If youÂ’ve ever wanted a crash-course in all things agile, you should consider attending one of the agile conferences which are held around the globe each year. (For a full list of upcoming conferences, check the Agile Alliance siteÂ’s events page here: http://www.agilealliance.org/events) These events are great ways to hear some of the most important agile thought leaders discuss advanced practitioner topics; meet with other agile users and share best practices and strategies for resolving common impediments; and interact with participating agile companies, including tooling and training vendors.
The biggest agile conference of them all is Agile 2009, which is happening this year in Chicago, from August 24 to 28. For more information about what speakers, sessions, and other logistics, check out the site: http://agile2009.agilealliance.org
I was fortunate enough to attend last yearÂ’s event in Toronto and, as IÂ’m sure anyone else who attended would tell you, it was a blast. For someone who uses Scrum and agile engineering techniques every day to manage projects, it was great to be in the company of so many other people who not only use Scrum themselves, but fully believe in its capacity to enact lasting organizational change. So much of my time is spent bringing new team members up to speed about Scrum or convincing management that agile truly is a catalyst for change, that having four days to talk to other passionate practitioners about how to use it even more effectively was incredibly refreshing. There are more sessions during than day than an individual could possibly attend, which means attendees can really tailor what presentations they go to based on their interests. Last year, I was struggling to get a grasp on some concepts related to agile metrics, so I was able to hit every session that discussed metrics in one form or another. Needless to say, concepts that were fuzzy when I read about them in books suddenly came to life when I saw a true subject matter expert lecture on them.
From a professional development standpoint, it was invaluable. In addition to the metrics expertise I walked away with, I was able to meet other agile users every day and talk through specific problems and the ways weÂ’ve tried to address them. Just through these informal conversations, I was able to head back to work with an arsenal of best strategies.
Are you planning to go to Agile 2009 this summer? Did you attend last yearÂ’s event in Toronto? IÂ’d love to hear about your experiences, so please feel free to share yours in the comments section.
Posted under Agile 20XX
