User experience of agile project: I have never known a project to develop at such a rate."

I am a highly experienced Agile programme and project manager, with more than a decade's experience of Agile over a number of market sectors, primerily in the financial sector.
I have been an IT professional since my first degree in 1987 and have worked in virtualy every role within IT from developer through to national IT manager. My 2005 MBA from Imperial College supports my business led approach to IT, with my strong development and operations background ensureing I am comfortable in a technical environment
Since joining IndigoBlue I have focused on Agile programme management for our major accounts, most recently for Aviva.
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We had a great session today at the Second Wednesday discussion on innovation. It was really valuable to have both IT expertise and innovation professionals to contribute.
We need an estimate of value of each story to prioritise our backlog. In some cases that’s pretty easy because the story will deliver a lot of clear business value, but at other times searching for any value is a lot harder, especially for a business team that thinks in terms of revenues and costs.
The definition of the word velocity as defined in a dictionary I just referenced is ‘speed in a given direction’. That has two important components and I am not convinced, that when used in an Agile context, both are always true.
We use Post-it notes all the time in our workshops. We also spend a significant amount of time picking them up off the floor as they drop from the whiteboard.
Here is a simple but effective tip! You can reduce the autumn leaf drop of Post-its by simply detaching them from the pad more effectively.
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I have read any number of reports on the progress of agile techniques within the industry and although they are as not robust as we would like, I think making a basic conclusion that 1/3 of projects are ‘Agile’ is not being too optimistic. I have now been told by HP that they claim it’s nearer to 2/3 of projects. Whatever number you choose, its still pretty big!
With these numbers bouncing around, how can software suppliers compete without having an agile offering with demand so high? To not offer an agile option is surely appearing to have a limited service capability.
During my studies at Tanaka business school, I was introduced to a concept called utility. It’s basically a concept used in economics to describe perceived value or satisfaction of something. The interesting thing is utility is subjective. I am not a great follower of football so the utility of a season ticket to Arsenal to me is pretty low, as it would also be to a Spurs fan. It’s pretty high for a ‘Gooner’ however.
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Isn't it great the way agile techniques allow you to discuss issues with your team mates sitting next to you in the same war room. It's not so great when the war room spans several continents. It’s even harder when your team members speak several different mother tongues and they are still trying to get a basic grasp of agile concepts let alone project details.
We had a great session today at the Second Wednesday discussion on innovation. It was really valuable to have both IT expertise and innovation professionals to contribute.