PMI Houston North: "The Agile Scrum Ceremony Most Talked About but Least Paid Attention To"

Pre-Dinner Presentation:  What Does the Right Kind of Leadership Look Like

Rose James

Rose James is an accomplished Strategy and Transformation Leader dedicated to helping companies achieve optimal performance, agility, and efficiency. With an MBA in Strategic Management and Finance, Rose brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise as she consistently delivers exceptional results in diverse environments. She is a certified Project Manager (PMP) with over two decades in strategy consulting and transformation.

Rose is a recognized Thought Leader and an Influencer. She has shared her insights and expertise through publications, and as Keynote Speaker at Universities, Conferences and multi-billion-dollar companies. Her areas of expertise cover a wide range of topics, including Leadership, Mentoring, Growth Mindset, Burnout, Change Fatigue, Effective Communication, Project Management, and Agile Transformation.

Rose's expertise is reflected through her certifications in Project Management, Agile and Lean Portfolio Management. She has led global transformations for leading organizations and excels in problem-solving, strategic thinking, and effective planning making her a trusted resource for turning around troubled operations.

Rose serves on the Board of several organizations, leveraging her business acumen, leadership, and strategic insights in advising Leaders on Strategic initiatives.

Rose James is a dynamic and sought after speaker known for connecting with the audience, effectively communicating complex ideas and inspiring others.

Topic Synopsis:

Leadership, rooted in science, is the process of managing and influencing others towards a common goal. Effective leadership hinges on skillful manipulation of leadership levers, determining what strategies work and what do not. The key to this skillful manipulation lies in mastering the art of engaging others. As project professionals, it is crucial to develop expertise in leadership through engagement to accomplish tasks with the help of people. This mastery of engagement leads to higher productivity through enhanced team collaboration, which is a significant objective for project managers. The successful achievement of a leader's goals relies on several factors, including the state of mind of the people involved. Everyone naturally evaluates their environment from a safety standpoint to gauge the appropriate level of engagement and collaboration for productivity.

In this presentation, Rose James will elucidate the fundamentals of leadership, the secrets to activating effective project leadership, and the creation of an environment that fosters heightened collaboration and productivity through a deep understanding of the neuroscience of engagement.

Learning Objectives:

1. Leaders attending this presentation will develop an awareness of the state of mind that promotes increased collaboration among teams and business partners.

2. Attendees will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to establish an environment conducive to team collaboration, enabling them to create the right space for productive teamwork

3. Project leaders participating in the session will be capable of recognizing instances where effective leadership engagement is lacking and will be equipped with the appropriate solutions to enhance productivity to achieve desired outcomes.

PDU Triangle: 

     

Dinner Presentation: The Agile Scrum Ceremony Most Talked About but Least Paid Attention To

Samant Kumar, SAFe SPC, ICP-ACC, A-CSM, CSPO

Samant Kumar, SAFe SPC, ICP-ACC, A-CSM, CSPO is an Agile Program Manager/Portfolio Manager with Capgemini and an Ex-IBMer. He is an agile champion with 20+ years of experience on the end-to-end Agile Program/Project Management and delivery of software solutions across various domains. He brings onboard unique wisdom and experience in understanding and solving problems. His specializations are in agile coaching, Delivery, leadership, management (Product, Program, Project), agile tools, virtual collaboration tools and career guidance. He is a postgraduate in Finance and marketing after earning Bachelor of Technology. A PMI member since 2013, he lives with his wife and 2 children in Katy, Texas. His Interests are reading, cooking and meditation. When get time away from work, He also mentor on spirituality.

 

Topic Synopsis:

Among all scrum ceremonies, the Sprint retrospective is one of the most important and most talked about ceremonies but the least paid attention to. This presentation will talk about the following:
1. Problems and impact of routine format Sprint retrospective

2. Recommendations/ Various Techniques for Efficient and interesting Sprint Retrospective

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand challenges in capturing valuable feedback from scrum team

2. Learn various techniques to conduct sprint retrospective

3. Learn from practical experience in using these techniques and improving efficiency of the scrum team

PDU Triangle: