How to Manage When You Know You’re Going to Fail

Every so often, even the best manager is given a task which they know they cannot complete within the stated expectations. In some cases, this can even be an entire project. In this talk, industry veteran Stephen McHenry discusses how a manager ends up in such a situation, and how to best manage their way out of it.

Oh, %*#@!
What they don’t tell you about Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery

Every IT department faces challenges to its continued smooth operation, but, none is so critical as a catastrophic disaster. Electronic security threats and 9/11, combined with the importance of IT to business operations, have raised business continuity planning and disaster recovery to a new level of importance for the organization. In this talk, industry veteran and CISSP Stephen McHenry discusses what is necessary for business continuity planning and disaster recovery in a post 9/11 world.

Challenges in Wireless Technology

Wireless technology is here to stay. It is one of the few things that have been “pulled” into operation by users, with IT kicking and screaming all the way. But, there are new challenges to this technology, ranging from propagation delays to serious security concerns. Having installed wireless networks in three companies and operating an ISP with no wired connection to the internet, industry veteran Stephen McHenry has gained experience in all facets of wireless deployment. In this talk, he discusses the specifics that make deploying wireless networks more challenging, the security risks associated with them, and how to secure your wireless network.

Stopping Spam
It’s choking your systems – here’s how to choke back…

Once, email was a valued communication between business colleagues or close friends. The messages in your inbox were some of the most important communiqués of your day. Now, you open your inbox and it is filled with junk – offers for organ enlargement, porn sites, cheap prescriptions, scams, and more. And, spammers are finding more ingenious ways of spreading their message. It truly is the new arms race, with the stakes escalating every day. In this talk, industry veteran Stephen McHenry shows the techniques used by spammers to gather addresses and send unwanted email. He also covers – in detail – what can be done to stop the flood.

Team Organization

There are numerous types of team organizations. We have teams in many areas, including sports. In sports, each team is organized in a way that maximizes the potential success of the group. However, in software, significantly less attention is given to the organization of the team. In this talk, industry veteran Stephen McHenry discusses the various team organizations and how they affect the potential of an engineering effort, from new product development to finding a critical bug at a customer site.

Best Practices in Scheduling and Estimating

At the heart of every software project is a schedule. The entire project (ultimately ) lives and/or dies by the schedule. Yet, estimating and scheduling is one of the biggest black arts in software development. Get it right and no one even thinks twice. Get it wrong, and the results could be project cancellation and even layoff of the entire project team. In this talk, industry veteran Stephen McHenry discusses what it takes to accurately estimate a software project, and how to keep it on schedule as it progresses.

The 10 Best Ways to Kill Your Project

Everyone knows one or two, but in this (tongue-in-cheek) talk, industry veteran Stephen McHenry presents the 10 best ways to kill any software development effort, regardless of your organization. Of course, if you’d prefer success, you should avoid all the things mentioned here.