Linda Rising, Trackhost, Queen of patterns

Some interpreters of history believe that the Industrial Age could not have happened without coffee and tea. That daily jolt of caffeine enabled workers to be more in control of their waking hours - not to mention killing the nasties in the drinking water. While the Industrial Age was all about staying awake and working long hours, cognitive psychologists tell us that working short cycles with frequent breaks is not only healthier but also more productive for knowledge workers.

Linda Rising describes the costs of force fitting Industrial Age - read “plan-driven” - living into our now knowledge-based - read “agile” - world. Although choices at the personal level are best made by individuals, Linda offers specific suggestions for working in short cycles and the proper place for caffeine, naps, short breaks, and sleep. We have seen the benefits of agile processes in our organizations. Now it's time for a truly agile personal approach of living and working.

The Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto state that, "At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly." How should that be done?This tutorial will present techniques for project retrospectives that allow teams to discover what they're doing well so that successful practices can be repeated and identify what should be done differently so that teams can improve. Retrospectives are not "finger pointing" sessions, but rather a highly effective series of activities in which teams can reflect on the past in order to become more effective in the future. Participants will be introduced to the retrospective process, learn techniques for leading retrospectives, hear the experiences of the tutorial leaders who have led retrospectives in various kinds of projects, and participate in a retrospective simulation.

Keywords: agile, retrospectives, learning, project reviews

Target audience: anyone who is doing retrospectives or thinking about doing retrospectives, on any project, agile or not 

You’ve tried and tried to convince people of your position. You’ve laid out your logical arguments on impressive PowerPoint slides—but you are still not able to sway them. Cognitive scientists understand that the approach you are taking is rarely successful. Often you must speak to others’ subconscious motivators rather than their rational, analytic side. Linda Rising shares influence strategies that you can use to more effectively convince others to see things your way. These strategies take advantage of a number of hardwired traits: “liking”—we like people who are like us; “reciprocity”—we repay in kind; “social proof”—we follow the lead of others similar to us; “consistency”—we align ourselves with our previous commitments; “authority”—we defer to authority figures; and “scarcity”—we want more of something when there is less to be had. Learn how to build on these traits as a way of bringing others to your side. Use this valuable toolkit in addition to the logical left-brain techniques on which we depend.

Keywords: influence, convincing others, alternatives to technical argument

Target audience: primarily technical people who have little or no background in influencing others but would like to improve their skills in this area