Silicon Valley Code Camp : October 11th and 12th 2014

Ron Lichty

Ron Lichty Consulting, Inc.
About Ron
Ron Lichty has been managing and, more recently, consulting in managing software development and product organizations for over 25 years. Before that, as a programmer, he coded compiler code generators, was awarded patents for compression and security algorithms for embedded microcontroller devices, wrote 2 widely used programming texts, and developed the computer animation demo that Apple used to launch and sell a next-generation line of PCs. The primary focus of his consulting practice has mirrored what he did as a manager: untangling the knots in software development. As Ron Lichty Consulting, he takes on fractional Interim VP Engineering roles, trains teams and executives in scrum, transitions teams to agile, trains and coaches managers in managing software people and teams, and advises organizations and coaches teams to make their software development “hum.” His 450-page book, Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams, was recently released as video training - LiveLessons: Managing Software People and Teams - both from Pearson and on O’Reilly’s Safari Network. He also co-authors the periodic Study of Product Team Performance.
{speaker.firstName} {speaker.lastName}

Speaking Sessions

  • How Do Teams Reach High Performance?

    11:15 AM Saturday   Room: 5502
    How do you improve your product team's performance?

    As we propose this session, data from the 2014 Study of Product Team Performance is being analyzed, the third year that Actuation Consulting in association with leading industry associations in the product management, project management and engineering communities has conducted this study of the global factors that drive high performance product teams.

    The 2012 Study revealed five practices that, if product teams do them, gives them a 67% likelihood of achieving high team performance. (Similarly, if they practice none of them, they'll have a miniscule 2% likelihood of achieving high team performance!).

    The 2013 Study revealed rapid growth in the number of teams becoming agile - and fascinating insight into development methods and practices teams believe improve their products' profitability.

    Study lead author Greg Geracie and co-author Ron Lichty will present key findings emerging from the 2014 global study of product team performance - as well as the 2012 study's five factors - and the 2013 study's guidance from teams on practices to improve profitability.

    Join us and learn how you can improve your product team's performance!

    Speakers:    Greg Geracie  Ron Lichty

  • If We Are Agile, Why Do We Need Managers?

    3:30 PM Saturday   Room: 1501

    A common misconception about agile is that managers are unnecessary. After all, agile is based on self-organizing teams. If the teams organize themselves, what do managers do?

    Unfortunately, most scrum training plays into that. Think about it: how many trainers or coaches have you seen sketch the structure of a scrum team with a drawing that includes a manager? While there's always a scrum master and a product owner, the core team and maybe some stakeholders, have you ever seen a manager in that drawing? 

    This misconception can be a problem all around: A frequently cited barrier to agile adoption is managers who don't know what to do when their teams become self-managing. When they're not included in training, how would they (or anyone else, for that matter) know how to characterize their role. At the same time, organizations often lay down expectations of managers, some compatible with agile, some not. 

    Agile has clearly shifted the old roles and responsibilities. Managers bent on command-and-control are clearly a barrier to agile adoption. But managers who take a hands-off approach or are treading water in a sea of ambiguity will almost certainly stymie adoption, as well.

    Ron Lichty believes (and so do a lot of the early agile thought leaders) that managers have critical roles to play in enabling success, both of transitions to agile and of agile itself. This session is about those roles.