Karl Smedley
Programme Manager / Deliverer
Fujitsu
A Practical Guide to Introducing Agile
“Don’t throw your baby out with the bath Water(fall)”. This is not a deep conversation about Agile v Waterfall or where to use them (that is for other talks and much deeper thinkers /agile purists). Instead, this talk acknowledges that the world we are living in is complex, where every delivery is different and not binary, i.e., Agile or Waterfall.
This talk is aimed at “Non Agilists” and focuses on how they shouldn’t be scared of agile and that it isn’t about throwing away everything you have learnt from delivering in a more traditional/Waterfall way. It is about building on them and embracing the true mindset and heart and soul of Agile.
The key takeaways of the session include:
• An introduction to some of the basic concepts of agile and which to focus on first
• How to start your journey from “Non Agilist” to a person that can deliver irrespective of environment
• Some of the real-life examples and approaches that have been successfully used kick start the journey for both individuals and teams
BIO:
Karl has been successfully delivering projects and programmes for 20 years. These have predominantly been non software development led and therefore have mainly utilized traditional waterfall methodologies (PRINCE2 / MSP certified).
When Agile starting to gain more popularity outside of pure software development in the mid 2010s, Karl was initially sceptical of how it effective it would be outside of software development and how this would impact Project/Programme Managers. However, once he realised that Agile from a purist sense doesn’t have to be applied that is when he truly embraced Agile and began to understand how the key concepts and mindset of Agile when overlaid alongside traditional methodologies can develop a powerful delivery approach.
Karl now sees himself more of a “Deliverer of anything” rather than just a pigeonholed Project/Programme Manager. Karl is a Certified SAFe® 5 Program Consultant and uses his experience and knowledge to help train and coach others on how to embrace Agile.
