AgileTHIS

I was recently invited to run for the board of directors of the Agile Alliance. After some initial hesitation I decided to go for it!

The election will be held at the Agile 2009 conference on Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago. Voting can be done online as well.

Here’s my position statement:

Q: What do you do?

I optimize, debug, and refactor IT companies. I write books and articles, teach courses, and do on-site coaching; sometimes alone and sometimes with incredibly inspiring people such as Jeff Sutherland and Mary Poppendieck. I still code on a regular basis, to keep in touch with the practical realities of software development.

Q: What is your background?

I’ve founded several IT companies in Sweden and assumed diverse roles including manager, coach, developer, and teacher. I travel regularly and my background is pretty international; I spent the first half of my life in Japan, the second half in Sweden, and who knows where I’ll spend the third half )

My approach to Agile software development and transitioning is illustrated in my books "Scrum and XP from the Trenches" and (forthcoming) "Kanban vs Scrum", as well as dozens of presentations and articles available on my blog.

For more info see http://www.crisp.se/henrik.kniberg

Q: What is your take on Agile?

Agile is a great set of thinking tools that increases the odds of succeeding with software development. In the face of increasing hype, however, we need to remember that Agile is not a silver bullet, not a religion, and should not be preached. There are other great thinking tools out there as well (for example Lean and Theory of Constraints).

Those of you who have heard my presentations or read my material know that my perspective is practical and process-agnostic. Values and principles are very important, but sometimes people just need someone to climb into the trenches with them and help figure how to get started!

Q: Why run for the board?

My primary channels for helping organizations improve are writing, teaching, and on-location coaching. Being on the Agile Alliance board will open up another channel for me to help the software industry improve.

Many organizations I meet are struggling with Agile adoption and need support. Yet, many people seem to think Agile Alliance is just a conference organizer. I hope to change that.

Q: How will you contribute to the board?

I have no specific agenda. What I bring to the board is passion and creativity balanced with a pragmatic, down-to-earth perspective. If nothing else, I hope to breath positive energy into the group.