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If Agile is going to make a difference to an organization, it must accomplish two things. First, it must assist us in being driven by business needs—not the development organization. Second, it must help us with the entire value stream—not merely part of it. Lean-agile practices presents us with an opportunity to reunite the business and software development organizations so our Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) can focus on value, not merely delivered software.

In a Forrester’s report, The Changing Face Of Application Life-Cycle Management, nearly one-third of enterprises are already using application lifecycle management (ALM) processes and tools, and almost half are aware of it But in conversations with user companies, we find that even those familiar with the term are often hard-pressed to define it.

Agile DC - Washington DC's regional agile conference - Bob Payne

The pace of production depends on the capability of those at work. When an increase in profit is desired, production is sped up. Yet those forced to work faster aren't necessarily more productive. Unhappily experienced at being forced to work harder and faster resulting in less productivity, Clarke Ching found a way to slow down expectations and increase productivity.

As a lead and manager, your job to remove obstacles that impede work is most important. But of all the obstacles you find, whether they be people's perceptions, bottlenecks in the work flow, or an ill-fitted chair or desk, which do you tackle first? Johanna Rothman explains how to remove the obstacles that slow, impede, or halt project work.

"No" can be disappointing. Sometimes we have difficulty hearing or dealing with No. Can we learn how to cope with No with less pain and angst? Can we learn how to prevent No at least some of the time? Yes and yes!

Successfully adopting Scrum entails understanding and perhaps adjusting the role of the project management office (PMO), whose workers are often resistant to the lighter-weight process. But, they can become a critical part of agile success. Discover how an agile PMO works.