It's challenging to build a team with the right mindset and skills to thrive in the ambiguity of new product development.
Where do we look to find people already oriented to working effectively in this environment?
In this talk we'll look at why the local dock or yacht club may be a useful place to start.

We constantly talk about the value of communication but seldom in terms to which technical teams tend to relate. This session will use the object model, messages and the RESTful architectural style to examine how a development team might interact successfully (or not) with other elements in its system.

We'll discuss systems thinking, message-based communication, software development as a service. To illustrate these ideas we'll map REST actions to team practices.

It's challenging to build a team with the right mindset and skills to thrive in the ambiguity of new product development.
Where do we look to find people already oriented to working effectively in this environment?
In this talk we'll look at why the local dock or yacht club may be a useful place to start.

We constantly talk about the value of communication but seldom in terms to which technical teams tend to relate. This session will use the object model, messages and the RESTful architectural style to examine how a development team might interact successfully (or not) with other elements in its system.

We'll discuss systems thinking, message-based communication, software development as a service. To illustrate these ideas we'll map REST actions to team practices.

Join a panel of experienced Agile Coaches for a discussion and Q&A of their experiences as coaches. Each of the panelists has a different background, and a unique journey into their role as an Agile Coach. Along the way, they've each built up a wide and diverse set of skills, from their careers, interactions, and experiences. 

What have some successes been?
How do we even define success for ourself, as an Agile Coach?
More importantly (and hopefully more entertaining), will be some of the lessons learned... We'll explore what was tried, but had a surprising and unexpected outcome. 
And, we'll discuss some of the ways experienced coaches continue to learn, share, grow, and develop everyday!

Despite our best efforts the practices of iterative development seem no better at answering the age-old question of business sponsors: "When am I going to get it?"

And we seem to be making the problem worse by insisting on talking in language that means nothing to people outside the team.

This interactive discussion will challenge current thinking about story sizing and planning, tracking progress and forecasting delivery.

We'll be leaving the fantasy deterministic world and visiting our scary probabilistic reality. For the Matrix fans among us it'll be a red pill/blue pill moment...but don't worry where we'll be going they language is easily understood.

As individuals we often struggle to move from working together simply as a collection of people to acting as a cohesive team. Establishing shared understanding of the problem we are trying to solve and the capabilities we bring to the task can be difficult. At the heart of the challenge is making our thoughts tangible and meaningful to others.

Using Lego® SeriousPlay™ materials and methods to surface and express what is inside ourselves is a powerful technique for energizing teams. Based on cognitive neuroscience and learning theory these techniques have been proven to be effective in a broad range of contexts and group sizes. Deliberate play is a key component to social interaction and creative problem solving in groups.

And it's fun!

"Who are you?" "What do you want?" and "What are you going to do about it?" Those are the essential questions reporters use for practically any daily news story.

Do they sound familiar? "As a [Who are you?] I want [What do you want?] so that I can [What are you going to do about it?]."

Building software may seem light years away from journalism, yet there are techniques to be shared. How does a reporter blend natural curiosity, information from multiple sources and some basic writing skills to create a meaningful, well-crafted, unbiased story - and deliver it for daily release?

In this interactive session, Sue and Andrew will examine the parallels between interviewing people for news gathering and interviewing users and customers to discover what they need and want from your products. The focus is on telling a meaningful story that leads to a great product. You'll discover how to:

• Identify the best people to talk with - they may not be the usual suspects
• Explore ways make users and subject matter experts excited about talking with you
• Practise techniques for questioning that build trust and elicit information
• Navigate via curiosity - this is not the time to be an expert
• Create a story in which you make meaning from relevant voices and perspectives

You'll leave with tools reporters use to develop their products and be able to apply them to create and use effective user stories that lead to useful and usable products.

Adopting agile practices is complex - often we only understand where we are by looking back. Yet many involved in and observing the process want to know how teams and organizations are progressing.This session will explore techniques for mapping the journey, exposing directional options and customising the route according to where we find ourselves.

The goal of this session is to enable us to understand and clearly explain where we are with respect to team development, how we got there and where we'll head to next.

The tools we'll discuss will move towards building a GPS for our practice adoption travels.

We swim in a sea of language but seem to be drowning in misunderstanding. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the efforts we make to change ways of organizing work in organizations.

Making common meaning of the language we use when working together takes conscious effort but we typically go about it unconsciously. In this session we'll examine common patterns of unintended consequences that stem simply from the language we use to describe changes to the way we work.

You'll leave with a new model for thinking about language and using it to better effect. We'll discuss and practice the use of metaphor, mindset and specific practices to create shared understand in and between teams. 

"Who are you?" "What do you want?" and "What are you going to do about it?" Those are the essential questions reporters use for practically any daily news story.

Do they sound familiar? "As a [Who are you?] I want [What do you want?] so that I can [What are you going to do about it?]."

Building software may seem light years away from journalism, yet there are techniques to be shared. How does a reporter blend natural curiosity, information from multiple sources and some basic writing skills to create a meaningful, well-crafted, unbiased story - and deliver it for daily release?

In this interactive session, Sue and Andrew will examine the parallels between interviewing people for news gathering and interviewing users and customers to discover what they need and want from your products. You'll discover how to:

• Identify the best people to talk with - they may not be the usual suspects
• Explore ways make users and subject matter experts excited about talking with you
• Practise techniques for questioning that build trust and elicit information
• Navigate via curiosity - this is not the time to be an expert
• Create a story in which you make meaning from relevant voices and perspectives

You'll leave with tools reporters use to develop their products and be able to apply them to create and use effective user stories that lead to useful and usable products.