Heading to Orlando for Agile Development Practices

Later today I am heading down to Orlando for the SQE Agile Development Practices Conference and the APLN Leadership Summit. Both should be fantastic events and I am looking forward to spending time with some of the industry’s most influential thought leaders.

This is also a meaningful week for me, because after this trip, I have nothing else on the calendar for the remainder of the year. It has been a difficult past three months and I am glad that the ride is over. Some travel is just part of what I do, but these past few months have been really challenging for me personally. Normal work travel is beginning to look like pretty lightweight ;-)

So… in the absence of anything interesting or new this week, I wanted to point you guys to the abstract for my talk. I am following my passion with this one… helping non-agile types understand and make the switch to agility. If you are going to be in town, please come see me at my talk (I am on Wednesday afternoon). If you happen to miss my talk, make sure to stop by the VersionOne booth or even the Agile/PMI SIG discussion area. Hopefully by the time you find me at the VersionOne booth, I will know where the Agile/PMI SIG discussion area is located. I am looking forward to meeting you.

The Agile PMP: Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

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.

Quick Bio:

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.