That's a pretty scary headline isn't it?  As this is written on November 17, there are only 38 days until Christmas!  Where has the time gone?  Some of you know that Agile For All was formed in April 2008, so this is the first holiday season we are going through as a company and we have some thoughts about it.  There are also some personal things that will be occurring during this festive time of year which we want you to be informed about.

 

First and foremost, a heartfelt thanks to all that read this newsletter.  It means you saw us at a presentation or a class and decided what you saw and heard was good enough for you to put up with an email from us once per month!  Many great things have happened since April, but the greatest from our perspective is the relationships we have been able to build with many of you.  We are doing our absolute best to be an honest company (we even license the Dilbert comic strips we use in presentations!), and believe this is one of the reasons we have been able to be successful.  Another big reason is all of you trusting us to do a good job for you in a class, or coaching, or a seminar.  Thanks again for being part of it!

 

On a personal note, Bob Hartman will be having hip-replacement surgery on December 9th.  He will probably be unavailable via either phone or email from December 6th through approximately December 17th.  Through the end of January it is unlikely he will be doing any onsite training or coaching.  However, we have arranged for multiple friends to be available to meet any training or coaching needs you may have prior to the end of January.  This has been in the works for quite a while, so the cast of available trainers/coaches is impressive!  Don't be afraid to call or email if you need any kind of agile training or coaching - we are still open for business!

 

In preparation for next week, Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  We'll try to get out another issue of the newsletter next month, but just in case we can't do it, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your families!

 

I have just returned from being at conferences in Boston (Software Development Best Practices) and Orlando (Agile Development Practices).  My talks at both conferences went very well.  Being the featured speaker at the International Computer Consultants Association Boston chapter meeting was a great honor in Boston.  While in Orlando I was honored to be chosen as part of a three person panel on enterprise agile transition hosted by Borland.  These experiences as well as my own sessions made both weeks very worthwhile for me personally, but I also brought back lots of good knowledge!

 

This month I want to share one tidbit of information that is very exciting.  As many of you know, I support the Mile Hi Chapter of PMI by giving workshops a couple of times per year and also speaking at the annual symposium (see the sidebar for an example).  For the past couple of years a dedicated group of individuals have been working to have PMI recognize an agile special interest group (SIG).  Recently PMI switched from SIG to something called Virtual Communities.  The good news is that the next virtual community to be formed will be an agile virtual community!  I am incredibly excited by this news.  It means the hard work of people like Michele Sliger and others has finally paid off.  If you are a PMP this should be extremely good news.  You are finally going to have PMI recognizing that agile isn't crazy!  I hope this allows a greater exchange of information about agile and PM practices so that over the next few years agile project managers can continue to grow and help the agile movement.

 

I guess I envision a world where the phrase "agile project manager" means something more than a person stayed awake for two days in a class with a funny name.  Don't ask for details on that one, just take it on faith that some people are laughing right now!