I attended
Pablo's Days of TDD yesterday and today. I didn't attend really for my personal benefit since I already understand and believe in the concepts of TDD. Rather, I came to see what the Los Techies guys had put together and who else attended.
Pablo's guys were exceptional. They put together a set of sponsors to provide a venue with plenty of space and large projectors and provide food. They assembled a lab workbook with step-by-step instructions and lots of screen shots to encourage working along with the presenter. Another sponsor provided the color printing of the workbook. Lots of attendees brought their laptops and were actively following.
Obviously, the primary topic was common unit testing concepts using NUnit. In addition, Resharper hints and tricks are used extensively. Finally, an introduction to mocking with Rhino.Mocks was covered in the last lab. I counted eight Los Techies members on hand to answer virtually any question or provide one-on-one help.
Although the turnout was very good, I know there were more people out there that could have benefited. I encouraged several folks to show up and not a one was there.
Come on folks. There are tons of opportunities out there for free skills development. You might have to give up a Saturday or an evening to attend, but it will be worth it to your craft. In the long run, this translates to increased productivity and career advancement.
Managers, look for these opportunities and encourage your developers to attend. As your developers improve and advance their careers, this is a positive reflection on you as well.