GOTO is a vendor independent international software development conference with more that 90 top speaker and 1300 attendees. The conference cover topics such as .Net, Java, Open Source, Agile, Architecture and Design, Web, Cloud, New Languages and Processes

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Alexander Grosse, VP Engineering at Soundcloud

Alexander Grosse

Biography: Alexander Grosse

Alexander is currently VP Engineering at SoundCloud, the world’s leading social sound platform. Before SoundCloud he worked as R&D director at Nokia, where he headed Places Development at Nokia’s Location Services and had overall responsibility for the Operations department. Alexander has worked in a wide range of positions (Development, Consulting, CTO) in the software industry since 1996, including co-founding two start-ups.He holds a Masters in computer science from the University of Oldenburg and an Executive MBA from FOM Berlin. Besides computer science Alexander works(ed) as a techno DJ in Berlin’s party scene.

Presentation: What sucks about Scrum

Track: Agile Case Studies / Time: Monday 12:05 - 13:05 / Location: Room 104 / 105

How often have we heard statements like “We do a daily standup and a sprint planning meeting, therefore we are doing Scrum and are Agile”? It should be obvious that this statement is far from true – but how could those misunderstandings happen? One of the core reasons is the way Scrum is (mis)understood and taught by Scrum consultants (who may have little experience in software development).

Presentation: Hire "A" Teams

Track: Sounds like progress / Time: Wednesday 10:35 - 11:30 / Location: Room 104 / 105

At SoundCloud we've found our best successes come through collaboration, not from relying on heroes. We put all our efforts into building an "A" Team rather than trying to hire "A" people - the latter being a term that can pull teams apart rather than bring them together. This talk will consider how best to select the right people to create "A" teams. We'll share insights on how to identify individuals who are genuinely passionate about the product, as well as reinforce the value of being an open, engineering-focused organization.