I know it’s been quiet on this blog, but much has happened behind the scenes.  In fact, there has been a countdown happening as I prepare for Agile2018 next week.

• 8 chapters are now available in the pre-release beta version of my book with Johanna Rothman
• 3 podcasts are soon to be out about my work and writing about distributed agile
• 2 talks to deliver on Tuesday, August 7th on distributed agile
• 1 newsletter launches today for those wanting more information on how to succeed with distributed agile teams.

Let me share a little more about each of these and also how to contact me at Agile2018.

8 Chapters of the Book

First, Johanna and I did a major refactoring of our book, From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams.  These changes stem from early review feedback in April.  Content from the original five chapters remains, but hopefully in a more logical order (thank you reviewers).  We’ve also added four new chapters of content and probably have three more chapters to go before we call this book done later this year.

3 Podcasts

For podcasts, one is out now and two should be out early next week.  They include:

• Episode 175 – Networks and Constellations from the 21st Century Work Life podcast was released July 12, 2018. My friend and co-conspirator from the Virtual Team Talk community, Pilar Orti, interviews me about the distributed team types of satellites, clusters and nebula.
• Software Process and Measurement (SPAMcast) 506 (released Sunday, August 5, 2018) is a full-length interview by Tom Cagley on many concepts from our distributed agile book.  I’ve recently discovered Tom’s podcast and I like his pragmatic approach to covering concepts and issues in the software community. 
• Also on Monday, August 6, 2018, Johanna and I will be interviewed on Facebook Live by Dave Prior of Leading Agile.  Dave has been podcasting from the conference for several years.  In fact, he just released a great 10 minute podcast with advice on how to attend Agile2018 and how to see other podcast updates like our interview.

2 Distributed Agile Talks at Agile2018

For the talks, we have two on Tuesday, August 7 (second day of Agile2018):

• You Have to Say More There: Effective Communication in a Distributed Agile Team – In this 30 minute experience report, Johanna and I share how we used the principles in our distributed agile team book to pair-write the book and how you can use it as a remote pairing exercise.
• Agile Distributed Teams: Oxymoron or Option – In this talk, I describe the 8 principles from our book, show several practices that can help your teams align with those principles, and have many stories to share.  Is it for everyone?  You will have to attend to decide.

1 Distributed Agile Newsletter launches

Finally, I’ve been getting many great questions around the book and there are still some things we likely will not be able to fit into this book.  So I’ve started a newsletter to share some of this information.

Whew!  That exhausts me just writing it, but it’s been weeks of steady preparation.

Contacting me at Agile2018

I should be at theAgile2018 receptions and lunches though I don’t always stay long.  Catch me when you see me.

Also, since I like to give back to the agile community, I’m participating in a feedback experiment in the conference (perhaps a future blog post).  So you will see me in a few sessions furiously taking notes.  If you ask, I’ll let you know and find a way to connect with you later.

I’ll be in the Agile Alliance lounge on Thursday afternoon to represent the Agile Alliance Community Group Support Initiative.  If you are at the conference, swing by and say hello or just catch me in the hallways. 

You can also connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn.  I’ll keep an eye on both at Agile2018 .  Hope we have a chance to connect!  As I said, catch me when you see me.