This week I had the honor of giving two presentations (Agile in a nutshell) and a keynote (The surprising science behind agile leadership) at Agile Japan 2012.

Agile is just gaining traction in Japan and it reminds me of what Agile looked like in North America about 10 years ago.

The conference was small (~200 people from around Japan) but fiercely passionate.

In someways I am jealous, because for me this was one of the most exciting times in my software development career. Being part of a small passionate movement determined to change they and their companies work and build software.

The software community in Japan is going through the pangs of that change right now. And I have no doubt they will succeed.

When people ask me how they can make their companies and colleagues want to do agile I recommend starting with oneself. Once you’ve become comforable with the spirit of agile, you will be better able to teach and helpe others.

That and patience. It took 10 years for agile to become mainstream in North America and I am guessing it will take about the same in Japan.

I feel honored to have been a small part of Agile Japan 2012, and I will be watching with great excitement as another nation and culture begins it’s transformation in software delivery.

あなたの剣は鋭いまま、あなたのプロジェクトは成功するかもしれません。


Osaka Castle with my friend and wonderful tour guide Katutani Shintaro.

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