Learning Culture @ LevelTen

We will start of this decade with a renewed dedication to enhancing the learning culture at LevelTen. In a constantly evolving industry like ours, continuous education is crucial. Here are just some of the things we have planned this year:

1) Project Management Book Club – This year our PM team book club celebrates its two year anniversary! I credit this group for helping LevelTen smoothly transition from waterfall to agile development. The team meets once a week to discuss Project Management ideas and processes. We are currently reading Succeeding with Agile by Mike Cohn Past books include: Agile Project Management with Scrum by Ken Schwaber User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development by Mike Cohn Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn Agile and Iterative Development: A Manager's Guide by Craig Larman

2) ScrumMaster and Product Owner Certification – After years of reading Mike Cohn’s books, we’re finally going to get some personal training. This February, Rachel, Tom, and I will take Mike’s ScrumMaster and Product Owner Certification courses. We’ve got a list of questions ready for him and we’re already looking forward to passing our exams and joining the Scrum Alliance.

3) DrupalCon – Last year, Tom and Dustin represented LevelTen at DrupalCon in Washington D.C. Needless to say, the “left behinds” revolted. This year, a large group of us will be heading west to attend DrupalCon San Francisco on April 19th to 21st, 2010. We are really looking forward to learning more about the world's best CMS and meeting other members of the Drupal community.

4) Lunch & Learn Series – Every Wednesday, we get together for a catered lunch and a lecture presented by one of the team members. Topics range from setting up subversion to new Drupal module demos. This is a great opportunity for cross-training, polishing presentations, and enjoying a free lunch with friends.

5) Think & Drink Series – Work hard; Play hard - that's what we do here at LevelTen. True to our motto, we meet every Friday around 4 for an informal discussion about how we work with each other and with our clients. During our weekly "thinning of the herd" we share new discoveries or brainstorm better ways of getting things done.

In addition to these activities, we’ll all still continue to research, blog and attend professional and social networking meetings like DFW Scrum, Social Media Club and the North Texas Drupal Users group. It’s great to work in an environment that supports and encourages continuing education. It not only benefits the team and the company, it helps us all better serve our clients.

image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elycefeliz/3199065486/