Agile projects are getting a lot of attention these days, but how are real organizations making Agile development work? Agile Denver has assembled a panel of seasoned Agile veterans of business executives, project managers and technical experts to share their experiences of what works and what doesn't work when implementing an Agile project in the real world. Audience members are encouraged to raise their questions for our panel of experts.

Learn what real organizations have to done to succeed using Agile development from a diverse panel of highly experienced Agile practitioners.

Panel Moderator:
Brad Swanson is a Certified Scrum Coach (CSC), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Principal Consultant at Propero Solutions. He has 17 years of experience in management, project and program leadership, product management, and software development in both start-ups and large companies, and regularly speaks at international conferences.

Panel Members:
Erin Beierwaltes has coached growing start-ups to global enterprise companies with emphasis on improving the collaboration of teams and enhancing business development. As a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Scrum Practitioner (CSP) she has seen the positive effect Agile approaches can play through out a company. In an effort to improve the next generation of developers and business leaders and fulfill a passion for teaching, Erin routinely provides donation-based workshops and guest lectures for schools and interest groups. Erin is an internal coach at RightNow Technologies as well as an independent external coach.

Daryl Kulak is a consultant, author and speaker with Pillar Technology.  His first book was "Use Cases: Requirements in Context" (Addison Wesley, 2003) which sold 30,000 copies and was translated into two languages. Daryl's involvement in Agile dates back to the late 1990s, when he began experimenting with iterative/incremental processes in the software lifecycle. His upcoming book "The Agile Systems Thinker" explores the ways that Agile can sustain and scale using the power of systems thinking.

Zach Nies brings over 20 years of engineering and product development experience to Rally. Prior to joining Rally, Zach served as Principal Architect and Director of Systems Architecture for Level 3 Communications where he focused on new technology and process adoption for their 550-person development organization. Prior to Level 3, Zach was co-founder of a startup that used web technologies to change how creative professionals managed projects. His company was acquired by publicly traded Creo, Inc. now a division of Kodak. He also served as Chief Software Architect at Quark, where he provided the overarching technological vision for the company. Zach’s product vision has won numerous industry awards, including Jolt Product Excellence awards, Seybold HotPicks and the prized MacWorld Best of Show. Zach has served on standards bodies such as the W3C's HTML working group.

At the age of 13, Zach began commercially publishing software and, at age 16, started a successful consulting business. A Boettcher Scholar, Zach received his BS with distinction in Computer Science Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He spends his spare time tuning his golf swing and spending time with his family.

Paul Quarles has worked in a variety of business roles at OppenheimerFunds over the last seven years. He has been the Department Head for Oppenheimer’s back office and processing units and recently served as Product Owner for 2½ years. During that time he had an integral role in determining the direction of the Agile program and mentored and formally trained new Product Owners as the program continued to expand. Prior to working at OppenheimerFunds Paul was a Systems Development manager at AIM Management Group and a Management Consultant at Ernst & Young.

In today’s world, people do business with people they know and like. The best way to meet and establish “business friendships” is at social events, such as, business after hours, conventions, luncheons, charity events or parties. Among the top fears that people have is entering a room full of people they do not know. In this two-hour fun-filled program you will learn:

• Why we are afraid to talk to strangers and what to do about it.
• Before, During & After the Social Event Preparation
• Do’s & Don’ts
• Conversation Starters
• Rapport Building
• Follow-up

And much more.

Using the principles he teaches, Ed Tate, CSP, won the “American Idol of Public Speaking” and became the 2000 World Champion of Public Speaking - Toastmasters International’s highest award out of 210,000 members worldwide.

Using the principles he teaches, Ed Tate, CSP, won the “American Idol of Public Speaking” and became the 2000 World Champion of Public Speaking - Toastmasters International’s highest award out of 210,000 members worldwide.

In 2008, Ed became a Guerrilla Marketing Certified Coach (GMCC). "Guerrilla Marketing" is now considered the bible of marketing and entrepreneurial advice for small businesses.

Ed is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). This is an honor bestowed on fewer than 10% of speakers worldwide from the National Speakers Association.

He is known as the speaker who Energizes, Educates & Entertains. His firm provides keynote presentations and workshops on Business Presentations Skills for Executives, Salespeople and Managers.

Successful project leaders need more than great technical skills. They need to have A Sixth Sense for Project Management® - the interpersonal skills that help you successfully navigate through your initiatives. You will gain skills that can be applied toward project success. There is a science to soft skills.

A Sixth Sense for Project Management® is a registered trademark of Roeder Consulting.

If your emerging leaders are like many other new and mid-level leaders, they are probably enthusiastic and willing to learn, but struggling to reach their potential. They may not even know that they impact team member engagement, retention, productivity, and commitment more than any other factor in the organization.

Tres Roeder, PMP, is president and founder of Roeder Consulting. Years ago, Tres successfully managed the largest plant retooling project in the history of a major printing company, enabling the company to enter a new market and secure $100 million in revenue. In 2001, after serving as a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, he founded Roeder Consulting, a respected project management consulting and training firm.

He is recognized as a global expert on project management. Tres regularly speaks at global project management events, including the Project Management Institute’s Global Congresses where he once received a coveted encore presentation. He has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, MSN Money, Microsoft Press, the Project Management Institute and the Cleveland Plain Dealer to name a few. In 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the founding of Roeder Consulting, Tres released his best-selling book “A Sixth Sense for Project Management.” In the book, he details how to achieve project success by deploying a balanced approach with a particular emphasis on people.

Tres and his family reside in Cleveland, OH where he is a member of the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Project Management Institute. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Clear success requires clear direction. And clear direction looks easy only in retrospect. This interactive workshop will show leaders of any size organization - whether a corporation, a military command, or a project – how to collaboratively and effectively set clear direction. Session participants will leave with tools, templates, and skills to focus and align any team on precisely the results that will matter most.

For his Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Kansas, Bill wrote a dissertation that focused on business applications of reinforcement theory. He also has a master’s degree in education from the University of Denver. A long time ago, Bill was a vice president with a subsidiary of Touche Ross, the Garr Consulting Group. And even before that, he was clinical director of a mental health center.

Wendi Peck focuses on the more practical issues of strategy implementation, helping clients develop ways to measure strategic results and then align structure, processes, programs and resources to achieve them.

Wendi has led the way in the development of research-based methodologies that assist organizations in building what ELG calls “implementation strength.” She has an MBA from the University of Denver and a masters degree in project management from George Washington University.

Individually, and as a team, Bill and Wendi have made a positive impact on a wide variety of public and private organizations. Their past clients have included Qwest Wireless, Molson-Coors Brewing Company, US West, Seagate, The St. Paul Companies, Wegener Corporation, Chase Manhattan Bank, ING and Zurich Life insurance, as well as the US Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Security Agency.