Software development projects are just different. They’re often high-risk ventures with extremely complex interrelationships, filled with uncertainties, dependent on scarce knowledge workers, and much more. So, the leadership style and skills needed to be successful are quite different from those needed in simple, stable projects that run through organizations. Kent McDonald introduces his Context Leadership Model, an important managers’ tool that uses the project characteristics of uncertainty and complexity to provide guidance for project leadership and governance. Kent demonstrates how to assess the characteristics of a project, how to choose the project leadership approach based on those characteristics, and how to tailor it for unique situations.

How often have you been in a situation where you could see the solution and yet did not have the authority to make a change? You tried persuasion; you tried selling your ideas; you might have even tried friendly manipulation to get your way. And nothing worked. Here’s a new plan. We can learn to develop and use personal power and influence to effect positive changes in our companies. Johanna Rothman describes how we can be specific about the result we want, look for what’s in it for everyone, and consider short- and long-term options to foster change while acting congruently and authentically. Although it’s not easy to do, with preparation and persistence you can transform yourself into a person with personal influence. When you’re influential, you build your power and, by extension, your informal authority in the organization.

Lightning Talks have been a popular part of many STAR conferences. Lightning Talk session consists of a series of five-minute talks by different speakers within one presentation period and are an opportunity to deliver their single biggest bang-for-the-buck idea in a rapid-fire presentation.

The best software development teams find ways for programmers and testers to work closely together. These teams recognize that programmers and testers each bring their own unique strengths and perspectives to the project. However, working in agile teams requires us to unlearn many of the patterns that traditional development taught us. In this interactive session with Nate Oster, learn how to use the agile practice of concurrent testing to overcome common testing dysfunctions by having programmers and testers work together-rather than against each other-to deliver quality results throughout an iteration. Join Nate and practice concurrent testing with games that demonstrate just how powerfully the wrong approaches can act against your best efforts and how agile techniques can help you escape the cycle of poor quality and late delivery.