Agile Caravanserai

Arie van Bennekum is one of the 17 Agile Manifesto authors, and the one with the unique distinction of not being from North America.

When the manifesto was written, Arie was there representing the UK-based DSDM Consortium. DSDM or the Dynamic Systems Development Method is one of the agile methodologies, and was developed in the early 1990s by a consortium of expert and industry representatives from companies like British Airways, American Express, Oracle and Logica.

Arie himself had been working consciously in a different way in 1994, and wanted to change bureaucracy and improve on business value.

Arie prides himself on pragmatism in structure, discipline and common sense, from his very early days in health care and the military forces, and up to where he is today.

Arie also has a strong message when it comes to personal change. In his book, "You Are The Architect Of Your Own Life," Arie advocates for overcoming resistance by understanding that change starts with one person. So, his message is to take responsibility and do it yourself, because you cannot change someone else.

Today, Arie consults globally and helps his clients deliver business value with his eminently practical approach.

Ron Jeffries is an Agile Manifesto author and the co-creator of the popular eXtreme Programming or XP methodology. For decades, Ron has been a vocal proponent of disciplined practices for quality code.

Ron evolved XP on the now-famous Chrysler C3 project in the mid-1990s, along with Kent Beck and Ward Cunningham. They proved out extreme software development discipline with engineering techniques like TDD, refactoring, automated build and test, and pair programming.

In the early 2000s, Ron's book, eXtreme Programming Installed provided early adopters of agile methods with incredibly valuable and practical advice. Along with Chet Hendrickson, Ron has continued to be a strong advocate for XP and disciplined software development.

Ron has a special place in my own agile journey. He trained the very first XP team that I ended up managing. Ron also trained my colleague Bob Payne, who then became my own agile coach.

Some might remember Ron's website xprogramming.org that he has since transitioned to ronjeffries.com. Ron generously and openly provided agile advice on that site and helped hundreds of us launch successful agile adoptions.

Today, Ron remains the uber-mentor of XP, and continues to influence another generation of agile adopters.

Keep going Ron!

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Kent Beck is an Agile Manifesto author and the co-creator of the wildly popular eXtreme Programming (XP) methodology. Kent is also the leading proponent of Test-Driven Development (TDD).

In the mid-1990s, along with Ron Jeffries and Ward Cunningham, Kent evolved XP on the now-famous Chrysler C3 project. They proved out extreme discipline with engineering techniques like TDD, refactoring, automated build and test, and pair programming.

In parallel, they also deployed a minimalistic set of management practices including the Planning Game, which we know today as Release and Iteration Planning.

Kent's mission, as he puts it, is to "help geeks feel safe in the world." Kent anchors it in the belief that we're all different, but we can and should find common ground. Kent's work is imbued with inspiration from sources as diverse as art, drama, music and philosophy.

Two decades ago, Kent's book, eXtreme Programming Explained inspired and informed by own journey as a young manager managing XP teams.

In those early days, my team scaled XP using a now-forgotten variant of RUP named dX (XP upside down for the insiders). When several of our projects had zero defects in production and satisfied customers as well, believers in XP and agile grew rapidly.

Over the years, many of XP's practices have become widely integrated into Scrum, DevOps and also scaling methods like the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) and Disciplined Agile (DA).

Those of us working with agile owe Kent, Ron, Ward and other XP proponents a tremendous debt of gratitude for the trail blazing work they've done in the past, and that they continue to do today.

Today, Kent continues in his mission to make the world a better place, and to make it safe for geeks.

Thank you Kent!

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James Grenning is an Agile Manifesto author and a true software development guru. James' contributions to agile methods are wide ranging, especially in the all-important space of embedded systems. James has designed complex embedded applications ranging from weather radar displays and aircraft control tower displays to distributed automatic testing systems and high-speed cut-sheet printing and communications systems.

He also works behind the scenes on many top-secret projects.

I first met James two decades ago at one of the first XP Universe conferences, and we have remained fast friends since then. James has inspired me with his no-nonsense, dedicated style to agile software development. Few will know that James in the person who invented the popular Planning Poker estimation technique. Some years ago, when a planning meeting stalled, James had all the participants write their estimates secretly on a note card, then reveal them simultaneously. That moment has led to more fun, productive, and accurate planning sessions for Agile teams.

Today, James continues to assist agile teams worldwide through his company Wingman Software. From coaching teams on how to use agile for embedded software development to assisting their management with design and estimation, James continues to pioneer better ways to develop software.

See more Agile Caravanserai Interviews at agilecaravanserai.com. #agile #businessagility #agilecaravanserai #podcast

As the co-creator of Scrum and an Agile Manifesto author, Jeff Sutherland needs little introduction in the agile community.

Jeff originally designed and developed Scrum based on principles from Takeuchi and Nonaka in their landmark Harvard Business Review article, A New, New Product Development Game.

He also incorporated techniques from his background as a fighter pilot, including Colonel Boyd's Observe, Orient, Decide, Act or OODA loop.

Along with Ken Schwaber, Jeff has pioneered Scrum over the past 20 years. Today, Scrum is the leading agile methodology, and it forms the base for other scaling methods like the Scaled Agile Framework or SAFe.

I first met Jeff over a decade ago through LitheSpeed's co-founder Arlen Bankston. Jeff and Arlen had collaborated overseas, and we have done work together State-side.

We've been inspired by Jeff's example to apply the OODA loop to deal with conditions of extreme uncertainty, especially in the pandemic era.

Most recently, Jeff has been championing Scrum through the Scrum Guide. Jeff and Ken have just released a brand new version of the Scrum Guide, and I hope you check it out!

So, we've kicked off the Agile Caravanserai series! So far, we've heard from Jim Highsmith, Alistair Cockburn and Bob Martin. I hope you've enjoyed hearing from these authors of the Agile Manifesto. Each one of them has a unique perspective, based on their own particular experiences and backgrounds.

However, as I reflected on the interviews myself, I found that 4 common messages emerged: be grateful, give back, navigate through uncertainty; and speculate and evolve to the future iteratively.

I'd like to unpack those, and offer my own thoughts on them. Let's do it!

Bob Martin is one of the 17 Agile Manifesto signatories, and the creator of the Clean Code and Clean Agile movements.

"Uncle Bob" as he is affectionately known, is the author of 6 books on agile, and a doyen of the software craftsmanship approach.

I first met Bob at one of the first XP Universe conferences in the early 2000s.

My visionary boss at that time, Flavio Diomede, had introduced me to eXtreme Programming (or XP) and agile methods.

We were managing software teams using the XP process, and I was seeking ways to evolve my own management approach.

Specially, traditional management did not allow for what was, at that time, the radical concept of delegating autonomy to our teams.

So, I'd developed an agile management approach informed by Complex Adaptive Systems that blended autonomy with alignment, and captured that in a whitepaper that quickly gained a lot of traction online.

One thing led to another, and Bob very kindly invited me to write my own book, Managing Agile Projects, in his Prentice Hall book series.

Now, decades later, I want to again draw attention to that singular act of graciousness.

Thank you Bob, for having that faith in me as a young manager.

Over the decades since, Bob has remained inspirational in his commitment to strong software development principles and practices.

Along with Kent Beck, Martin Fowler, Ron Jeffries and James Grenning, Bob has been among the signatories who have continued to advocate for software development as the core foundation for agile methods.

Today, Bob inspires thousands of agilists around the world to focus on the first principles of agile, and on the ongoing improvement of our discipline.

Alistair Cockburn is one of the 17 signatories of the Agile Manifesto, the author of the Crystal methodology and the founder of the Heart of Agile movement.

Back in 2002, Alistair wrote the seminal book, Agile Software Development: A Cooperative Game and brought his unique methodologist's eye to agile methods.

I met Alistair in those early days, and was taken in by his energy, passion and erudition. Alistair and I had several conversations that have stuck with me to this day several years later. For instance, we had a conversation we had about autopoesis, which is Maturana and Varela's term for the self-generating, self-maintaining structure in living systems. Another conversation that I can remember with Alistair was about his passion for designing spaces, both on agile teams and also for agile conferences, with such attention to detail. He thought about them as gardens and how to grow them and bring people together so that they could thrive.

I really believe that one of the reasons that we have the agile community today is because of Alistair's contributions in bringing together this global community for the very first time in 2003 in Salt Lake City for the first unified conference.

Along with Jim Highsmith, Mike Cohn, David Anderson and Ole Jepsen, Alistair's perspective influenced the writing of the Declaration of Interdependence for Agile and Adaptive projects.

Alistair's influence has been fairly wide ranging. For instance, Alistair's Crystal Orange methodology forms the foundational basis for all scaled methods today, including the Scaled Agile Framework and Disciplined Agile.

Over the years, Alistair has been a force of nature, rallying people together all over the world behind the agile cause. Today, Alistair brings his incredible passion and enthusiasm for life to the Heart of Agile movement, seeking to return agile methods to their first principles.

-Sanjiv Augustine

#agilecaravanserai#leadership#management#businessagility#agilesoftwaredevelopment#people#agile#agileleadership

Jim Highsmith is one of the 17 signatories who met in Snowbird, Utah and gave us the gift of the Agile Manifesto.

For two decades, Jim has inspired me with his example of pragmatic agility. His model of leadership-collaboration has stood the test of time as an alternative to the traditional command and control management model.

Jim is a prolific writer and the author of five books on Agile, all of which have had a tremendous impact on the agile movement. Today, Jim is an executive consultant with ThoughtWorks helping organizations with their agile and digital transformations.

I met Jim in the early 2000s, towards the beginning of my own agile journey. Jim was an inspiration to me when I wrote my own first book, Managing Agile Projects way back in 2004. We shared a belief in Complex Adaptive Systems as a foundation for agile methods.

Also in 2004, at Jim's invitation, several of us including Alistair Cockburn and David Anderson collaborated on the Declaration of Interdependence for agile and adaptive projects. Jim's leadership propelled the founding of the worldwide Agile Project Leadership Network.

Those early days also saw a few of us applying agile methods to management and leadership for the very first time.

As my long-time friend and mentor, I find Jim to be the classic example of a pragmatic leader who brings out the very best in each person he meets.

How are agilists faring in the pandemic? How are we finding meaning and purpose in these troubled times? How can we connect, inspire and support each other?

As the agile movement crosses the 20-year mark, many of us have found belonging in the agile community. We have found purpose and storytelling in our own agile journeys.

Now, more than ever, our community is aligning in support of each other as we journey through the pandemic wasteland.

So, this is the intent and inspiration behind the Agile Caravanserai series. In days gone by, Caravanserais provided rest, recovery and community for travelers along the Silk Road. Similarly, we hope that our episodes will provide rest, inspiration and hope. We hope each episode will remind us of our shared agile values, and thus bring us closer together.

In each episode we'll meet someone who has been an inspiration to me in my own 20-year agile journey. They'll range from seasoned Agile Manifesto signatories to passionate young agilists, to captains of industry.

We'll meet these people who have the practical and humanistic essence of agile deep in their veins and in their hearts.

These difficult times have also forced us each one to examine our own lives more closely. Even in the middle of individual separation and isolation, many are finding meaning and purpose through community and connection.

Millions are turning lockdowns into an opportunity to rethink their lives, reinvent themselves and to help others in dire need.

This is a time for transformation. I invite you to join me as we journey together.