You’re Agile. You write User Stories. Now what? The next step is often to turn those User Stories into executable tests that can help you validate the proper behavior of your complex software systems. Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) is the engine that can help to drive this process on your project. The logical evolution of the often too fine-grained process of Test-Driven Development, BDD not only represents a somewhat different technical practice but, more importantly, it also suggests an entirely different way of thinking about your system and the way in which you test it.

In this session we will begin with a series of simple User Stories and demonstrate how the BDD process supports our codifying these User Stories into a series of “executable specifications” that can be used to validate the proper functionality of our complex software system. We will work at first without any of the complex overhead of so-called ‘BDD Frameworks’ to demonstrate the important concepts of BDD and then move on to investigate how and why one might look to use various ‘BDD Frameworks’ to offload some of the repetitive work often involved in the BDD process. Attendees should expect to leave with a good understanding of both the conceptual process that is Behavior-Driven Development as well as some of the technical practices that can help support its successful adoption.

The ideal attendee will have several years’ experience in developing complex software solutions. Some understanding of the role of User Stories in the Agile software development process is helpful but not required. Prior exposure to the concepts behind automated unit testing is assumed, but deep unit testing experience is not required.

Currently a Senior Software Engineer for SpringSource where he is the Technical Lead and Community Evangelist for the Spring.NET Framework, Stephen brings his varied 18-year-plus experience as a former practicing Architect, CAD Manager, IT Technologist, Software Engineer, CTO, and consultant to the design and delivery of Software Engineering Solutions and Frameworks for other Software Engineers.

Stephen is an active contributor to several Open-Source Software projects including NHibernate, NDbUnit, and others as well having developed a number of Visual Studio productivity add-ins.

Active in the local NYC software development community, Stephen speaks publicly, blogs (semi-)regularly, and is the author of several popular screencast series focused on Agile and ALT.NET concepts and technologies including the widely-praised 15-part Summer of NHibernate video series introducing viewers to the popular open-source O/RM tool and the Autumn of Agile series that takes viewers through the design, planning, and construction of an entire .NET project in an Agile context. He is also a contributor of a number of shorter screencasts available on Dimecasts.NET and elsewhere.

Stephen is also a founding/organizing member of the NYC ALT.NET user group which meets monthly to discuss Agile-focused techniques and technologies in the world of Microsoft software development and beyond.

Prior to joining SpringSource, Stephen was a Senior Software Engineer for Skiff, LLC focused on developing an e-Reading platform for digital content publishers which was ultimately acquired by NewsCorp. Before that, Stephen spent many years as a Senior Solutions Architect and Project Manager for Microdesk’s software consulting practice where he oversaw the development and delivery of numerous software solutions for Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Real Estate firms. Before becoming completely immersed in software development, Stephen spent years as a both a practicing architect and CAD Manager for architecture and engineering companies developing custom CAD software extensions, implementing CAD Standards, and supervising network design and implementations.

Stephen holds a BS in Architecture from The Ohio State University and is a proudly uncertified SCRUM Master.

For a comprehensive list of Community and Educational Activities Stephen has been involved in, see this page.

Ian Robinson
Building Rich User Interaction with Knockout JS

Knockout JS is a popular open-source library which is now being used in DotNetNuke 6.2 to build very powerful interactive interfaces. The library is characterized by four major features: declarative bindings, automatic UI refresh, dependency tracking and templating. This session will dive into these Knockout features and also discuss the MVVM pattern it uses. We’ll also take a look at how Knockout is used in DotNetNuke 6.2 and walk through a real world example of using the DNN service framework and Knockout JS to build a rich DotNetNuke file browser.

Please note: This session is intended for those with a good working knowledge of JavaScript and a basic understanding of DotNetNuke architecture.

Ian Robinson is a Software Engineer with a passion for developing creative and powerful web-based solutions. Working primarily with and within the DotNetNuke framework, Ian has notably developed solutions for businesses in the healthcare and mobile industries. Ian is a frequent presenter at conferences, the leader of the St. Louis DotNetNuke User Group, an experienced instructor of DotNetNuke training courses, and is co-founder of dnnGallery, a website that showcases high quality DotNetNuke sites from around the world.

Monday, May 21, 2012 5:30 - 6:00 pm Food and social 6:00 - 7:30 pm Program	Location: One City Place Drive Suite 1100 Creve Coeur, MO 63141 [MAP]	Sponsor:

You’re Agile. You write User Stories. Now what? The next step is often to turn those User Stories into executable tests that can help you validate the proper behavior of your complex software systems. Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) is the engine that can help to drive this process on your project. The logical evolution of the often too fine-grained process of Test-Driven Development, BDD not only represents a somewhat different technical practice but, more importantly, it also suggests an entirely different way of thinking about your system and the way in which you test it.

In this session we will begin with a series of simple User Stories and demonstrate how the BDD process supports our codifying these User Stories into a series of “executable specifications” that can be used to validate the proper functionality of our complex software system. We will work at first without any of the complex overhead of so-called ‘BDD Frameworks’ to demonstrate the important concepts of BDD and then move on to investigate how and why one might look to use various ‘BDD Frameworks’ to offload some of the repetitive work often involved in the BDD process. Attendees should expect to leave with a good understanding of both the conceptual process that is Behavior-Driven Development as well as some of the technical practices that can help support its successful adoption.

The ideal attendee will have several years’ experience in developing complex software solutions. Some understanding of the role of User Stories in the Agile software development process is helpful but not required. Prior exposure to the concepts behind automated unit testing is assumed, but deep unit testing experience is not required.

Currently a Senior Software Engineer for SpringSource where he is the Technical Lead and Community Evangelist for the Spring.NET Framework, Stephen brings his varied 18-year-plus experience as a former practicing Architect, CAD Manager, IT Technologist, Software Engineer, CTO, and consultant to the design and delivery of Software Engineering Solutions and Frameworks for other Software Engineers.

Stephen is an active contributor to several Open-Source Software projects including NHibernate, NDbUnit, and others as well having developed a number of Visual Studio productivity add-ins.

Active in the local NYC software development community, Stephen speaks publicly, blogs (semi-)regularly, and is the author of several popular screencast series focused on Agile and ALT.NET concepts and technologies including the widely-praised 15-part Summer of NHibernate video series introducing viewers to the popular open-source O/RM tool and the Autumn of Agile series that takes viewers through the design, planning, and construction of an entire .NET project in an Agile context. He is also a contributor of a number of shorter screencasts available on Dimecasts.NET and elsewhere.

Stephen is also a founding/organizing member of the NYC ALT.NET user group which meets monthly to discuss Agile-focused techniques and technologies in the world of Microsoft software development and beyond.

Prior to joining SpringSource, Stephen was a Senior Software Engineer for Skiff, LLC focused on developing an e-Reading platform for digital content publishers which was ultimately acquired by NewsCorp. Before that, Stephen spent many years as a Senior Solutions Architect and Project Manager for Microdesk’s software consulting practice where he oversaw the development and delivery of numerous software solutions for Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Real Estate firms. Before becoming completely immersed in software development, Stephen spent years as a both a practicing architect and CAD Manager for architecture and engineering companies developing custom CAD software extensions, implementing CAD Standards, and supervising network design and implementations.

Stephen holds a BS in Architecture from The Ohio State University and is a proudly uncertified SCRUM Master.

For a comprehensive list of Community and Educational Activities Stephen has been involved in, see this page.