Agile and Entreprenuerial Thinking Patterns

Dan Mezick (NEW TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS INC), Brian Mezick (newtechusa.com)

Tutorials · Leadership

Tuesday, 10:30, 1 hour 30 minutes | Auditorium

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Agile and Entrepreneurial Thinking Patterns

Daniel Mezick, New Technology Solutions Inc.

Successful Agile practitioners think, believe, and act very much like successful entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs engage in iterative, empirical processes. They clearly recognize and understand the futility of engaging in prediction.

Entrepreneurs routinely invest the minimum to prove an idea true or false, and then "pull the plug" very quickly when test results prove negative. Entrepreneurs routinely defer commitment to irrevocable decision-making until the last possible moment.

These behaviors are part of what we are currently refer to as Agile and Lean methods. The apparent strong link between Agile and entrepreneurial patterns represents a fertile area of exploration and research. If the best leaders in the Agile space are in fact the best at thinking in entrepreneurial patterns, we have a new tool for understanding and developing Agile best practices. We also have a new way of understanding why, when, where and how Agile software development works so well. If there is strong correlation between successful Agile practice and successful entrepreneur practice, we have a new and more definitive model for identifying and developing the best Agile leaders and practices.

This session brings to attention key parallels from the writing of current thought leaders on Agile, Lean, and entrepreneurship. The presentation cites case studies from both the Agile and entrepreneurship domains. Intended to provoke thought and discussion, this session raises important questions about the empirical process, entrepreneurship and the implications for Agile leaders, modern business and the Agile movement.

NOTE: To obtain the presentation slides, send an email to: info[at]newtechusa[dotcom]. Include "AGILE2007 SLIDES" in the subject and/or message body.

Dan Mezick is President of New Technology Solutions Inc, a software developer training firm specializing in .NET software development using ASP.NET, C#.NET and VB.NET. He is a Certified ScrumMaster, a software patent holder, and author of two books on software development. His company is a two-time winner of the Deloitte and Touche FAST50 Award honoring the fastest-growing technology firms in America. Reach him at www.newtechusa.com.