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Presentation Abstract:
Global competition and unprecedented economic turmoil have created demanding innovation challenges for companies, industries and nations. Change is occurring at an astounding rate. What role, if any, does professional project management have to play in leading innovation efforts while dealing with change? Many believe that project management is a hindrance to innovation, but the mistaken belief is found in the actual practice rather than the potential value. This paper will look at the role of project management methodology, particularly “agile project management” as applied in the context of software teams in fostering and enhancing innovation projects and their results. Based on eight years of leading an agile team that focuses on innovation projects, the author will relate the principles and practices of a high-functioning agile team to time-honored elements of A Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK).
Presenters:
After only two years in business, Rich Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations became the Forbes "Hire Yourself" cover story for all those choosing entrepreneurship over unemployment. The next year, it was a Wall Street Journal article on the unique office Menlo uses for software design and development. Within six years, Menlo had become one of Inc. 500's fastest growing privately held firms in the US. What make this story truly remarkable is that it occurred against the backdrop of an IT industry that everyone assumed was leaving the US for offshore.
Sheridan's team at Menlo breaks all the rules and, in doing so, produces phenomenal results for its customers. No walls, offices, doors or cubes -- one big open room, a la Edison's original invention factory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. In this noisy, fun atmosphere Menlo has produced software for all walks of industry from health care, to scientific equipment, to high-fashion ecommerce, to diesel motor vehicle diagnostics, and many more.
Software developed by Menlo for its clients is designed for everyday people by Menlo's High-tech Anthropologists®, built to last by Menlo's world-class agile software development team, and managed by a set of professional project managers listed among the nation's 50 Most Prolific by the Project Management Institute. Sheridan and Menlo have won numerous awards and honors, and he and his team regularly are invited to present nationally and internationally sharing the secrets of the Menlo Software Factory(tm) with all who wish to learn how to build a Learning Organization that can keep pace with today's advances in software and design.
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