Agile Methodology has been widely accepted in the private sector for a number of years and has caught the attention of government program managers as a process for software development designed to make work more efficient. Chief Technology Officers (CTO) and Chief Architects of the Lockheed Martin programs will provide an overview of the challenges experienced by the program’s leadership when balancing between Agile and traditional methodologies used on Government programs.

Summary for Event Guide

A high-performing agile team is tight knit. They have worked hard to become a cohesive unit and have developed a bond. This chemistry can be thrown off balance when someone is added to the team in the middle of a project. It does not matter how flexible, capable, or agile savvy the new team member is. If they have not been involved in the care and nurturing of the team’s culture and is not invested in the same way that the other team members are. When the new team member is not flexible, capable or agile savvy, the effect can be devastating.

It was back in ‘97 that these presenters first opined that: while much attention had been focused on high-level software architectural patterns, what is, in effect, the de-facto standard software architecture had seldom been discussed: the Big Ball of Mud.

Somewhat to our astonishment, since then, no one has ever undertaken to dispute this premise.

A Ball of Mud is, of course, a haphazardly structured, sprawling, sloppy, duct-tape and bailing wire, spaghetti code jungle.

Is Agility’s utilitarian focus on process rather than design its secret weapon, or its Achilles heel?

Set-based design (also known as set-based concurrent engineering) offers a paradoxical way to make Agile teams even more effective by actively exploring multiple options. In this back and forth conversation between the presenters, we’ll talk about the relationship between Agile, Lean ideas, and the Toyota approach to product development. We’ll describe the specific mechanics of how you can get started with set-based design, and the benefits you can see. Finally, we’ll dispel the notion that this is just another form of analysis paralysis.

“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” – Chinese Proverb

Agile teams that rapidly learn and apply new-found skills become increasingly adept at embracing change and delivering value. Team members feel more fulfilled, motivated and valued. And they have way more fun!

In this session you will learn about agile learning! Learn to recognize learning moments and put in place effective learning patterns tuned to your team and context. Learn how to build and sustain an effective learning culture on your agile team.

What can programmers learn from the thought of Aristotle, Kant, and Mill? More than you might think. Find out what three of the greatest minds in history think about things like craft, art, virtue, and happiness, and how they would run a software project.

We’ll link philosophical ethics and ideas to the processes, tools, and methodologies of software development as we discuss a critical question: is successful development primarily a matter of finding the right rules, creating the right outcomes, or cultivating the right virtues?

System Metaphor was and is an elusive practice of the original XP. It has largely been forgotten over time.

Yet in the past few years, my colleagues and I have discovered the stunning power of a genuine System Metaphor on our own shipping product. This makes us wonder why System Metaphor ever went out of vogue.

This session will explore why Metaphor matters. We’ll examine how our own Music Metaphor reshaped our flagship product, even our company, and how the right metaphor can supply the driving beat that can turn your product into a hit.

A glimpse behind the scenes of the production of a weekly show like Saturday Night Live offers an incredible example of a team of people who have agility in their DNA. Writers, actors, set designers, producers, studio execs, etc. all have a single-minded focus on delivering an exceptional quality show every single week. Slipping the schedule is not an option. Customer satisfaction (viewer ratings) are the central measure of success. The production team must collaborate and adapt to unexpected challenges every single week.

According to research almost 85% of today’s leaders are constrained by narrow, analytical and habitual thinking. Typically, they are still struggling with ways of thinking that make them defensive, controlling, and self-centered which deeply affect performance and teamwork. We know that agile leaders at post-heroic stages are much more capable of working in collaboration. So, what differentiate these leaders? What transformative process can be used to develop Catalyst leaders & teams? This presentation will show you a proven and powerful path to develop post-heroic leaders and teams.

It is human nature to avoid loss. We make rational decisions to improve our situation and respond to circumstances. But are we always rational? Whether it be the tendency of people to hold stocks that have lost value or teams that continue a death march, this irrational fear of acknowledging a loss can cause people to keep investing in a poor undertaking. This discussion is a brief exploration of how our desire to avoid loss can cause us to irrationally make our situation worse in the hopes of somehow breaking even as well as some techniques to identify and avoid these situations.