You’re familiar with agile and perhaps practicing Scrum. Now, you want to learn about Kanban to see if it is something to add to your development toolkit. Can Kanban help you? How does it differ from Scrum and other agile methodologies? Kanban is quickly being adopted by teams that want to improve their productivity. Kanban focuses on continuous flow and incorporating the theory of constraints which together allow teams to improve and streamline their product delivery. Learn about Kanban-not only the theory, but also practical lessons on transitioning your team to Kanban. Get insight into moving from Scrum to Kanban and pick up techniques that can aid any team. See cumulative flow diagrams, WIP (work-in-progress) limits, classes of services in action, and hear about other ideas from the Kanban toolset. Come and grow your agile repertoire!

“Speed” describes how fast an object is moving and let’s us compute the distance it has traveled. “Velocity” is different-it defines both speed and direction. So why do I meet so many teams who talk about their velocity but lack direction? Once you can track speed and distance, the real challenge becomes envisioning, validating, and measuring direction and purpose. David Hussman explores what teams typically measure and track in agile projects today, and compares these to what is most important to the business and to the project’s success. Come ready to question what you are measuring and how it is helping you improve. Join David to learn how to use data in more meaningful ways, discover new ways to measure velocity, and identify new tools to help ensure you are doing more of what is really needed. Come away with the answer to the key question: How do your teams know that they are building the right things for the business?

In a world where technology is rapidly changing, development practices are quickly evolving, and teams are frequently reorganized, how can you remain steady and true to yourself? Even though things are changing around you, you can build a solid framework of personal beliefs to guide you throughout your professional career. To develop a credo-from the Latin “I believe”-is to take a personal journey through your professional life and the ideas that shaped it, ultimately creating your own statement of core beliefs. This credo forms a stable foundation for personal plans and actions. Marlena Compton shares the framework she’s used to build her professional credo. She examines manifestos and mission statements that have influenced her beliefs about building software and how she uses her credo as a basis to form concrete goals and take action.

All of us have experienced situations when we receive feedback. Some we readily accept; some we quickly reject. In a community that should be dedicated to constantly inspecting and adapting, why do we reject some feedback immediately? Tricia Broderick believes that self-reflection is the key to processing feedback in a positive light. In this interactive session, you’ll work with Tricia and other delegates to experience enriching discomfort, practice deep reflection, and ascertain why we can be so quick to dismiss feedback. Gain an understanding of how discomfort and self-reflection can be an IT professional's best friends. Leave with an expanded understanding of self-reflection that includes taking greater responsibility for personal development and tweaking your improvement-seeking process. If you are looking to get out of your comfort zone and grow as an individual and team member, this session is for you.