Agile/Scrum Training Classes in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Learn Agile/Scrum in Grand Rapids, Michigan and surrounding areas via our hands-on, expert led courses. All of our classes either are offered on an onsite, online or public instructor led basis. Here is a list of our current Agile/Scrum related training offerings in Grand Rapids, Michigan: Agile/Scrum Training
Agile/Scrum Training Catalog
Course Directory [training on all levels]
- .NET Classes
- Agile/Scrum Classes
- Ajax Classes
- Android and iPhone Programming Classes
- Blaze Advisor Classes
- C Programming Classes
- C# Programming Classes
- C++ Programming Classes
- Cisco Classes
- Cloud Classes
- CompTIA Classes
- Crystal Reports Classes
- Design Patterns Classes
- DevOps Classes
- Foundations of Web Design & Web Authoring Classes
- Git, Jira, Wicket, Gradle, Tableau Classes
- IBM Classes
- Java Programming Classes
- JBoss Administration Classes
- JUnit, TDD, CPTC, Web Penetration Classes
- Linux Unix Classes
- Machine Learning Classes
- Microsoft Classes
- Microsoft Development Classes
- Microsoft SQL Server Classes
- Microsoft Team Foundation Server Classes
- Microsoft Windows Server Classes
- Oracle, MySQL, Cassandra, Hadoop Database Classes
- Perl Programming Classes
- Python Programming Classes
- Ruby Programming Classes
- Security Classes
- SharePoint Classes
- SOA Classes
- Tcl, Awk, Bash, Shell Classes
- UML Classes
- VMWare Classes
- Web Development Classes
- Web Services Classes
- Weblogic Administration Classes
- XML Classes
- VMware vSphere 8.0 Boot Camp
10 June, 2024 - 14 June, 2024 - ASP.NET Core MVC, Rev. 6.0
19 August, 2024 - 20 August, 2024 - Introduction to Spring 5 (2022)
15 July, 2024 - 17 July, 2024 - OpenShift Fundamentals
24 June, 2024 - 26 June, 2024 - RED HAT ENTERPRISE LINUX V7 DIFFERENCES
13 May, 2024 - 15 May, 2024 - See our complete public course listing
Blog Entries publications that: entertain, make you think, offer insight
Let’s face it, fad or not, companies are starting to ask themselves how they could possibly use machine learning and AI technologies in their organization. Many are being lured by the promise of profits by discovering winning patterns with algorithms that will enable solid predictions… The reality is that most technology and business professionals do not have sufficient understanding of how machine learning works and where it can be applied. For a lot of firms, the focus still tends to be on small-scale changes instead of focusing on what really matters…tackling their approach to machine learning.
In the recent Wall Street Journal article, Machine Learning at Scale Remains Elusive for Many Firms, Steven Norton captures interesting comments from the industry’s data science experts. In the article, he quotes panelists from the MIT Digital Economy Conference in NYC, on businesses current practices with AI and machine learning. All agree on the fact that, for all the talk of Machine Learning and AI’s potential in the enterprise, many firms aren’t yet equipped to take advantage of it fully.
Panelist, Michael Chui, partner at McKinsey Global Institute states that “If a company just mechanically says OK, I’ll automate this little activity here and this little activity there, rather than re-thinking the entire process and how it can be enabled by technology, they usually get very little value out of it. “Few companies have deployed these technologies in a core business process or at scale.”
Panelist, Hilary Mason, general manager at Cloudera Inc., had this to say, “With very few exceptions, every company we work with wants to start with a cost-savings application of automation.” “Most organizations are not set up to do this well.”
I suspect that many of you are familiar with the term "hard coding a value" whereby the age of an individual or their location is written into the condition (or action) of a business rule (in this case) as shown below:
if customer.age > 21 and customer.city == 'denver'
then ...
Such coding practices are perfectly expectable provided that the conditional values, age and city, never change. They become entirely unacceptable if a need for different values could be anticipated. A classic example of where this practice occurred that caused considerable heartache in the IT industry was the Y2K issue where dates were updated using only the last 2 digits of a four digit number because the first 2 digits were hard-coded to 19 i.e. 1998, 1999. All was well provided that the date did not advance to a time beyond the 1900’s since no one could be certain of what would happen when the millennia arrived (2000). A considerably amount of work (albeit boring) and money, approximately $200 billion, went into revising systems by way of software rewrites and computer chip replacements in order to thwart any detrimental outcomes. It is obvious how a simple change or an assumption can have sweeping consequences.
You may wonder what Y2K has to do with Business Rule Management Systems (BRMS). Well, what if we considered rules themselves to be hard-coded. If we were to write 100s of rules in Java, .NET or whatever language that only worked for a given scenario or assumption, would that not constitute hard-coded logic? By hard-coded, we obviously mean compiled. For example, if a credit card company has a variety of bonus campaigns, each with their own unique list of rules that may change within a week’s time, what would be the most effective way of writing software to deal with these responsibilities?
Back in the late 90's, there were a number of computer scienctists claiming to know java in hopes of landing a job for $80k+/year. In fact, I know a woman you did just that: land a project management position with a large telecom and have no experience whatsoever. I guess the company figured that some talent was better than no talent and that, with some time and training, she would be productive. Like all gravey train stories, that one, too, had an end. After only a year, she was given a pink slip.
Not only are those days over, job prospects for the IT professional have become considerably more demanding. Saying you know java today is like saying you know that you have expertise with the computer mouse; that's nice, but what else can you do. This demand can be attributed to an increase in global competition along with the introduction of a number of varied technologies. Take .NET, Python, Ruby, Spring, Hibernate ... as an example; most of them, along with many others, are the backbone of the IT infrastructure of most mid-to-large scale US corporations. Imagine the difficulty in finding the right mix of experience, knowledge and talent to support, maintain and devlop with such desparate technologies.
Well imagine no more. According to the IT Hiring Index and Skills Report, seventy percent of CIO’s said it's challenging to find skilled professionals today. If we add the rapid rate of technological innovation into the mix of factors affecting more businesses now than ever before, it’s understandable that the skill gap is widening. Consider this as well: the economic downturn has forced many potential retires to remain in the workforce. This is detailed in MetLife's annual Study of Employee Benefits which states that“more than one-third of surveyed Baby Boomers (35%) say that as a result of economic conditions they plan to postpone their retirement.” How then does the corporation hire new, more informed/better educated talent? Indeed, the IT skills gap is ever widening.
In order to compensate for these skill discrepencies, many firms have resorted to hire the ideal candidates by demanding they possess a christmas wish list of expertise in a variety of different IT disciplines. It would not be uncommon that such individuals have a strong programming background and are brilliant DBA's. What about training? That is certainly a way to diminish the skills gap.
Facebook was originally intended as a way for people to stay in touch with friends and family members by sharing pictures and status updates on their timeline. As the website's popularity has grown, so has criticism that it is becoming one giant, online high school.
Online Bullying
There has been a dramatic increase in recent years in the number of online bullying cases due to the introduction of social media. Bullying isn't just limited to younger Facebook users, either. Many adult users have also resorted to bashing others online through nasty status updates and cruel comments.
Prior to social media, bullying in high school involved "kick me" signs and toilet swirling. Facebook and other social media outlets have allowed users to take bullying to a whole other level. Victims can no longer escape bullying by leaving school or work. The torture continues online, at anytime and anyplace.
Status "Likes"
In high school, everyone wants to be part of the popular crowd; people who are outgoing, beautiful, and seem like they have everything. Posting a status update is similar to wanting to be popular. Once an update is posted, many users wait with bated breath to see how many friends will "like" their status. They believe that the more "likes" they receive, the more popular they are.
If that isn’t enough, there are many Facebook games that involve "liking" someone's status. Games like "Truth Is", where someone likes a status update and in return the poster writes how they really feel about the friend on their Facebook wall. This can get touchy, especially if the two people aren't friends outside of Facebook. It's similar to high school where someone desperately wants another person to like them, but when they find out how that person really feels they are crushed.
Relationships Are Difficult to Keep Private
When someone signs up for Facebook they’re asked to complete their profile, which includes a relationship section. Users can select from different options including "single", "married", "widowed", and "divorced". Whenever someone changes their relationship status, the update shows up on each of their friend's news feeds.
It's easy to see how this feature correlates with high school where everyone talks about who is dating who or which couple broke up. It used to be that after graduation, people were able to keep their relationships more to themselves. Not so anymore in the age of social media. Now everyone has the ability to state their opinion on a friend's relationship status, either by "liking" their status change or by commenting on it.
Facebook has presented many benefits to its users, including the ability to rekindle old high school friendships. What one must understand when they sign up for the service is that they are opening themselves up to the same criticism and drama that takes place in a high school setting.
Proceed with caution!
Tech Life in Michigan
Company Name | City | Industry | Secondary Industry |
---|---|---|---|
Lear Corporation | Southfield | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. | Livonia | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
Spartan Stores, Inc. | Byron Center | Retail | Grocery and Specialty Food Stores |
Steelcase Inc. | Grand Rapids | Manufacturing | Furniture Manufacturing |
Valassis Communications, Inc. | Livonia | Business Services | Advertising, Marketing and PR |
Autoliv, Inc. | Auburn Hills | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
Cooper-Standard Automotive Group | Novi | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. | Bloomfield Hills | Retail | Automobile Dealers |
Con-Way Inc. | Ann Arbor | Transportation and Storage | Freight Hauling (Rail and Truck) |
Meritor, Inc. | Troy | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
Visteon Corporation | Van Buren Twp | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
Affinia Group, Inc. | Ann Arbor | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
Perrigo Company | Allegan | Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech | Pharmaceuticals |
BorgWarner Inc. | Auburn Hills | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
Auto-Owners Insurance | Lansing | Financial Services | Insurance and Risk Management |
DTE Energy Company | Detroit | Energy and Utilities | Gas and Electric Utilities |
Whirlpool Corporation | Benton Harbor | Manufacturing | Tools, Hardware and Light Machinery |
Herman Miller, Inc. | Zeeland | Manufacturing | Furniture Manufacturing |
Universal Forest Products | Grand Rapids | Manufacturing | Furniture Manufacturing |
Masco Corporation Inc. | Taylor | Manufacturing | Concrete, Glass, and Building Materials |
PULTEGROUP, INC. | Bloomfield Hills | Real Estate and Construction | Real Estate & Construction Other |
CMS Energy Corporation | Jackson | Energy and Utilities | Energy and Utilities Other |
Stryker Corporation | Portage | Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech | Medical Devices |
General Motors Company (GM) | Detroit | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
Kellogg Company | Battle Creek | Manufacturing | Food and Dairy Product Manufacturing and Packaging |
The Dow Chemical Company | Midland | Manufacturing | Chemicals and Petrochemicals |
Kelly Services, Inc. | Troy | Business Services | HR and Recruiting Services |
Ford Motor Company | Dearborn | Manufacturing | Automobiles, Boats and Motor Vehicles |
training details locations, tags and why hsg
The Hartmann Software Group understands these issues and addresses them and others during any training engagement. Although no IT educational institution can guarantee career or application development success, HSG can get you closer to your goals at a far faster rate than self paced learning and, arguably, than the competition. Here are the reasons why we are so successful at teaching:
- Learn from the experts.
- We have provided software development and other IT related training to many major corporations in Michigan since 2002.
- Our educators have years of consulting and training experience; moreover, we require each trainer to have cross-discipline expertise i.e. be Java and .NET experts so that you get a broad understanding of how industry wide experts work and think.
- Discover tips and tricks about Agile/Scrum programming
- Get your questions answered by easy to follow, organized Agile/Scrum experts
- Get up to speed with vital Agile/Scrum programming tools
- Save on travel expenses by learning right from your desk or home office. Enroll in an online instructor led class. Nearly all of our classes are offered in this way.
- Prepare to hit the ground running for a new job or a new position
- See the big picture and have the instructor fill in the gaps
- We teach with sophisticated learning tools and provide excellent supporting course material
- Books and course material are provided in advance
- Get a book of your choice from the HSG Store as a gift from us when you register for a class
- Gain a lot of practical skills in a short amount of time
- We teach what we know…software
- We care…