.we have come to value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.

The Agile Manifesto

Our interactions can set off a positive spiral of increasing trust and openness or a negative spiral of distrust and defensiveness. On Agile projects, our success depends not just on technical skills, but on our abilities to build and sustain strong, collaborative working relationships. In this session, I'll cover five tips for building, strengthening, and maintaining quality working relationships with customers, peers, and others in the workplace.

Esther Derby facilitates team and management problem-solving. She helps teams plan the work; stay on track (or get back on track); and capture what they've learned so they can apply it to the next project. Esther focuses on creating situations that encourage teams to create knowledge and increase their capabilities to deliver software on time and with the desired quality. Esther has special expertise in facilitating mid-project reviews and post project retrospectives. A frequent speaker and author on software management issues, Esther has published articles in Software Development, Cutter IT Journal, STQE, and on StickyMinds.com. Esther Derby is currently Technical Editor for Better Software (formerly STQE) magazine.