Agile Fest 2010

Treasure Map of Agile Fest

Going Agile

The second ever Agile Fest, short for ‘Agile Festival’, took place last Tuesday in the UK. Agile Fest is an annual internal event run by one of emergn‘s clients to promote awareness of how and where Agile is being used within their organisation as well as to create an opportunity for 1-2-1 networking and community building.

Fun and Games

A game of Poker anyone?The event atttracted an exceptional turnout, with more than 250 visitors dropping in and taking part in the 3 hours it took place. The festival consisted of 12 stalls, with topics ranging from Planning Poker and Agile First Aid to Evolutionary Design and Distributed Teams. Each stall was run by internal Agile enthusiasts, with support from emergn’s coaches, giving practical advice on and demonstrations of Agile Principles, Practices and Techniques.

Where's the value in that story?It was super fun because it gave me the opportunity to work alongside the client and a bunch of emergn Coaches, first in preparing for the event, then in mingling with the participants. Can I sum up the kinds of people who attended the event in 4 words? I think I can. It’s ‘Curiosity’ and ‘Willingness to Learn’. These are essential traits for an organisation serious about delivering more value to their customers.

Organising the Organising and Giving Back

The organisation of Agile Fest in itself was an example of agility in action. The event was made possible only by the incredible creativity, contribution and collaboration from both the organisers and the participants. Great thoughtfulness had gone into the event, such as handmade badges and a homemade cake sale which raised £300 in sales for the Haiti Relief Fund (which the organisation is doubling!). My tastebuds tell me Collin’s special carrot cake with coconut shavings had something to do with how much we raised!

Champagne Cheers for a job well done!

Most Memorable Moment

The fantastic turnout and number of compelling questions asked is evidence of what transforms an organisation from Good to Great. How are you going to add value at work and beyond this week?

2 Responses to “Agile Fest 2010”

  1. Ross Strachan writes:

    Hi Portia. Great article and photos from the event. It was brilliant to see such enthusiasm from all our attendees and I thoroughly enjoyed manning the Planning Poker stall. I missed Collin’s cake sadly!

    The next challenge? To capitalise on the enthusiasm and really grow our community. Roll on AgileFest 2011!

  2. Lynette Barrie writes:

    Hi Portia, I’d just like to add to Ross’ comments, one of the things I found really exciting was the amount that people not currently doing Agile also got out of the Fest. I think we have built up a real enthusiasm from people to give Agile a go. The quote I liked best from a colleague not yet working in an Agile way was “It felt so energetic, people obviously are enthusiastic about working that way”.

    Looking forward to spreading the word more in whatever we decide to do next.

    Cheers, Lynette

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