NZCS Wellington Events

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.

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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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.

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: 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.

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.

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.

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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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

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

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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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

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

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.

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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

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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.

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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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 – 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

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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 – 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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification (Wellington, 10/2/2009)

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:41:33 +1300

2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification

10 February 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

L4, Deloitte House 10 Brandon St Wellington (Assemble from 5pm for a 5:30pm start)

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:

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The Role of the Enterprise Analyst (Wellington, 05/2/2009)

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:58:14 +1300

The Role of the Enterprise Analyst

5 February 2009: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

IBM, Level 11, Majestic Centre 100 Willis Street, Wellington

The Role of the Enterprise Analyst

Shane Hastie, Chief Knowledge Engineer

So what is the role of an Enterprise Analyst?

Shane Hastie will shed light on the role of the Enterprise Analyst by examining the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge Area that is contained in the vast Business Analysis Body of Knowledge, BABOK^TM.

Shane will explain:

What is included and what are some of the key techniques and tools of Enterprise Analysis
Understanding the role of strategic goals and objectives and how the business analyst contributes to and is guided by overall strategy
Understanding the various levels of Enterprise and Business Architecture; how they flow into the tactical data, system and application architectures and how they impact on business analysis activities
Understanding risk as it relates to enterprise level activities, and how it guides the business analyst in conducting systems investigations
Identifying and presenting business requirements and how they lead into the more granular system, user, quality and functional requirements for new or enhanced systems

Includes Light Lunch.

About The Speaker

Shane has over 20 years experience in software development and implementation. Significant projects included the development of an Irrigated Cane Management System for a large sugar cane plantation in Swaziland, a pharmaceutical drug dissolution analysis system to prepare registration applications, a volume/sales tracking system for sawmills, a security guard scheduling and monitoring system, plus an Airline Revenue Management System, sold to 12 airlines throughout Africa, from Mozambique to Ghana.

In addition to his expertise in requirements engineering, use cases and peer reviews, Shane provides training in project management, systems analysis, software testing as well as design techniques using traditional, Object Oriented and Agile methodologies.

Shane is also a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP^TM) and has a Masters degree in Information Management from Victoria University of Wellington. He is also a member of the International Institute of Business Analysts, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the NZCS.

Registration Details:

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

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Adapting to the Evolving Threat to Internet Security (Wellington, 04/2/2009)

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:39:04 +1300

Adapting to the Evolving Threat to Internet Security

4 February 2009: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Duxton Hotel 170 Wakefield Street Wellington

NZCS, Microsoft and the Centre for Critical Infrastructure Protection present:

Adapting to the Evolving Threat:
Microsoft’s View of Threats to Internet Security

George Stathakopoulos, Trustworthy Computing Security Division (TCSD), Microsoft Corp, Redmond

Over the past 10 years the use of the Internet and the threats to Internet users have completely changed. The Internet has gone from a new mechanism for some aspects of society and commerce to being the primary environment for commerce, collaboration and social interactions.

Threats to the Internet have transformed from disruptions of Internet service for hacker fame, to exploiting the Internet as the vehicle for crime and targeted attacks.

Very few systems are truly "off-the-net" these days so we need to be aware of the value of our information and potential threats to it through all systems, whatever their connection or use. In order to develop and maintain this awareness, it is essential to embrace business, technical and societal issues.

Microsoft and its Trustworthy Computing Security Division (TCSD) based in Redmond is at the forefront of analysing the worldwide IT security threat environment - they are the Microsoft team responsible for assessing and managing threats to Microsoft's products and more than 500 million Microsoft customers around the globe.

The NZCS in partnership with the Centre for Critical Infrastructure Protection, and Microsoft invite you to a session that:

Aims to deliver background knowledge and data that should better enable you to work within your organisation to authoritatively state the continued business benefits of investing in protection.
Should enable you to better understand and undertake your day to day risk management and threat prevention activities. The data shared in this session will be based on Microsoft's latest vulnerability and malware findings and analysis.

George Stathakopoulos, General Manager of TCSD and key members of his team are visiting Wellington exclusively for this event and will provide an insight into Microsoft's analysis of current and future threats and how that relates to New Zealand and more broadly to the Internet citizen.

Tea and Coffee will be served following the event.

Registration Details:

This event is free for both NZCS members and non-members, however space is very limited.

REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL - Please register below.

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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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