Mike’s Abstract for Agile Development Practices 2008

If anyone is going to be down in Orlando for Agile Development Practices, it is shaping up to be a great event. The conference is November 10-14 at the Shingle Creek Resort. Click here for more information or to register.

I will be speaking this year on the whole Agile/PMP thing I have been rambling on about the past few months. The talk is called “The Agile PMP: Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks”. If you are coming to town for the event, come look me up, I would love to meet you.

Here is the abstract and my bio for the event in case you are interested:

Agile methods put a great deal of emphasis on trust, empowerment, and collaboration. Agile moves us away from command and control project management towards an approach designed to harness the passion, creativity, and enthusiasm of the team. A successful transition to agile project management hinges largely on how well traditional project managers are able to adopt new ways of thinking about project structure and control. Building on the principles of PMI® and the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Mike will explore how a PMP can adapt their knowledge and experience to become an effective agile project leader. Mike will tackle the hidden assumptions behind the PMBOK and explore a more agile approach to managing time, cost, and scope. He will take an in-depth look at the PMI Processes and Knowledge areas and explore how to adapt them on agile projects. Project managers, business analysts, and other stakeholders will leave with new way of thinking about project management best practices and new tools for delivering value in the face of uncertainty.

Mike Cottmeyer is a product consultant and agile evangelist for VersionOne. Prior to joining VersionOne, Mike was a senior project manager for CheckFree Corporation where he managed a portfolio of projects for their online banking and bill payment business unit. Mike has a background in traditional project management but has worked primarily with agile methodologies for the past four years. Mike is a certified PMP Project Manager and a Certified ScrumMaster. Mike co-created the DSDM Agile Project Leader certification. He holds this certification at the Foundation, Practitioner, and Examiner levels and was recently named an honorary member of the DSDM consortium. Mike is currently on the board of APLN as Treasurer.