, Japanese and Russian editions. In addition, he has written numerous articles and papers and has presented at hundreds of conferences and workshops around the world.

An exclusive arrangement allows Software Education to run courses designed by Rex Black throughout Australia and New Zealand. Rex will be in town to personally deliver Software Education's recently launched ISTQB Advanced Test Management course. Rex is honoured to speak at this TPN event on the 3^rd of March.

TPN wishes to thank Software Education for arranging Rex Black’s participation at this evening event.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NZCS members and non-members welcome.

Event schedule:

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Drinks/nibbles & Networking
5:30 to 6:15pm - Speaker including Q&A session
6:15 to 7:00pm - Drinks & Networking

Drinks will be available at a cash bar (cash only).

(More Info)

Notice of Annual General Meeting (Otago Branch) (Dunedin, 27/2/2009)

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:15:18 +1300

Notice of Annual General Meeting (Otago Branch)

27 February 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

ProSouth Conference Room 131 High Street Dunedin

This is a call to the Annual General Meeting of the Otago Branch of the NZCS. We would like to invite all members along to the Otago Branch AGM - have your say in 2009.

All NZCS Members Free

AGM Agenda

Refreshments
Apologies
Matters arising
Chairman's report
Councillor's report
Treasurer's report
Election of Officers
Election of Committee

We ask that all members attend the AGM.

Proxy and Nomination Forms to follow.

Registration Details:

Please use the link below to register. Registration is essential for catering purposes.

(More Info)

50th Anniversary Planning and Branch AGM 2009 (Wellington, 26/2/2009)

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:15:12 +1300

50th Anniversary Planning and Branch AGM 2009

26 February 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Ferguson Room Engineering House 158 The Terrace Wellington

NOTE: This event is for NZCS members only

This is a call to the 44^th Annual General Meeting of the Wellington Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies
Minutes of the meeting 28^th February 2008
Matters arising
Chairman's report
Councillor's report
Treasurer's report'
Election of Officers
Election of Committee

Immediately following the AGM we will provide refreshments and invite you to participate in a golden opportunity to contribute to the Society's 50^th Anniversary, which is happening in 2010.

The Society is celebrating the milestone by running a series of events in each of the regions plus a national conference in September. Wellington will kick-start the 2010 year with an event in January or February 2010. So we need your ideas in a relaxed atmosphere

Attendance is free, however we ask that you please register below for catering and organising purposes.

(More Info)

2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification (Christchurch, 12/2/2009)

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:38:42 +1300

2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification

12 February 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Hotel So 165 Cashel Street Christchurch (Assemble 5pm for a 5:30pm start)

Join NZCS President Don Robertson and CEO Paul Matthews as they present an update on national activity including detailed information about the main drive for this year - the Certification initiative being implemented in 2009.

NZCS Work Programme

NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews will outline the achievements thus far in the context of the overall Work Programme for 2008/2009 including the issues NZCS has addressed and is addressing and why. This will include NZCS's work for the ICT profession, computing and ICT education standards and the community at large, and the plans for 2009 and beyond.

NZCS Professional Certification

Next NZCS President Don Robertson, who also chairs the Certification Working Group, will cover the background information and research that has lead to the development of the Professional Certification/Charter Programme. This programme is designed to ensure NZ ICT professionals gain the same opportunity as our counterparts in other countries by having their level of professional competency and skills accredited against an internationally-accepted standard.

The professional certification and recognition programme for ICT professionals is happening - this is your chance to find out more.

Have your say, or find out more

More importantly, however, this event will give you the opportunity to have your say about the current direction of NZCS and the profession generally. Whether you think we've got it right or wrong, we want to know about it.

This is a not-to-be-missed event for members and non-members alike. If you're not a member, this is your chance to come along and hear what NZCS stands for and what we do on a national level to further the interests for the ICT profession.

Light refreshments provided.

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2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification (Dunedin, 12/2/2009)

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 14:51:13 +1300

2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification

12 February 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:45 pm

ProSouth Conference Room 161 High Street Dunedin

NZCS Work Programme

NZCS Professional Certification

The professional certification and recognition programme for ICT professionals is happening - this is your chance to find out more.

Have your say, or find out more

Light lunch provided.

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2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification (Wellington, 10/2/2009)

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:41:33 +1300

2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification

10 February 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

L4, Deloitte House 10 Brandon St Wellington (Assemble from 5pm for a 5:30pm start)

NZCS Work Programme

NZCS Professional Certification

The professional certification and recognition programme for ICT professionals is happening - this is your chance to find out more.

Have your say, or find out more

Venue and Refreshments kindly sponsored by:

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The Role of the Enterprise Analyst (Wellington, 05/2/2009)

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:58:14 +1300

The Role of the Enterprise Analyst

5 February 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM, Level 11, Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street, Wellington

The Role of the Enterprise Analyst

Shane Hastie, Chief Knowledge Engineer

So what is the role of an Enterprise Analyst?

Shane Hastie will shed light on the role of the Enterprise Analyst by examining the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge Area that is contained in the vast Business Analysis Body of Knowledge, BABOK^TM.

Shane will explain:

What is included and what are some of the key techniques and tools of Enterprise Analysis
Understanding the role of strategic goals and objectives and how the business analyst contributes to and is guided by overall strategy
Understanding the various levels of Enterprise and Business Architecture; how they flow into the tactical data, system and application architectures and how they impact on business analysis activities
Understanding risk as it relates to enterprise level activities, and how it guides the business analyst in conducting systems investigations
Identifying and presenting business requirements and how they lead into the more granular system, user, quality and functional requirements for new or enhanced systems

Includes Light Lunch.

About The Speaker

Shane has over 20 years experience in software development and implementation. Significant projects included the development of an Irrigated Cane Management System for a large sugar cane plantation in Swaziland, a pharmaceutical drug dissolution analysis system to prepare registration applications, a volume/sales tracking system for sawmills, a security guard scheduling and monitoring system, plus an Airline Revenue Management System, sold to 12 airlines throughout Africa, from Mozambique to Ghana.

In addition to his expertise in requirements engineering, use cases and peer reviews, Shane provides training in project management, systems analysis, software testing as well as design techniques using traditional, Object Oriented and Agile methodologies.

Shane is also a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP^TM) and has a Masters degree in Information Management from Victoria University of Wellington. He is also a member of the International Institute of Business Analysts, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the NZCS.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Adapting to the Evolving Threat to Internet Security (Wellington, 04/2/2009)

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:39:04 +1300

Adapting to the Evolving Threat to Internet Security

4 February 2009: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Duxton Hotel 170 Wakefield Street Wellington

NZCS, Microsoft and the Centre for Critical Infrastructure Protection present:

Adapting to the Evolving Threat:
Microsoft’s View of Threats to Internet Security

George Stathakopoulos, Trustworthy Computing Security Division (TCSD), Microsoft Corp, Redmond

Over the past 10 years the use of the Internet and the threats to Internet users have completely changed. The Internet has gone from a new mechanism for some aspects of society and commerce to being the primary environment for commerce, collaboration and social interactions.

Threats to the Internet have transformed from disruptions of Internet service for hacker fame, to exploiting the Internet as the vehicle for crime and targeted attacks.

Very few systems are truly "off-the-net" these days so we need to be aware of the value of our information and potential threats to it through all systems, whatever their connection or use. In order to develop and maintain this awareness, it is essential to embrace business, technical and societal issues.

Microsoft and its Trustworthy Computing Security Division (TCSD) based in Redmond is at the forefront of analysing the worldwide IT security threat environment - they are the Microsoft team responsible for assessing and managing threats to Microsoft's products and more than 500 million Microsoft customers around the globe.

The NZCS in partnership with the Centre for Critical Infrastructure Protection, and Microsoft invite you to a session that:

Aims to deliver background knowledge and data that should better enable you to work within your organisation to authoritatively state the continued business benefits of investing in protection.
Should enable you to better understand and undertake your day to day risk management and threat prevention activities. The data shared in this session will be based on Microsoft's latest vulnerability and malware findings and analysis.

George Stathakopoulos, General Manager of TCSD and key members of his team are visiting Wellington exclusively for this event and will provide an insight into Microsoft's analysis of current and future threats and how that relates to New Zealand and more broadly to the Internet citizen.

Tea and Coffee will be served following the event.

Registration Details:

This event is free for both NZCS members and non-members, however space is very limited.

REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL - Please register below.

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2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification (Auckland, 03/2/2009)

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 14:10:15 +1300

2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification

3 February 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

MPC Room, 5th Floor Microsoft Building 22 Viaduct Harbour Ave Auckland (Assemble from 5pm for a 5:30pm start)

NZCS Work Programme

NZCS Professional Certification

The professional certification and recognition programme for ICT professionals is happening - this is your chance to find out more.

Have your say, or find out more

Light refreshments provided.

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2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification (Hamilton, 03/2/2009)

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:41:01 +1300

2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification

3 February 2009: 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

The Hub at Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristam Street, Hamilton Parking is available at the Wilsons Parking Bulding in Alexandra St. (Map)

NZCS Work Programme

NZCS Professional Certification

The professional certification and recognition programme for ICT professionals is happening - this is your chance to find out more.

Have your say, or find out more

Light lunch provided.

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Andy Hopper: Computing for the Future of the Planet (Wellington, 23/1/2009)

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:26:27 +1300

Andy Hopper: Computing for the Future of the Planet

23 January 2009: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Oceana Room for morning tea, then Soundings Theatre Te Papa Cable St, Wellington

NZCS "International Innovators" Presentation:

Andy Hopper, University of Cambridge, UK

Founder of Acorn Computers (creator of the Acorn, BBC Micro and Archimedes range of computers), and Professor of Computing Technology at the University of Cambridge, Andy Hopper is one of the UK's great technology visionaries.

Andy will draw on his extensive commercial and academic success to present a framework for the future of computing in the context of problems facing the planet.

Digital technology is becoming an indispensable and crucial component of our lives, society, and environment, and Andy will argue it is time to take the next step.

The framework has a number of goals: an optimal digital infrastructure, sensing and optimising with a global world model, reliably predicting and reacting to our environment, and digital alternatives to physical activities.

This will be a truly inspiring and thought provoking presentation from one of the global leaders of computing technology of our time.

This is one you won't want to miss.

Schedule

10:30am - 11:00am Morning Tea (Oceania Room, Te Papa)
11:00am - 12:30pm Presentation (Soundings Theatre, Te Papa)

About The Speaker

Andrew Hopper CBE FRS FREng is the Professor of Computer Technology and Head of the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Hopper’s PhD was in the field of communications networks and he worked with Maurice Wilkes on the creation of the Cambridge Ring and its successor, the Cambridge Fast Ring which was further developed into ATM.

Hopper founded Orbis Ltd to develop networking technologies and in 1978 co-founded Acorn Computers Ltd with Hermann Hauser and Chris Curry.

In 1993, Hopper set up Advanced Telecommunication Modules Ltd with Hermann Hauser. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1996 and awarded their Silver Medal in 2003. In 2004 he was awarded the Mountbatten Medal. In May 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

After more than 20 years at Cambridge University Computer Laboratory Andrew was elected to the Chair of Communications Engineering at Cambridge University Engineering Department in 1997. He returned to the Computer Laboratory as Professor of Computer Technology and Head of Department in 2004.

In 1999, Hopper gave the Royal Society’s Clifford Paterson Lecture on ‘Progress and research in the communications industry’ and was thus awarded the society’s bronze medal for achievement.

In 1997, Hopper co-founded Adaptive Broadband Ltd (ABL) which was to further develop the 'Wireless ATM' project started at ORL in the early 90s. ABL was bought by California Microwave, Inc in 1998.

In January 2000, Hopper co-founded Cambridge Broadband which was to develop broadband fixed wireless equipment; he was non-executive chairman from 2000 - 2005. In 2002 Hopper co-founded Ubisense Ltd to further develop the location technologies and sentient computing concepts that grew out of the ORL Active Badge system.

In 2005 he co-founded Adventiq a company developing a VNC-based system-on-a-chip.

Professor Hopper is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and has been a member of the IET 'Information Technology Sector Panel' since its inception in October 2002.

Registration Details:

REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL - Please Register Below.

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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ICT Christmas Gathering (Nelson, 18/12/2008)

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:28:26 +1300

ICT Christmas Gathering

18 December 2008: 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Verdict Bar and Cafe 189 Bridge St Nelson

NZCS and Gen-I Presents:

Nelson ICT Community - Christmas Drinks and Get Together

Come and join your colleagues from the wider Nelson IT community to mark the end of the year by having a fun social night together.

We'd like to see as many people in the Nelson IT community along to "wrap up the year" and talk about how next year is panning out.

All Welcome - Cash Bar, Nibbles Provided (Courtesy of Gen-I)

Registration Details:

This event is free for both NZCS members and non-members - all people in the IT community. Cash bar, however finger food provided courtesy of Gen-I.

Please indicate your intention to attend by registering below (for catering purposes).

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