agile

Agile teams tend to struggle in getting development and testing in sync. Many teams run minified waterfalls, where testers get working code a few days before the end of the sprint—and tools usually can't help. But service virtualization is one of those rare tools that can make a huge impact and accelerate software delivery by limiting the dependencies needed for testing. Join Paul Merrill to get an introductory demonstration of service virtualization with a freely available, open source tool. Learn the five modes of service virtualization: capture, simulate, spy, synthesize, and modify. Return to your workplace with one more tool in your tool chest. Paul will walk through a common scenario for service virtualization and teach you how you can test more, faster, by testing less!

Agile methodologies do not traditionally allot space, time, or processes for user experience design. Some teams try to accommodate design via separate design sprints that are somewhat coupled to the team's backlog, but these are typically performed two or three sprints ahead. Increasingly, designers are demanding that teams do big, upfront design phases outside of a team's backlog, followed by agile development sprints to implement the design. As markets mature and competition increases, more and more companies must become design-focused or even design-led. Ian and Mary will show you why pure agile practices require design to be performed within a sprint while the product backlog item is in development. Having a validated long-term product vision from the lean methodology may be the key to harmonizing the needs, processes, and roles of user experience design with the desire of agile teams to be self-sufficient.

As agile methods find more global applicability, we are finding groups outside of IT that have nothing to do with technology or software development demonstrating success with agile methods. But the approach to the solutions they deliver are often catered to their own unique circumstances. The original Agile Manifesto, principles, and supporting frameworks were formed with software development in mind, but from a holistic perspective, a different approach is needed for enterprise solutions outside of IT. Robert Woods will show you how to translate the success seen in agile software delivery to parts of the organization that don't deliver technology as its core solution.

Organizations often declare they are "going agile." This goal is misplaced, misguided, and just plain wrong. In fact, the agile community has become a cult of practice: Teams are too focused on the way to do things and making sure they are doing those methods correctly. We even turned agile into a proper noun so that we could more easily sell it. But what about the outcomes? This workshop will use the Modern Agile principles proposed by Joshua Kerievsky to walk some of those ideas back. The four principles—Make People Awesome, Deliver Value Continuously, Experiment & Learn Rapidly, and Make Safety a Prerequisite—will drive our exploration of what agile can mean today and how to put the focus back on outcomes. Bob Payne will focus on learning and continuous improvement to reach better business outcomes.