New England Software Symposium
May 2 - 3, 2025
Brent Laster
Global author, trainer and founder of Tech Skills Transformations LLC
Hi, I'm Brent Laster - a global trainer and book author, experienced corporate technology developer and leader, and founder and president of Tech Skills Transformations LLC. I've been working with and presenting at NFJS events for many years now and it is always exciting and interesting.
Through my decades in programming and management,I've always tried to make time to learn and develop both technical and leadership skills and share them with others Regardless of the topic or technology, my belief is that there is no substitute for the excitement and sense of potential that come from providing others with the knowledge they need to help them accomplish their goals.
In my spare time, I hang out with my wife Anne-Marie, 4 children and 2 small dogs in Cary, North Carolina where I design and conduct trainings and write books. You can find me on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brentlaster), Twitter (@brentclaster) or through my company's website at www.getskillsnow.com.
Presentations
| Fri 8:30 AM |
Incorporating AI into your SDLC
Leveraging AI tooling across the phases of your software development lifecycle |
|
| Fri 10:30 AM | Gen AI: Understanding and Using RAG - Making LLMs smarter by pairing your data with Gen AI | |
| Fri 1:15 PM | Gen AI: AI Agents - Making LLMs work together in an organized way | |
| Fri 3:15 PM | Advanced GitHub Copilot: Tips and tricks to make the most out of your AI assistant | |
| Fri 5:00 PM | Gen AI: Testing with GitHub Copilot |
Books
Jenkins 2 - Up and Running
All about Jenkins 2, Pipelines-As-Code, CI/CD, etc.
Professional Git
Leverage the power of Git to smooth out the development cycleProfessional Git takes a professional approach to learning this massively popular software development tool, and provides an up-to-date guide for new users. More than just a development manual, this book helps you get into the Git mindset—extensive discussion of corollaries to traditional systems as well as considerations unique to Git help you draw upon existing skills while looking out—and planning for—the differences. Connected labs and exercises are interspersed at key points to reinforce important concepts and deepen your understanding, and a focus on the practical goes beyond technical tutorials to help you integrate the Git model into your real-world workflow.
Git greatly simplifies the software development cycle, enabling users to create, use, and switch between versions as easily as you switch between files. This book shows you how to harness that power and flexibility to streamline your development cycle.
- Understand the basic Git model and overall workflow
- Learn the Git versions of common source management concepts and commands
- Track changes, work with branches, and take advantage of Git's full functionality
- Avoid trip-ups and missteps common to new users
Git works with the most popular software development tools and is used by almost all of the major technology companies. More than 40 percent of software developers use it as their primary source control tool, and that number continues to grow; the ability to work effectively with Git is rapidly approaching must-have status, and Professional Git is the comprehensive guide you need to get up to speed quickly.