AGILE CAMBRIDGE 2011 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

We are very pleased to introduce our keynote speakers David J. Anderson (@agilemanager) and Jurgen Appelo (@jurgenappelo).

David Anderson

Keynote: Predictability and Measurement with Kanban

Even more than being faster, stronger, and better, decision makers and technical teams rely on predictability to succeed. Kanban delivers greater predictability to existing development methods for new project development as well as maintenance and support work. Organizations are using kanban to successfully match their capabilities to their expectations and needs for reliable configuration management, code quality, effective deployment and delivery cadence. How do they maintain the flexibility to navigate the ever-changing business environment and still predictably deliver critical work?

By using measurement, formulas and a scientific approach to change management, we can balance the factors of observed capability, staffing, and delivery targets to achieve predictable outcomes. By analyzing and understanding the nature of the work we do, we can allocate our efforts appropriately. By being methodical in our approach to continuous improvement, we can minimize disruption and achieve lasting benefit.

Bio: David J. Anderson leads a management consulting firm focused on improving performance of technology companies. He has many years management experience leading teams on agile software development projects. David was a founder of the agile movement through his involvement in the creation of Feature Driven Development. He was also a founder of the APLN, a non-profit dedicated to improving management and leadership in technology companies. Recently David has been focusing his attention on business agility and enterprise scale agile software transitions through a synergy of the CMMI model for organizational maturity with Agile and Lean methods.

David will also run a pre-conference tutorial on 27-28 September:
"Kanban - Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business".

Jurgen Appelo

Keynote: How to Change the World

“How do I make my managers more Agile?”
“How can I convince developers to educate themselves?”
“How can I make customers more cooperative?”
“How do I start a European network of Agile and Lean practitioners?”

When transforming organizations and other social systems people usually encounter obstacles. And these obstacles very often involve changing other people’s behaviors. Of course, we cannot really _make_ people behave in a different way. We also cannot really make people laugh, and we cannot really make people happy. But… we can certainly try!

This session is about Change Management 3.0. It is a new change management “super model” which views organizations as complex adaptive systems and social networks. The Change Management 3.0 supermodel wraps various existing models (PDCA, ADKAR, Adoption Curve and The 5 I's). It lists a few dozen hard questions that can help people in their attempts to change the behaviors of other people in an organization and beyond. No matter whether you are a manager, Scrum Master, Product Owner, software developer or writer, anyone will find it useful to know how to change the world around them.

Bio: Jurgen Appelo is a writer, speaker, trainer, entrepreneur, illustrator, developer, manager, blogger, reader, dreamer, leader, freethinker, and… Dutch guy. Since 2008 Jurgen writes a popular blog at www.noop.nl, which deals with development management, software engineering, business improvement, personal development, and complexity theory. He is the author of the book Management 3.0: Leading Agile Developers, Developing Agile Leaders, which describes the role of the manager in agile organizations. He is also a speaker, being regularly invited to talk at business seminars and conferences around the world. Jurgen lives in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) -- and sometimes in Brussels (Belgium) -- with his partner Raoul. He has two kids, and an imaginary hamster called George.