QCon is a practitioner-driven conference designed for technical team leads, architects, and project managers who influence software innovation in their teams.

Tim Lister, A Principal of the Atlantic Systems Guild, Inc.

Tim Lister

Biography: Tim Lister

Tim Lister is a Principal of the Atlantic Systems Guild, Inc., based in the New York office. He divides his time between consulting, teaching, and writing. He has over 30 years of professional software development experience.

Before the formation of the Atlantic Systems Guild, he worked at Yourdon Inc. from 1975 to 1983. At Yourdon he was an Executive Vice President and Fellow, in charge of all instructor/consultants, the technical content of all courses, and the quality of all consultations. He holds an A.B. from Brown University, and is a member of the I.E.E.E. and the A.C.M. He also serves as a panelist for the American Arbitration Association, arbitrating disputes involving software and software services, and has served as an expert witness in litigation proceedings involving software problems.

Tim is co-author with Tom DeMarco of the new book, Waltzing With Bears: Managing Software Project Risk [Dorset House, 2003]. Tim and Tom are also co-authors of Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, 2nd edition [Dorset House, 1999]. Peopleware has been a book club selection of the Library of Computer and Information Sciences, and has been translated into seven languages.

Presentation: Forty Years of Teams

Time: Thursday 09:00 - 09:50 / Location: Fleming

Addison-Wesley published the 3rd Edition of Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams in June 2013. Tim Lister and Tom DeMarco wrote the 1st Edition back in 1987. 2014 is Tim's 41st year in the business.

In his talk Tim will describe his work as a colleague, as an apprentice, as a mentor, and as a mediator.
He will describe how team dynamics have changed over the years, and how they bring new challenges to tight collaboration.

Presentation: Risk Management is Project Management For Grown-Ups

Track: People over Process in the Real World / Time: Thursday 10:20 - 11:10 / Location: Churchill Auditorium

Many organizations are childlike. They blithely plan each project as if nothing will go wrong. And then, when something does go wrong, they are shocked and dismayed. Risk management is not just worrying about your project, and it is not about running away from risk. Risk management for software projects is all about when you make decisions and when you take action. How do you deal with uncertainty? When do you decide to deal with a risk while it is still just a risk, and when do you decide to wait to see if the risk does turn into a problem and manage it then?

When done with utmost skill and to its greatest advantage, risk management starts before a project is even born. (And how do projects get started in your organization?) Tim Lister presents the advantages—and the dangers—of practicing risk management in an adult-like fashion. Tim offers a process for you to consider tailoring for your organization and discusses how your organization can grow up.