The quote "setting an example is not the main way to influence others; it is the only way" is attributed to the scientist Albert Einstein. When it comes to staying up to date with the latest trends that make up the "state of the art" in business, it seems common sense to want to be influenced by those who are setting the standard. So, if we heed Einstein's words, the wisest choice will be to follow their example.
Have you heard of Agile methodologies or are you in an environment where they want to give them a boost? And are you willing to take note of the example that industry leaders can give you? Then you're in luck because we have a year full of events related to the subject, as we have found on Tech Beacon. In this post, we're going to highlight those that are closest to our direct area of influence, i.e., European events (which will include British events, Brexit or not). For a complete list of conferences and events, most of which are held across the pond, we recommend checking out the original publication.
The tour begins close to home, in Bilbao, where on June 8 and 9 you can attend the Enterprise Agility Europe conference. It will bring together Kanban experts from a variety of industries: banking, insurance, retail, fashion, construction, petrochemicals, and technology. Kanban is a scheduling system forlean andjust-in-time manufacturing, created by Toyota engineer Taiichi Ohno. At this conference, participants will explain how they have improved their operations using Agile methodologies, and training sessions will also be offered in workshops on Kanban management and implementation, giving attendees the tools they need for effective transformation of their business processes.
Access to Enterprise Agility Europe costs between €475 and €949, depending on the type of ticket. For more information, visit their Twitter profile@entagility_eu and their website enterprise-agility.eu.
For those who are eager to get started right away, next week in Munich, Germany, the OOP 2020 conference will be held from February 3 to 7, billed as a gathering focused on software architecture. There will be 35 sessions in English, including talks on how to translate autonomous motivation into practice, how to avoid agile transformation failure, and how to motivate agile teams. The profile of attendees will be varied: architects, analysts, software engineers, members of "agile teams," Agile coaches, Scrum masters, and development and IT managers, as well as directors, program managers, and developers. There are last-minute discounts for relatively high-priced access, ranging from €1,600 to €3,400. More information is available on Twitter@oop_conference and on the website oop-konferenz.de/oop2020/english.html.
A similar audience, ranging from agile coaches to product leaders, Scrum masters, and developers, will be in attendance two months later in Dublin. There, although in a reduced two-day format (20 and 21), the Agile-Lean Ireland conference will take place, aimed at theagile community, combining open space sessions with traditional conference workshops, presentations, and lightning talks. Among the regulars in agile and lean methodologies, two attractive personalities are Daniel Vacanti, co-founder and CEO of ActionableAgile, and Lisa Adkins, trainer, facilitator, teacher, and author of Coaching Agile Team. Attendance costs €545 for access to the conference and between €349 and €1,090 for the workshops, depending on which ones you choose. More information can be found on their website agileleanireland.org and you can start a conversation on their Twitter profile@AgileLeanIrl.
Close by, and two months later, between June 23 and 25, we will have the DevOps Enterprise Summit (DOES) in London, which is presented as "more than just a conference on DevOps technical and architectural practices." The event also covers the methods needed to lead widespread change efforts in large organizations, with the aim of equipping leaders with the tools and practices they need to develop and deploy software faster. Although some aspects remain to be defined, such as the price (based on an introductory offer of €850), it is estimated that there will be a notable attendance of speakers from many large companies, and that there will be opportunities to participate in ad hoc discussions within a large community and learning environment.
At DOES, the most common profiles among attendees will be leaders of large, complex organizations that implement DevOps or agile principles and practices, as well as developers, IT operations specialists, customer experience specialists and consultants, software architects, and system and network administrators. Their Twitter profile is@DOES_EUR and their website is events.itrevolution.com/eur.
We remain in the UK to focus on Agile Manchester, a three-day conference costing between £200 and £500 (between €236 and €590 at the current exchange rate), to be held from May 13 to 15. The organizers describe this event as a practical agile development conference that allows participants to connect and learn from their peers and industry leaders. The conference has a strong practical focus and attracts industry professionals and decision-makers who want to improve their success with agile and lean methods. For more information, visit their website at 2020.agilemanchester.net, and to stay in touch, follow them on Twitter@agilemanc.
And before leaving the island, and with the same practical approach, we must mention Agile Cambridge (Twitter@acconf; website 2020.agilecambridge.net), aimed at agile professionals looking for a small conference focused on practical training and learning. In fact, this meeting is described by its organizers as "a practical agile software development conference" with the aim of allowing participants to interact and learn from each other, as well as from industry leaders. The event, which will be held between September 30 and October 3, focuses on sharing agile and lean experiences, with a learn-by-doing approach. It costs £499, or about €591 at the current exchange rate.
The last events in this review take us to Central and Eastern Europe, with a prominent player in the Czech capital, Prague, which is hosting two meetings in 2020. The first is entitled Agile Prague Conference and will be held at the end of summer, on September 14 and 15. For 8,700 Czech koruna (about $500 at the current exchange rate), attendees can learn from more than 30 speakers from around the world. The conference will be held in English and will take place simultaneously in two venues, allowing attendees to choose from a variety of talks aimed at profiles such as managers, Scrum masters, and product managers. In addition to the talks, there will be several presentations of case studies on agile adoption and practical workshops where attendees can try out agile practices. For more information, visit agileprague.com. To stay in touch, follow@AgilePrague on Twitter.
The second event in Prague will be at the end of the year, on November 25: the Agile Management Congress. At a significantly higher price than the previous event (€1,098), this conference aims to attract professionals committed to innovation: innovative leaders from companies, consultancies, and academia who seek to establish alternative, human-centered organizational structures as opposed to "vertical corporate bureaucracies." It is structured around a series of practical mini-workshops, case studies, moderated debates, and group and team work. Not surprisingly, its organizers warn that "this is not a place to sit, listen, and be entertained." And although it may seem far away, you have to hurry: there are only 40 spots available to sign up. Tictac. More information is available on their website agilemanagementcongress.com, and to contact them, theirTwitter profile is@agiliaconf.
Last but not least, we must mention ACE! 2020, the conference held in the Polish city of Krakow for €320 between May 20 and 22. We say "last but not least" because its organizers claim that "it is the largest conference of its kind in Central Europe." It will also be an event with two parallel tracks. On the one hand, Building Better Software, which covers topics such as agile, lean, Scrum, and Kanban; and on the other, Building Better Products, aimed at those involved in product creation. Visit their website at aceconf.com/home, and to contact them, follow their Twitter profile@aceconf.
This agenda is neither small nor insignificant for professionals in Europe who want to stay up to date with the latest developments in economic and business organization. It offers an interesting selection of events where you can seek advice, be inspired, and set your companies, clients, or partners on the path to success.
