The Agile 2024 organizing committee is proud to announce our call for speakers for our next global conference which will be held in TWO locations this year!
July 22-26 in Dallas, Texas, US
July 24-26 in Manchester, UK

Thinking about this year’s conference, we acknowledge the challenges we face as professionals today. Organizations around the globe face challenges keeping their teams together, and as agilists, we continue to find our place in an unstable market. When you add to it the current level of online discourse, it could appear that we are facing an existential threat.

We want to focus Agile 2024 on finding the things we have in common instead of searching for things to argue about. Our community has grown so large that it’s broken off into silos, and from a conference perspective technologists, product gurus, process champions, executives, and those checking multiple boxes each have their own spaces. 

We want our conference to be the one place every year where we can come together for a family meal; to break bread, share stories, collaborate on solutions, and truly come together as one team Our survival might very well depend on that.

It’s important to create a diverse and well-rounded program. It takes multiple perspectives and backgrounds to create a balanced program to make space for all of us to gather. If you have a compelling story, practical strategies, or valuable insights to share, we invite you to submit. Please review the updated track descriptions below to find a space for your story. 

The submission system being used is new for this year’s conference, but many of you might have used Sessionize before to submit to other events. We have worked to keep the experience as similar as possible, but experiences may vary. The most significant change this year is requesting feedback from the track review teams. 

This year we have a single submission deadline – January 31st. If you haven’t submitted by that date, it will not be considered for inclusion in the 2024 program.

We are excited that you are considering a submission, but before you do so, please read the following very carefully. We hope all of your questions will be answered, but if you still have questions after reading this, feel free to email us. You can also access links for the honorarium and Agile20xx Code of Conduct. By clicking the submit button below, the prospective speaker agrees to abide by the code of conduct during the submission process.

For helpful tips on submissions, you can find more information and our recent webinar here.

Note: if you request feedback this year, it will come via email from a member of the track team. If you do not get a response from the track teams, please email agile20xx@aiglealliance.org.

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Accelerating Products

Track chairs: Kent McDonald, Holly Bielawa

Products have come to represent not only the things we sell to our customers but also an approach to solving problems for internal users that impact organizational performance. You could argue that products represent a crucial step in the evolution of the Agile Manifesto. This step focuses on how organizations identify valuable problems to solve, prioritize what problems to solve, and collaborate to deliver solutions to those problems. The Accelerating Products track hosts sessions about the product model, product development, and the product teams that make it all possible. 

Sessions in this track cover a variety of topics including, but not limited to:

• Understanding and working with your customers and users.
• Discovering problems that provide the highest customer value.
• Delivering products while focusing on outcomes that create business impacts.
• Measuring what matters, when it matters most.
• Empowering cross-functional (product, design, and engineering) product teams to deliver outcomes.
• Leading the organizational change necessary to transition to a product operating model that values outcomes over outputs.

We’re particularly interested in sessions built from practical experience, whether it’s from a stunning success or a learning opportunity. If you’re describing a technique or practice, share examples of where it worked, where it didn’t, and how people can determine if it will work in their context.  

Energizing People and Teams

Track chairs: Cp Richardson, Jennifer Dyni

People and teams vary from person to person, group to group, organization to organization, and the only consistent thing among every group is change. The question we face daily as practitioners is, how do we adjust to that change? How do we empower our colleagues to bring their 'A' game? However, even the most productive teams and/or individual team members can eventually burn out or lose some of their energy, which can result in missed deadlines or substandard work. It’s essential to know how to motivate and energize your team when needed. Doing so can help reignite productivity and enthusiasm, ultimately leading to organizational success.

In this track, we will explore the experiences of people in their journey and those who have successfully adapted along the way. By the end of these sessions, you will gain the knowledge needed to begin identifying and addressing dysfunctions, improving team dynamics, and achieving tangible results for your organization. 

This track may be for you if:

• You are worried about what the next step in your journey will be and need inspiration
• You want to upskill yourself for your next role
• You are currently part of a team and questioning whether this is the best you can achieve
• Your team is faced with uncertainty and tasked with doing more with less.

Enriching Organizations

Track chairs: Mariya Breyter, Kathi Paquet

How often do you attend sessions, gain a wealth of knowledge, and then struggle with how to operationalize it within your organization across hundreds to thousands of individuals? The Enriching Organizations track provides sessions on everyday problem-solving and specific, actionable advice you can bring back for experimentation.

For this track, show us how your topic relates to the needs of organizations. This track will explore topics including, but not limited to:

• Systems thinking, AI/LLM applications to organizational agility
• Agile value proposition for customer obsession at the organizational level
• Portfolios, roadmaps, and planning
• Organizational structures, team formation, matrixed reporting
• Professional growth and career development
• Budgeting and forecasting in Agile and hybrid organizations
• Strategic goal-setting, Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), and Agile metrics at an organizational level
• Business agility and operations
• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEBI) initiatives
• Organizational change governance, and modernization
• ...and, of course, anything and everything at scale

Technology for All

Track Chairs: ‘Tine Zekis, Millie Ryba

We are more than just industry professionals; we are status quo breakers, disability advocates, and technical evangelists committed to creating space for innovation. Our mission is to explore how technology can break barriers and foster accessible solutions, hereby emulating the idea that technology is, in fact, for everyone.

Recognizing the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of technology, we acknowledge the need for continuous learning and sharing within our community. The "Technology for All" track is dedicated to enhancing the technical competency of the Agile community, while also bridging the gap between the diverse needs of business and IT leaders as well as for the practitioners that bring the solutions to life.

This track goes beyond today's technology, focusing on shaping the inclusive and innovative future we envision. Key topics for discussion and exploration include:

• Community Impact through Technology: Encouraging avenues where technological solutions drive significant community changes.
• Inclusive Workspaces: Transforming work environments into universally accessible collaboration spaces, embracing extreme programming values of respect and courage.
• Smart City Initiatives: Breaking technological barriers to create smarter, more inclusive urban environments.
• Diverse Accessibility: Addressing and removing entry barriers for individuals across various roles, industries, and backgrounds, highlighting our commitment to DEIB.
• Cutting-edge Discussions: Exploring technical topics at the forefront of innovation and agility.

We invite contributors from all practices—SWE, SRE, DevOps, QE, XP, etc.—to share ideas, topics, conversations, and learnings in these areas. Our goal is to make technology a transformational force for people, processes, cultures, and the world, truly reflecting our belief that Technology is for All.

Agile 2024 Honorarium: https://www.agilealliance.org/agile2024/submissions/#honorarium