The Agile Consultant: Best Practices in Guiding and Coaching Developers, Managers, and Executives on the Transition to Agile

Since the release of the “Agile Manifesto” in 2001, Forrester Research reports that a majority of IT shops have now adopted some agile practices. This rapid adoption proves a simple truth: agile works—especially compared with the documentation-heavy, slow project management methods of the past. Why? The agile philosophy of innovation, incremental development, deep client participation, decentralized authority, and just-in-time development brings speed, time-saving creativity, and increased productivity to product development.

But the widespread adoption of agile methods doesn’t mean organizations are getting all the benefits agile can provide. As with any rapid migration, agile has brought resistance and challenges that can be difficult to overcome. The Agile Consultant, by former Intel worldwide project management director and agile expert Rick Freedman, shows how to overcome challenges and roadblocks so organizations realize all the benefits agile methods can provide.

The Agile Consultant will explain not just the basics of the agile thinking, but it will explain how to:

• Instill effective agile practices in an organization
• Diagnose problems most organizations encounter during the transition to agile
• Eliminate the many roadblocks that can otherwise derail a move to agile
• Acquire and provide the right mix of facilitation, interpersonal, and relationship skills to help organizations succeed with agile
• Help the corporate culture swing toward agile without too much turbulence
• Coach others in learning, adopting, and practicing agile methods
• Eliminate “old school” project management thinking

Agile methods are here to stay, and most organizations will need a coach/consultant to get the benefits agile promises. The Agile Consultant shows you how to become the go-to coach for all things agile.