April, 2010

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The ROI of Training: How do we measure it?

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

After reading a post from SquareJawMedia.com “What Is Your Training ROI?” I sat down and started to really evaluate how companies evaluate the ROI of training. Brian gives an excellent example, from a user’s point of view, of how valuable and relevant training can be.

I know how valuable training is. Working at ASPE has shown me how it can get people jobs, become more productive and raise salaries. I see everyday how crucial training is to employees. But how does a company judge the ROI of training?

Managers look at measuring the ROI of training in two ways. The first is very scientific; with graphics, excel sheets and a ‘tried and true’ formula. Click to continue »

Posted in ASPE, ASPE-IT, ASPE-SDLC, Business Analysis, Project Management, Training | 3 Responses »

ASPE Employees to participate in The Angels Among Us, 5k & Family Fun Walk

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Several of the ASPE, Inc. employees and their families are involved with Angles Among Us, a program that raises funds for cancer research. The event is this Saturday, April 24th and takes place on Duke University’s campus.

Angels Among Us is a “celebration of life, strength, courage and commitment.” It has become a national event, with thousands coming from all across the country to volunteer, participate, and make a difference. The event begins with a 5K run through the Duke campus, and then features a wonderful family fun walk through the beautiful Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The entire day has a family-friendly focus with entertainment, food, raffle, souvenirs,
Click to continue »

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Scrum Certification: The Meaning has been Lost

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Several times back in 2009 I wrote posts on “Why the Scrum Master Certification Exam is a Positive Step Towards Credibility of the Scrum Master” and “ScrumMaster Training: Does the Exam Really Matter?”

The debate rages on. There is an incredible blog post over at XProgramming.com that shows just that. It is a bit of a bear to read, but after reading Ron Jeffries post, make sure you look through all of the comments.

For full disclosure, ASPE is a training firm. We offer Agile and Scrum courses, and are a Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) with the Scrum Alliance. Coming from that environment, I am biased towards the value of certifications. Simply look at the salary surveys done in the Agile community (and outside) that show the salary increases seen by those with certifications. I hate to harp on money, but at the end of the day some of us, myself included, are lucky enough to do what we love to do for a living, however without a steady cash flow we would not be able to devote ourselves 100%.

That is all I’m going to say to justify certifications. This is a battle that will rage on as long as certifications exist, and not just in Agile/Scrum but in any industry.

What I want to present is a challenge to all the Agile/Scrum evangelists out there that are harping on this certification debate. Click to continue »

Posted in ASPE-SDLC, Agile, SDLC, Scrum, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Instructor Interview with Mark Weinstein

Monday, April 12th, 2010

ASPE Inc. Instructor Interview with Mark Weinstein

We recently had a chance to sit down with Mark and ask him a few questions.  Mark has had an interesting and unique career with computers, 1980′s hair bands, and world travel. Watch the interview to see and hear a quick run down of Mark’s past and present escapades. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Mark teaches public courses but is also available for a personalized on-site training courses that can be tailored for your companies needs, for more information please visit our On-Site page.

Posted in ASPE, ASPE-IT, Instructors, SharePoint, SharePoint training, Training | 2 Responses »

4 Days. 4 Web Seminars. All Free!

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

We are offering 4 Web Seminars over 4 days starting April 20th. If you haven’t had a chance to take part in one of our free Web Seminars, this is a great opportunity to see first hand how useful they can be. The Web Seminars are led by our instructors, last about an hour and are quick and easy to sign up for. Registrations are limited and they fill up fast.  So check it out!

Understanding eDiscovery

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Noon Eastern Time

We live in a litigious society, that fact is inescapable. Is your organization ready for when litigation happens? New rules governing what information is available are well in effect in the courts. The rules govern what corporate data is expected to be available, how it will be produced, in what format it needs to be in, and how long it will take. Is your organization prepared for this? Is your data ready? Is your staff ready?

Seminar Presenter: Michael McCartney is co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Digital Information Gathering & Investigative Technologies, Inc. (DIGITS) and also serves as an adjunct professor at Hilbert College teaching Network Security and Computer Forensics He has served in law enforcement for almost 20 years at both the federal and state levels.

Registration is open Register for this FREE Web Seminar

Understanding the Windows 7 Deployment Tools
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Noon Eastern Time

Microsoft provides several different tools that are used to deploy Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. With the end-of-life coming soon for Windows XP, many organizations are planning their Windows 7 deployments now. In this one hour web seminar, Click to continue »

Posted in ASPE, ASPE-IT, ASPE-SDLC, Alexander Hamilton Financial Technologies, Free, Virtual Training, Web Seminar | Comments Off