ADVOCACY IS A TWO WAY STREET
By Jim Murphy, Director Infrastructure Management of Pepperweed Consulting and Vivit Board of Director
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Vivit has the role of providing an environment where HP Software and its customers come together to share best practices, tips and tricks, and lessons learned. We also have the opportunity to communicate directly to HP as a group, to let HP know what challenges we are facing that we believe they should pay attention to. This has worked well to raise the issue of software support. HP is working to improve software support; however it will take time to improve support services. In the mean time, there are other opportunities for Vivit to communicate and collaborate with HP. |
As Vivit works with the teams at HP, we find opportunities where an HP team would like to reach out to us and collaborate. As an advocacy group, we look for ways to provide a channel for HP to learn about additional issues that are important to the membership. We understand that many of you have chosen to make HP Software part of your careers, and have paid for membership out of your own pocket. Because of this Vivit does not share our membership list with HP. So advocacy has to take the form of survey’s or other activities where content is shared without providing personal membership information.
Currently we are working on two such opportunities. HP is interested in working with Vivit to create a survey to find out what additional issues, other than support, are on our collective minds. Secondly, we are starting to work on the 2009 HP Software Universe program, and would be interested in your thoughts on what content you would like to see at the next show. Answer the question, "my job would be easier if I could learn _____ at the next HP Software Universe".
In the coming quarter Vivit may be asking you to participate in a survey around these two subjects. When we ask, please take the time to answer. Vivit is the people, in process and technology, let’s make our voice heard, and move our companies and careers forward.
HP SOFTWARE UNIVERSE IN VIENNA
Customer registration has now opened for HP Software Universe 2008. HP Software Universe runs from Dec 9th to 11th at the Austria Center, Vienna. The conference will cover the latest updates on the HP Software portfolio and solutions. Registrations can be completed online at
www.hp.com/eur/software/universe2008
Vivit Supporting Members receive a 100 Euro discount when registering for the conference. Become a Vivit Supporting Member Today!
HP SOFTWARE EMEA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 2008 -
SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 10TH!
There is still time for you to submit your success to the third annual HP Software Awards of Excellence for the EMEA region. The 2008 awards honor customers using HP Software solutions in effective and innovative ways to deliver business value. Let HP know what you're doing to drive the success of your business or organization.
If you are an HP Software customer in the EMEA region, have had successful implementation that has been fully integrated or in production for at least 6 months, are willing to publicly share quantifiable metrics and can show your valuable business outcome as a result of the project, then you qualify for the awards.
The awards offer customers the opportunity to be recognized for their accomplishments within their own IT organization, their business leaders and with other industry peers. The award winners will be honored at HP Software Universe in Vienna.
Don't forget that submissions will be accepted UNTIL October 10th, 2008 and the winners will be notified during the first week of November. For a detailed description on how to apply for an online submission, visit http://h30046.www3.hp.com/country/us/en/portal/awards.php.
OCTOBER CHAPTER EVENT REGISTRATION LINKS
PITTSBURGH REGIONAL'S OCTOBER CHAPTER MEETING
CIBER Inc. is hosting the VIVIT Pittsburgh Regional Chapter meeting on Monday, October 13, 2008 from 4:00 to 6:00pm. This meeting is for HP solution users like you to network with other users, learn tricks of the trade by local experts and see who's who in the tech industry in our region. Don't miss three practical presentations:
- Configuring HP Dashboard: How to Make it Work for Your Organization
- Migrating data into Quality Center from Bugzilla/Clarify
- QTP Descriptive Programming Methodology
There will be a light dinner and refreshments provided. Don't miss the opportunity to be part of your local HP software user's community. Register for the October 13, 2008 meeting today!
https://www.vivit-worldwide.org/chapters.cfm?id=122&action=event&contentid=938&chapterid=160&chaptereventid=421
Be sure to bookmark the Pittsburgh Regional Chapter (formerly Pittsburgh Mercury Users Group). We're adding new members every day!
http://www.vivit-worldwide.org/chapters.cfm?action=chapter&chapterid=160
THE VIVIT FLORIDA REGIONAL CHAPTER ANNOUNCES
ITS FIRST MEETING!
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 22nd, from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST
Location:
Checkpoint Technologies Training Center
1002 118th Avenue North
St. Petersburg, FL 33716
Drinks and finger foods will be provided.
There will be two presentations provided by HP certified experts!
- Configuring HP Dashboard – How to Make it Work for Your Organization
- Implementing HP Business Availability Center
If for any reason one of the above presentations cannot be provided a presentation on BPT will be substituted.
- Success with HP Business Process Testing
We look forward to seeing you there!
Please feel free to contact Paul Shovlin (pshovlin@checkpointech.com) with any questions or call the Checkpoint Technologies office at 727.568.0386
MIDWEST REGIONAL JOINT VIVIT HP SOFTWARE USERS GROUP MEETING
DATES:
October 23rd - 7:00PM – 10:00PM
Social Event - Rock Bottom Brewery – West Des Moines, Iowa
October 24th - 8:00AM – 1:00PM – Joint Vivit Meeting Wells Fargo – Mountain Meadows 1G
800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy
West Des Moines, IA 50266
Cost: Free!!
Save the date, Oct 24th, and register for a very exciting inaugural regional Vivit event. Several of the chapter leaders from the Midwest chapters have decided to get together and present a larger scale, regional meeting. The local chapters are Kansas City, Iowa, Minnesota and St. Louis.
This meeting will be hosted by our good friends at Wells Fargo at their facility in beautiful West Des Moines, Iowa. The event is being held the first half of Friday, October 24th with an informal social gathering the evening before. The intent was to give attendees the opportunity to travel to Des Moines the evening before the event, meet with other Vivit members, attend the event and be able to travel home in time for the weekend.
A list of area hotels will be provided for those travelling in the evening before. There is a block of rooms held at the Fairfield Inn & Suites- Des Moines West available at a group rate of about $99 (Call the hotel direct at 515-225-6100) if you wish to stay in one centralized location. While the event is at no cost to you, travel and accommodations are the responsibility of the individual.
We will have an exciting agenda with presentations and breakout sessions. In an effort to satisfy all Vivit members attending we would like any suggestions for breakout sessions to be sent to your local chapter leaders so they can coordinate that and make any updates to the event agenda.
The following interest groups are currently identified:
- Load Runner
- Quality Center
- QuickTest Pro
MEET AN OUTSTANDING MEMBER OF THE VIVIT COMMUNITY
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Chris Scharer
Sr. SQA Consultant
Net-Integrated Consulting (NIC)
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Christopher is a Sr. SQA Consultant for Net-Integrated Consulting (NIC). Chris is currently responsible for the development, implementation, maintenance and training of HP's automated testing and defect tracking tools with NIC’s clients.
Chris works closely with business analysts in the Health Care industry identifying opportunities where businesses can benefit from test automation and improve their IT processes and governance practices through the use of the HP Quality Center’s tools. One of the first solutions implemented at a client site was to redefine the workflow for WinRunner automated testing using a data-driven approach with Action Words. Using a data-driven approach with Action Words has enabled the client to break down the applications into smaller business functions (Action Words) to increase the coverage and speed of their automated testing. Similarly, Chris is implementing the data-driven framework with QTP to be used with new applications using the same methodology for any project to test any type of application. This framework also will tie into Quality Center. The positive effects of integrating the Action Word methodology with existing QA processes and knowledge of HP tools is quickly increasing the demand for further use of the automated tools gaining client’s executive level buy-in and support. Chris works to drive the implementation of Quality Center as well as other resources including financial and time management components of HP's Project & Portfolio Management (PPM).
Chris has been a member of Vivit for the past year and more recently joined as a volunteer to help monitor the discussion forums and share his knowledge. Chris has also created a group on LinkedIn named "Vivit HP Software User Group" which he hopes will not only assist in discussions between all Vivit members, but also help encourage other LinkedIn members that use HP products to join the group and join Vivit and their local chapters. If you are a LinkedIn member you can join by clicking on the following link http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=874417.
Chris lives in West Des Moines, Iowa and enjoys exercise, cooking and movies.
Want to join the active ranks of Vivit volunteers?
Click here for some ideas on how you can contribute your time and services
or email volunteer@vivit-worldwide.org
On Wednesday evening, September 17, 2008, John Yuva suffered a massive heart attack and did not survive. It was heartbreaking to hear about this unfortunate passing of one of Vivit’s dedicated volunteers and friend. John was a member of Vivit and served on our Program Committee for HP Software Universe for June 2008. He was also a presenter for one of Vivit’s training sessions that was held in Las Vegas in June at HP Software Universe. Aside from being part of the Program Committee for Vivit, John was one of the Chapter Leaders for our NY/NJ Metro Chapter. For his day job, he was the QA Manager for CT Corp., a Wolters Klewer Company and resided in New York City. In addition to enjoying all of the cultural and dinning opportunities that New York City offers, John also enjoyed traveling, scuba diving, playing soccer, and running. He was an accomplished Backgammon and Monopoly game player.
Though the team here at Vivit only had the opportunity to work with John for a short while, we were thankful to have had the chance to do so. We grew to know John over the past year. He was a wonderful person, and like many of you, we will miss the warmth and kindness he displayed. We wanted to take this opportunity to show our appreciation for all that he has done for the community.
HP'S PUBLIC TRAINING PROMOTION
HP is running a Public Training Promotion in Canada, the United States and in Asia Pac during the months of August – October 2008.
During the promotional period, HP is going to give each student who completes 4 - 5 days of public classroom training a 2GB iPod shuffle. Any student, who completes 6 or more days, will receive an 8GB iPod nano. While HP is not allowing other students to enter additional discounts on top of this offer, they would like to extend this offer to Vivit Supporting Members ONLY, the special offer of the iPod promotion on top of their 10% discount on public training classes. Members just need to enter promo code VIVIT10 in the discount box at registration check out to qualify for this offer.
You can read more details about the promotion on the web pages below.
US/Canada offer: http://merc-training.cce.hp.com/main/news.cfm?go=ShuffleAMS
Asia Pacific offer: http://merc-training.cce.hp.com/main/news.cfm?go=ShuffleAPJ
A NEW INTERACTIVE RESOURCE FOR VIVIT MEMBERS
Now you can access more than 150 HP Software Universe sessions online! HP Software Universe Online lets you see and hear the same information-packed sessions that earned the praise of attendees at HP Software Universe 2008—whenever you want to, wherever you are.
With HP Software Universe Online, you can:
- View video screencasts of HP customers, partners and other experts presenting their best practices and case studies
- Explore strategies that address your top IT concerns—including business and IT alignment, application quality management, service management, and data center transformation
- Enhance your expertise with the HP Software tools you use every day
- Access the 10 most popular sessions from HP Software Universe 2008
- Find the sessions most useful to you, quickly and easily, with keyword search of titles and abstracts
HP Software Universe Online is part of our commitment to help Vivit members get the most out of the HP Software solutions they own and explore new solutions to their IT challenges. Register now. And since HP will be adding new features, visit often.
NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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Dear Vivit Colleagues,
"Advocacy" is the latest topic for our newsletter. Now more than ever, the Vivit community relies on its own shared expertise—hands-on professional users who convey their experiences, problems, critiques, and overall wisdom to other users, as well as to decision-makers at HP. |
Such vital interaction makes your user community an important tool in the arsenal of accomplishment for all of us who deploy HP software. Along the way, you’re encountering novel challenges, opening the door to new solutions, and contributing to the overall knowledgebase of the profession.
Vivit has worked closely with HP support during these past 12 months to ensure that that the voices of all Vivit members are heard at the top, and that our feedback on necessary product enhancements is shared with the appropriate group at HP. So that the highly-informed voices of Vivit’s members continue to be influential, Jim Murphy (an esteemed Vivit board member), has agreed to become the designated champion for User Advocacy in the coming year.
Jim will be reaching out to many of you in the coming months to elicit your insights and your feedback. All appropriate information will be shared with HP. Together as a strong voice for the community, you and your colleagues can keep making a meaningful difference.
Jim is the ideal professional for this role. He is a long-time member of the Vivit community, a founding chapter leader, and a pillar of the organization. He understands what it takes to resolve a difficult situation, to bring the correct analysis to bear, and to engage the appropriate resources from within the community in order to keep raising the bar of excellence.
Please join me in welcoming Jim Murphy to this significant new role! Like all of you, he embodies, service, professionalism, and vast technical as well as business experience.
As always, if you have any questions or just want to share your stories with me and the group, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.
Regards,
Donna Farmer
Executive Director
Cell: 1-646-414-9895
dfarmer@torllc.com
Join me on www.linkedin.com
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