As an avid agile evangelist Christina is passionate about helping build and support self organising teams and individuals from the ground up. She loves learning about people, their passions and what motivates them. As a member of the Agile community of practice, she speak and run workshops at conferences. She is also a Graphics Illustrator and enjoys bringing this into the workspace to run meetings and help teams collaborate.

Many organisations are beginning to feel the need to be leaner and more nimble in order to better adapt to today’s ever-changing and uncertain world. This is especially true for the digital space – a sector where technology is creating new behaviours and competitors at an unprecedented rate. What many companies are discovering is that adapting to these changes means altering how they think, work and – most importantly – collaborate. This is no easy challenge.

In the course of my work, I’m often asked how companies can drive and embed a greater understanding, awareness and practice of agile ways of working within their teams and organisations, especially when it comes to testing and the quality of software. In truth, there’s no single or simple answer, but as a former Head of Testing and current Agile Coach, here is my take on it.

Change is a scary

Change is a scary thing – especially when we are used to a particular way of working. The reality, though, is that change is inevitable and learning to embrace change and being open to possibilities is both healthy and an urgent necessity, which all comes down to mindset and learning how to adapt to the environment around you. Change, however can be seen as a big ask in terms of culture, time & resource – not to mention risk, which can produce a lot of resistance to adopting new approaches and ways of working. So how can we overcome this?

Growing a Testing Community of Practice

In this keynote, I want to dive into real life examples of how teams and companies can overcome resistance to change. My talk will reflect on how I grew a Testing Community of Practice from the ground up and embedded effective testing practices and principles not just within development teams but across an organisation. I will also reflect on the various challenges of coaching agile teams and key ways of navigating traditional mindsets, helping shift organisational culture and working practices. I want you to take away these ideas and ways of working and help drive change within your own teams and organisations.