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Join us for our 3rd

Generative AI Day

for 

April 30, 2024

9am - 5pm EDT

Meet The Experts Who Will Help Prepare You For What's Next

Generative AI is changing the way we work and there is no turning back. Join us for a day of learning and discover the ways that the latest genAI tools can help make you a more efficient and valuable contributor to your organization.

J.Capobianco

John Capobianco

Solution Engineering Technical Leader: Artificial Intelligence

Cisco

John is a seasoned IT networking professional with over two decades of experience across both private and public sectors. Starting his career as a forklift operator, he pivoted to IT after completing a Computer Programmer Analyst diploma at St. Lawrence College. At Cisco, John has excelled as a bootcamp instructor and recently transitioned into a Technical Leader role in AI. He recently was a mainstage presenter at Cisco Live! 2024 in Amsterdam.

 

 

 

G.Churchwell

George Churchwell

Director Generative AI Solutions

Mt. Tam Innovations LLC

As a visionary in AI LLMs, Prompt Engineering, and AI for Excellence, George has used AI to create new and innovative solutions, including purpose-built GPTs.  His creation of AI applications, from sales intelligence scripts targeting a $1 billion market to AI-assisted eLearning content for Cisco, underscores a unique blend of technical prowess and strategic insight. His journey from launching startups to guiding them to successful exits is a testament to his unwavering passion for strategic innovation and steadfast commitment to team building. 

Loyd Thompson

Loyd Thompson

Business Process Analyst

Mt. Tam Innovations, LLC

A technology leader passionate about AI, Loyd leverages his experience at Raytheon, Cisco, and MetLife to craft human-centric solutions. He bridges the gap between innovative thinking and practical knowledge, to empower people - customers, organizations, and teams - to unlock new possibilities and tackle real-world challenges in the workplace.

Cindy Lewis_circle

Cindy M. Lewis

Microsoft Certified Trainer

4 Pillars of Success

Cindy M. Lewis has over 25 years in the field of project management and helps clients deliver value to the organization through her training and consulting expertise. She is the author of the Microsoft Project Step by Step books. She has video courses on both the Microsoft Press Store and LinkedIn Learning covering Microsoft project management solutions. Cindy holds an MBA and is certified by PMI with both the PMP and PMI-SP credentials. In addition to being an active Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Cindy has received her 11th Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award from Microsoft for her dedication to the community. She is an active member and speaker of multiple PMI chapters and teaches at the university level.

 

 

Samuel Perri-circle

Samuel Parri

Project Management

Mt. Tam Innovations

Samuel's career began at IBM, where he worked in various roles before establishing a Project Management Program Office at a wireless networking company. He then moved to Cisco Systems, taking on Program Management and Customer Success Management positions. Samuel is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with additional certifications in Customer Success Management, ITIL Foundation, and CoBit. For the past five years, he has been teaching Project Management Certification, Artificial Intelligence courses, and ITIL Foundation Certification courses for O'Reilly Media, as well as Customer Success Specialist Certification courses for Cisco Systems Global Partner ecosystem.

Andy Cooper

Andy Cooper

Head of Strategic Development

Skills Development Group

Andy is an experienced consultant, agility practitioner and business leader with over 20 years of experience in global software and consulting organizations. He is an ICAgile authorized trainer in Business Agility and an active speaker and contributor in the Business Agility community.

 

 

 

M.Balcer-Circle

Marc Balcer

Knowledge Engineer

SoftEd US

Marc is a recognized expert in information technology and software development, with notable contributions including the creation of TAME, a platform for software test specification and generation. He's also co-authored seminal books on software design and architecture. Marc's agile journey began in 1998, leading a groundbreaking project for a major financial services firm that emphasized adaptability and customer-centricity. Believing in the agile philosophy of experimentation and continuous learning, he remains hands-on in putting theory into practice. 

C.Knotts-circle

Chris Knotts

Principal Consultant

Technology Transformation Strategies

Chris is an experienced leader in enterprise technology with over two decades in training, coaching, and emergent technology enablement, particularly in project management. He excels in creating transformative technology training programs focused on software development, data environments, and agile methodologies. His expertise encompasses enterprise software engineering, advanced analytics, data engineering, and the application of AI and machine learning in business.

Craig Smith - Circle

Craig Smith

Global Agility Lead

SoftEd

Tapping into my vast experience as a software developer and agile practitioner, I have supported businesses big and small through their agile transformations. I am passionate about walking with people on their agile journey and have worked as an agile coach for Suncorp, the Australian Department of Home Affairs, GMHBA Limited, and Unbound DNA. I am actively involved in the global agile community and a board member of the international Agile Alliance.

 

David_circle

David Mantica

VP & GM

SoftEd US

Drawing from his experience in successfully building a B2B training firm, growing it from scratch to $13M in seven years. His work at SoftEd helps organizations not only cope but thrive even with the ever-changing demands and complexities of modern business.

 

 

 

 

 

Lara Hill

Lara Hill

VP Marketing

SoftEd US

Lara has spent 15 years leading marketing strategy for various ecommerce and tech startups, emphasizing adaptability and value delivery. Her focus extends to advocating for AI literacy and ethical AI practices, ensuring a balanced integration of technology with a human touch in marketing strategies. She consults with organizations to assist leaders in strategically enhancing their digital presence through personal branding and content creation.

 

 

L.Reid

Lawrence Reid

CRM Admin

National Council for Mental Wellbeing

As a passionate CRM evangelist for over 20 years, Lawrence continues to learn and share about the latest advancements in CRM tools and techniques. He has presented topics on CRM and AI at the Dallas Project Management Symposium since 2019 and his paper on “What is ChatGPT and how will it impact project management?” was published in the July edition of PM World Journal.

Boost Your Project Management Skills with Generative AI!

Are you a project manager or a related professional eager to harness the power of the next tech revolution?

Join our panel of experts for a full day of live virtual AI training specific to project professionals.

Learn new AI skills and get a jump start on the AI adoption revolution!

Why Attend?

  • Practical Training: Learn hands-on applications of generative AI to supercharge your project's efficiency and impact.

  • Immediate Implementation: Master tools like ChatGPT and more, equipping you to implement newfound skills right away.

  • Peer Networking: Forge invaluable connections with like-minded professionals recognizing the game-changing potential of this technology.

  • Beginner Friendly: No prior AI knowledge? No problem! This session is designed to welcome all proficiency levels.

  • PDUs/CDUs: Boost your credentials by earning 8 PDUs/CDUs!

  • Valuable Resources: Access to event recordings and a comprehensive resource guide for post-event reference.

Event Details:

Date: April 30, 2024

Time: 9am - 5pm ET

Venue: Live on Zoom

INCLUDED WITH TICKET:

  • Conference recording access
  • Presentation slides in .pdf format
  • Chat transcript
  • AI tools resource guide
  • 25% off any SoftEd AI class for a year

Special pricing available for groups. Email info-us@softed.com for details.

Special Thanks To Our Premier Sponsor, Mt. Tam Innovations

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Tickets

$59

  • Conference recording access
  • Presentation slides in .pdf format
  • Chat transcript
  • AI tools resource guide
  • 25% off any SoftEd AI class for a year

Earn 8 PDUs/CDUs towards the certification of your choice

Hear what past attendees had to say about our last GenAI Day:

“I loved the references and examples of what was possible. It opened my eyes to new possibilities to use the technology.”
“All of the talks were not only informative but also captivating. I am grateful for the time and effort you invested in delivering it.”
“So much practical and immediately applicable content! Appreciated the mix of talking about the content, showing examples, and then some real-time doing of the work to show a newbie how to navigate the program. ”

Agenda

  • 8:45 - 9:00 - David Mantica and Lara Hill - Welcome
    • Networking and housekeeping
  • 9:00 - 9:30 - Craig Smith - AI and Agile Teams: The AI is Already In There
    • Agile teams are constantly looking for ways to improve their productivity and deliver better results. AI can be a valuable tool for agile teams, helping them to automate repetitive tasks, make better decisions, and improve collaboration. In this talk, we will explore how AI can be used to help agile teams innovate faster and deliver better results.
  • 9:30 - 10:30 - Samuel Parri - Introducing Generative AI for Project Managers who are on the AI Fence
    • While many conference speakers today will be discussing details of AI, Samuel’s discussion is to comfort those Project Managers who are on the AI fence. As a Project Manager himself, Samuel will discuss the proper mindset and attitude necessary for Project Managers to leverage the opportunities and benefits of AI. This will include PMs to assess their current skills & growth potential, to have a sense of curiosity & anticipation, and to be inspired & motivated to embrace the AI challenges & opportunities that Samuel will highlight.
  • 10:30 - 11:30 - George Churchwell - Beyond Chatbots: Mastering GPT for Custom AI Solutions
    • What is a “GPT”? Unlock the secrets to harnessing the full potential of Generative AI by creating your own GPT.  Discover how to tailor a personal, focused AI to precisely tackle your unique challenges – GPT’s are a game-changer for anyone looking to lead in the digital age. 
  • 11:30 - 12:00 - Chris Knotts - Getting Hands-On: How to Use Generative AI Agents in All Sorts of PM Workflows
    • In this session, Chris will present a series of demos showing how to use common genAI agents like ChatGPT 4 and Gemini to interface with project artifacts, datasets, and documentation across a bunch of use cases. Check out how to go from project documents and raw meeting transcripts to risk identification, mitigation planning, and automated stakeholder communication in 1/10 the normal time. Chris will also show you how to get data out of programs like Jira and Trello in ways that allow you to apply AI to project analysis in ways you otherwise can't. And finally, we'll explore how AI agents can aid in translating this complex project data into immediately usable drafts of stuff we can use right away - like concise user stories and corresponding aids in sprint planning. We'll show how to bring these elements to life by creating visual work breakdown structures and task decomposition in ways that aren't just fast, but start to be fun as well.  We'll demonstrate the integration of PlantUML with Miro, showing how these tools combined with GenAI can provide a visual and interactive project management experience. 
  • 12:00 - 12:30 - Cindy M. Lewis - The "new" Microsoft Planner and Copilot for Simpler Project Management
    • Experience the "new" Microsoft Planner to see how you can manage personal tasks, work with others, and plan schedules all within Teams. Copilot is there to help you and can even create the goals your project needs to measure success. The new Planner reduces the hassle and complexity of switching between multiple apps by streamlining and improving on features you love. You will also get tips on how to begin using this new solution.
  • 12:30 - 1:00 - Lunch Break
  • 1:00 - 1:30 - Lawrence Reid - CRM is changing at the speed of AI
    • CRM first utilized AI for predictive analysis, calculating the probability of closing opportunities. GenAI has ushered in major paradigm shifts. Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce use AI “Copilot” to augment user capabilities. Topics covered include:
      • Privacy and data security is paramount.
      • The definition of “Customer” is evolving.
      • Our Relationships internally and externally are changing.
      • The tools used to Manage these relationships are drastically changing.
  • 1:30 - 2:30 - John Capobianco - Artificial Intelligence Converging with Network Automation
    • In this session John will cover some introductory AI topics and concepts then move into how AI can converge with network automation (and more) either using paid cloud services or free local open source tools.
  • 2:30 - 3:30 - Loyd Thompson - Prompt Engineering: Mastering Everyday AI Opportunities and Challenges
    • Don't miss out on the revolution in AI! This session explores the potential of large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude,  and begins to equip you with the skills to harness their power.  Through real-world examples, you'll discover how LLMs can be applied to everyday tasks as diverse as content creation, business intelligence and code generation. Learn the art of crafting clear prompts that drive powerful LLM outputs. See the dramatic impact of good vs. poor prompts and strategies for overcoming common pitfalls like hallucinations.  Master quality control, iterative refinement, and responsible AI practices for LLMs. By developing your prompt engineering skills now, you'll be prepared to leverage the future of AI.
  • 3:30 - 3:40 - Break
  • 3:40 - 4:10 - Marc Balcer - Bridging the Gap: How Generative AI Unites Business Analysis and Testing in Agile Software Development
    • In today's agile software development landscape, the once distinct roles of business analyst and tester are converging into a collaborative effort. By employing accessible examples and real-world scenarios, we illustrate how genAI enables teams to simultaneously generate realistic test cases and uncover nuanced business requirements. Through this integrated approach, we demonstrate how software quality is enhanced, development cycles are accelerated, and collaboration between business stakeholders and development teams is strengthened. 
  • 4:10 - 5:00 - Andy Cooper - Navigating the World of Generative AI: Chatbots, Best Practices, and Future Trends
    • Through live demos and real-world examples, you'll gain valuable insights into the unique features and strengths of leading chatbots, including ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. Andy will also share proven techniques and best practices for effective prompting. Andy will discuss the developments and trends shaping the future of generative AI and foreshadow what’s coming and what you need to know and prepare for.
  • 5:00 - 5:30 Q and A with David Mantica
    • Unrecorded opportunity for participants to ask questions and share thoughts.