Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Gatineau-Ottawa Agile Tour

Phoenix Payroll Catastrophe — Why Canada is Destined to Repeat It

This will be the 2^nd time I present at GOAT. I am honoured to have been invited this year to share some thoughts about Agile work within government.

Abstract: In this session, we will examine the history of Canada's Phoenix Payroll system, understand its current state, and — given what we know of the government’s track-record and recent policy changes — speculate whether the billions they’ll spend next will render any value for Canadians.
Date & Location: November 22, 2019; Ottawa; goagiletour.ca

Agile Tour Montréal

This year at Agile Tour Montréal I will present 3 unique sessions.

The Messy Business of Agile at Scale

Abstract

This session is for practitioners who are serious about business results and helping Agile values and principles succeed in large scale environments. I will address the terrifying questions business owners ask in the real world — questions Agilists don’t like talking about!

Agile work is messy business. We’ve broken the mold and a generation of executives and managers are reeling in ambiguity. They turn to consultants who throw frameworks at them. They turn to Agile Coaches and hear, “it’s all about mindset”. We need to do better than that. We can elevate the discussion with business leaders and stop beating around the bush. Real business problems need serious answers.

Stop Using Projects to Make Products

Abstract

A project is: “a set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations.” — BusinessDictionary.com. Retrieved 2016-04-19. The problem: Product development cannot be constrained to “certain cost” and products do not have a prescribed end date. So, why all the projects?

I teach Scrum, Kanban, and Agile Engineering Principles and Practices. In my classes:

~55% of the people in my classes are “Project Managers”
~90% work daily in “project teams” and
~0% are ready to let go of Project Charters!?

The Art of Agile Documentation

Abstract: This session is a sense-making workshop to simplify valuable documentation and reduce wasteful documentation. Agile Engineering practices have revolutionized the ways in which documentation is treated and produced. In high-stakes environments with heavy compliance and audit requirements, a tendency toward exhaustive documentation is dangerously common. This workshop provides direct guidance and simple tools to help a document-heavy workplace think differently about documentation.
Myth: “Agile teams don’t document.”
Truth: Agile teams produce excellent and valuable documentation.