February 25, 2008 Time: 6:30pm Location: Sierra systems, 1177 W. HastingsEugene Nizker & Gang:

Promoting Agile in a Larger Organization (A swimming race in hypochloric acid)

Implementing Agile techniques is not going to be successful unless an organization goes through a cultural transformation on all levels – management and team, business and IT. As many of us know, promoting a cultural shift in a larger company is quite an interesting exercise. But why? What psychological barriers would an Agile coach face in a larger company? What obstacles should HE or SHE be prepared to overcome? How does one navigate in a passive-aggressive organization? Is it at all possible? We are going to share our experiences. We do not have a silver bullet, but we will share several approaches that have produced some success – oftentimes against our expectations!

Speaker: Eugene Nizker, Evident Point

Mr. Nizker, is a programmer, manager, CIO and CTO with more than 30 years of experience in software development. His achievements include: turning under-performing companies into profitable market leaders in a short time frame using Agile; creating competitive advantage through technology, building happy superior teams that produce. Mr. Nizker's success is noted within the technology and business communities. Winner of "Executive of the Year" and "Product of the Year" awards, he frequently writes in CIO Magazine, and is a member of CIO Executive Council.