NZCS Wellington Events

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

Is your business in the Cloud? What about your clients? 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.

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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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.

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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

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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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.

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.

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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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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: Web Security Strategies for Developers (Wellington, 22/11/2011)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:37:16 +1200

NZCS Workshop: 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free however registration is essential to secure your place. Please register below.

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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 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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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.

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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: 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

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.

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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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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?

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

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: 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: 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.

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: 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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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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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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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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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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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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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

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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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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NZCS Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers (Wellington, 27/7/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:33:01 +1300

NZCS Workshop: 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 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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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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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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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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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: 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

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: 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

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 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

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: 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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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.

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NZCS Workshop: Web Security Strategies for Developers (Wellington, 28/4/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:30:13 +1300

NZCS Workshop: 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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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:

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 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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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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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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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 (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

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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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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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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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.

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.

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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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

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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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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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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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

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.

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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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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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 (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.

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.

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

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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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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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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

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.

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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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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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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.

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.

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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.

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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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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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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 [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

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.

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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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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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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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

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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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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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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)

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?

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.

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 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)

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: 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.

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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.

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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.

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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: 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

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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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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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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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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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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

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:

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.

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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 (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)

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 (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)

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.

Venue and Refreshments kindly sponsored by:

(More Info)

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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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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