Quick Impressions: Phoenix Agile Burndown

Yesterday morning some people from Rally Software were in town putting on a half-day mini-conference. This event was called the “Phoenix Agile Burndown” and brought together a diverse group of people from the Phoenix area. I just wanted to quickly document some of my impressions of the event. These are in no particular order, I’m just letting the ideas spill out.

• First, I thank Rally for putting on this event here for us. They served a nice breakfast in a nice environment. The cost of the venue combined with the number of staff present was a significant investment in the Phoenix Agile community. Sure, they got exposure and marketing information. They also succeeded in producing and event that was neither pitchy nor preachy.
• A lot of people were there. I estimate at least 60 and there were still name badges left on the table. It was a strong showing of Agile interest here in the area.
• I thank the panelists from three local companies; Pearson, Universal Technical Institute, Infusionsoft.  They shared their stories and answered questions. This sort of sharing is important for all of us.
• Many of the questions from people showed a real desire to do things “right” and smart. The struggles are all different but we are not alone in performing them.
• I noted some of the company names on the name badges. The diversity was surprising to me. There were people from retail, utilities, government and heavy industry. Wow!
• I enjoyed meeting different people and sharing some points of interest or question. The community here in Phoenix has some great people!
• Lastly, I thank Chris Conrey from Integrum Technologies for car pooling with me. It was a quick trip and made the better with conversation. And he paid for parking!

I hope to see many of the same people at next Wednesday’s Phoenix Scrum User Group meeting.  Should be a great event!