Johanna Rothman shares some of her highlights of the past year, which has been her first full year as the technical editor for the Agile Journal, now called Agile Connection.
Now that we are nearing the end of 2012, I would like to use this column to share some of my highlights of the past year with you. Over the course of my first full year as the technical editor for the Agile Journal, I’ve learned a few things that I’d like you to know.
Treat Authors as Adults
I always knew authors were adults, and now I really know that. In my comments to authors, I asked for the results I wanted: “Please tell a story here.” “I bet there’s a story behind this statement.” “And then what happened?”
Authors have the story inside of them. Often, they are so close to the story that they don’t realize they need to tell us, the readers. It’s my job to represent you, the site reader, and ask the questions you might ask.
That doesn’t mean I lead the author by the nose and say, “Now do this, now do that.” Oh no. That would make the author and me both crazy. But, I can ask for what happened next. Or, I can say, “It seems as if there’s something interesting going on here. Can you tell me what it is?” and then see what happens. When I treat authors as adults and ask for the results that I want, the authors deliver. It’s great.
Nobody’s Agile Is the Same as Anybody Else’s Agile
Everyone’s agile is different. I am surprised and thrilled when I read more and more stories about how this person adapted agile to fit their needs or how that organization used lean and agile to make their projects work. I love hearing their stories. I’m especially thrilled when I first read about their failures and how their retrospectives and project learnings helped them turn those failures into successes.
It’s clear to me that agile is not one-size-fits-all. Every culture is different, so agile will be different for everyone. I am happy that so many of our authors want to share their stories of how their version of agile and their agile journey is working for them.
Our Journal Is Now a Connection
You’ll notice we are no longer the “Agile Journal.” We are now the Agile Connection. I’m excited about our new name, mostly because it’s not just a new name. I hope that you take that new name literally. We are trying to connect, not just with articles, but with news, and as a community site. We have our articles, curated content, question and answers, resources, and events. I encourage you to explore agileconnection.com and see what’s there. If you find something that you liked before and it’s missing, let us know.
Help Us Connect
I’m not a touchy-feely person. When my daughters were in school and the teachers or the principals said, “It’s time to build community,” I wanted to run away. Fast. However, here we have opportunities to connect with whom we want, at our own pace, without a bake sale and with only virtual hugs. This is my kind of connection. I hope it’s yours.
I hope your 2012 was a wonderful year. And, I hope your 2013 is even better.
Johanna Rothman
Agileconnection.com
Technical editor
