Becoming Agile in an Imperfect World

Speakers:
Dr. Ahmed Sidky, Dr. Agile
Matt Klassen, Strategic Solutions Manager, MKS Inc.
Bob Aiello, Editor-in-Chief, CM Crossroads

Taking a "purist", big bang approach to Agile is not a viable option for most development organizations, especially large enterprises. The most successful deployments of Agile are tailored to the context, strengths and limitations of the organization and are transformations over time, not overnight implementations. The challenge becomes defining a process that minimizes risk and takes an iterative approach to Agile migration, allowing acclimation to Agile principles while accounting for the constraints of Agile 'in the real world'.

Join Dr. Ahmed Sidky, co-author of the book "Becoming Agile in an Imperfect World", for a practical discussion on the importance of adapting Agile principles to the realities of your environment. Ahmed will review potential constraints in implementing Agile and explain how to assess your organization's readiness for Agile adoption. He will also outline how to apply an Agile adoption framework to the unique needs of your environment, so you can minimize risk by transitioning to Agile scaleably and sustainably. Matt Klassen, Strategic Solutions Manager for MKS, will join Ahmed and present the technology foundation needed to support flexible and iterative Agile adoption, from initial pilot projects to enterprise-wide Agile transformation.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Ahmed Sidky,
Dr. Agile

Ahmed Sidky has gained popularity and respect in the agile community and is frequently referred to as Dr. Agile because of his free online agile readiness assessment tool, Doctor Agile (www.doctoragile.com). The Executive VP at Santeon, Ahmed is responsible for software delivery and agile services. He is also a frequent speaker at numerous national and international agile conferences as well as the co-author of Becoming Agile, a new book on practical agile adoption. Ahmed helps guide both small and large organizations during their transition to agile software development and enjoys coaching and educating agile teams around the world. You can reach him at asidky@santeon.com.


Matt Klassen,
Strategic Solutions Manager,
MKS Inc.

Matt Klassen is the Solutions Manager for MKS Inc. where he is responsible for leading the effort to create, package, market, and sell Intelligent ALM™ solutions, powered by MKS Integrity, an enterprise application lifecycle management platform. A primary focus for Matt is defining, building, and marketing the Agile ALM solution which helps organizations make the transition from plan-driven processes to more Agile approaches, in a manner that delivers real agility, while enabling adherence to enterprise standards and governance obligations. His expertise in Agile practices comes from his experience at Borland, where he participated in driving the company’s Agile transformation utilizing the Scrum method. During his four years at Borland, Matt also helped build the ALM business and led the charge to launch their Requirements Definition and Management Solution and then later Borland Management Solutions.  His consulting experience with many fortune 500 companies implementing key process areas across the software delivery lifecycle gives him credibility with audiences of all levels and enhances his ability to create relevant solutions for customers that drive measurable business value.

About the Sponsor:

MKS, the global application lifecycle management (ALM) technology leader, enables software engineering and IT organizations to seamlessly manage their worldwide software development activities. With its flagship product, MKS Integrity, MKS offers support for all software development activities through a single enterprise application, resulting in better global collaboration and higher productivity. MKS supports customers worldwide with offices across North America, Europe and Asia.

www.MKS.com