The #7 Reason to Attend SEPGNA: Pittsburgh Rocks!

It’s hard to believe, but this year’s CMMI Conference is mere weeks away! For those who haven’t decided to register yet, I hope to give you something to think about with my Top 10 Reasons for being in Pittsburgh for SEPG North America on October 1-2. As a long-time attendee of our industry’s Greatest Show On Earth, I have many reasons to love SEPGNA.  Today we’re down to Reason #7.

Drum roll, please! Reason #7 is …

Pittsburgh Rocks!

If you’ve attended in the past, you know that a different city hosts SEPG North America conference each year. In recent years, we’ve been to Portland, Tampa, Savannah, and Albuquerque. This year, the 25th annual SEPG North America conference returns home to where it all began – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

If you haven’t explored Pittsburgh in a while, you are in for a treat!

Before and after your busy day of learning and networking at the conference, here are some happenin’ experiences you can sample around the City of Bridges:

PNC Park, often called America’s best ballpark, is just across the Allegheny River from the convention center. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/ballparks/pncpark.html

Kayak Pittsburgh is a great spot for renting a kayak for an hour and paddling the three rivers. http://www.kayakpittsburgh.org/locations/northshore

Heinz History Center, also an easy walk from the convention center, is where history buffs can view new exhibits about Pennsylvania in the Civil War and pay tribute to the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

The Strip District is where to find the hottest night life in Pittsburgh. Be sure to visit Wigle Whiskey, Pittsburgh’s first legal distillery since prohibition, named for a leader of the Pennsylvania Whiskey Rebellion. Tours are available. https://www.wiglewhiskey.com

Downtown Pittsburgh has been transformed over the past decade. A short walk from the convention center to the Cultural District brings you to the August Wilson Center http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/, which offers six art galleries, all free and open to the public http://www.trustarts.org/visualarts/galleries/. Also check out The Cabaret at Theater Square, which always has a fun show playing: http://trustarts.org/visit/facilities/cabaret.

Market Square http://marketsquarepgh.com has the best dining and drinking in town! The market is home to approximately 30 restaurants, including Pittsburgh’s famous Primanti Brothers (sandwiches with the fries on top) http://primantibros.com/home.html

Little E’s Jazz Club is my favorite spot in town for live music. The downtown club/restaurant has a fully stocked bar and restaurant menu (try the Catfish sandwich!), and performances every night. Tell ‘em Jeff sent you!

Oh, there’s one more thing to make it easy to explore the area. All SEPG Attendees will get an Urbanist Pittsburgh map, which includes some of these suggestions and many others: http://pittsburgh.urbanistguide.com

So come on out for the great learning experience, powerful conversations and ample opportunities to form partnerships — and dig that happenin’ Pittsburgh scene! Register here.

Like this blog? Forward to your nearest engineering or software exec!

Jeff Dalton is a Certified SCAMPI Lead Appraiser, Certified CMMI Instructor, ScrumMaster, author, and consultant with years of real-world experience with the CMMI in all types of organizations. Jeff pioneered agileCMMI, the leading methodology for incremental and iterative process improvement. He has taught thousands of students in CMMI trainings and has received an aggregate satisfaction score of 4.97 out of 5 from his students.

Visit www.broadswordsolutions.com for more information about engineering strategy, performance innovation , software process improvement and running a successful CMMI program.

To download eBooks about CMMI, visit Jeff’s Author Page on Amazon.