Agile events are interesting because of the only reason - meeting people and hearing their opinions. Everything else you can find in books.
I’ve been to AgileRigaDay at the start of March and made some notes listening to key speakers - http://www.agilerigaday.lv/speakers
Importance of Feedback (Ola Elnestam)
It’s important not to give feedback, but act based on it!
If you have to prove your customer that certain (read agile/lean/…) development approach is better than another, than it is something wrong in your relations!
What is Agility? (Vasco Duarte)
I am Agile - what does it mean to you?
- Don’t fight who is more Agile! It’s just doesn’t make sense. Think about value!
- Do you feel Agile in you projects?
- If you perform certain practices like stand-up, sprints and etc… does it mean that you are Agile now?
Note: Main difference between Agile and Waterfall projects is sense of responsibility:
- In Agile environment people take responsibility for what they do
- In waterfall - no one knows anything
Agile and Lean (Joakim Sundén)
Scrum vs Kanban - NO… Scrum and Kanban!
Kanban focuses on flow mainly, make your flow as short as possible.
Understand how the work works!
Key values of Kanban - stimulate a conversation with WIP (work in progress) and visualization of work.
Some things to remember about Kanban:
- No celebration in Kanban
- Hm, just do it. No one says you can’t.
- You can have time box for each WIP
- Don’t use Kanban as an excuse for failed SCRUM
- Stop starting things, start finishing…
Agile adoption (Zuzana Sochova)
Most difficult things in agile adoption:
- Story Points
- Test driven development
- Pair programming
Things to remember about Agile:
- Communication is everything
- Involve everyone and make sure everyone understands Agile
- Make collaborative culture
Before implementing Agile decide the following:
- Where you are
- Where do you want to go
- If you are ready for change
Adoption will work if you:
- Believe in culture/people
- Embrace change and overcome resistance
- Have willingness to take risks
- Have desire for agile methods
Don’t sell Agile as DOGMA!
p.s. don’t sell anything as dogma