I am a software process mentor and certified Scrum trainer with a focus on the engineering practices that allow Agile project management practices. I am also a software developer (formerly "architect") with 20+ years experience—including automated test experience that predates the "Extreme Programming" movement. I have experience with:

• Formal, phased, high-ceremony processes based on DOD-STD-2167A
• Chaotic non-processes of the dot-com era, and
• Agile processes including Scrum and XP

I find it effective to work one-on-one in the trenches with team members, infusing knowledge of Agile practices and mindsets from *inside* a team.

Key Achievements:

• Coached three teams at a state government bureaucracy to produce demonstrable functionality in one month. The teams had been considered stuck for most of the year before our arrival.
• Turned a collection of city government developers into an effective Scrum team in two weeks.
• Interviewed over 100 candidates (mostly Java developers) in search of those who would perform well in our client's agile environment.
• Diagnosed and advised teams at a major database company, a major online book seller, a major projector manufacturer, a leading video game company, two Fortune 50 computer manufacturers, etc.
• Produced the ScrumWorks agile project management tool in consultation with key thinkers in the Agile community, including both authors of Agile Software Development with Scrum. ScrumWorks, now a free product approaching its fourth major release, is actively used (and misused) at hundreds of sites.
• Mentored numerous Java/J2EE developers.
• Developed aircraft and spacecraft embedded systems to rigorous standards.

Michael has been featured in DZone and SD Times.

Testimonials:

"Thank you again for the excellent class. It was definitely one of the best courses I have ever attended, and I do believe that your effort to stay away from slides as much as possible and do more with handouts and exercises is a brilliant move. I honestly did not feel the absence of the quintessential and so pervasive ppt at all! And I know it made the class better."
-- Christian Molnar, Microsoft, Bellevue WA (USA)

"Many aspects of Scrum I have observed in the past, but never fully understood the process and theory until now."
-- Tim Duzmal, SDET lead, Seattle WA (USA)

"a fluid uninterrupted learning experience.... interesting, high value training"
-- Richard de Koning, Professor, Amsterdam NL

"Great implementation stories!"
-- Bart Matthaei, Managing Director, Amsterdam NL

"very good, good balance between theory and practice. Liked it very much"
-- Francois Ruiter, Director Product Strategy / Product Management, Amsterdam NL

"Great communicator, very clear"
-- Jelle van den Berg, Owner of Ambero Software, Amsterdam NL

"Great coach and trainer. My poor level of english wasn't a big problem with understanding because of trainer's clearity of speaking."
-- Michał Jurkiewicz, ScrumMaster, Krakow Poland

"Michael should wear a hat at least when entering the room for the first time."
-- Pawel Lesnikowski, senior software developer, Krakow Poland

"high usage of 'visible' techniques to visualize ideas. post-its, hanging papers, ..."
-- Piotr Nablielec, software engineer, Krakow Poland

"Scrum continues to exceed my expectations; A colleague recommended this course to me and I shall in turn recommend to others -- thanks!"
-- Chris St. John, Director, Cambridge UK

"Very knowledgeable & experienced presenter bringing discussion to the audience."
-- David Noyes, lead software engineer, Cambridge UK

"The course really helped me to identify the areas that I am not working to 100% on. Organisational impediments was the main area."
-- Dave Semmens, ScrumMaster/Project Manager, Sheffield UK

"Thanks for the refresher, Michael. It was good to hear you again. I was in your ScrumMaster course, September 2007-ish. Scrum has revolutionized how our team works and we're loving it. Thank you."
-- Alan Bell, London UK

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