And just like that, Agile2024 and The European Experience are a wrap.
It was an amazing week for the Agile community! Even with an international travel disruption, which made it interesting for some of our guests, we welcomed around 1000 Agilists from around the world to Texas and another 100 to the European Experience in Manchester.
It takes a village
Creating a solid program and coordinating events at any conference is no small task, but this is especially true when those events happen at the same time on two different continents. It absolutely takes a village.
Here is a short list of some of the people who made our Agile programs special in both the US and Europe.
- Agile2024 Program Team – Dana Pylayeva (chair), Chris Murman, Semira Allen and Reese Schmit
- All of the Agile2024 track chairs, reviewers, speakers, and moderators
- Our Agile2024 Volunteers, aka the Purple Shirts (pictured above), led by Stephanie Merkel
and Pam Corbin-Jones, with assistance from Junius Rowland and Spring Milbourn - The Agile2024 European Experience Program Team – Seb Rose (chair) and Emma Armstrong
- The Agile Business Consortium Team – Katie Taylor and the whole team for their fantastic efforts (hosts of the European Experience)
- Stuart Young for his always amazing visuals
- Dave Prior for launching our 2024 podcasts
- Chris Li and the numerous expert volunteers for the always popular Agile Advice
- Dennis Wagner and Veit Richter (in the lab coats!) for running the Agile Games Lab
- Paul Tevis & Joanna Vahlsing for leading the Agile Executive Forum
- Our generous Agile2024 sponsor and exhibitors
- And our European Experience sponsors: APMG International, Catalyst Consulting, Value Turbine, The International Coaching Federation, Agile World, Agile Business Consortium.
Thank you to everyone who made both events possible!
Reimagining Agile & Extreme Open Space
It has been more than 20 years since the Agile Manifesto was written, and a lot has changed during that time, making Reimagining Agile a hot topic of discussion for 2024. Attendees in both Texas and Manchester were able to benefit from the expertise of our Reimaging Agile panel discussion featuring Heidi Musser, Jim Highsmith, Jon Kern, Sanjiv Augustine, and moderator Ellen Grove. At the start, Alistair Cockburn made a brief surprise appearance, giving the audience access to three signatories of the Manifesto on one stage.
For the Texas crew, Reimagining Agile was followed by “Extreme Open Space,” one of our new experiments for Agile2024. Picture an Open Space with more than 30 different topics for discussion at any given time. Always an Agile favorite, this event was a highlight for attendees.
Keynote speakers
Keynote sessions play an important part of any conference. They set the tone for the event, and are typically intended to inspire and motivate attendees. Our Agile2024 and European Experience keynotes did not disappoint!
- Heather Younger launched Agile2024 with her keynote on “The Art of Caring Leadership”
- Melissa Boggs wrapped up our time in Texas with her keynote “From Cautious to Courageous: A Live Rollerskating Journey”
- Arie van Bennekum, Agile Manifesto author, kicked off the European Experience event with his keynote on “Agile, Now What?”
- Peter Coesmans and Michael Pace covered “What Makes a Sustainable Agile Organisation” as the second keynote in Manchester.
The party with the Emerald City Band was a blast!
The closing party at an Agile20XX conference is always a crowd-pleaser, and this year was no exception. With one of the area’s most popular bands leading the way, the dance floor was full of happy Agilists throughout the evening. For those needing a break from the dancing, the decks at the Glass Cactus offered a beautiful sunset view of Lake Grapevine and lively conversations.
Reconnect (or just connect) with conference attendees via Simply Agile!
Reconnecting with colleagues and making new friends are the best parts of attending an in-person conference. But keeping those connections is just as important.
Agile2024 Tile Sponsor Simply Agile is dedicated to keeping the conference vibe alive all year! They have created a platform specifically for Agilists to connect and learn. You can find the app at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
After you download the app, join the Agile Alliance group!
Agile2024 Highlights & Insights MiniCon
Did you miss out on Agile2024 or the European Experience? Or did you attend and possibly miss some key sessions? No worries, Agile Alliance is presenting “Agile2024 Highlights & Insights” hosted by The Agile Network!
This is your opportunity to watch recordings of events while engaging with speakers live during the replays. And even better? You will have access to all sessions recorded at Agile2024 and The European Experience! AND we want to share as much as possible, so we are adding access to Agile2023 videos.
This package is FREE to all who attended Agile2024 or the European Experience! The member fee for this package is $99 and $125 for non-members. More information will be available soon via our newsletter News You Can Use.