People ... People ... People! Does anything else matter?

In the past two weeks I attended the 'Agile Tour Toronto 2010' conference, and the PMI-CTT symposium (local PMI chapter).   I have been a member of the PMI group for approximately 8 years, and the symposium appears to still offer good value to the local members.    This is the first year I've attended the Toronto Agile Tour, and it's value far exceeded my expectations.   Both of these conferences also provided me the opportunity to present my thoughts on the value of project management on Agile projects (more on that topic in my next blog entry).

It's interesting despite the fact the two conferences have different primary focuses, the messages I heard at both were very similar.    The one similarity which really struck me is the people aspect of our profession, as it is a key ingredient to successful software development.  Of course that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone in software development as our domain is knowledge work.  Needless to say it would be difficult to do knowledge work without great people!  I've seen and heard of too many companies that view software development as an industrial process.   Many project managers (including my former self) have made the mistake of applying PMI processes as an industrial process, which is where the origins of PMI is rooted ... oops!

I attended a session at the Agile Tour Toronto conference, facilitated by Derek Wade who stated the position "Agile isn't what you do (it's how you think)".   I thought Derek did a great job of getting his audience to reflect on what they believed Agile represented to them.   The most obvious was a question Derek asked in which he asked for our input on how we characterized Agile.   There were around 10 answers provided, and it struck me that all of them revolved around the people aspect of software development.   Derek didn't guide this result, it just happened.

The focus of the PMI symposium was on the future of project management.   The three keynote speakers of the day focused on where they believed the future of project management lay.   All three focused on the people aspects of the profession, rather than the process.   Again no big surprise as I think as a profession we're learning the greatest value provided comes from our leadership and not the process.

Mary Poppendieck will tell her students "the results are not the point".   I've come to internalize this statement and know the future of software is very dependent on great people!  (actually it always was but I think some lost sight of that)

Make your team the greatest thing going, and they will produce great results!   Find out what makes them tick, and what will inspires them to do their best!    Then help them rise up and be great!    It's amazing what this will do for your software products and the value it delivers.

So back to my title "People ... people ... people!  Does anything else matter?" ... of course there are lots of important things we need to pay attention to.  Just don't miss this important one (because too many people do miss it!)
Next week my blog will touch on the content of the presentation I've been using the past few weeks.   Project management has been my chosen path for 10 years, and now Agile is the perfect compliment which increases the value and I believe is the future!   Project managers have a very important and strategic role in delivering value, but only if it is executed in an agile fashion itself.

Until then ... be Agile!

Mike

The Agile Citizen -- a new blog!

I’ve been very fortunately in my career lately as I have had many opportunities which are allowing me to grow personally.  The most recent opportunities are related to Agile and Lean, and it’s certainly become my new passion and focus!  This doesn’t mean I’m giving up anything I already believe in (including project management), but now I’ve found a way to enhance everything I’ve stood for.  I have been in IT for nearly 25 years now, and still enjoy this career path I am on.   If I didn’t then it would be time for a career change, which just isn’t in the cards.  

I’ve been toying with the idea of a blog for some time now, and have finally decided it’s time to make the leap!   I guess my resistance has always been a fear of failure.   Writing a blog certainly makes you vulnerable, by putting your thoughts out on the internet for all to read and comment on!  However, I believe there’s a lot of to be learned even if what you give me is criticism. 

I have titled my blog the Agile Citizen for a couple reasons:

1. it’s available!  (what can I say … it’s true that this helped to narrow my choice)
2. I believe in an effective Agile environment I am but a citizen of a larger community.   Agile is not about any one of person and the job we do in the act of delivering value.  Rather it’s about the citizen’s of a community and we’re all important to ensuring the greatest degree of value is provided.   While it is true the developer delivers the most direct value, others are required to provide support and so are equally important.    My community is multi-layered, starting with the teams I work with in my job, and extends out to the local Agile community and around this world we share.

My plans at this time is to write a new entry every 2-3 weeks at worst.  However, that will vary based on the activities in my life.   I will use Twitter to notify of new blogs for anyone who cares to follow (Tweet ID: @mikeeedwards)

Next week I plan to start a series of blog entries to summarize a presentation I’m using at several conferences right now.  My presentation’s topic focuses on how to apply project management effectively using the agile principles, allowing for the delivery of maximum value to your customer.   I am receiving good feedback from those who have attended my presentation, so I would like to share more broadly.

Until then … be Agile!

Mike