Reimagining Agile: Back to Basics, Forward to the Future with Jim Highsmith

Reimagining Agile: Back to Basics, Forward to the Future.

In 2001 the “lightweight” methodology community was the size of a marble, while today it has expanded worldwide. Then the internet was just unfolding, today AI is ascendant. The Agile Manifesto authors had software development in mind. Today agility applies to all enterprise activities.

The ability to adapt to constant change, complexity, and uncertainty, be it with software development or business activities, may be the single greatest competitive advantage in the 21st century. Resilient, sustainable, adaptable digital capabilities, and empowering operating models will play an integral role in determining the winners and losers.

Join Chris and Jim in a rollicking dialogue about the past, present and future of agility, which pieces to de-emphasize, which to abandon, and which to carry into the future.

Jim Highsmith Bio

Who I Am: Adventurer, Catalyst, Storyteller

Co-author of the Agile Manifesto with 60 years’ experience as an IT manager, product manager, project manager, consultant, software developer, and agile pioneer.

I’ve always been an adventurer, trying out a variety of adventure sports from mountaineering to century bike racing. These sports involve taking calculated risks whose consequences are learned by experience. Likewise with my 60-year career in software development and management — I made several risky, but not reckless, career pivots.

Relying on my engineering and management experience I’ve been a catalyst to bring people together — from diverse functional areas like IT, marketing, finance, and software development; and helping bridge the gaps between teams and executives. Founding member of Agile Alliance. Co-founder and first president of the Agile Project Leadership Network. Advisor to Agile Leadership Journey. Executive Consultant at ThoughtWorks. Director of Cutter Consortium’s Agile Project Management practice.

Whether I’m relating mountain climbing to adapting to change, or presenting agility to conference audiences, I rely on storytelling to provide emotional “hooks” so audiences can remember facts and figures. Author of six agile books, the latest Wild West to Agile (2023).