Coffee, Tea, or Agile?

Time: Tuesday, May 18   08:30-09:30
Speaker: Linda Rising

Some observers of historical trends have suggested that the Industrial Revolution could not have happened without coffee and tea. Heating water for a daily jolt of caffeine enabled workers to be more in control of their waking hours and also to have longer lives because drinking water that has been boiled means the consumer is less likely to swallow the toxic soup that early water supplies presented for consumption. Control of working and waking is what the Industrial Age was all about. Is it time for a truly agile approach to how we work and live our lives? What would that mean? No coffee/tea/Diet Coke/Red Bull? What are the real penalties we are paying for force fitting the Industrial Age (plan-driven) living into agile development? Is there really a way to have it all? What’s the best way to be happy and healthy and productive?

Agile Managers: the Essence of Leadership

Time: Wednesday, May 19   08:30-09:30
Speaker: Johanna Rothman

As organizations have transitioned to agile projects and programs, what happens to the managers? Do we need managers any more? If so, what good would they do?
Yes, we need managers. And, in a truly agile organization, where the managers are freed from the day-to-day tactical project tasks, we need them more than ever as organizational leaders: setting strategy, managing the project portfolio, removing organizational obstacles, building trusting relationships with technical staff, coaching, providing feedback, assisting with career development, leading the hiring decisions and process, and building the capacity of the organization.
Technical leads, project leaders, Scrum Masters, program managers—whomever the person is who facilitates the project team’s or set of project teams’ work—cannot perform all those functions.
So, let’s examine the role of the manager in the agile organization. Agile managers provide true leadership—that of directing the organization and guiding the people—making those difficult decisions that help the organization prosper and grow.

Learning objectives: What managers do in an agile organization, How to work across the organization to make strategic decisions, What to do instead of individual reviews, How to recognize when to give meta-feedback and meta-coaching, How to give meta-feedback and meta-coaching.

Navigating Conflict on Agile Teams – The AWE Factor

Time: Wednesday, May 19   16:30-17:30
Speaker: Lyssa Adkins

On many agile development teams, conflict lurks under the surface and can erupt as a volcano of destruction and suffering. On many agile teams, conflict is viewed mostly as a distraction that keeps the team from getting the job done. However, on great agile teams, conflict is constant and welcomed by all as a catapult to higher performance. In all these situations, conflict is not a mechanistic system one can simply take apart, fix, and put back together. It is not about mechanisms; it is about human beings working together, day after day, in the maelstrom of constant collaboration and change. In this turbulence, how can teams chart a course through conflict and turn it into a force for greatness? Lyssa Adkins reveals a conflict model that helps you do just that, walking you through five levels of conflict from “Problem to Solve” to “World War” with each step finely tuned to view conflict in a deeply human and humane way. After all, agile is about people and interactions and nowhere is this more apparent than in the midst of conflict. Come learn a framework you can use right away to help your teams navigate conflict and move toward high performance.

Eight Secrets of Lean Transformations in IT

Time: Thursday, May 20   08:30-09:30
Speaker: Frode Odegard

Lean is a framework for organizational learning and execution.  It comprises a family of tools and practices that rest on a set of assumptions and attitudes about people, culture, and leadership.  Thus Lean is both analytical and social in nature.  Transitioning to Lean is difficult because it fundamentally challenges conventional assumptions about leadership as well as operations.  In this keynote, Frode Odegard will discuss some of the surprising lessons learned from helping organizations adopt Lean.