Psychological Safety: The Key Factor of Successful Teams

In today’s competitive landscape, psychological safety is the foundation which successful teams and thriving workplaces are built. This presentation explores why creating an environment where team members feel safe to speak up, take risks, and share ideas without fear of judgment is essential for fostering trust, collaboration, and innovation. Through real-life examples and actionable insights, we’ll reveal how prioritizing psychological safety can lead to enhanced team engagement, creative problem-solving, and overall excellence. Join us to learn practical strategies for implementing psychological safety and discover how it can be the key to unlocking your team’s full potential.

50 minutes

Human Intelligence: Reshaping the Narrative of Motivation and Performance

Many traditional approaches and beliefs in management, work ethic, and individual development go against human nature. In this talk we will decode the building blocks of human motivation leveraging evidence from biology, neuroscience, and psychology. Together we'll examine the limits of executive function, intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and the power of the happiness advantage. Attendees will gain actionable strategies for nurturing environments that ignite passion and propel individuals towards exceptional performance.

60 minutes

Platform as a Product: the future of Agile and DevOps

Cross-functional teams and full-stack developers have become the expectation in today's highest-performing teams. However, as technology needs become more complex and solutions begin to scale, it becomes increasingly difficult for software engineers to balance expertise across all layers of the stack, operations, security, development tools, etc. This leads to an increased cognitive load for your engineers, resulting in lower performance, longer development times, decreased quality, and, ultimately, developer burnout. In this talk, we'll explore how applying Product Thinking to Platform Engineering can reduce this burden on your development teams while preventing organizational bottlenecks. Join this talk to learn what a platform is, what the product mindset is, and how to architect for enterprise flow.

60 minutes

A Brief History of Agile

In this MINI-TALK we will cover a high-level overview of the history of Agile Software Development, not just the Snowbird Lodge in 2001, but its nearly 100-year-old roots in Lean, Empiricism, and Iterative and Incremental Development (IID). For those who do not know history, are destined to repeat it.

10-15 minutes

The Velocity Trap

Companies all over the world have fallen into the Velocity Trap. This is when companies only measure how fast teams are completing tasks. They forget that those tasks need to be of value to their users, customers, and their business. In fact, research has shown that 80% of software products are rarely or never used. This talk looks at what makes organizations profitable. It uses concepts from Product Thinking and User Experience to explain how you can identify what efforts are worth investing in. It also shares which productivity metrics (also known as outputs) are proven through research to promote high performance and a few common metrics that have no such correlation. Join this talk to learn how to escape the Velocity Trap!

60 minutes

The Alchemy Of Agile

Alchemy is a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination. Alchemy tried to achieve something supernatural by utilizing processes that are known today as science. However, a truly talented Alchemist was not only a scientist, but also possessed a certain je ne sais quoi, that is, a magic touch.

Similar to Alchemy, Agile utilizes the scientific method to transmute requirements into business value. It is a seemingly magical process, that is not reproducible by all. What many people are missing is that one magical ingredient… culture.

In order to understand the culture behind Agile, we will explore the origins of Software Development, the contents of the Agile Manifesto, and the collection of beliefs, perceptions and values that truly empower agility. By the end of this discussion you will not only understand what this Agile (with a capital “A”) thing is, but where it came from, why we do it, and how to successfully implement it with your teams.

60 minutes

Technical Agility 101: Deliver Like the Tech Giants

Have you introduced your teams to the Agile Manifesto, Scrum Framework, and other commonly accepted Agile practices, but they still struggle to release software at the scale of Big Tech companies like Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google? There's more to Agile than timeboxes, events, and roles.

In this talk, Brad will explain how the principles of Agile Software Development are meant to be brought to life through advanced development practices. He will introduce the audience to key practices, tools, and philosophies from the DevOps movement—a movement that empowers agile teams to iterate faster and integrate feedback more effectively across the entire development process.

This no-code presentation is accessible to all audiences, particularly benefiting leaders, managers, and agilists who want to better understand how to support the most essential role on any software development team: the developer.

60 min

Mind Mechanics: Fine-Tuning Cognitive Function for the Engineering Mind

Engineering often involves complex problem-solving and creative thinking, demanding a level of cognitive effort that differs significantly from manual labor. While manual tasks are repetitive and straightforward, Thought Work requires managing intricate mental processes and overcoming cognitive overload. This talk addresses how to optimize these mental functions by controlling cognitive load, avoiding the pitfalls of multitasking, and integrating slack—mental space crucial for fostering creativity and preventing burnout.

Attendees will discover practical strategies such as cognitive offloading, time blocking, and techniques for achieving flow. These methods are designed to help engineers enhance their focus, improve productivity, and create a more sustainable and rewarding work experience. Equip yourself with the tools to fine-tune your cognitive "engine" and transform your approach to work, leading to greater efficiency and professional satisfaction.