Our Events

** RSVP soon to avoid disappointment as seats are strictly limited **

We have a very special LSCC this month! We are delighted to welcome Dr. Alistair Cockburn, the renowned agile expert who will host a fun and interactive Ask Me Anything style event where he will answer questions with a story.

Bring along your burning questions and Alistair will answer them if he has a relevant story to tell that helps to provide an answer.

About Alistair:
Dr. Alistair Cockburn (pronounced CO-BURN) was named as one of the “42 Greatest Software Professionals of All Time" in 2020, as a world expert on methodologies, project management, software architecture, use cases and agile development. He co-authored both the Agile Manifesto and the Project Management Declaration of Inter-dependence. Since 2015 he has been working on expanding agile to cover every kind of initiative, including social impact projects, governments, and families. For his latest work, books and services, see his website alistaircockburn.com/

Agenda:
6:00-6:30pm - arrive and networking with pizza & drinks
6:30-7:30pm - answering questions with stories
7:30-8pm - networking and drinks
8pm - leave

This is a unique opportunity to meet and ask questions to one of the most influential experts in Agile methodologies, project management, and object-oriented design.

Food and Drinks
Pizza and drinks will be provided upon arrival sponsored by Codurance, with vegetarian and vegan options available.

What we'll tackle this week?
Working in tech we face a myriad of problems every day. From technical problems to team problems and business problems. Software Development is a diverse industry with endless options available to tackle the challenges we face.

As Software Craftspeople we believe in the power of the community to help motivate meaningful change in the industry as a whole. This session aims to leverage the communities' collective knowledge and use it to help other solves the issues they face in the industry.

We invite individuals to come along and present their problems (not their solutions!) to the group so that we might attempt to offer potential solutions based upon our collective experiences. No need for slide-shows or data sets! We want to converse and chat about the issues we face. This is not a trial or a lecture! It is about having real people with real issues find resolutions.

Come one, come all and benefit from those around you and if you just fancy coming along to listen, well at least there will be pizza and drinks as usual!

Bring your laptop, your curiosity, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

NOTE: If you are struggling to get into the venue then please call Al on 07857893604

About this Group

Software engineering is a journey of continuous refinement. While "knowing" the theory is a start, the true mark of a professional is the ability to apply those principles effectively in real-world scenarios.

Software Crafters Manchester is a community dedicated to the Software Craftsmanship movement. We bridge the gap between academic concepts and professional excellence through active, hands-on engagement. Our goal is to support your professional progression by providing a space where you can practice the "how" of engineering alongside a supportive network of peers.

​The mandate to ‘do more with less’ (or at least doing more with the same) in today’s demanding tech landscape is often seen as achieving productivity and efficiency gains that are powered by AI in the SDLC.

Back by popular demand, for our March meetup, we're hosting an Architecture Kata. Join us for this session and get the chance to flex your software architectural design muscles!

What's the format?
You'll be split into groups and have a business problem to solve. You'll be tasked with designing a technical architecture to meet that problem context.

As with real-life you'll have to manage various trade-offs in your design and interact with a Product Owner to clarify your questions.

At the end of the task you will showcase your architecture and technology choices back to the wider group as part of a group discussion and you'll be able to decide if you'd make any decisions differently after receiving feedback and seeing what other groups designed.

This session is all about collaborative learning, skill enhancement and networking in a relaxed environment. You don’t need to be experienced in designing software architecture or a software architect to participate.

This is an excellent opportunity to try out Software Architecture in a collaborative, supportive and fun environment.

Food and Drinks
Pizza and drinks will be provided upon arrival, with vegetarian, gluten free and vegan options available.

Want to bring a friend? Great! Just ask them to RSVP so we know they are coming.

No need to bring your laptop this time, we will provide pens, paper and post-its for each group.

Sponsors
This meetup would not be possible without the support of The Bradfield Centre who provide their amazing space and Codurance, the global software engineering consultancy and founders of the Software Crafters communities.

Codurance is delighted to be once again sponsoring and attending the Rainmakers Summit, taking place 25th March, The Point at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.

This year, Codurance will take part in an expert panel discussion and host two breakout sessions at the event — bringing together funders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to explore the opportunities and challenges of building a dynamic, competitive economy in the North.

In today’s investment landscape, technology is a direct driver of value creation and commercial performance, yet it remains one of the greatest sources of risk to long-term success.

Join Codurance, in partnership with pro-manchester, for a commercially focused breakfast briefing exploring how leveraging modern technology is crucial to creating measurable value, maximising business growth and boosting investor confidence.

Drawing on real-world experience with high-growth and investor-backed organisations, our speakers will explore:

• How technical due diligence is shaping valuation as investors place greater emphasis on resilience, scalability, technology maturity and risk exposure.
• Why the first 100 days post-investment are critical for identifying commercial priorities, unlocking efficiencies, stabilising operations and building investor confidence.
• How strengthening operational efficiency, reducing key-person dependence and accelerating go-to-market can create a more scalable and revenue-ready organisation.
• How stronger technology foundations improve decision-making, enhance data quality and create the conditions for innovation, including AI, when the commercial case is right.

This session is ideal for business leaders, technology leaders, operating partners and portfolio teams who want a clear, practical understanding of how modernisation directly drives growth, reduces risk and increases enterprise value.