Agile Coach Position Paper, from Ken Ritchie (Atlanta)
"Helping others build great systems and businesses"
Q: What's my experience coaching teams toward being Agile?
A: Roots... My "agile" experience began in the early 1990's when I became infected with the enthusiasm and "frequent tangible working results" of incremental development while learning from and teaching with Peter Coad and colleagues as a friend of Object International. In 1999, the "Feature Driven Development" practices surfaced, and early in 2000 I joined TogetherSoft LLC as a project "mentor" where I began working with Jon Kern, Bob Youngblood, Stephen Palmer, John 'Mac' Felsing Andy Carmichael, Ron Norman, Dave Astels, Jeff De Luca, and many others who followed. Since then I have had the pleasure of working and learning with many people in a number of places. I include David Anderson (agilemanagement . net) among those who have had a significant influence on my thinking, and I am grateful for the frequent collaboration and continuing friendship of Mac Felsing and Don Kranz, as we continue to learn and practice...practice and learn...
Recently... I have coached (or coaxed?) several teams to back away from the steep "waterfall" precipice of long-stage-gated software development life cycles (SDLC), and navigate the iterative and incremental "rapids" instead. Last year, I trained dozens of college grads - fresh out of school - in the ways of iterative and incremental development, in a CMMI Level 3 center. Between hiring seasons, I coached a struggling team to a productive turnaround and guided them toward patterns of sustainable self-management. For those who may be interested, I have chronicled some of my experiences on ( www . linkedin . com / in / kenritchie ) "Agile Coach in Software Development Process Improvement and Engineering Management."
Q: What do I plan to learn /explore at this conference?
A: I have at least three threads in mind now, and this is an OpenSpace, so I'm eager to see what we can weave together!
So, I ask myself, how do I expand my awareness yet improve my focus, and simplify...simplify...simplify?
Q: How do I plan to contribute?
A: In any way that I am able to. I'll begin by listening and sharing. I wish to "Communicate, Collaborate, and Contribute" as I continue my journey of "Learning, Loving, and Leaving a legacy."
Cheers y'all
Ken Ritchie (Atlanta) dba Classmaker (SM)
www . linkedin . com / in / classmaker
send email to classmaker at GMail or Yahoo!
"It is in the shelter of each other that the people live." --Irish proverb
"Helping others build great systems and businesses"
Q: What's my experience coaching teams toward being Agile?
A: Roots... My "agile" experience began in the early 1990's when I became infected with the enthusiasm and "frequent tangible working results" of incremental development while learning from and teaching with Peter Coad and colleagues as a friend of Object International. In 1999, the "Feature Driven Development" practices surfaced, and early in 2000 I joined TogetherSoft LLC as a project "mentor" where I began working with Jon Kern, Bob Youngblood, Stephen Palmer, John 'Mac' Felsing Andy Carmichael, Ron Norman, Dave Astels, Jeff De Luca, and many others who followed. Since then I have had the pleasure of working and learning with many people in a number of places. I include David Anderson (agilemanagement . net) among those who have had a significant influence on my thinking, and I am grateful for the frequent collaboration and continuing friendship of Mac Felsing and Don Kranz, as we continue to learn and practice...practice and learn...
Recently... I have coached (or coaxed?) several teams to back away from the steep "waterfall" precipice of long-stage-gated software development life cycles (SDLC), and navigate the iterative and incremental "rapids" instead. Last year, I trained dozens of college grads - fresh out of school - in the ways of iterative and incremental development, in a CMMI Level 3 center. Between hiring seasons, I coached a struggling team to a productive turnaround and guided them toward patterns of sustainable self-management. For those who may be interested, I have chronicled some of my experiences on ( www . linkedin . com / in / kenritchie ) "Agile Coach in Software Development Process Improvement and Engineering Management."
Q: What do I plan to learn /explore at this conference?
A: I have at least three threads in mind now, and this is an OpenSpace, so I'm eager to see what we can weave together!
- My first thread is "identifying agile talent" - Beyond technical aspects. What constitutes an agile mindset or an aptitude for becoming agile? We learn as we grow, don't we? Are some recruited? Do others self-select? Are there personality or cognitive predispositions to agility? What has been distilled from experience or research so far? What could we do next?
- My second thread is "credit for coaching" - How do coaches, especially as "servant leaders" get recognized or rewarded? How do we acknowledge the added value of a coach? This goes beyond the personal satisfaction from helping others to communicate, collaborate, and contribute (C1+C2+C3). I've seen some thoughtful blogs on this topic. Where are we now?
- And one new thread: A Pillar colleague, Abram Cookson, just sprung his idea of an "agile lifestyle" on a personal level. Wow!!! That got me thinking... What kinds of debts am I carrying now? How do I transform my life for more agility? How can I create more value with less baggage and less waste?
So, I ask myself, how do I expand my awareness yet improve my focus, and simplify...simplify...simplify?
Q: How do I plan to contribute?
A: In any way that I am able to. I'll begin by listening and sharing. I wish to "Communicate, Collaborate, and Contribute" as I continue my journey of "Learning, Loving, and Leaving a legacy."
Cheers y'all
Ken Ritchie (Atlanta) dba Classmaker (SM)
www . linkedin . com / in / classmaker
send email to classmaker at GMail or Yahoo!
"It is in the shelter of each other that the people live." --Irish proverb