Almost three years ago, Steve Smith, Rich Henning, and I founded the Hudson Software Craftsmanship Group (HudsonSC) in Hudson Ohio. We scheduled our first meeting for August 19, 2009 and we had plenty of people show up. Since that time, similar groups have sprung up in NE Ohio and other areas around the country. It’s really neat to watch as the software craftsmanship community grows. There are other groups, dojos, workshops, etc. all over the place.
Our group has been a model of other groups around the area as well. Brian Friesen attended one of our meetings as a bit of research before starting the Knoxville Software Craftsmanship Group. Brian Friesen is quite dedicated, because the drive up to HudsonSC is over 8 hours. What that means is, if you’re in that area and want to attend a meeting with a dedicated software craftsman, check their website regularly they’ve always got their meetings posted.
Our number of attendees fluctuates between highs of 20-30 people down to lows of 5-10 people. We’re usually somewhere between 10 and 20 attendees. These numbers are great for a group like ours. If you get much larger than this, it becomes nearly impossible to have a discussion.
How Software Craftsmanship Groups Stand Out
We’re not eyes-front, pay attention to a speaker kinds of groups. If that’s what you’re looking for, HudsonSC is not for you. There are plenty of groups that meet every month across the world that have this format. We focus on discussions and self-organization. Our members suggest topics they want to discuss. We try to get everyone contributing instead of just taking notes on someone else’s “wisdom”. Everyone in our group has something to bring to the table and adds value to the community as a whole. You can take notes after the meeting.
HudsonSC’s Agenda:
- Introduction
- Lightning Talks, Show and Tell, and Opening Discussions
- Open Spaces and/or Group Discussions
- Exercises (usually programming)
Our members bring laptops to the meetings so that we can write some code and pair with other people. Our group is not buried in their laptops nor is it tweeting away. When you attend a software craftsmanship group, you participate in the event. You are the speaker!
Third Anniversary
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it’s been nearly 3 years since we founded the group. Our third anniversary meeting has been scheduling and you can sign up for it now. The event is going to be held on August 15, 2012.
To celebrate this event, we’re going to have a spectacular evening or talking, discussions, and programming exercises.
I look forward to seeing you at our next HudsonSC. If you’re not in the area, go check out your nearest software craftsmanship group!
Sign up for HudsonSC here!
Comments