Read Track Details & Agendas

	Project Management		Procurement and Contract Management
	Professional Development & Business Analysis		Technical and Security Training
	Hot Topics/Continuing Legal Education		Offsite Hands-On Training

Instructions: If you wish to register for Paid Training classes, review the class descriptions by clicking on the class title or scrolling down to the appropriate description. To register for a class, simply click on the Add to Cart icon. When you are ready to finalize your registration, return to the top of this page and click the Check Out button which will take you to the Registration Page. To delete an item from your Shopping Cart, click on the Trash Can icon next to the class you wish to remove.

 

Paid Training Program

 

Track: Project Management

P1 - Introduction to Project Management     Monday Jan 28 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical

This course will provide a solid understanding of project management methods and tools. Gain practical experience in project management techniques and discover valuable tools that you can use immediately. You will learn to manage each stage of the project life cycle, work within organizational and cost constraints, manage your project budget, and get the most from your project management team.

Instructor

Pete Michaelson, PMP, Consultant for NYS CIO / OFT, Project Management Office

Back to Top

P5 - Advanced Project Management - Taking Charge of Organizational Change     Monday Jan 28 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical
6 PDU's

This workshop is aimed at all project managers who also must deal with organizational change. Regardless of whether it is small and localized or spread across an entire enterprise, change can impact every level of an organization - and every project.

Join us as we discuss the challenges project managers encounter in the face of unrelenting organizational change. We'll introduce you to a simple three-step model that shows you how to become a change leader within your organization.

You will learn: A framework for taking charge of organizational change; how to become a change leader in your organization; how to leverage organizational change for positive outcomes.

Instructor:

Helena Long, Instructor, ESI International

Back to Top

P2 - Advanced Project Management - Planning and Estimating     Tuesday Jan 29 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical
6 PDU's

This course reviews effective techniques for developing the project work breakdown structure (WBS), project schedule and project estimating. The course is targeted at new and experienced project managers who want to improve their project scheduling and budgeting skills.

Instructor:

David Dickey, Instructor, ESI International

Back to Top

P3 - Advanced Project Management - Managing Risk     Wednesday Jan 30 10:15 AM - 5:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical

6 PDU's

Identifying, communicating and managing project risks are some of the most important aspects of a successful project. In this class, project leaders will learn how to identify and monitor potential risks, and develop and implement risk mitigation strategies.

Instructor:

Representative from ESI International

Back to Top

P4 - Advanced Project Management - Leading Complex Projects     Thursday Jan 31 10:15 AM - 5:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical
6 PDU's

Have you ever taken on a project that seemed just too complex to handle? Or have you found yourself in the middle of a project that seemed straightforward initially, but became very complex? If so, you're not alone. Leading a complex project requires project managers to think and act in new ways. Join us as we examine complex projects as a complex adaptive system, and gain new insights into managing your own seemingly "unmanageable projects." You will learn: What a complex project is; how to determine the level of complexity inherent in all projects; strategies for successfully dealing with varying levels of project complexity.

Instructor:

David Dickey, Instructor, ESI International

Back to Top

 

Track: Procurement and Contract Management

P6A - Procurement Essentials     Monday Jan 28 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $265

Non Technical

The attendee will learn the proper techniques in procurement. Whether buying services or goods, the processes used may undermine your anticipated outcome. Industry experts will define the critical components, give you valuable real life experiences, and save you from making career challenging mistakes. A "Must Attend" for those that procure!

Instructors:

Klaus Hilgers, President, Epoch Consultants, Inc.

Tom McQuillan, President/Owner, Quill Consulting, LLC

Back to Top

P6B - Contract Management - Creating and Managing Service Contracts     Tuesday Jan 29 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $265

Non Technical

Do you know if a service contract is right for your project or organization? Contract administration, negotiation, and enforcement all play a critical role in meeting organizational goals. In this class, you will learn how and when to use service contracts, as well as all the challenges they may present. The class will cover the details of service contract administration, negotiation, and enforcement. Learn from those that have spent over 30 years with outsourcing.

Instructor:

Klaus Hilgers, President, Epoch Consultants, Inc.

Tom McQuillan, President/Owner, Quill Consulting, LLC

Back to Top

P6C - Contracting for Results - Contract Performance Measures     Wednesday Jan 30 10:15 AM - 5:00 PM     price: $265

Non Technical

Reaping results while controlling costs is every organizations ambition. Many have failed to deliver anticipated results and they don't know why. Learn important techniques for measuring contract performance, including how to structure the contract, important how to monitor performance, and what to do if you see performance slipping. In this class, you will learn valuable tools which you can put to use immediately. This session completes the subject of contract management and the techniques and skills necessary to excel.

Instructors:

Klaus Hilgers, President, Epoch Consultants, Inc.

Tom McQuillan, President/Owner, Quill Consulting, LLC

Back to Top

P6D - Buying Texas     Thursday Jan 31 10:15 AM - 5:00 PM     price: $265

Non Technical

The 80th Legislature brought forth some significant changes to the procurement process in Texas. Purchasing functions, processes, and oversight are now split between the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR). Learn how these changes impact purchasing staff, project managers, IT managers, and all those who interact with the IT procurement process. In this class you will also learn about the new purchasing rules, requirements for technology procurements through DIR, as well as the process for purchases that are not available through the existing contracts. DIR will also provide updates on the contracts they manage.

Instructors:

Skip Bartek, Director of Texas Procurement and Support Services, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Joe Cheavens, Ph.D., Vendor Performance Coordinator, Texas Procurement and Support Services (TPASS), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Michael J. "Mike" Jensen, Deputy Director, Texas Procurement and Support, Services (TPASS), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Martin V. Blair, Manager of Procurement Operations & Customer Services, Texas Procurement and Support Services (TPASS), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Paul Gibson, HUB Compliance Supervisor, Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program, Texas Procurement and Support Services (TPASS), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Margaret Longest, Centralized Master Bidders List Program Coordinator, Texas Procurement and Support Services (TPASS), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Manuel Perez, CTPM, Team Leader, Texas Procurement and Support Services, Comptroller of Public Accounts

Dee Dorsey, CTPM, Supervisor of Purchasing Operations, Texas Procurement and Support Services, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Dan Contreras, Manager Contracts Evaluation and Negotation, Texas Department of Information Resources

Stephanie Miller, Lead Contract manager, Contracts Establishment, Texas Department of Information Resources

Richard San Jose, TXMAS Program Coordinator, Texas Procurement and Support Services (TPASS), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Rachel Snell, Statewide HUB Marketing Coordinator, Texas Procurement and Support Services (TPASS), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

---

Class Agenda:

10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Skip Bartek, Director, Texas Procurement and Support Services Division of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Office

"The New Face of Procurement and Support Services"

An introduction to statewide procurement, covering House Bill 3560, transition from Texas Building & Procurement Commission to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Office, and new TPASS Initiatives.

---

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Lunch Break

---

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Dan Contreras, Manager, Contracts Evaluation and Negotiations

Stephanie Miller, Lead, Contracts Establishment Department of Information Resources

---

2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Break

---

2:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Statewide Procurement, including:

-Historically Underutilized Business
-Centralized Master Bidders List (if not presented in the morning session)
-Term Contracts
-TXMAS Contracts
-Vendor Performance
-Virtual Tour of the TPASS web site

---

Back to Top

 

Track: Professional Development & Business Analysis

P9 - From Technician to Leader - Writing     Monday Jan 28 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM     price: $235

Non Technical

This intense course will provide some of the most important tips and tools for effective written communication. Learn to organize your content, create a reader-friendly document, choose the proper content development pattern, and create documents, emails and memos that convey your meaning.

Instructor:

Greg Tonkinson, Instructor, Skillpath

Back to Top

P13 - A Practical Approach to Implementing Service Oriented Architecture     Monday Jan 28 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $395

Slightly Technical

SOA - service oriented architecture - offers promises of streamlined business processes and more efficient technology investment and management. Yet implementing an SOA strategy is daunting for most organizations. This class will provide practical guidance on how to evaluate your organizations readiness, the pre-requisites for SOA implementation, and the governance structure and new workforce skills required for a successful strategy. It will present an SOA organizational and economic model that are critical to successfully manage the SOA adoption life cycle.

Instructors:

Robert Erickson, VP Product Management, Gravitant

Mohammed Farooq, CEO, Gravitant

Raghu Sapuam, CTO, Gravitant

Back to Top

P10 - From Technician to Leader - Speaking Clearly     Monday Jan 28 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM     price: $235

Non Technical

Communications skills can be some of the most challenging for a manager at any level to master. In this course, you will learn the one of the most important skills of communicating - active listening. You will also learn how nonverbal behaviors affect how your message is received and how to develop clear, concise messages.

Instructor:

Christine Wade, Director of Online Learning & Development, The Training Group

Back to Top

P7 - From Technician to Leader - Delegation     Tuesday Jan 29 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM     price: $235

Non Technical

Delegation is one of the most difficult skills for a new manager. Delegating responsibilities and projects can take time and without clear communication, can lead to misunderstandings. Sometimes it seems easier to do a task yourself. But delegating does more than just balance the workload - it demonstrates trust, encourages development and strengthens teams.

In this class you will learn some of the tools and techniques for successful delegation.

Instructor:

Christine Wade, Director of Online Learning & Development, The Training Group

Back to Top

P16 - Acceptance Testing for Users     Tuesday Jan 29 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical

Business professionals are often asked to conduct acceptance testing, yet rarely have the training to do so. This course is dedicated to business professionals with acceptance testing responsibilities. Learn to understand requirements documents, create traceability from requirements to test results, create acceptance criteria, develop and run tests, and decide whether a system should be accepted.

Instructor:

Kathleen Costello, Principal, KC Consulting - presented through the Software Quality Institute - the Center for Lifelong Engineering Education at the University of Texas at Austin

Back to Top

P8 - From Technician to Leader - Resolving Conflicts     Tuesday Jan 29 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM     price: $235

Non Technical

Work place conflicts are inevitable as diverse team members bring their individual personalities, styles and habits to work. Managing these differences quickly and effectively can mean the difference between a minor bump-in-the-road and loss of productivity that can impact the entire organization. This class will provide the tools to recognize conflicts, and deal with them quickly and effectively.

Instructor:

Christine Wade, Director of Online Learning & Development, The Training Group

Back to Top

P11 - Team Development     Wednesday Jan 30 10:15 AM - 5:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical

How do you take a group of individuals and build a team that will work together to achieve a common goal? What are the common stages of team development and how can you effectively lead your group through them. Learn the answer to these questions and gain practical tips for creating a highly functioning team.

Instructor:

Christine Wade, Director of Online Learning & Development, The Training Group

Back to Top

P14A - Apollo 13 - A Problem Solving Workshop     Wednesday Jan 30 10:15 AM - 1:15 PM     price: $345

Non Technical

Experience the thrilling reality of the Apollo 13 mission through this unique and interactive workshop. Participants will get to see and feel the consequences of their decisions and actions on the quality, cost, and overall business results within the simulated environment of the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Control Center, the high-tech data and control center that supported the Apollo 13 flight.

In this workshop, you will play a critical role on the Apollo 13 mission support team, and through this experience, learn the essentials of process analysis and improvement and problem solving.

Instructor:

Bart Barthold, Certified ITIL® Service Manager, Apollo13 Simulation Supervisor

Back to Top

P14B - Apollo 13 - A Problem Solving Workshop     Wednesday Jan 30 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM     price: $345

Non Technical

Experience the thrilling reality of the Apollo 13 mission through this unique and interactive workshop. Participants will get to see and feel the consequences of their decisions and actions on the quality, cost, and overall business results within the simulated environment of the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Control Center, the high-tech data and control center that supported the Apollo 13 flight.

In this workshop, you will play a critical role on the Apollo 13 mission support team, and through this experience, learn the essentials of process analysis and improvement and problem solving.

Instructor:

Bart Barthold, Certified ITIL® Service Manager, Apollo13 Simulation Supervisor

Back to Top

P15 - Defining Business Requirements     Thursday Jan 31 10:15 AM - 5:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical

Why do business requirements seem to surface in the middle of a project? It seems the only constant when analyzing and managing business requirements is that things keep changing. In this class, you will learn to more effectively gather and document requirements. It will cover industry best practices to help you structure and simplify requirements gathering, and link business and technology.

Instructor:

Dashun Mosley, Professional Trainer, Skillpath

Back to Top

P12 - Leadership Strategies     Thursday Jan 31 10:15 AM - 5:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical

Learn leadership strategies you can apply immediately in this interactive workshop. Topics include: managing change, problem solving and facilitation.

Instructors:

Barry Bales, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Professional Development, LBJ School of Public Affiars - UT Austin

Joyce Sparks, Director, Governor's Center, LBJ School of Public Affairs - UT Austin

Back to Top

 

Track: Technical and Security Training

P21 - Security In Depth - Threat Update     Monday Jan 28 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM     price: $345

Non Technical

The news is full of stories of stolen laptops, hacked databases and identity theft on a massive scale. From social engineering and spam, to directed attacks and virtualized rootkits, learn how different threats may impact the overall security posture of your organization. This half day course will bring you up to date with the latest attack methods and will anticipate some of the changes the industry expects in the near future. This course is appropriate for anyone with some technical background and may be of particular interest to IT and network administrators and managers.

Instructor:

Paul Hinkle, CTO, Safelight Security Advisors

Back to Top

P22 - Security Update - Securing Your Web Applications     Monday Jan 28 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM     price: $345

Technical

According to Acunetix (a vendor of web application scanning tools), 70% of applications they reviewed contained high or medium security vulnerabilities. Learn how to develop more secure applications using simple, repeatable steps. This introductory half day session will include demonstrations of key attacks, analyze those attacks step by step, and show provide solid countermeasures that any development team can use in its web environment. This course is appropriate for application developers, business analysts and application development project managers with some technical background.

Instructor:

Paul Hinkle, CTO, Safelight Security Advisors

Back to Top

P19 - ITIL Awareness     Tuesday Jan 29 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical

This class provides an overview of the key concepts and terminology of the much anticipated ITIL Version 3. In Version 3, the processes, functions and roles that made ITIL famous are improved and augmented. Further, a greater emphasis on how to apply lifecycle principles to IT Services and ensure that continual service improvement of IT service is an integral part of business day to day. This class will introduce these concepts and will touch on the five core volumes:

• - Service Strategy
• - Service Design
• - Service Transition
• - Service Operation
• - Continual Service Improvement

Instructor:

Dick Szymanski, Founder and CEO, AmerIT Learning

Back to Top

P17 - Getting What You Want from the Web - Creating Effective Content     Wednesday Jan 30 10:15 AM - 5:00 PM     price: $395

Non Technical

The ancient art of rhetoric and persuasion has been handed down since Aristotle's time. In this class, you will learn to apply the age-old art to the Web. The web has become one of the most important communications tools for government. But how do you know if your message is getting to your audience in a way that is clear and understandable? Learn to create content that begins with your agency's objectives, and use various approaches to information presentation to drive the results you want. In this class, you will learn some of the key considerations for web writing, and best practices for structuring and presenting your information.

Instructor:

Kathleen Straub, Ph.D., CUA, Human Factors International

Back to Top

P18 - Software Quality Assurance     Wednesday Jan 30 10:15 AM - 5:00 PM     price: $395

Slightly Technical

Software projects proceed according to appropriate lifecycles, composed of phases and activities within each phase, be the lifecycle traditional or agile. There are many project activities, however, which cannot be confined to one phase or product component, but span the entire life of the project. This Software Quality Assurance course addresses some of these integral tasks. Risks must be identified early, but a well-managed project will keep the finger on the pulse by revisiting ever-changing risks at frequent intervals. The same is true of estimating the effort, cost, and schedule for a project: as time passes, estimates are replaced with actuals, and more project knowledge is gained, requiring continual re-estimation. To deliver products that are not only on-time and within-budget, but also meet quality goals, requires quality characteristics to be understood and built in from the beginning.

Sessions included in the Software Quality Assurance course are:

-Process Management -- Tailoring software processes

-Foundations and Tools of Software Quality Processes -- Key standards and guidelines for software quality engineering

-Introduction to Risk Management The importance of identifying, mitigating and controlling software project risks

-Managing Projects with Software Tools -- Planning for tools use on a software development project

-Configuration Management -- Processes for use throughout the product development life

-Quality Assurance and Cost of Quality How to employ SQA and reap the savings

Instructor:

Bob Futrell, Project Manager for implementation of the Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM) System, Texas Secretary of State's Office

Back to Top

 

Track: Hot Topics/Continuing Legal Education

P23 - eDiscovery     Monday Jan 28 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM     price: $345

Non Technical
3 CLE Credits

Electronic discovery is becoming a huge challenge for all jurisdictions. It requires the legal team to understand technical issues that are often baffling and confusing, and the technical team to respond to legal requests without always understanding the nuances. The time and cost of identifying, sorting, retrieving and delivering the required data can be staggering.

This class will cover some of the important issues and considerations for electronic discovery, decode some of the tech-talk around ediscovery response and help a non-technical person understand the key terminology and issues. It will also include a discussion of how to preserve privilege throughout the ediscovery process.

Instructor:

Ira Victor, GIAC G17799 GPCI GSEC, Director, Compliance Practice, Data Clone Labs, Inc.

Sponsored by Austin Bar Association

Back to Top

P24 - Balancing Protection and Sharing of Government Data     Monday Jan 28 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM     price: $345

Non Technical
3 CLE Credits

There is a continuing debate -- and often controversy -- concerning the need to guarantee public safety and security coupled with the reluctance of government agencies to share information. What type of controls regarding information sharing should exist in law and practice? Do freedom of information laws provide too much or too little access? Do turf battles among government agencies create roadblocks that preclude effective public service? This class will address these questions and provide guidance as to how we might reach the right balance.

Instructor:

Robert J. Freeman, Executive Director, New York State Committee on Open Government Data Clone Labs, Inc.

Sponsored by Austin Bar Association

Back to Top

 

Track: Offsite Hands-On Training

PW1 - Introduction to Java Programming     Tuesday Jan 22 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $695

Technical
2 days

This hands-on technical course teaches the basics of Java programming. It is recommended for programmers who wish to learn the basics of software development using Java. This course briefly covers the Java standard language fundamentals of keywords, operators, and control flow. It then moves into the basics of object-oriented programming with classes, inheritance, and interfaces. The course ends with a brief look at next steps.

Prerequisites: Students should have some background in programming, preferably in a higher-level language.

Instructor:

Joyce Deeb, Instructor, XMaLpha Technologies


This class will be held at:
New Horizons
4515 Seton Center Pkwy Ste. 250
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 349 9555

Back to Top

PW3 - Introduction to XML     Tuesday Jan 22 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $695

Technical
2 days

This class provides a comprehensive introduction to the major topic areas in XML technology and provides an introduction to Advanced XML. Learn what all the fuss is about and how to jump immediately onto the fast-track for XML development.

Instructor:

Devan Shepherd, CEO/Chief Technical Officer, XMaLpha Technologies

This classe will be held at:
New Horizons
4515 Seton Center Pkwy Ste. 250
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 349 9555

Back to Top

PW4 - Advanced XML Development     Thursday Jan 24 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $695

Technical
2 days

This is a concise technical course in the essential concepts, constructs, tools, and related standards for the XML developer and technical leader. This course focuses on XML DTDs, XML Schema, XSLT, and XPath to enable developers to begin implementing powerful XML solutions upon completion.

Topics include, XML well-formed documents, validation concepts, DTD syntax and constructs, W3C Schema syntax and constructs, XSLT syntax and processing, XPath addressing language, development and design considerations, the XML processing model and a brief overview of XML development & processing tools. Exercises and supporting PC-based workshops will reinforce understanding of these topics.

This course is aimed at technical architects, engineers and developers, as well as system analysts, managers and others involved in developing XML-based systems. Some basic experience with developing structured information systems is required for this course. Familiarity with Web systems, HTML, general computing processes & tools is very helpful. Experience in RDBMS systems & data definition is helpful, but not necessary.

Instructor:

Devan Shepherd, CEO/Chief Technical Officer, XMaLpha Technologies

This class will be held at:
New Horizons
4515 Seton Center Pkwy Ste. 250
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 349 9555

Back to Top

PW2 - Advanced Java Programming     Thursday Jan 24 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $695

Technical
2 days

This course picks up where Introduction to Java Programming leaves off. It covers Exceptions, Inner Classes, Collections, Streams, Packages, and JavaDoc (time permitting, Junit is introduced in this class.)

Prerequisites: Introduction to Java Programming or equivalent

Instructor:

Joyce Deeb, Instructor, XMaLpha Technologies

This class will be held at:
New Horizons
4515 Seton Center Pkwy Ste. 250
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 349 9555

Back to Top

PW5 - Programming with J2EE     Monday Jan 28 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM     price: $695

Technical 2 days


This course provides hands-on training in the latest specification of Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB), the core component technology of the Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE). The enterprise Java developer has to focus more on the EJB containers requirements than on the business logic of the application. Extensive use of Java 5 annotations has greatly simplified the Enterprise Java component model allowing the developer to write EJBs as plain old Java objects (POJOs).

Students will apply learned concepts in the most popular Enterprise Java development environment:JBoss

Instructor:

Joyce Deeb, Instructor, XMaLpha Technologies

This class will be held at:
New Horizons
4515 Seton Center Pkwy Ste. 250
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 349 9555

Back to Top