microTOOL Events

On the 11th and 12th of May 2017, the business analysis camp took place in Vienna. For the fourth time, business analysts from all over the world met to discuss challenges in businesses and projects, changes, business values and business needs. The BA camp offered a great program, with keynotes from Debra Paul and Torster Koerting, discussions, workshops and lectures. And with the usability test eatings the two organizers Ingrid and Peter Gerstbach succeeded a very successful and interesting surprise. We were happy to sponsor the business analysts’ branch meeting. We are looking forward to seeing everybody again on 17 and 18 May 2018.

The REConf 2017 took place in Munich from March 28-29^th. The “who’s who” of the requirements management world met for the sixteenth time to discuss challenges and best practices in workshops, talks, discussion groups and open spaces. As usual 2017 featured a large selection of prestigious producers and service providers. microTOOL was among them. And we had very interesting talks about innovations in objectiF RPM, the software for application lifecycle management – and in-STEP BLUE – the project management tool based on processes and standards.

microTOOL offers apprenticeships again in 2018 as part of our cooperation with the Berlin School of Economics and Law. We therefore gladly took the opportunity to present the latest solutions and trends from the fields of application lifecycle management, requirements engineering and project management on the Dual Study Programme Day. After the interesting discussions on the ground we are already looking forward to the applications.

More than 150 speakers – including numerous top international names – shared the newest insights in development and software at this year’s OOP from January 31st – February 2nd. The event centered around three issues: 1) The steps involved in processing digital signals; 2) Life with implanted devices and 3) What software developers can learn from architects. Ursula Meseberg, microTOOL’s CEO, gave a talk entitled: “Requirements engineering and backlog management for agile product development” in which explained the orthogonal variability model as well as variation points with variation quantities in requirements engineering for complex features. microTOOL was proud to present the latest versions of objectiF RPM, in-STEP BLUE and objectiF RM at this year’s OOP.

“Experience the value of quality.” That was the theme at the Software Quality Days, held in Vienna from the 18 – 19 January 2017. The event was all about current trends, best practices in quality management and ways of improving methods and processes. microTOOL was proud to be involved in Europe’s leading conference for software quality and happy about the opportunity to meet clients and people interested in the advantages of processes and methods with in-STEP BLUE, as well as those who wanted to know more about best practices and the most up-to-date trends in objectiF RPM. The focus of the event was: “Quality of things: complexity and challenges of software engineering in emerging technologies”; perfect for our tools.

“Climbing the peak with project management” was the theme of this year’s PM Summit—one of the largest project management events in Germany. The comparison was between the challenges associated with a complex project with those of a climbing expedition: preparation, equipment, team work, leadership and dealing with outside interferences.

As a proud sponsor and presenter, microTOOL had lively discussions and gained new ideas at the event.

On November 10, 2016 the ANSSTAND e.V. special interest group for V-Modell users hosted the V-Modell XT Get-Together. The conference was aimed at project managers, qusality assurance managers, systems analysts and designers as well as executive managers in systems development, project leaders in administration and authorities and IT managers. microTOOL’s Hubert Siegemund provided insight into his experiences in applying and implementing the V-Modell XT.

From October 17th to 19th 2016 the German Association for Project Management e.V. was hosting the 33rd international project management forum. This time the theme is “GROWING TOGTHER. Connecting ideas. Securing project results.” Experts gathered at the Nuremberg convention center for the largest project management meeting in Europe. And microTOOL presented solutions for future oriented project management, requirements management and agile development. We also hosted a new discussion format about “Why don’t you just plan you projects without requirements”. It was a great forum and a great experience and we already look forward to the 34th international project management forum.

Maik Pfingsten, renowned keynote speaker focusing on systems engineering, invited experts to join the Requirements Engineering Barcamp on October 14, 2016 in Cologne. The event was about all things requirements engineering and aimed at systems and requirements engineers, product and project managers, product development managers and all people looking for ways to improve their operations and processes, seeking a more agile approach to their projects or interested in hands-on knowledge.

As part of the Initiative Hochschule, microTOOL supported the event by giving away 10 free tickets .

Two blog posts by Maik Pfingsten focusing on agile requirements specifications and the system footprint can be found here.

Functional Safety has fundamentally changed the way we develop products. For this reason, Jörg Hermes, experienced product developer and expert in the area of functional safety, invited current and future Functional Safety Managers, Experts, Engineers and Project Managers to join the First Functional Safety Barcamp in Cologne on October 13, 2016.

This unconference aimed the challenges that have to be faced in the areas of aviation, the automotive sector, medical technology or agricultural technology. The goal was to enter into a fruitful exchange of knowledge across industries and to find answers to concrete questions posed by current safety developments and trends regarding the control mechanisms, operation, process models and tools.

In line with microTOOL’s Initiative Hochschule the company supported the event by donating 10 free tickets for students.

The MESCONF focused on the usefulness of modelling in the development of embedded systems. Interesting talks and discussions in open-spaces took place on October 6^th 2016 in the second edition of the conference. microTOOL once again joined the event to show objectiF RPM and the benefits it has for businesses. The software is a leader in the market when it comes to helping companies create products flexibly and quickly as well as to respond to a world of ever changing requirements.

The fourth Berlin PM camp took place from September 29^th to October 1^st 2016 at the Humboldt University. Focusing on the topic of digitization, projects in the time of digitization and digitization using projects. But what is digitization? And what does it mean for projects? What will change? Discussions were held about project management, leadership, visualization, corporate culture, agility, processes as well as about tools, communication and project marketing.

A business analyst is constantly on the look-out for opportunities, problems and solutions in companies. He pursues the goal of improving the company step by step. But what is the most important part of the communication in business analysis? How does business analysis work in agile projects? And how can companies incrementally develop systems? The IIBA Chapter Meeting on September 29 at microTOOL in Berlin provided answers.

Traceability is of utmost importance for business analysis, but people from agile environments often are convinced that traceability is more labour-intensive and thwarts agility. One thing is certainly true: People must be able to experience traceability, which is a credo that Ursula Meseberg focused on at the IIBA Austria Chapter Meeting on September 27, 2016 in Vienna. It was the first time microTOOL filled the role of Gold Sponsor of the  IIBA Austria Chapter. It was a great event and a lot of fun for all participants, and we are already looking forward to the next chapter meeting!

In what situations does it make sense for agile teams to use tools? The Tools4AgileTeams Conference took place in Wiesbaden from September 1-2, 2016 and focused on this exact question. It was a meeting place for all persons interested in agile project work a well as for tool manufacturers offering solutions for teams, process models and technologies. Ursula Meseberg, Managing Director at microTOOL GmbH, provided insight into Requirements Engineers and Agile Teams – Done Twice or Doubling Down on Quality? and offered a first look into new objectiF RPM features.

Use Case 2.0 is on everyone’s mind. But what advantages does it offer for agile development? Are Use Case 2.0 and scrum, as the most prominent representatives of agile development, even compatible? microTOOL was happy to be supporting the Beuth Hochschule für Technik in Berlin in June 2016 again.

Take a look at the Initiative Hochschule.

The Association of German Engineers (VDI) Berlin-Brandenburg, in association with microTOOL GmbH, cordially invited to the Knowledge Transfer on June 16, 2016 followed by a time of discussion. Enrico Fritz, lead consultant at microTOOL GmbH, reported on the typical challenges involved in developing software and embedded systems. He covered questions like: How to elicit good requirements,  analyze stakeholders, identify connections, or partition systems. In short: how to systematically develop good systems.

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On June 15, 2015 CON•ECT event management invited IT users to the “Business Analysis and Requirements Day” in the IBM Client Center in Vienna.

Ursula Meseberg, microTOOL’s CEO, gave a talk on how can we make requirements engineering successful in agile projects. Franz Hofer, from the Raiffeisen Bank International AG spoke about “Product owners – living in the tension between IT and business.” And Dr. Michael Amann from ProMind e.U., Mag. Christoph Leithner from the Celix Solution GmbH, Helmut Pichler from ANECON as well as Severin Winkler from SBA Research concluded the event with their own interesting talks.

The microTOOL user conference held from May 11^th to 12^th in the Pestana Hotel Berlin was a fascinating experience for all the participants. The conference was about the present and the future. What options do our tools offer us today and what possibilities do they open up for the future? What are some of your daily struggles at work and which challenges will you face for tomorrow? The program has grown since 2015. It is divided into three parts: talks, a mini format and the ever-popular knowledge black market.

Take a look at this year’s agenda (German only).

The OBJEKT spectrum hosted the Information Days on April 2016 in Frankfurt am Main and a day later on April 20 in Munich. The topic was “innovation and software engineering”. The event tries to answer the question: how much innovation arises from professional software engineering? At the same time we evaluate the practical relevance of agility, design thinking, DevOps, requirements engineering and usability engineering. The result is: software engineering is a driver of innovation.

microTOOL, as the host, is looking forward to presenting its solutions on both days. Ursula Meseberg, CEO of microTOOL, is also giving a talk about “requirements engineers’ tasks in agile projects” and answering the questions: Can requirements engineering even be agile? Who is currently performing agile requirements engineering and what techniques are they using?

microTOOL offers apprenticeships again in 2016 as part of our cooperation with the Berlin School of Economics and Law. We were very proud to be invited to present at the dual degree day on March 10th 2016. We talked about the newest solutions and trends in the fields of project management and requirements engineering. We answered questions about internships, degrees, theses and even jobs for young professionals.

You can find out more about the course at the Berlin School of Economics and Law.

„Connecting People – Overcoming Barriers“ was the motto of the REConf 2016. This event focussed on the challenges of combining traditional requirements management with the challenges of an increasingly agile world, of methodological differences, of finding commonalities and of finding the right approaches. Ursula Meseberg contributed to the event with her presentation „Requirements Engineering und Business Analyse auf dem Weg zu Global Professions: Ein Vergleich der methodischen Grundlagen für die Zertifizierungen nach IIBA, IREB und PMI“ („Requirements Engineering and Business Analysis as Global Professions: A Comparison of the Methodologies of IIBA, IREB and PMI Certificates).

microTOOL once again joined the REConf as exhibitor and presented all new features of in-STEP RED, objectiF RM and in-STEP BLUE. And we are already looking forward to participating in REConf 2017.

The leading international fair for embedded systems, embedded world, gave participants the chance to experience the whole world of innovations from the embedded sector, to meet experts and to acquire new customers. The microTOOL booth in Nürenberg expanded attendees knowledge on requirements engineering, the key to developing successful embedded systems. We also provided more information about in-STEP RED, objectiF RM and in-STEP BLUE.

“Effizienzsteigerung des Anforderungsmanagements“ (Improving Efficiency of Requirements Management) was the motto of the 5th Berlin Requirements Engineering Symposium hosted by Fraunhofer IPK and InMediasP GmbH. microTOOL was pleased to contribute to the session „Praktischer Nutzen agiler Methoden“ (Real-World Benefits of Agile Methods) in the form of a presenation. Ursula Meseberg focussed on the challenges of agile and mobile trends in her talk „Agile for Mobile: Erfahrungen mit der agilen Entwicklung von Anforderungen für mobile Business Applikationen.“ (Agile for Mobile: Experiences in Agile Development of Requirements for Mobile Business Applications).

On October 27-28, 2015 the German Association for Project Management e.V. hosted the 32rd International Project Management Forum, the PM Forum. The motto of the event was „Projektmanagement öffnet Horizonte. Weiterdenken. Weitergehen.“ (Project Management broadens horizons. Think further. Go further.)

Experts came together for the biggest event for the biggest industry event. On October 26, the PMO Day took place; it focused on “Leading Principles for the Future of Project Management”. microTOOL presented solutions for future-proof project management and requirements management. It was an exciting event that makes us look forward to the next steps we make together with our clients and customers.

Have you heard of the Modeling Manifest of Embedded Systems? Seven theses combining claim, goals and practice of model-based development of embedded systems were announced at the MESCONF on October 6, 2015 at the Infineon-Campus in Munich. microTOOL was pleased to join the MESCONF as exhibitor and talk about the numerous possibilities offered by objectiF RM.

The MESCONF offered open sessions,  traditional presentations and panel discussions about chances and challenges of embedded systems modeling, reasonable model sizes and required traceability from requirements elicitation to testing. We are already looking forward to the second MESCONF next year.

The project management department of Kassel University hosted a project management symposium focusing on “Risk Management in Projects” on October 2 at the Ramada Hotel Kassel. microTOOL presented solutions for integrated project and risk management and supported the event as sponsor.

Companies such as Bombardier, DB ProjektBau, DB Netz, Daimler, Porsche, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Hochtief and Deges gave insights into their approaches to risk management. Around 150 participants from industry sectors such as construction, automotive, engineering and consulting joined a great number of presentations and lively discussions.

The Austrian and German chapter of the IIBA (International Instiute of Business Analysis) hosted the Business Analysis Summit in Frankfurt/Main on September 25, 2015. Business Analysts, Business Architects, Application Analysts, Requirements Engineers, Project and Program Managers were part of a top-class event.

Experts such as Rüdiger Süß of Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kölmel of the Hochschule Pforzheim and Dr. Roland Gareis, managing partner of Roland Gareis Consulting GmbH each possess vast amount of experience and were more than willing to share it. In her talk “Spuren legen auf dem Weg vom Bedarf zur Lösung”, Ursula Meseberg, managing director of microTOOL GmbH, examined the most effective approach to make the journey from needs to requirements in various levels of detail to solutions components and test cases traceable.

microTOOL was pleased to support the Business Analyse Summit as Sponsor.

CON•ECT Eventmanagement invited IT users from economy and public authorities to Vienna to join the event Current Software-Trends – Agile Development– Agile Teams – ALM on September 22. In her talk Agile for Mobile Ursula Meseberg, managing director at microTOOL GmbH, explained an approach through which microTOOL has dovetailed iterative requirements elicitation and agile development of mobile business applications.

Other talks examined the role of individuals and interactions in agile environments and in agile teams in multi-project management environments as well as specifics of software modernization and cross-platform software development.

All talks reflected the software development megatrend of more often – faster and cheaper software manufacturers must succumb to. Speakers from Microsoft, Frequentis, ZTP and sinnvollFÜHREN tried to answer the question of how to meet these demands.

microTOOL was pleased to support the Informunity Event as sponsor.

The third PM Camp Berlin focused on the question Complexity – to reduce or to increase? Exciting talks, e.g. by Niels Pfläging about “Complexithods”, an event schedule defined by the participants themselves and controversial discussions; the PM Camp in Berlin on September 10-12, 2015 at the Humboldt Universität once again was an active exchange and dialog between all participants.

“There is no other format better suited to ignite discussions and thought processes, and to offer an insight into daily business of other project managers”, one of last year’s participants described the event perfectly.

microTOOL was very pleased to participate in and support the PM Camp in Berlin as sponsor. We can’t wait for 2016 to come.

The Initiative Hochschule is a means for microTOOL to support Universities of Applied Sciences such as the Beuth Hochschule für Technik in Berlin by giving lectures in step with actual practice. On June 24, 2015 Ursula Meseberg, managing director at microTOOL GmbH talked about Resilient and Scrum-compliant requirements modeling with Use Case 2.0. She focused on options to improve requirements and define test cases in customer projects in an agile project environment according to Scrum.

The power of Trust and how it can help to improve the way you lead colleagues, project members, people – this is what the workshop by Olaf Lewitz and Alex Pikulev was all about. It offered a vast number of tools for managers, coaches, doctors or teachers alike; tools that help to help other people more efficiently.

One participant’s feedback says it all: “This is a practical course for those who want to run changes right away. The course consists of many practical and useful tools. The most useful for me was the “Delegation Board.” We launched it at work the very next day.”

Find more information on the topic of Trust here.

The perfect alternative for all those unable to come to the Business Analysis and Requirements Day, the Swiss Requirements Day 2015 in Zürich was marked by the many visitors at the microTOOL booth and interesting conversations on successful requirements engineering, cost and effort estimation in agile processes and the value of models for development processes.

The Business Analysis and Requirements Day was on a tight schedule. Hosted by CON•ECT Eventmanagement it was all about the demarcation of Business Analysis and Requirements Engineering. Questions dealt with included How can Requirements Engineering and Project Management exist in an agile world?, How are business processes and inforamtion models interrelated? and What lessons can we learn from Open Source projects?

Ursula Meseberg, Managing Director at microTOOL GmbH introduced the new BABOK Version 3, the Guide to Business Analysis Body of Knowledge. Among other things she examined what the standard is based on and what 150 specialists from 20 coutries have worked on so hard for 4 years.

microTOOL is proud to have supported the Business Analysis and Requirements Engineering Day as sponsor.

Business Analysis is a constantly growing branch. In our fast-moving world it creates enormous value for companies. Companies all over the world are under pressure to adapt to ever-changing conditions and to face new challenges on a daily basis. The tools Business Analysis offers help you to realize what really matters for your company and what solutions will help you in the future.

Again the BA Camp was an great opportunity for intensive exchange and networking for all business analysts with a lot of discussions and interactive formats. microTOOL was pleased to support the BA camp as a sponsor.

The microTOOL User Conference focused on new beginnings, on the opportunities to start something new and to reinvent. The agenda was split in two parts. As part of a more traditional format users reported on their practical experiences with our products and services.

Take a look at the agenda and very interesting videos of the conference (German only).

In the field of Embedded Software Engineering a great number of rules and regulations need to be considered. Do these legal requirements make an agile approach to projects impossible? The aim of the conference was to explore how agile techniques can be implemented in spite of these requirements. The conference for agility in medical and automotive engineering was a great platform for exchange about agile methods in Embedded Software Engineering.

microTOOL joined the event and took an active part in it. On March 25, Ursula Meseberg discussed Use Case 2.0 and showed how to plan and execute agile projects with use case slices.

“Bridging Gaps – Connecting People” was the conference motto in 2015. How can you bridge the gap between conventional requirements management and the agile world? This divide affects many companies. The development of mobile applications requires updates within short intervals. More than 20 expert talked and keynotes presented modern day solutions for requirements engineering. Ursula Meseberg showed “Agile for Mobile: Erfahrungen mit der agilen Entwicklung von Anforderungen für mobile Business Applikationen“. microTOOL managed to connect iterative requirements specification and agile Scrum development.

Products are becoming more complex, requirements engineering thus becoming increasingly important. Requirements Engineering compact was the theme at the microTOOL Business Breakfasts in Cologne, Hamburg and Munich, Berlin, Vienna and Zurich. We talked about requirements gathering and  thevisualization of contexts, about traceability, agile release planning, documentation at your fingertips and the new Use Case 2.0 concept.

A smart world requests smart devices. The future are wearables, systems embedded into every day devices, that you wear like clothes and are even smaller than mobile phones. How do these systems get smart? By fulfilling all the requirements a user might have. Professional requirements engineering is the key to developing smart solutions. We are experts in this. Our tools support your requirements engineering.

Don’t worry if you missed to get to know our tools in-STEP RED, objectiF RM and in-STEP BLUE this year at the embedded world 2015. We will be joining the embedded world 2016 again.

Projects fail. Some are completed too late, some cost more than planned and some produce results that are not used by anyone. The project members are motivated and the world’s best tools for Requirements Management, Project Management or Bug Tracking are available, and still it happens. Sound familiar? The conditions are excellent, but operations do not run smoothly. Communication is difficult.

On October 14, 2014 microTOOL hosted an exciting exchange on Best Practices, PRINCE2 and its implementation in projects. The event was organized in cooperation with Best Practice User Group Germany (BPUG). The participants intensively discussed with Enrico Fritz, Head of Sales at microTOOL about the numerous possibilities in-STEP BLUE offers to apply PRINCE2 in organizations and projects as well as customization of the tool.

Our thoughts: We are already looking forward to next year’s event!

Finding the right approach to requirements is not an easy task. There are too many possible solutions, opinions and points of view. The best thing you can do is to relax and have a nice breakfast. With microTOOL.

At the Business Breakfast in Berlin on September 3o, 2014 you had the chance to experience not one, but two approaches to your requirements.

The first one examined how to elicit requirements completely, how to design and document a powerful systems architecture and how to understand the needs of the users.

The second approach took an in-depth look at the new Use Case 2.0 concept by Ivar Jacobson. Use Case 2.0 is the ideal way to combine established Requirements Engineering techniques with an agile approach to your projects.

„New Trends in Software – Agile Management – Processes and Requirements Engineering“, hosted by CON•ECT Eventmanagement on September 17, 2014 in Vienna offered a fully packed program for all those interested in trends and developments in Project Management and Requirements Engineering.

„Mobile Requirements Engineering – from Trend to Professional Solution” was the title of Ursula Mesebergs exciting talk. micro­TOOL  – like many other companies – is confronted with a growing trend known as »Bring your own device« (BYOD), i.e. the possibility to use privately-owned devices professionally. Especially Require­ments Engineers want more mobility and are looking for ways to use their smartphones and tablets. How can companies guarantee security, confidentiality and protection of personal information and data?

microTOOL was pleased to support the event as sponsor.

On July 10-11, 2014 microTOOL has hosted the Use Case 2.0 Breakfast in collaboration with HOOD. Focus of the event was the Ivar Jacobson Use Case 2.0 Concept.

Use Cases continue to be a popular means of documenting functional requirements. They are the basis of development processes as well as of test cases. The distinctive feature of the Jacobson concept is the combination of established requirements engineering techniques with an agile approach. Uwe Valentini, Senior Consultant in Systems and Software Development at HOOD, explained the effective implementation and benefits of Use Cases 2.0.

Enrico Fritz from microTOOL demonstrated how

• to apply the Ivar Jacobson Use Case 2.0 Concept,
• to produce Use Case Stories based on Use Cases
• to create slices and define acceptance criterias,
• to schedule, implement and accept slices in an agile environment,
• to generate requirements specifications at the click of a mouse.

Did you miss the Use Case 2.0 Business Breakfast? Join our mailing list and be part of it next time!

From June 20 – 22, 2014 the PM Camp took place in Berlin for the second time. The motto of this year’s event was “Cooperation in the 21st Century.”

Agenda and program was in the hands of the participants. And these participants also were the hosts! This event was all about participation and actively shaping the camp itself. No constraints, no defaults. It was the perfect opportunity to exchange knowledge and expertise, and to discuss the topics that really matter to you. In interactive workshops, captivating discussions, exciting games or presentations.

Active participation creates ideas and stimulates interchange of knowledge, resulting in new solutions and practicable methods. Sounds interesting? Then join the PM Camp next year! If you are open to new ways in Project Management, join the PM Camp in Berlin. All contributors are welcome. Organize your own session, give a presentation or share your knowledge in a playful manner.

On June 17, 2014 CON•ECT INFORMUNITY hosted the Requirements Engineering & Business Analysis Day. Internationally acclaimed experts like Dr. Peter Hruschka or Dipl.-Math. Ursula Meseberg entered into discussions with the audience and offered insights into new trends and developments as well as Best Practices in Requirements Engineering, IT Software Architecture and Process Modeling.

microTOOL was pleased to support the Requirements Engineering & Business Analysis Day as sponsor.

We were excited by the amount of passionate participation and thrilling discussions at the  microTOOL User Conference 2014: at the presentations and talks, at the “Black Market of Knowledge” and also at the less formal gatherings.

Join us next year and enrich the conference by adding your views, experiences and approaches. You know what they say: The value of dialog and exchange increases with the number of opinions.

“Hands-on Business Analysis” was the motto, and the ways it was realized were diverse: The BA Camp offered intensive opportunity for exchange and networking for business analysts. In an interactive setting, business analysts and all interested parties had the opportunity to gain new knowledge, share experiences, discuss challenges organizations are facing as well as solutions business analysis can offer. It was also a place to actively shape and contribute to through own ideas and content.

The BA Camp featured internationally respected and pioneering business analysts, experts from neighboring disciplines, users and customers and many others, as well as enthralling discussions on practices, developments and trends. In addition to the sessions, there were opportunities in the evenings to intensify new contacts and to get in touch with other participants and our speakers in a relaxed atmosphere. Because knowledge only grows when shared!

microTOOL was pleased to support the event as sponsor.

For microTOOL, the REConf is a fixed date in the companies’ calendar. No other conference offers more insights into current trends, products and services in Requirements Engineering. This year’s REConf offered a fruitful exchange with customers as well as with other providers. We were especially pleased to introduce in-STEP RED at REConf 2014.

Requirements Engineering as a bridge – Bridging Gaps – was the motto of this year’s REConf 2014. Opportunities and challenges in requirements engineering, collaboration between customers and manufacturers, as well as the possibilities to develop better products with good tools were particularly discussed. And this year the best lectures were awarded by the participants. Ursula Meseberg, founder of microTOOL, ranked No. 2 with her talk about pattern for requirements-driven projects in product development. We are very happy about this great award.