Agile2024 | Texas Hot Takeaways 🌶️🔥
Key takeaways from the premier Agile conference hosted by Agile Alliance
Guess who's back from the Agile2024 conference? That’s right—back from the Lone Star State and still recovering from the Texas heat! 🔥
I picked up three hot takeaways in Texas.
First one is that the Agile Alliance conference is an absolute bliss!
It’s not just a conference, it’s a luxury retreat. You get to meet and interact with the best people. You learn the new trends, tools and techniques from top-notch agile talent and on top of that you create connections and relationships with amazing people. Some of them just might turn into lifelong friendships.
Second thing I learned in Texas is that the heat there is something else. When you thought that nothing can surprise you in the heat department after living in Spain, well, let me tell you - I got surprised! And let’s just say, it was one steamy surprise! This meme created in Spain, is really what Texas is in the summer.
And lastly, a little tip from a veteran: when you're heading somewhere as hot as the pizza oven and spaying mist of water at you in midsummer, don't forget to pack like it’s deep fall!
The hotel, conference space, and every single restaurant, bar, and shop are properly refrigerated just waiting for you to catch a cold. Lesson learned the hard way!
Alright, now that we’ve gotten that intro out of the way, let’s dive into what’s the Agile2024 conference, who are the participants, and why you should go there!
First Time Attendee and a Speaker
This year, I had the immense pleasure—and let's be honest, total fangirl moment—of not only attending but also speaking at the Agile2024 conference in Dallas, Texas! 🎤✨
My session was in the Agile Essentials track, a workshop on Facilitation - Become a Facilitation Masterchef! You can learn more about it in the video here and also download a template I created in Miro from Miroverse.
Now, I’m going to explain what this conference is all about, and of course, share the insights I picked up about the state of Agile. Let’s dive in!
Agile Alliance Conference
The Agile20XX conference, hosted annually by the Agile Alliance, is the crème de la crème of Agile events—a truly one-of-a-kind experience for anyone in the Agile community and also those wanting to join us.
Agile Alliance is a global non-profit membership organization founded on the Manifesto for Agile Software Development - the authors of the Manifesto called themselves the Agile Alliance.
It brings together Agile practitioners, thought leaders, Agile Alliance members, and Agile enthusiasts from all over the world.
You’ll get to mingle with the authors of the Agile Manifesto. This year, we had three of them in attendance: Jim Highsmith, Jon Kern, and Alistair Cockburn. Talk about L-E-G-E-N-D-A-R-Y.
But that’s not all. You’ll be able to meet your favorite book authors - I had a chance to chat with Esther Derby and Diana Larsen the authors of the retrospectives bible, “Agile Retrospectives”. The second edition just dropped this year!
Jason Little, the author of “Lean Change Management” was in the house too, sharing his insights on change and transformation in agile environments.
And I finally got to meet the amazing Colleen Johnson, CEO of ProKanban.org, in person—a true treat since I'm a ProKanban Trainer myself.
Speaking of Kanban, here's an exciting announcement: Colleen and I will be joining forces again at Agile Lean Europe in Budapest on the 27th for some hands-on Kanban workshops during Day 0. If you're around, make sure to join us—it’s going to be a treat!
Oh, Jeff Patton joined us and drew for us his talk while speaking in his signature style. You know the author of “User Story Mapping"?
I was also looking forward to meeting Cheryl Hammond, a rockstar Agile Expert and an amazing mentor. Cheryl was our Agile Essentials track chair, she has a real talent for gathering great people and mentoring them. Chris Stone, the guy behind Continues Improvement training and many many more.
Cheryl Hammond is the first from the left.
Honestly, it's impossible to list everyone I was thrilled to meet—so many Agile legends, so little time!
👉 Here’s a treat: I’ve curated a special post with an in-depth analysis of the sessions and speakers who truly caught my attention. You can find it on my Substack, complete with links to their profiles and books. Perfect for a deep dive later!
#Agile2024 | People To Follow
In this post, I gather the speakers from #Agile2024 that I had a chance to see live on the conference. I share where you can find them, what books, materials or trainings they do and why you should follow them.
The conference is known for its wide range of sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities, making it a cornerstone event for anyone involved in Agile.
Choice Overload
The toughest part of attending this conference? Choice overload.
Imagine being faced with up to fifteen parallel sessions at any given time. I double-checked—it’s four full days packed with an overwhelming number of incredible sessions.
How do you even start to choose? Do you pick a session because you’re passionate about the topic or because you’re a fan of the speaker? Do you stick with what you know to deepen your expertise, or do you dive into something completely new and unfamiliar? FOMO is real, but let’s embrace the JOMO instead!
I might have gone a bit overboard sharing all the insights about the conference and Texas. But don’t worry—there’s a part two coming, where I’ll spill all the juicy details and the latest news on the state of Agile. I know that’s what you’re really here for—wondering if we should pack our bags and find a new career or if there’s still hope for Agile.
Spoiler alert: I’ve got some good news! Until next time!