Roundtable Discussions

10:15 to 11:15

Hosted by Siemens - The purpose of this roundtable is to share information on an enterprise-level user provisioning solution that automates account creation and removal based on users' roles within the organization. From protecting your network infrastructure to ensuring business continuity, Siemens will lead a discussion on ways to implement solutions that safeguard your enterprise and information assets. Come share your experiences.

11:30 to 12:30

Hosted by Novell - The purpose of this roundtable is to join in a discussion on why an organization might want to unleash the potential of Open Source on the desktop within their environment and why it might make sense.

LUNCH

1:00 to 2:00

Hosted by Coraxis Corporation -The purpose of this roundtable is to join in a discussion about implementing low cost, effective quality assurance and testing.  Sanjeev Batta, president of Coraxis Corporation, will moderate a round table discussion on how to implement effective quality assurance and software testing at a low cost. Quality Assurance and effective software testing practices are often sacrificed in projects with tight budgets and short development cycles, which results in higher levels of software defects. The session will be facilitated and moderated by Mr. Batta, but will rely heavily on the contributions and input of the attendees. The goal is to identify different approaches and techniques that agencies have tried and identify innovative ideas for implementing quality assurance in the software development process. This session is targeted at IT Project Managers.

2:15 to 3:15

Hosted by Xerox Corporation. - The purpose of this roundtable is to share successes and challenges of total output management.  Please join the Xerox Consulting and Management team to discuss asset consolidation, reducing printing and device management, optimizing network output infrastructure and streamlining document output processes. Refreshments will be provided.

3:30 to 5:00

Hosted by the Project Management Institute (PMI) - The purpose of this roundtable is to learn about the Project Management Institute.  Join the PMI Olympia Chapter in the Cheney Room for a brief presentation to learn more about the Project Management Institute, its Olympia Chapter and the Project Management Professional credentialing program.  At the conclusion of the presentation PMI members will be on hand to network and answer your questions.  We look forward to getting to know you and sharing more about our great organizational.  Light refreshments will be served.

10:15 to 11:15

Hosted by WA state Department of General Administration (GA) - The purpose of this roundtable is to share information related to the current GA contracting program 32100 as well as recent and future activities related to this program. GA develops and administers contracts for goods and services on behalf of state agencies, colleges and universities select non profit organizations, and local governments.  Utilizing delegations of authority from the Information Services Board and the Office of Financial Management, GA provides its customers with access to a pool of pre-qualified Information Technology Purchased Services and Personal Services vendors through a streamlined two-tier competitive process. Please drop in see what happening in the world of contracts.

11:30 to 12:30

Hosted by Departing of Printing (PRT) – The purpose of this roundtable is to answer questions relating to Print Management and Print Assessments.  Guy Cranor, the contracting manager for the Department of Printing will be available to answer your questions regarding: What is Print Management, What does Print Management allow, What are the benefits of Print Management, and What is the first step to Print Management.  He will also discuss why a Print Assessment is necessary, and what a comprehensive Print Assessment should provide.

LUNCH

1:00 to 2:00

Hosted by Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and The Software Revolution Inc. (TSRI) - The purpose of this roundtable is to discuss different approaches and challenges for legacy system retirements.  

Joe Egan, OSPI IT Director, will discuss their Apportionment System Re-Hosting project wherein TSRI automated the transformation of several thousand lines of COBOL, JCL and system screens into the agencies prescribed C# .Net architecture, while simultaneously transforming the underlying database from Open VMS RMS to Microsoft SQL.  James Chittenden, Microsoft .NET Architect, will lead a discussion on the benefits of the .Net environment.  Dennis Laine, Technologies Solutions Group (TSG) will describe the project’s status and its expected impact on OSPI’s operations and budget to help other state agencies in understanding this legacy migration option.  Greg Tadlock, TSRI, will provide several case studies on other successful automated migration projects and lead a discussion on the issues to consider when planning such a migration.

2:15 to 3:15

Hosted by Milestone - The purpose of this roundtable is to discuss the approaches and techniques used to convert the legacy Apportionment System at OSPI. This round table will discuss the phases and timelines, transformed architecture, future targeted architecture, converted code, testing approach, testing tools, and an approach to make improvements to the system to meet critical business needs

3:30 to 5:00

Hosted by Coraxis Corporation - The purpose of this roundtable is to join in a discussion about unleashing the potential of IT staffs   Jack Tollefson, vice-president of Coraxis Corporation, will lead this round table discussion which will explore different approaches that can be taken to enhance the productivity of all IT technical staff. Today's leading software development tools like Microsoft Visual Studio .Net 2005 are huge, powerful, and complex. Using them to their full potential to develop scalable, reusable, n-tier solutions places often overwhelms the capabilities of the developers doing the work. Does classroom training really work? How can you monitor the progress of your staff's technical skills toward what these tools demand? How can your staff help each other learn the ins and outs of these powerful development tools? This session will rely heavily on the input and suggestions from the participants. It is targeted at IT Project Managers, Technical Leads, developers and programmers.