Customize your conference experience and choose from 30+ sessions over five tracks covering the human and technological elements of change in a product-centric world. All talks provide insights into accelerating time to value and delivering customer joy to meet business goals.
Learn how to best deliver products, manage roadmaps, and hear how organizations have transformed from a project-oriented approach. Speakers will share their project-to-product journey stories—from how they got started to where they are now.
Dr. Mik Kersten is the chief technology officer at Planview, joining the company in 2022 through the acquisition of Tasktop, where he was CEO. Mik founded Tasktop and is the best-selling author of “Project To Product: How to Survive and Thrive in the Age of Digital Disruption with the Flow Framework®“. Mik’s experiences working with some of the largest digital transformations in the world has led him to identify the critical gap between business leaders and technologists, resulting in his creation of the Flow Framework® to connect strategy to delivery. He started his career as a Research Scientist at Xerox PARC where he built the first aspect-oriented development environment. He then pioneered the integration of development environments with Agile and DevOps tools while working on his Computer Science PhD at the University of British Columbia. Founding Tasktop out of that research, Mik has written over one million lines of open-source code that are still in use today and has brought seven successful open-source and commercial products to market.
CTO and Author, Project to Product
Planview
When it comes to increasing productivity, creating value, developing agility, and driving customer-centricity, there’s simply no better approach. Regardless of your starting point, Mik will share insights on just how far organizations have come in realizing the importance of such a paradigm shift.
Andrew Sales is an experienced Agile Consultant and previously led the Agile Services Practice across EMEA for CA Technologies (formerly Rally). Drawing on his diverse range of skills and experiences from project management, software development, product management and sales, Andrew has worked with many organizations to help them successfully establish better ways of working. He is passionate about continuous improvement and provides coaching to teams and leaders, supporting them in achieving improved outcomes for their business and their customers.
Andrew is a SAFe Program Consultant Trainer (SPCT) and has many years experience in delivering SAFe implementations across a wide range of different industries. He is an accomplished trainer, regularly delivering Scrum, Kanban and Certified SAFe courses in both private and public settings.
Andrew possesses an excellent balance of technical and business acumen and has Masters degrees in both Philosophy and Software Development and is part of the MBA program at Warwick Business School.
Chief Methodologist and SAFe Fellow
Scaled Agile, Inc
Products and the value streams that build them deliver an organization's value. Therefore, accelerating product delivery is vital for organizations to survive and thrive in the Digital Age. Instead of focusing on projects and defining success as completing them on time and within budget, leaders must emphasize products that deliver business outcomes. This change requires a new organizational structure, moving from Projects to Products and organizing around value. However, additional challenges arise at scale. Some of the largest SAFe organizations have many value streams developing a single integrated product. For example, how should an automotive company align its 8,000 solution builders to deliver a line of vehicles or a large IT organization managing separate platforms, infrastructure, and services?
In this talk, SAFe Chief Methodologist Andrew Sales will share practical guidance for organizing and supporting super-sized product development. Critical to this approach is identifying, designing, and organizing product portfolios around value. Options include organizing around business units, platforms, regional operations, regulation, or innovation. In reality, a combination is needed to maximize value delivery, and organizations must consider the relevant trade-offs and understand what they are optimizing for. However, successful product development at this scale extends beyond the portfolio and requires robust value stream management practices. In an ideal world, these value streams operate independently, but in practice, organizing successfully at this scale requires understanding how value streams interoperate to create nested and networked value streams.
Dr Klaus Leopold, computer scientist, Kanban pioneer and creator of the Flight Levels Model, has many years of experience as a top management consultant with about 1000 workshop participants per year. He advises companies worldwide on how to act agile on the market. Klaus is author of the bestseller Rethinking Agile, Practical Kanban and co-author of the standard work Kanban Change Leadership. He is co-founder of the Flight Levels Academy and he publishes his current thoughts and experiences in the world of Flight Levels and organisational development on his blog www.LEANability.com. You can follow Klaus on Twitter at @klausleopold.
Co-Founder of Flight Levels Academy
Flight Levels Academy
In this talk, I discuss an agile transition where approximately 600 people were involved. The goal was to shorten the time-to-market for initiatives to be able to respond to customer needs more quickly and, as such, improve business agility. In order to achieve this, a reorganization was carried out. Cross-functional teams were constructed so knowledge needed for development is fully available within the team. In addition, the teams were categorized according to product in order to remove any dependencies. Visualization of the work, Standup meetings and Retrospectives made the agile transition complete—except for the expected improvements. In this session, I share what we did to improve the situation and reach the goal of "more business agility". I also show how you can approach an agile transition of this size, so you can avoid the issue of no improvements being seen. This much I can tell you in advance: do not start at the team level—it will save not only your nerves, but also a lot of money!
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Jon Smart is a business agility practitioner, thought leader, and coach. Jon is the lead author of the award-winning and bestselling book 'Sooner Safer Happier: Patterns and Antipatterns for Business Agility' and co-founder of Sooner Safer Happier Ltd, helping organizations to deliver Better Value, Sooner, Safer and Happier, through better ways of working.
Jon previously led Ways of Working globally for Barclays Bank, a 340 year-old organisation with 80,000 people, helping to triple productivity, with 20x higher quality and the highest recorded levels of colleague engagement.
Jon has been an agile and lean practitioner since the early 1990s, leading the delivery of business value through technology. Jon is an occasional guest lecturer at London Business School and the University of Pennsylvania and speaks at numerous conferences a year.
Founder and Author, Sooner Safer Happier
Sooner Safer Happier (BVSSH)
Every organisation is perfectly optimised to get the results it gets!
In this talk I will be sharing antipatterns (headwinds) and patterns (tailwinds) on the topic of optimising for outcomes, including how we organise ourselves. These are lessons learnt first-hand the hard way and from more than 50 organisations, with a scope across the whole organisation.
There is an emerging new normal across organisations. We are living through the biggest pivot in organised human endeavour at scale since the first industrial revolution in 1771, whether it is Darwinian or by design. What an exciting time to be working!
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Matthew Skelton is co-author of the award-winning and ground-breaking book Team Topologies, and CEO & Principal at Conflux. The Team Topologies book was rated one of the ‘Best product management books of all time’ by Book Authority and is widely used by organizations worldwide to transform the way they deliver value.
Matthew is one of the foremost leaders in modern organizational dynamics for fast flow, drawing on Team Topologies and related practices to support organizations with transformation towards a sustainable fast flow of value and true business agility.
A Chartered Engineer (CEng), Matthew brings together principles and practices from multiple disciplines for a holistic approach to digitally-enriched operating models. He combines his experience as a leader and software architect in multiple contexts (GOV.UK, ecommerce, financial services, telecoms, pharma, retail, robotics, etc.) with a strong interest in the human side of organizations for a compassionate and humanistic approach to organizational effectiveness.
CEO and Co-Author, Team Topologies
Conflux
The book Team Topologies points the way to profound changes for the operating model for organizations building and running software-enriched services. At the heart of Team Topologies is the principle of fast flow: multiple ongoing streams of changes to software-enriched services done safely and sustainably. By focusing on fast flow using Team Topologies patterns - especially decoupling and service-centricity - organizations can expect to see significant benefits, including:
In this talk, Matthew Skelton - CEO at Conflux and co-author of the book Team Topologies - explores some of the reasons why a focus on fast flow helps with much wider organizational and business goals, together with some of the key principles and practices that need to be part of everyday life in an organization that is set p for fast flow.
Ultimately, using "fast flow" as a key organizing principle also results in more generalized business agility, mostly because we are encouraged to think about decoupling between separate "things" and the real value of what the organization provides. So although it is not the end goal, fast flow certainly helps significantly to help the organization to respond in a nimble manner.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Some call me an “agile rockstar”, others a “product powerhouse”, I prefer "passionate leader" with a knack for getting things done (and having fun while doing it!).
As a Senior Agile Coach and Product Manager at Spotify with 20+ years of experience, I'm here to turn "what ifs" into "Ah Ah"!
I've navigated the software industry trenches from the very first Dotcom startups to today key players, as a product champion, a team manager and an agile evangelist. From mastering frameworks like Scrum, Kanban or Lean StartUp to scaling agile, fostering collaborative cultures, I've seen it in all places (and done quite a lot!!!). So, when I say I can create environments where teamwork hums, transparency shines, and efficiency breaks records, you can bet on me. But don't let the process fool you - I'm all about empowering individuals. Think continuous learning, fearless experimentation, and a contagious "can-do" spirit. Witnessing teams unlock their agile lightbulb moments and propel products, teams, and businesses to success? That's my fuel!
Speaking of sharing the love, I'm a regular speaker at lean agile and product conferences. Think captivating stories, practical examples, and a healthy dose of "been there, failed that and learned this" wisdom.
Senior Agile and Product Coach
Spotify
When was the last time you heard about how we do Product at Spotify? Don't waste your time searching; either it's been more than a decade, and it’s outdated, or never. We end up communicating very little on how we do things - being very busy in connecting billions of music lovers to millions of artists and audio creators.
Get a taste of how Spotify, make awesome products. What’s in the mix that makes our products consistently successful for more than 10 years? What makes us different from other big techs? How do we jam with OKRs & Bets, agile stuff, data and insights, Continuous Discovery, Design Thinking, Lean UX, Service Design, the most advanced technologies and some ABBA tunes to rock the place?
Be ready to be surprised! Stay tuned!
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Karishma Bhatnagar is a Product Manager at Upwork, building Integrations for their Enterprise Solutions Unit. She has previously led the greenfield development and managed an entire product module at a fast-paced start-up VNDLY, which is now Workday VNDLY.
With over 5 years of product management experience, she brings her data analysis skills and product knowledge together to build products that delight the users. She has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and finds joy in her work as a Product Manager, she is grateful and revels in the opportunity to be part of creating products that change how people work and get employed. Karishma is also an immigrant, mom, and outdoor enthusiast.
Product Manager
Upwork
Mastering collaboration with Delivery Managers isn't always as intuitive as with the other pillars of the Product Trio (Engineering and User Design). However, unlocking the immense value they offer is crucial for Product Managers. By understanding their role and fostering better collaboration, Product Managers can leverage Delivery Managers to streamline processes and free up valuable time for focusing on the core aspects of product management. Let's explore how embracing this partnership can optimize efficiency and drive success in product development endeavors.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Ever since his youth, Sebastian has been passionate about technology products.
Starting as a programmer in his parents' basement, over the years he worked as developer, tech lead, product manager & head of product for companies like Sixt, SHARE NOW and Daimler.
He has successfully helped hundreds of product managers and leaders to excel in their jobs and companies to shift their operational model from project to product.
He is currently the CPO @ Product Masterclass, a tech product consultancy with a focus on helping product managers to built better products and product/business leaders to transform their organization from project to product.
CPO
Product Masterclass
In this keynote, we explore how companies can successfully transition from a project-based to a product-based organizational structure, focusing on the seven core challenges that must be addressed during this transformation.
Learn about the strategic shift from complexity-driven to standardization-focused sales strategies, the pricing mechanism attached to it, the role of robust product discovery processes, and the importance of strategic prioritization mechanisms.
Discover how to structure your product setup and organization for success, manage the high pressure on development teams, and implement configuration strategies that allow for customization without custom code.
This presentation offers strategic insights and practical solutions derived from the experiences of successful transformations, designed to enhance scalability, streamline operations, and foster a culture of innovation within your organization.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
"Hi, I’m Michel Hauzeur, father of Mila (daughter) and Baloo (Dog) and the husband of Catalina. I love to share time with the family, play soccer (football), and ride my motorcycle every week.
I am a Product Design & Innovation Leader at Nearuse with 14+ years of experience in product & technology projects, both as a Product & Project manager.
I’m Chief of Growth & Product Officer at La corte de los Búhos, a Digital Transformation consulting company.
I have been part of the Product League and Product Makers Mentors program for 2+ years.
I am the Winner of the 2023 Product-Led Alliance Award in the category of Product Leader of the Year.
What I love the most is teaching, sharing, and guiding people to learn how to grow and apply new frameworks and templates to get the results you, your leader, and the company are expecting."
Product Design & Innovation Leader
Nearsure
This talk describes the process of transforming a project structure into a Product team building focused on continuous discovery, experimentation, and people first.
By "Continuous Discovery" I mean that we create a structure focused on analyzing audience and market, content generation, training and development, strategic alliances, service design, and innovation.
By "Experimentation" I mean that we create a culture of testing, where we use the information collected and test based on a specific desired outcome.
By "People First" I mean that the only way to grow as a team is to focus on each team member. So by defining a clear structure based on practice leaders, product ops, and mentors, we will create a team focused on continuous growth.
The talk will be about the representation and the actual structure I have for my team. I manage a team of 40 people, between product and design, where I have 2 practice leaders, 1 product ops leader, and 10 mentors.
I will show how did started by becoming a team of 10 to a team of 40, what was my desired outcome, how I implemented and what results I am having right now.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Industry veteran Alan Manuel, Planview Global VP of Product for VSM and AI has decades of experience both in leading successful software product organizations, as well as driving the change that got them there - at startups, Silicon Valley unicorns, and the largest global technology companies.
Entrepreneur, evangelist and growth executive building enterprise B2B cloud businesses he brings domain expertise in digital transformation, methodologies, mid- and back-office, and cloud.
MIT BS, Computer Science and Engineering; INSEAD MBA
Global VP of Product for VSM and AI
Planview
Are you running into roadblocks driving change? Maybe it’s because you’re still thinking like a coach, and not like a player.
As a change agent for your organization, your mandate is clear: transform your operating model to help your company become more nimble, more efficient, and ready to achieve new strategic goals.
You’ve done the research, learned the techniques, and put your transformation plans in place. So why is it that, for you and many others like you, this is often as far as it gets?
In this session, hear from industry veteran Alan Manuel, Planview Global VP of Product for VSM and AI. Alan has decades of experience both in leading successful software product organizations, as well as driving the change that got them there - at startups, Silicon Valley unicorns, and the largest global technology companies.
You’ll learn the secrets to driving project-to-product change, how to communicate effectively, and what you should avoid.
And you’ll learn how the all-important first transformation probably isn’t what you think.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Experienced leader in product management domain who has led teams in global giants like - Amazon (created new sourcing strategies that have grown to billion + in revenue). Maersk - (leading the technology revolution in shipping and logistics industry.
I have also led the launch of new age start ups like GoPuff in the EU market which has gone ahead and clocked billion+ dollars in revenue.
Developed the "Shipping fast and small”, a groundbreaking approach in product development that synergizes agile methodology with creative design thinking for high velocity product launches. This method is celebrated for enhancing team collaboration whilst getting cross team alignments in numerous tech companies across all sizes.
Made a significant impact in the retail/ecommerce industry by leading the development of successful apps and digital platforms. These products and features are notable for their customer centricity and getting the maximum “bang for the buck”.
Was awarded the "Global PM Leader" award in 2022 for outstanding contributions to the field of product management. This honor recognizes my innovative strategies and leadership in the industry.
I have mentored more than 30+ aspiring PM transition into the world of product management in big tech FAANGs (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netfix, Google).
Product Leader
Maersk
Debojyoti delves into a customer-centric approach to product development. He illustrates how starting with the end user in mind and working backwards ensures products meet real customer needs and minimises risk of product failure. By prioritising customer feedback and insights, this technique helps shape product vision, features, and improvements keeping the launch effectiveness in check. Debojyoti emphasizes that this method drives innovation, enhances user satisfaction, and leads to successful product outcomes. He will present real life case studies from amazon product launches to demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Carol is a builder and renovator of strategic businesses for companies seeking to focus on Business Value Led Digital Transformation using modern and emerging technologies. For over 30+ years she has demonstrated the proven ability to build high performing organizations with modern digital capabilities.
Known for delivering successful business results for Fortune 500 clients. Unique blend of both technical and business acumen and understanding of why and how people change behaviors.
Carol is an expert in the shift from Project to Product and is a strategic partner to Planview.
CEO
Inspire Digital Consulting
Over the years I have led many large-scale digital transformations. There are success and failure patterns that I have learned in helping both business and technology to adopt new ways of working to improve the flow from "idea to in production". In this session I will share from my experience to help other organizations improve their chances of delivering a successful and sustainable change in how the organization delivers value. I will also facilitate a discussion with a few previous clients who can also share from our experience working together.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Over the past decade, Kristen has led software delivery teams through end-to-end agile transformations, core modernization efforts and exploring new capabilities. She has experience working with teams spanning diverse industries: insurance, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, financial institutions, transportation, travel, automotive, and defense. She is a practical agilest who has a passion for identifying real solutions to team pain points for enabling them to do their best every day. Passionate about pioneering emergent capabilities, she thrives on staying at the forefront of Innovation.
Director SEPM in Innovation Delivery
Nationwide
I am an experienced leader and graduate of The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business with a Master's in Business Administration (Finance and Strategy focus).
My professional experience includes more than 20 years of experience utilizing agile methods, design thinking, hands-on software engineering practices, and exhibiting strong organizational leadership to enable and deliver exceptional outcomes.
My career focus is on driving business innovation via appropriate and experimental application of technology. My current professional interests are innovation, strategy, and leadership.
Specialties:
Innovation Technology Executive and Generative AI Enthusiast
Nationwide
The traditional product operating model has been instrumental in revolutionizing and streamlining software delivery by effectively integrating technical expertise, business acumen, and user experience. However, with the advent of Generative AI, we are witnessing a transformative shift that is redefining these foundational pillars. This session will explore how Generative AI is driving an evolution in the product operating model, necessitating a re-evaluation of our established paradigms.
Generative AI is not just an incremental improvement but a fundamental change agent that impacts the way we approach product development, customer interactions, and strategic decision-making. As practitioners, it is imperative that we understand and harness these advancements to avoid being left behind. Join me to delve into the nuances of this evolution, and gain insights on how to adapt and thrive in this new era of technological innovation.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Mara is the Vice President of Transformation Solutions at Planview, responsible for the design and implementation of the company’s IP – primarily the Flow Framework®. Mara has an extensive background in software delivery, product management and most recently, Value Stream Management during her role as a Principal Value Stream Architect. Her passion is helping organizations see the big picture of the complexities of managing technology at scale and, based on that customer experience, designing solutions and approaches to make that task more delightful and collaborative across organizational silos. She believes products, solutions, and frameworks must have the customer at the center to ensure value-add business decisions.
VP, Transformation Solutions
Planview
Jeff Keyes is a seasoned product marketeer, leading product marketing for Value Stream Management Solutions at Planview. With over 30 years in high-tech roles ranging from developer to product manager, he's helped organizations transition from waterfall to continuous delivery methodologies. Jeff is also a founding member of the Value Stream Management Consortium. His passion lies in humanizing technology and aiding others in improving application delivery using value stream management, Agile, and DevOps methodologies.
VP, Product Marketing
Planview
Join Mara Puisite and Jeff Keyes for a compelling discussion on the 2024 State of the Industry Report, where they will reveal the critical findings on what drives better business outcomes at elite organizations - those defined by achieving their business goals more than 90% of the time. In an era defined by disruption, understanding how to adapt is essential for survival. From digital-native disruptors like Venmo and Tesla to established giants like Lego and Disney, successful companies are increasingly shifting their focus from traditional project models to a product-oriented operating approach.
But what does it take to thrive in the Digital Age?
This webinar will explore:
Drawing from extensive research involving insights from over 8,000 value streams, Mara and Jeff will provide actionable recommendations for leaders looking to enhance visibility, optimize workflows, and prioritize the human element in their organizations.
Driving product delivery is complex—there’s a reason we often call PMs mini-CEOs. Speakers will share top tips to advance product development and successfully mobilize teams. Learn how to energize stakeholders, empower participation, and motivate change from leaders with real-world product management and leadership expertise.
Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia is the Founder and CEO of Product School, the global leader in product management training with a community of over two million product professionals. Product School instructors are real-world Product Leaders working at top companies, including Google, Meta, Netflix, Airbnb, PayPal, Uber, and Amazon.
Carlos is committed to pushing the product community forward. With this aim in mind, he published the Amazon bestseller, The Product Book. He also hosts Proddys - the annual awards honoring the best software products, The Product Podcast, and ProductCon - a multi-city conference in San Francisco, New York and London attended by tens of thousands of product leaders every year.
CEO and Founder
Product School
Join Carlos González De Villaumbrosia, CEO of Product School as he explores how world-class product teams are navigating the AI era. Gain insights into the challenges of digital transformations, the importance of clear strategy, and the evolving role of product leaders. Discover the critical factors for success and understand how product teams are driving revenue growth and competitive advantage in the age of AI.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Elizabeth Ayer is a product leader in the Technology Transformation Services, part of the U.S. Federal Government. Previously part of 18F, she has led products and portfolios, specializing in benefits delivery and high-quality products that help rebuild trust in government.
Previously, she was the Portfolio Manager for Redgate, a Database DevOps vendor, and a Product Manager at Siemens PLM for Product Lifecycle Management software. These past experiences of shipping product in very large and very small organisations, have made her a zealous advocate of fast flow and the techniques that enable it.
Product Leader
U.S. Federal Government
Software quality is on a downswing industry-wide. Many products we use and love are getting worse over time, but this doesn’t have to happen with your product! Even under commercial pressure, it’s important to keep quality levels high to manage risk and keep products viable for the long-term.
You can’t get to quality through just fixing bugs, though. It takes a positive vision for quality to make sustainably great products. This talk will explore quality visions and engaging teams in a culture of quality. We'll also examine factors that lead to product decline and give real-life examples of practices that work to keep quality high throughout the product lifecycle.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Prof. Sawhney is the Associate Dean for Digital Innovation at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and is a globally recognized scholar, teacher, consultant and speaker in business innovation, modern marketing, and Artificial Intelligence applications in business.
Prof. Sawhney has written seven management books as well as dozens of influential articles in leading academic journals and managerial publications. His most recent book, The Sentient Enterprise: The Evolution of Business Decision Making, was published in October 2017 and was on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. He has also written a book of poetry called Love, Longing and Loneliness in 2014. His research has been published in leading journals like California Management Review, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Management Science, Marketing Science, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He is a contributor to Forbes and his articles have been published in Fortune, Financial Times, CIO Magazine and TheHill.com.
Prof. Sawhney is a pioneer in online executive education. He has created 8 successful SPOCs (Small Online Private Courses), including Digital Marketing Strategies, Product Strategy, AI Applications for Growth, Influencer Marketing Strategy, and the Kellogg Chief Product Officer Program. These online courses have enrolled over 15,000 students from December 2018 to February 2023. He has also co-authored simulation games like DigiStrat (2021), CloudStrat (2020) and PhotoWars. He has authored over 30 case studies. In 2021, he was ranked by the Case Center as 23rd in the list of top academic case writers in the world. He has won several awards for his teaching and research, including the 2006 Sidney Levy Award for Teaching Excellence at the Kellogg School, the 2005 runner-up for Best Paper in Journal of Interactive Marketing, the 2001 Accenture Award for the best paper published in California Management Review in 2000 and the Outstanding Professor of the Year at Kellogg in 1998. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta in 2011and the Global Alumni Recognition Award from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 2021.
Prof. Sawhney advises and speaks to Global 2000 firms and governments worldwide. His speaking and consulting clients include Accenture, Adobe Systems, AT&T, Boeing, Cisco Systems, Dell, Entergy, Ericsson, Fidelity Investments, General Mills, Google, Honeywell, Intuit, Jenner & Block, Jones Lang LaSalle, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg Company, KPMG, McDonald's, Meta, Merck, Microsoft, Raytheon Missile Systems, Red Hat, Rockwell Automation, Roche, SAP, Salesforce, Smartsheet, Sony, Teradata and Textron Inc. He serves on the Board of Directors at Reliance Jio Infocomm. He also serves on the advisory boards of several technology startups, including Course5 Intelligence, LawGeex, MommyDaddyMe, Octi, PomVom, QualSights, Sprinklr, StartupWind, Vistalytics and vMock. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Study for Business Markets (ISBM) at Penn State University and a member of the Advisory Board at Chicago Innovation.
Prof. Sawhney holds a Ph.D. in Marketing from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta; and a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.
Associate Dean for Digital Innovation
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern
This presentation delves into the questions and strategies essential for productizing professional services.
A few of the most frequently asked questions covered in this presentation are:
Marin Niehues founded his first start-up at the age of 20. It was then that he discovered his passion for developing organisational structures and teams.
At the age of 21, he then joined a consulting boutique as a Scrum Master and Agile Coach. As part of this role, he was able to provide operational and strategic support to various DAX40 companies internationally in their agile transformations and organisational development, as well as supporting SMEs and start-ups in the DACH region across all industries.
Today, with Niehues Consulting, he supports international clients of all sizes in optimising their business and management processes and builds companies that can place continuous value on the market.
In recent years, he has rounded off his broad portfolio with a large number of further training programmes, which he also uses operationally. These include: Agile Leadership, Product Owner, Scrum Master, SAFe 5 and Flight Level Certificates, which give him a broad picture of the complex world of organisational development and enable him to efficiently solve a wide range of problems with diversified approaches.
Strategic Organisational Development & Business Advisory
Niehus Consulting
In this case study, we will delve into the development and implementation process of an embedded AI tool for the production chain of a leading tire manufacturer.
Our journey will reveal the myriad of challenges that arose during the development phases, as well as effective strategies for overcoming these organisational hurdles.
The session will look beyond the technical make-up of the team, highlighting that high-performing data scientists and machine learning engineers are no guarantee of successful AI integration. Instead, we'll explore the broader organisational challenges that come into play, and I'll share practical solutions to address them. A key focus will be on the need for a strategic, holistic approach to AI adoption.
During this case study I will provide you with actionable insights and strategies that highlight the organisational perspective of realising the full potential of AI in complex environments. This session promises to provide clear, direct guidance that will make the power of AI technology more accessible to organisations looking to harness its transformative capabilities.
Join me to learn how to guide your organization towards AI excellence, turning obstacles into opportunities for innovation and growth.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Vinay is results-driven Agile Consultant, Agile Coach, Release Train Engineer and Scrum Master, my deep understanding of Lean/Agile principles and expertise in Scaled Agile enterprise transformations, Agile/Scrum, Kanban, and Scrum/XP frameworks, as well as Agile team building, coaching, and guidance, have been instrumental in driving success in organizations he has been part of.
However, his contributions extend far beyond the boardroom. For the past 5 years, Vinay has dedicated himself to serving as a passionate volunteer for the Project Management Institute Pearl City Hyderabad Chapter. Here, he has tirelessly worked to elevate standards, foster knowledge-sharing, and cultivate a vibrant community of project management enthusiasts.
Vinay excels at promoting the adoption and enforcement of Agile/Scrum principles and offer comprehensive boot camp and advanced Agile training. Vinay skills extend to removing impediments and nurturing self-organization within teams. Vinay brings unwavering enthusiasm and a keen awareness to the product delivery process, employing expert judgment to eliminate obstacles, maintain focus, and drive success within rapidly evolving and dynamic environments.
In addition to Vinay coaching and consulting role, he has created and conducted 200+ training sessions for Scrum Masters and teams, with over 500 employees attending these sessions over a span of three years. He has a strong track record of enhancing team dynamics and performance, leading to a remarkable 35% increase in efficiency.
He has mentored and trained more than 100 Scrum Masters, teams and Agile coaches, further establishing my commitment to fostering excellence and growth.
Principal Business Consultant
Infosys
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations are increasingly recognizing the limitations of traditional project management methodologies in the face of uncertainty, complexity, and rapidly changing customer demands. As a response, many are transitioning towards agile product management frameworks to stay competitive and deliver value more effectively. This session delves into the evolutionary journey from project to product management, shedding light on the transformative shifts in Ways of Working (WoW) and offering invaluable insights for organizations seeking to thrive in this new paradigm.
The first key takeaway of this session revolves around the fundamental mindset shift required to transition from a project-centric to a product-centric approach. Unlike projects, which are temporary endeavors focused on delivering a specific output within a defined scope, products are ongoing initiatives aimed at continuously delivering value to customers over time. This necessitates a shift in mindset from a project-oriented, deliverables-focused perspective to one that prioritizes outcomes, customer satisfaction, and long-term value creation. By embracing a product mindset, organizations can foster a culture of innovation, adaptability, and customer-centricity, driving sustained success in today's dynamic marketplace.
In summary, the evolution from project to product management represents a paradigm shift in how organizations approach value delivery and innovation. By embracing a product mindset, fostering holistic collaboration, and embracing iterative improvement, organizations can position themselves for success in today's fast-paced and competitive landscape. This session offers actionable insights and strategies for navigating this transformational journey, empowering organizations to thrive in the age of agile product management.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Working in technology is like creating music ????. There is no one right way. In my career, I experimented with different positions from Finance, through Marketing, UX, HR, Sales, Agile, to Product Development and Management.
In my career, I have taken different hats, from a freelance consultant to Scrum Master in a corporate environment, up to startup founder and Product Executor. And a few more. All of these positions helped me to build empathy and gain a more systemic approach to work across different types of organizations and business domains.
This unique combination of skills makes me who I am today - a Product Facilitator. Having a full business understanding makes me capable of transforming ideas into fully functional products.
For me, the product starts with people. I believe my role in the organization is to enable my team to work at their best to bring top solutions to the customers. Building digital products allow me to use my full potential.
Executive MBA, Agile Practitioner and Product Facilitator
Bounce
KPIs, cycle time, retention rate, conversion rate, SLAs, NPS, MRR CLTV, CLV, CPR and so on. We can have as many metrics as we want. We can be as data-driven as we wish. . . but if we don't understand that each Product starts with People, we won't get far.
This talk will be an experience sharing story based on years spent working with startups. The main storyline will evolve around an automotive startup, where in 15 months, as just one Product Manager, I was able to:
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Audrey Boydston is an experienced Leadership Coach, and Master Facilitator. Her work focuses on continuous learning, community building, strategy development, and helping leaders create exceptional experiences for their employees and customers. Audrey spent her early career working in leadership roles at financial institutions, including GE Capital, Citigroup, Discover, and Capital One. While at Capital One she transitioned from strategy and product management into Agile coaching, where she successfully rebooted her business unit’s Agile transformation through coaching, re-training, and establishing mentoring programs. She co-created a virtual edition of the Training from the BACK of the Room! course with Sharon Bowman and 10 other Certified Trainers around the world.
Audrey is the Founder and President of Thoughtful Agile and a frequent speaker and presenter at Agile conferences and meetups globally. She holds a number of Coaching and Facilitation certifications, including Training from the BACK of the Room! Certified Trainer (TBR-VE-CT); Working Genius Facilitator, LEGO Strategic Play Facilitator, Crucial Conversations and Influencer Trainer, ICAgile Certified Professional in Team Facilitation (ICP-ATF), and Agile Coaching (ICP-ACC), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM and CSP-PO), SAFe RTE (RTE), and PMP.
She has a BA in English Literature from Wittenberg University and a Master’s Certificate in Program Management (GWCPgM) and Project Management (GWCPM) from The George Washington University.
Principal, Scaled Agile
Scaled Agile, Inc
Successful products are more than just solutions to consumer needs—they are embodiments of purpose, aligned with a broader vision and deeply connected to communities. In this presentation, we explore the relationship between purpose-driven products, organizational vision, and the communities they serve. We explore how companies harness their core values and vision to craft products that resonate with consumers on a deeper level, fostering loyalty and advocacy.
Through real-world examples, we will examine how companies have effectively integrated purpose into their product development processes, resulting in business success and positive global impact. We will also explore the role of communities in shaping product evolution, from co-creation and feedback to advocacy and support. Join us as we uncover the strategies and insights behind successful products that not only meet market demands but also inspire and empower communities towards a shared vision of a better future.
Learning Outcomes:
Maik Hassel is a seasoned product management leader with over two decades of experience in the tech industry. As Vice President of Product Management at Planview, Maik has been instrumental in driving innovation and operational excellence, focussed on Value Stream Management and the use of generative AI.
Prior to joining Planview, Maik led value stream initiatives at Tasktop and held senior product management roles in a wide variety of industries, including telecommunications, robotics and bio-sciences in both Germany and Canada .
Vice President of Product Management
Planview
Product Management leaders serve as linchpins, forging connections and collaborating across all levels and departments. Charged with the task of influencing without direct authority, they expertly navigate complex, non-linear processes. They have to be technically fluent, generate demand alongside marketing and sales, build relationships with partners and executives, ensure regulatory compliance, and achieve financial and strategic objectives—all while delivering top-tier customer satisfaction.
Maik Hassel has been leading product management and software development teams for over 20 years. Join Maik as he shares real-world stories and lessons learned as a product leader in a changing digital world.
Explore topics such as:
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Holly Bielawa is the head of Product Coaching and Consulting for Jeff Patton and Associates, where she and her team help companies put Product Thinking concepts into practice. As an international tech start-up founder, sales and marketing executive, and transformational strategist, she brings a unique wealth of experience and industry knowledge to technology product development. She and her team work with organizational leaders and teams to help them evolve to a product-oriented culture that empowers the principles, practices and ways of working that are essential to deliver real business results.
Head of Product Coaching and Consulting
Jeff Patton & Associates
The desire to align organizational strategy using Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) has been around since before the former CEO of Intel, Andy Grove, coined the term and introduced OKRs to Intel in the 1970’s. In the past few years interest in using OKRs to drive organizational performance is resurgencing thanks to thought leaders such as Marty Cagan, Jeff Patton, and Jeff Gotthelf. Confusion remains about using OKRs and what leaders need to achieve alignment to a strategy based them. What's more - implementation in the context of an organizational that wasn’t designed to align to OKRs is hard.
We will explore activities based on real world scenarios and examples from large organizations that have struggled with OKRs. We will introduce a framework of strategic tools that help OKR implementation. We will highlight thoughtful OKR implementation approaches and crowd-source ways to help you avoid common pitfalls and unleash the power of your organization using OKRs and KPIs.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Craeg Strong is the CTO of Ariel Partners, a small digital services company based in Times Square. He has 25 years of experience in information technology, starting at Project Athena during his undergraduate studies at MIT. Mr. Strong has successfully instituted Agile and DevOps practices on large and complex commercial and government software projects, helping them to obtain new capabilities and realize significant cost efficiencies. He works with senior leaders at Fortune 500 companies to help them codify their strategies, align organizational efforts, and achieve transformational goals. Mr. Strong led a successful transformation of a major Criminal justice program from a traditional waterfall lifecycle and manual intensive processes to lighter weight agile processes and full DevOps automation. He provides coaching and training for teams, leaders, and organizations to help them adopt and mature Agile/Kanban practices.
CTO
Ariel Partners
Create customer joy! The best customer experiences result in the most successful businesses. Learn how to hypothesize early on what value your product will produce. Join speakers who share stories about how teams decide what's worth investing in and determine the impact and outcomes.
Helen Beal is chair of the Value Stream Management Consortium and co-chair of the OASIS Value Stream Management Interoperability Technical Committee. She is chief ambassador at DevOps Institute and chair of the DevNetwork DevOps Advisory Board. She also provides strategic advisory services to DevOps and VSM industry leaders.
Helen is the author of the annual State of VSM Reports from the VSMC and the State of Availability Report from Moogsoft. She is a co-author of the book about DevOps and governance, Investments Unlimited, published by IT Revolution. She is a DevOps editor for InfoQ, and also writes for a number of other online platforms.
Helen hosts the Day-to-Day DevOps webinar series for BrightTalk and speaks on DevOps and value stream-related topics at a wide variety of industry conferences and at corporate events.
She regularly appears in TechBeacon’s DevOps Top100 lists and was recognized as the Top DevOps Evangelist 2020 in the DevOps Dozen awards and was a finalist for Computing DevOps Excellence Awards’ DevOps Professional of the Year 2021.
She serves on advisory and judging boards for many initiatives including Developer Week, DevOps World, JAX DevOps, and InterOp.
CEO and Chair
Value Stream Management Consortium
DevOps taught us how to connect our agile development teams with our IT Operations people but it stopped short of reaching out into "the business". When we want to outperform our competitors a key goal is to accelerate the delivery of customer joy and DevOps focuses on measuring lead time from code commit, forgetting about the fuzzy front end that comes first as the product is ideated, designed, and built. Value Stream Management (VSM) sees products as end-to-end value streams that start and end with the customer reaching through both product management and software engineering. In this talk, Helen Beal will provide several real-world examples of how businesses use VSM today to thrive in the digital age.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Passionate Agilist that asks "How can I help?"
An agilest who, like many of you, started out their career in development and felt a need to help the teams work “smarter.” I had a very natural transition to Agile, as it immediately resonated with me and the work I was doing. Most importantly, streamlining processes to work smarter and faster. I have helped multiple large corporations through their Agile transformation, with marked improvements on delivery and client happiness. Coaching on Agile and Flow allows me to help all team members improve their personal path.
Senior Agile Coach
TIAA
There are several challenges organizations face when it comes to prioritization/decision-making around products/product development. Some of the challenges are around (1) Complexity of decisions with multiple stakeholders, departments and systems (2) Data Overload and extracting meaningful insights (3) Risk Management with the various assessments, mitigations and (4) Alignment across the organization with competing priorities and interests. Let’s discuss why it is so important to ensure all teams are working on the most valuable items based on the corporate strategies and direction, and what steps to get there.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Danny Presten is an entrepreneurial self starter with over 20 years experience successfully helping companies improve product delivery in a variety of industries including web development, e-commerce, healthcare, non profit, supply chain, and legal. He currently serves as Chief Methodologist for NTT DATA where he's focused on improving end to end product delivery processes getting higher value in shorter cycle times for his clients.
Danny is an avid supporter of professional communities and has spent years of his career encouraging and upskilling leaders in corporate settings.
Chief Methodologist for world's 5 largest services company
Launch by NTT DATA
Chris Aber is a Senior Advisor at Nicus Software, specializing in IT financial management, financial transformation, and financial systems. He has over 25 years of IT Finance and business management experience, in the Technology, Media, and FinTech industries. He ran IT financial management offices at two Fortune 500 companies focused on delivering cost optimization, capital funding, and profitability. He is currently focused on client success and strategy development for Nicus Software, an IT Financial Management solution provider.
Senior Advisor, Strategy and Success
Nicus Software, Inc.
Often a project to product shift starts in software engineering and quickly runs into issues with the funding model. In traditional organizations the finance org funds scope, so pivoting quickly to work on new scope can be a significant issue. In this talk we'll help you build a talk track to work with your CFO and establish a funding model more condusive to value realization, we'll also share real world examples of how we've done this with fortune 500 companies. Ultimately we'll leave you with another tool in your toolbox designed to help you unlock the flow of more value to your customers.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
With over 25 years of experience as a Product and Agile Executive Leader and Business Transformation Leader, Consultant and Coach, I have honed my skills in leading businesses through transformative changes, aligning Customer Journeys, Value Streams, and their Lean Agile Portfolios by using Product and Agile principles with corporate strategies to drive significant improvements in efficiency, customer satisfaction, and revenue growth.
As a Senior Director at NTT DATA Launch, I lead an Enterprise Business Agility & Value Stream Management capability within the Launch Product Centric Value Delivery practice that within 2 years established a global award-winning service for Business Value, Flow, Agile, and Product transformations all around the disciplines of Value Stream Management, Enterprise Business Agility and Flow.
“Bringing emerging technology to the table is a must also, but as we work with our clients to bring these valuable capabilities to unlock flow and value delivery, we need to stay focused on the business and value that is realized by our clients and customers. Value is the lifeblood of any business, defining its success and growth. In the complex ecosystem of modern markets, understanding and ensuring customers perceive value is an art. It separates the good from the great.”
Senior Director Business Value Acceleration
Launch by NTT DATA
Being able to understand Business Value Flow (BVF) is a strategic approach that integrates visualization, optimization, and continuous improvement to enhance business value delivery. It starts with understanding the business outcomes you want to achieve and then visualizing value streams to identify and improve value addition stages. Unlocking business value involves streamlining processes using methodologies like VSM, Lean and Agile. A continuous improvement cycle will ensure adaptability and relevance of your current BVF. Success will be validated with metrics and KPIs within your value stream management practices, reflecting efficiency, speed and customer satisfaction improvements. Embracing these practices allows organizations to consistently deliver value and achieve business success.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Tommy Ogden is the Co-Founder and Agility & Analytics Lead of Activera Consulting, a boutique management consulting firm based in Houston, Texas, focused on the future of energy. With expertise in strategy, execution, and change, Activera's collaborative teams approach complex challenges with a mindset of inquiry. They tailor and custom-build solutions with a dedicated focus on measurable impact for clients.
Possessing a diverse skill set across many industries and educational pursuits, Tommy has developed business acumen through 20 years of experience working in myriad capacities, including – investment advisor, financial analyst, business analyst, management/strategy consultant, and project/program manager. He has earned certifications as a Project Management Professional (PMP), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), and SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC). He is known for his ability to produce unique ideas for solving problems, offer an innovative perspective, and lead a team to accomplish results within assigned deadlines, having consistently provided actionable deliverables in the agility, analytics, and strategy arenas.
Tommy also holds two Master degrees in business administration – an MBA and a Master of Global Management in International Business & Consulting – and has most recently worked for two Fortune 20 companies in both the technology and energy industries. He was driven to continue his business education by a desire to (co-)found and lead his own business as an entrepreneur.
Co-Founder, Activera Consulting
Activera Consulting
GMs and VPs want to show RODE (Return on Digitial $ Employed). One of the best short-term returns for Digital Transformation can be gained through building analytics products. In this session, Tommy will show the Analytics Operating Model and where in that model value should be highlighted to ensure eventual realized value for the business.
We will deep-dive into the operating model to understand how to identify analytics opportunities within the organization, triage effectively, frame the idea for more detail, perform pre-product design-thinking for building backlogs, active development, and eventual transition to operations + value realization...all through a real-life use-case.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Gareth helps organisations improve the flow of value to their customers. He is a co-author of the HYPR improvement model used by over 200 software product companies in Australasia, and has worked with a wide range of organisations to help them improve their delivery ecosystems. Gareth helps organisations utilise team topologies, architecture, technical practices and delivery process to improve flow. He loves working with executives, leaders and teams to help organisations achieve better outcomes and ways of working.
Gareth has over 25 years’ experience in the IT industry. He holds an MSc in Computer Science and was one of the first people in the world to become a Scaled Agile Framework Program Consultant Trainer (SPCT). Gareth is a regular speaker at NZ and international events.
Co-Founder
HYPR
Your enterprise naturally evolves in response to changing needs… to a point. While effective for existing products, this organic change is insufficient for creating disruptive new products and business models. More intentional structural change is needed, but these changes also significantly disrupt your internal organization.
When establishing these new product value streams, you will face several critical decision windows that will make the ultimate difference between friction and flow. This talk highlights five specific moments where critical decisions and actions are needed when establishing new product value streams.
We conclude by showing how the validated learning later spreads and inspires the rest of the enterprise. Successfully navigating these decision points early in the product lifecycle allows you to introduce feedback-driven innovation, new enabling technologies, and improved ways of working. These in turn spread to improve the flow of value across your entire delivery ecosystem.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Laura has been a driving force behind the integration of PMOs and Project Management into organizational strategy for 25 years. Starting in 1999 with the creation of her first PMO, she spent 15 years as a PMO and strategy delivery leader, gaining invaluable experience in driving sustainable change within organizations. Over the past decade, her company PMO Strategies has been dedicated to helping organizations maximize their returns on investment by unleashing the full potential of project management and PMOs. Laura has developed a powerful system for helping organizations achieve high-impact outcomes for every project.
In 2021, Laura was named the World PMO influencer of the Year, the only award of its kind, by the PMO Global Alliance, for her many accomplishments in positioning the PMO as the most valuable strategic asset for organizations to deliver their strategy. You can learn more about this on her popular PMO Strategies Podcast and as a part of the longest running PMO-specific virtual conference, the IMPACT Summit. Laura welcomes you to learn more about how they can help you make a bigger IMPACT at PMOStratetgies.com.
Founder and Chief IMPACT Driver
PMO Strategies
This session will guide you through the critical transition from project-based to product-centric approaches within PMOs. This presentation highlights how PMOs can evolve into powerful drivers of strategic outcomes by integrating strategy, execution, and realization into a cohesive process. Attendees will learn practical strategies for aligning their PMO operations with strategic goals, ensuring that every project contributes to sustained business value and successful strategy execution.
Megha is a leader in McKinsey & Company, advising CEOs, CIOs and CTOs in Financial Institutions (FinTechs, Banks and Insurance) and Software companies on Product, Technology, Agility and Growth agenda. Over the past 6 years,Megha has led teams on both strategic and operational topics to drive execution and impact.
Partner
McKinsey and Company
Research and data shows that Product operating model maturity is directly correlated with strong business performance outcomes. Megha, a partner at McKinsey & Company, will share what elements of the product model has the greatest impact on business performance, and how this model will evolve with Generative AI.
Streamline your product delivery to accelerate time to value. Get practical guidance on how to remove delays, obstacles, and dependencies to innovate ideas and put them in the hands of your customers as fast as possible without compromising quality.
Greschen is a Senior Consultant at FedEx specializing in Business Agility Transformation, Lean Portfolio Management (LPM), Strategic Planning, leveraging VSM for flow optimization and predictive analytics, and implementation of OKRs at scale. She has a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and have been with FedEx for 25 years.
Greschen is a certified SAFe Practice Consultant (SP6) and certified in the Flow Framework. Areas of expertise also include implementation of technology solutions in field operations and Organizational Change Management (OCM).
Senior Consultant, Business Agility
FedEx
Getting to a state of “optimized flow” is journey that starts with gaining visibility into each value stream’s current state through baseline flow metrics. Once there is visibility, data driven insights are used to stabilize the system before making process changes and automations that address bottlenecks and allow a progression from a stable state to a “managed” state of flow. From here, a focus on continuous improvement ultimately achieves an optimized state of flow.
This session will explore how to leverage a Value Stream Management (VSM) platform to rapidly create flow models that generate the key flow metrics and data insights needed to identify opportunity areas and implement flow improvements.
We will also discuss the importance of connecting business outcomes with fast flow using OKRs to deliver an outstanding customer experience.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Jorgen Hesselberg is the author of Unlocking Agility and co-founder of Comparative Agility, a leading agile assessment, and continuous improvement platform. A proven thought leader of numerous successful enterprise transformation efforts since 2009, Jorgen provides strategic guidance, executive counsel, and coaching to some of the world’s most respected companies both as an internal change agent and an external consultant. He has trained thousands of people on agile and Scrum, disruptive innovation, and enterprise transformation strategy.
Co-Founder and Author, Unlocking Agility
Comparative Agility
Organizations place business agility as one of their top strategic priorities, yet we continuously hear of transformations that fail to deliver on their promise. How do you know you’re on the right path? What are some concrete signs that your organization is optimizing for organizational product delivery? In this talk, Jorgen Hesselberg goes beyond the tools, frameworks, and hype to outline 7 concrete signs that show you’re on your way to unlocking agility at the enterprise level.
This talk is based on practical experience working with Fortune 500 companies, leading several successful enterprise transformations and a few valuable failures. The key learnings are captured in my book, Unlocking Agility.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Chris is a Principal Flow Advisor at Planview Tasktop. Chris advises large, Fortune 500 organizations on making work visible, and improving the flow of value to customers. Prior to joining Tasktop, Chris had two decades of experience improving flow in the automotive industry at Chrysler. His experience ranges from DevOps Dojos to Platform Engineering, from traditional software to embedded systems. Chris has previously spoken at DevOps Enterprise Summit 2018, IIBA BAcon 2022, DevOps Midwest 2023 and numerous other local events in the Midwest.
Principal Flow Advisor
Planview
In this session we will talk about the corporate world’s efficiency obsession, and how it has caused us to lose track of what really matters when trying to deliver faster value to customers. How many times have you heard managers talk about unproductive people ? How about people who aren’t following the process? What about teams who take on too much WIP? The unfortunate side effect of these sorts of questions, is that individuals feel pressure to create local optimizations in order to make themselves feel productive. The truth is, even if individuals are highly productive and following the process, the majority of waste still occurs between the seams of individuals and teams. Just like Johnny Lee was searching for love in all the wrong places, we've been searching for flow in all the wrong places. Leave this session with a better understanding of how to answer the real question, "Where do we need to invest?"
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
With over 25 years of experience, Heidi Araya has built a remarkable career by seeing opportunities for process improvement where others didn't. Her unique ability to identify and implement innovative solutions has driven multimillion-dollar improvements across various organizations.
Heidi's passion for enhancing work processes led her to become a leading voice for value stream mapping. Her workshops and coaching sessions have inspired countless professionals to reimagine their approach to work, prompting many to seek her guidance on implementing value streams and conducting mapping in their own organizations.
Heidi recognized the transformative potential of generative AI and AI automation early on. Anticipating the profound impact these technologies would have on business processes, she took decisive action to position herself at the forefront of this revolution. She pivoted in 2023, completing a rigorous data science program at MIT and founding her own AI agency.
Today, Heidi combines her people-first approach to process improvement with cutting-edge AI tools, focusing exclusively on empowering small businesses. Her unique methodology helps these organizations automate key business processes, enabling them to compete more effectively in an increasingly AI-driven marketplace.
Heidi's expertise and forward-thinking approach have earned her a position on the board of directors at the Value Stream Management Consortium, where she continues to shape the future of organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
When she's not empowering businesses with AI, Heidi enjoys raising butterflies, tackling home improvement projects, endlessly learning, and staying active.
Connect with Heidi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiaraya/ & https://brightlogicgroup.com/
CEO & Chief Consultant
BrightLogic, a people-first AI Agency
Many people call Value Stream Mapping "transformational" and "a game-changer." But what if people aren't ready for a large heavyweight activity with leadership buy in?
Understanding the entire system end-to-end is crucial for effective and efficient product development, and improving your ways of working. By mapping the system, including delays, handoffs, and information passed along, you can measure and optimize the entire path to value.
In this session, Heidi will share what she has learned across years of both doing, and attempting to do, this activity -- both as an employee inside organizations, and as a consultant. We'll demystify the concept and show anyone how to get started, in an agile way, of course. By the end of the session, you'll have a better understanding of the goals of Value Stream Mapping and be ready to start using it for your organization's benefit.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to level up your ways of working and optimize your value delivery!
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Himanshu Swaroop is a transformation practitioner with more than 15 years of experience leading experimentation with businesses. These businesses include organisations from pharmaceutical, financial services and telecommunications industries and with revenue ranging from $400m to $50bn. He started his journey in the post financial crisis market of 2008 in the UK, US, Singapore and India. This has presented business cycles and economic challenges which transformation experiments had to adapt and focussed on improvements in customer and employee journeys. In each case the focus has been on the customer - internal user / developer or the external user / buyer.
He believes in technology based business transformational experiments. Over the last 10 years he has focussed his experimentation on product strategy, fast flow, continuous discovery, psychological safety and continuous delivery to drive continuous improvements for teams.
He is driven by 6 key values: continuous learning, integrity, impact, respect, bias for action and pride in work.
He has recently started writing on these experiments that can be customised to various and challenging contexts. His aim is to improve the number of experiments that change team behaviour to achieve team goals.
In addition to above I am a science buff and enjoy nature - treks, biking, etc.
Transformation Director
Himanshu Swaroop Consulting
Antonio is a seasoned Agile Coach with a wealth of experience in delivery management across the UK. With a foundation as a Java Developer early in his career, he excels in bridging communication gaps between development teams and business stakeholders. Having worked in diverse environments spanning three countries, Antonio has honed his ability to appreciate varying perspectives and cultivate cultural awareness.
He usually speaks about Agile, DevOps and Mental Health across Europe and US.
Agile Coach/Delivery Manager
Cognizant
Large organisations struggle with numerous blocking dependencies between Product and Platform Teams, resulting in excessive meetings, waiting times, and frustrations on a daily basis. This wasted time translates into monetary losses and missed opportunities for delivering value quickly and consistently.
Drawing from observed patterns across clients, we will collectively explore strategies for early detection of these blocking dependencies across teams. We'll delve into identifying a "sniff test" to uncover which blocking dependency holds the greatest potential for improvement.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
BMK is a highly accomplished IT professional with a track record spanning over 25 years. His experience encompasses SW development and training, solution architecture and design, DevOps and strategic consulting. Skilled in innovation and perpetual improvement, BMK has established himself as a sought-after advisor to senior IT leadership and executive teams.
With deep technical acumen and strategic leadership prowess, BMK has engaged with all levels of the IT organisation. His global network of thought leaders, influencers, authors, and practitioners underscores his status as a highly respected professional.
BMK's forward-thinking approach, technical mastery, and keen foresight have also enabled him to align with vendors and partners. Widely recognised within the speaker circuit, BMK has graced platforms like DevOps Enterprise Summit, AllDayDevOps, DevOpsWorld, CloudNative Now, and Global SKILUp Days, captivating audiences with his insightful presentations.
BMK is also a dedicated mentor and advocate for community engagement. His global contributions include his service as a CNCF, DevOps Institute, and Team Topologies Advocate, demonstrating his commitment to shaping industry standards.
Transformation Architect
SECTION6
Many organizations find their efforts thwarted by entrenched structures and outdated processes in the quest for innovation and efficiency. This talk will uncover the obstacles in your current organizational structure, processes, and framework that impede your transformation journey. Drawing from real-world experiences, we'll explore how your P2P with these existing constraints can stifle progress and limit value delivery. You'll learn practical strategies to identify and eliminate these bottlenecks, paving the way for a seamless transition to a product-centric model.
I faced several challenges, including organizational resistance to change, bureaucratic processes, and isolated changes that ignored end-to-end flow. Teams were often overloaded with competing priorities, and existing governance structures further slowed progress. However, these challenges led to valuable learnings: the need for comprehensive education and training, the importance of flow champions, and the critical role of tech product managers and product owners in articulating business value.
I will share my experience in this talk, and I promise it will help you avoid common pitfalls.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Dr. Krishna Kumar is the CTO of Exathink Research, an independent research and advisory firm developing novel techniques and technology for measuring and visualizing the work of making software.
He is an experienced software engineer and architect with over 30 years of hands-on experience in technical and engineering leadership in companies ranging from small startups to large enterprise software vendors.
He is the lead architect of the Polaris measurement platform, which supports the Polaris Advisor program from Exathink Research. This advisory program helps companies build bespoke measurement systems and visualizations for improving product development flow using Value Stream Management principles.
Dr. Kumar has a PhD in Computer Science, specializing in Algorithms and Combinatorial Optimization.
CTO
Exathink Research
In Product to Project, Dr. Mik Kersten positioned the Flow Framework as a cross-functional business-level decision-making framework that operates at the value stream layer: a layer above where frameworks like SAFe and Scrum or practices like DevOps and Kanban focus.
One key role of the Flow Framework and Flow Metrics is identifying opportunities for value stream improvement. Once these opportunities are identified, in principle, the functional frameworks and their associated metrics (like DORA Metrics and Lean/Agile Metrics) come into play, helping to pinpoint how to make improvements within those frameworks.
In practice, it is not always apparent how to do this handoff because these frameworks operate at different layers of abstraction, and semantic differences between how metrics are captured and calculated make it hard to correlate results across these various layers in the Flow Framework.
We have observed that addressing this disconnect becomes easier with an explicit model that complements the existing models of The Flow Framework: the integration, activity, and product models. We call this the measurement model.
The key idea here is explicitly modeling how artifact network metrics like DORA and Lean/Agile metrics roll into value stream metrics for flow items by viewing them uniformly as parameters of queues organized as a network.
This talk will discuss how we use these value stream measurement models to help clients understand value stream flow across layers of abstraction and our early experiences with them.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Dionysis (Denys) Svoronos leads digital transformation initiatives at Deutsche Telekom. Based in Athens, Greece, Denys brings over a decade of experience in driving innovation and efficiency in complex organizations. Also, as a Board Director at the Value Stream Management Consortium, he leverages his deep expertise in value stream flow to help traditional organizations navigate the complexities of modern product delivery.
Denys has a proven track record of transforming project-oriented approaches into streamlined, product-centric models. His leadership in Agile methodologies and Lean principles has empowered numerous teams to enhance their performance, reduce inefficiencies, and accelerate time-to-market. Denys's strategic insights and practical guidance have been instrumental in fostering a culture of continuous improvement and alignment around value delivery.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Denys is an avid public speaker and consultant, passionate about sharing his knowledge at conferences and networking events. He has also developed an online course for Soft Skills and maintains a business personal site to promote his consulting and coaching work, while also being nominated as a Top Writer for his leadership articles.
Outside of work, Denys enjoys dancing salsa, bachata, and tango, playing the guitar, and staying active through muay thai and gym workouts.
Denys holds a strong commitment to personal growth and mental well-being. His multifaceted interests and holistic approach to life make him a relatable and inspiring figure in the field of digital transformation and Agile practices.
RTE
Deutsche Telekom
In today's fast-paced business environment, traditional organizations often face significant challenges in streamlining their product delivery processes. This session delves into the intricacies of implementing value stream flow within complex, established organizations. By focusing on practical strategies and real-world examples, this talk aims to provide attendees with actionable insights to enhance efficiency and accelerate time-to-value.
Denys Svoronos, a seasoned expert in digital transformation and Agile methodologies at Deutsche Telekom, will guide you through the essential steps of value stream mapping and management. Drawing from his extensive experience, Denys will share real use cases from Deutsche Telekom and various initiatives he has led to transform traditional workflows.
Learn how to identify and eliminate bottlenecks, optimize resource allocation, and foster cross-functional collaboration. Discover how leveraging data and AI can provide actionable insights to remove delays and improve overall productivity.
Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the foundational concepts of value stream flow and its importance in modern product delivery. The session will cover techniques for visualizing end-to-end processes and identifying areas for improvement. Continuous improvement strategies, managing dependencies, and clearly defining roles and responsibilities will also be explored to ensure successful execution of value stream initiatives.
Join this session to navigate the complexities of value stream flow in traditional organizations, leveraging real-world examples from Deutsche Telekom, and drive significant improvements in your product delivery processes.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Sue Schweitzer is a multi-faceted professional. Currently, Sue is a Sr. Flow Advisor for the Flow Program which is an enterprise-wide product value stream enablement initiative at Vanguard. Previously, Sue’s influential roles in the organization include Sr. Solution Consultant, Sr. Lean/Agile Coach, and Sr. Business Systems Analyst. Sue works to advance Lean Enterprise, Agile, Design Thinking, DevOps, and Product Management principles and practices. She continues to advocate for improving business agility with teams and leaders. Sue holds 11 certifications from Scrum.org and Scrum Alliance. Sue was an Award for Excellence winner, Vanguard’s highest honor, in 2020.
Sr. Flow Advisor
The Vanguard Group
Flow is a simple concept. As change agents we use lots of metaphors to introduce the flow concept in our corporate environment. But what happens when you actually initiate a wide-scale implementation of flow measurement in an enterprise software development organization? First, we learned at the pilot level with 10 teams. Then, we learned at an expanded level with 25 teams. And then we took the huge leap to introduce flow to 750 teams! At Vanguard, we are in the midst of a journey with flow thus far moving from pilot to program and next to product. This talk will trace the steps we took along the way, the strategies and tactics we applied, and the takeaways from a front-line flow coach. As we know, flow is a simple concept, right?
When you move from project to product, team structures are modified, and the organizational structure may look different. This matters because communication drives how to design digital products according to Conway’s Law. Explore elements of organizational design and how they impact culture.
Mike works at the intersection of Lean-Agile, strategy, and organisation development in the pursuit of the ‘wholehearted’ organisation. He is the author of Agendashift: Outcome-oriented change and continuous transformation (2nd edition 2021), Right to Left: the digital leader’s guide to Lean and Agile (2019, audiobook 2020), and the classic Kanban from the Inside (2014). He is recognised for his pioneering work in Lean, Agile, and Kanban and in recent years his advocacy for participatory and outcome-oriented approaches to change, transformation, and strategy. Prior to his consulting career, Mike was global development manager and Executive Director at a top tier investment bank, CTO for an energy risk management startup, and later served as interim delivery manager for two UK government digital ‘exemplar’ services.
Co-Founder and Author, Agendashift: Outcome-oriented Change and Continuous Transformation
Agendashift Academy
In an adaptive organisation, how do the relationships between different organisational scales work? Or the same question, but for the networked organisation? And what does that mean for me? Drawing on systems, complexity, and flow thinking – models such as the viable system model, the Cynefin framework, and Flight Levels – we'll explore how to look beyond process and recognise the deeper organisational imbalances that explain many scale-related challenges. Whether or not you use a branded framework, these are important skills to develop!
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Sarah is a technology leader, consultant and conference speaker with a focus on microservices, engineering enablement, observability and devops. She has over 20 years experience as a developer, principal engineer and tech director across product, platform, SRE and devops teams. She is the author of Enabling Microservice Success: Managing Technical, Organizational and Cultural Challenges.
Independent Consultant and Author, Enabling Microservice Success: Managing Technical, Organizational and Cultural Challenges
Conflux
When you move from project to product, things change.
You now form teams to build products and the team owns the product throughout its lifecycle. So then, what makes for an effective team in a product-focused organization? What kind of culture do you need for them to be successful? This talk will cover how to transform your organization into one that is optimized for a fast flow of value.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Co-Author of 'Coaching for Learning; the Art and Practice' and 'Create Your Dojo; Upskilling Your Organization for Digital Evolution,' Joel helps organizations evolve through learning. This combines a blend of XP, agile, lean, devops and product thinking practices all to embrace learning in the context of work.
Most recently, Joel has been helping organizations create a 'better' organizational structure - one that minimizes dependencies, reduces cognitive load, and increases teams abilities to innovate.
Co-Author of Coaching for Learning and Creating your Dojo and Consultant
DoJo and Co.
Systems grow and change over time. You can have intentional design, or accidental design.
In this session we will walk through approaches that leverage product context to keep architecture aligned with the needs of the product. We will look at strategic DDD, C4 modeling, and context mapping.
Leave this session with simple techniques that you can apply immediately to start blending product with architecture. This techniques will help make planning and delivery simpler, reduce overall system complexity, and just make everyone's work a little easier.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Over 25 years of expertise in leading large-scale Agile transformations across diverse industries. With a background spanning Technology, financial services, hospitality, telecommunications, healthcare, and consumer goods, Ro has been deeply involved in Lean-Agile since 2006 and actively engaged in the Scaled Agile Framework since 2016.
Her proficiency extends to implementing Lean-Agile Centers of Excellence, collaborating with Organizational Change/Leadership, HR, and Finance to foster business agility. Ro is renowned for her exceptional relationship-building skills, excelling in breaking down organizational silos and ensuring alignment between business and IT. She is dedicated to realizing a unified vision for value delivery to customers.
Ro's professional journey began at IBM, where she applied Lean/Agile through Lean Six Sigma work, leading global restructuring, global platform implementations, and fostering collaboration between IT and business. Her commitment to continuous learning has been a driving force behind her success in leading Agile transformations. Ro has a proven track record of establishing cross-functional teams through organizational change, alignment, and collaborative efforts, all guided by a shared vision, mission, purpose, and goals.
Global Strategic Advisor
Scaled Agile, Inc
We will discuss Agile and Product Transformation and its profound effects on organizational design and culture. We will discover how roles, teams, and organizations' overall structure evolve during this transformative journey.
We will visit or revisit some "Conway's Law" - Organizations that design systems ... are constrained to produce designs that are copies of the communication structures of these organizations. It's critical to the success of any transformation; an organization's outcomes are directly related to how we communicate and collaborate internally.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Piotr is a seasoned Cloud Native Devops and Platform Automation mentor with profound insights on original product development ranging across multiple diverse markets. Contributions he made are still alive in sectors of industry 4.0, banking, logistics, fuel, gambling and even air defense systems.
In his 10+ years career he is aiming to make a positive impact on any business and person they engage with by using his passion for simplifying complex systems, sharing knowledge and leaving things in better shape than he approached it. What truly sets him apart is an extensive Second Brain, a Hawaiian shirts collection and a wide range of hobbies (running TTRPG, probability driven optimization for board games, playing harmonica, rapid-prototyping and manufacturing, vector and traditional graphics, motorcycle joyrides).
Devops Advisor
Lead your Software Teams like a Dungeon MasterYou bet there's an analogy between leading a party of adventurers and a team of experts. It's the key so you won't be a villain in your own story - the prodigal "bad boss" - and they won't become murder hobos.
This talk will help you lead people and become the Legendary Ally. Learn to improvise good enough answers in unpredictable situations, slash the hydra's heads of managerial overhead, maximize the level and output of your teams & skillfully plant their dreamed loot while - most importantly - not burning out into madness.
This way you will transition from one-off projects to full-blown Product Campaign with a team focused on clearing chapters - impatient to see what's next.
All inspired by TTRPG and battle-tested on production in the tech industry and tabletop. It will be lighter and a bit nerdy talk, but under the RPG analogy awaits practices wildly discussed and tested in modern management like North Star, SPACE metrics, Design Thinking, Diversity and Inclusion, Kaizen, Corporate Rebels, Sustainable Management, Difficult Conversations & Psychological Safety.
Erica is a Business Agility Coach and Team Topologies Valued Practitioner, driven by a deep passion for both people and technology. She is an early adopter of Team Topologies and experienced how easy it was to establish a common language with organizations based on the concepts in the book. She is the founder of The Flow Hive and has vast experience in supporting organizations in increasing their agility, resilience, and innovative power by using Team Topologies alongside other practices covering the socio-technical system and self-management principles.
Business Agility Coach & Team Topologies Valued Practitioner
The Flow Hive
Unless you are clairvoyant, you can’t predict the future of your products and services. Yet, one certainty remains: they will need to evolve and improve over time. So how do you anticipate change? Are your technical and architectural choices flexible? Are your teams able to sense when change is needed, share these insights and leverage tools and practices to uncover new opportunities? And, importantly, are your organizational dynamics equipped to support you in adapting to the evolving needs of your customers and products?
Innovation thrives in an environment in which change can emerge. What does it take for an organization to enable continuous adaptation, ensuring products stay aligned with customer demands?
There is no silver bullet for innovation. Together, we uncover how Team Topologies - in combination with an array of other tools, practices and principles - challenges our conventional understanding of organizations and enables true adaptability. Let’s explore how this holistic approach, this socio-technical revolution, ushers in a new era for products and innovation.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Eric helps change leaders achieve high-impact, company-wide change by anchoring agility in the business’s purpose, cocreating an approach and roadmap for change, shaping effective leadership teams, and equipping them to lead confidently through the high-risk, high-stress formation period of the change program.
His work grounds and focuses cross-functional leadership teams, inspires organizations with the impact of their actions, and unleashes the potential of the people and teams across the entire company.
Leaders experience a deeper, purpose-centered alignment, feel the impact of being an effective team, steer incremental change, generate real confidence in the journey ahead, and experience the joy of leading a smoothly operating organization.
In short, they discover the bottom-line benefits and organizational health only possible through inspired agility.
Founding Creator
Shaping Agility
Mark Richards is an accomplished thought leader and coach in the Lean-Agile community. With over twenty years of experience as a developer and architect, his journey into agility began with the realization that his impact extended far beyond code, sparking his transition to coaching. This transition led him to discover a new passion: guiding leaders and organizations towards new possibilities and fostering alignment in their pursuit.
Since 2011, Mark has been deeply engaged in scaling agility, honing his skills from team agility to working with executives to master enterprise agility. He spent much of this time leading two SAFe Gold Partners from 2012 to 2019, supporting global organizations with their SAFe implementations. His work ranged from hands-on technical guidance with development teams to strategic portfolio advice in boardrooms. However, Mark’s favorite moments were when the individuals he coached stepped onto the stage, sharing their journeys to inspire others.
Today, Mark divides his energy across several endeavors. He shares his wealth of experience as a co-host of the Shaping Portfolio Agility and SPCs Unleashed podcasts, develops and teaches advanced product and portfolio management content, and provides coaching and advisory services to organizations aiming to achieve enterprise agility. He believes in creating a world where people love their work and find fulfillment in their contributions.
Mark’s goal is to equip leaders and change agents with the tools, techniques, and mindset required to turn this vision into reality. He thrives on challenges that stretch his abilities while making a meaningful impact, and his greatest reward is seeing those he coaches flourish and extend their influence in both their professional and personal lives.
Founding Creator
Shaping Agility
The essence of lean is to start where you are and grow from there, and the journey from project to product is necessarily a lean journey.
However, to start where you are you must first know where you are, and knowing where you are requires having the language to understand and discuss where you are and how you are progressing.
The difference between a project portfolio and a product portfolio fundamentally lies in how an organization perceives the relationships between structures, systems, and work, and through those relationships how the portfolio engages in its aspirations and obligations.
We share several common stopovers along this journey of perception and relationship, and how those stopovers can orient and align the portfolio leadership team.
The shared clarity both informs the next steps you can take to grow your portfolio, and helps align leaders so they can embark on the journey together.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Debra is a change champion with more than 30 years of management experience. She’s passionate about helping organizations navigate transformational change, drawing on her own experience as a leader to guide these businesses towards success. Over the course of her career, Debra has learned to embrace and lead change, whether it was navigating her team through a business acquisition and rebrand, managing the deployment of 3000+ mobile devices in the field, establishing a Project Management Office or building a Change Management culture from the ground up.
Today, Debra works as Digital Transformation Practice Lead for Planview. In this role, she partners with organizations to coach and advise them on strategic projects, applying change principles to help them achieve business objectives while minimizing disruption to customer service. Prior to working at Planview, Debra spent 25+ years at thyssenkrupp Elevator directing the IT Project Management Office. In this role, she worked closely with the Chief Information Officer to develop and implement a long-term technology roadmap to support enterprise-wide decisions. It was during this time that Debra earned multiple Change Management certifications through Prosci and discovered her passion for helping people adopt transformational change.
Debra and her husband spend their time between San Diego, California and their newly built home in Hamilton, Montana. Debra loves to go to the beach, travel the world and spend time with her nine grandchildren.
Digital Transformation Practice Lead, Evolve Advisory Services
Planview
Stephanie Wallace is a Change Champion across the globe in organizations of all shapes and sizes, from small businesses to growing organizations to dozens of the top Fortune 500 enterprises, she has inspired and supported new ways of working. Her expertise is backed by experience guiding change strategies for over 100 strategic SaaS implementations across methodologies and products, building and leading teams, managing business operations, designing training programs, and driving digital transformation across industries. Stephanie helps coach leaders to understand the gaps in their People Plans while overcoming resistance with her first-hand experiences and her open, honest approach. A strategic transformation leader whose passion for organizational change management and efficient process design drives successful change. Stephanie has a keen ability to translate complex ideas into visuals and thoughtful, consumable communications.
Senior Advisor, Evolve Advisory Services
Planview
Change is unavoidable. Teams either run from it or embrace it. When looking to understand why teams are not adopting new ways of working, software, or culture shifts, you might ask yourself, “How can I lead change more effectively? Am I a good leader? How can I be a great leader? Are we ready for change?”
Take a sneak peek into the world of Organizational Change Management (OCM) and learn how Prosci’s ADKAR Model can help you build trust and communicate changes effectively with your teams. Bring your people along for the change journey and hear real-life success stories.
In this presentation, you will be inspired to think about how you lead change and build a culture that is excited for change and continuous improvement. We will introduce Emotional Intelligence (EI) and how to utilize EI to foster a more harmonious and productive workplace. Attendees will leave this session equipped with exercises and examples they can take back to their teams.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Abby Knowles is Vice President of Verizon’s Global Technology System organization, leading Planning, Engineering & Transformation of Software Delivery with a keen focus on growth and world leading customer experience for the Consumer Group. Prior to this, Ms. Knowles led teams across the US responsible for building and operating the Verizon wireless network by harnessing a culture of innovation and leveraging advanced technologies such as software defined networks and AI/ML.
Ms. Knowles began her career as an engineer at Bell Atlantic in 1996 and held a number of positions in engineering, operations and program management across networks and software. Throughout her career she has leveraged a passion for building and creating at scale with programs such as the industry’s largest drone fleet at Verizon, a $100M national network energy transformation initiative, and now leading Verizon’s largest agile transformation within the Consumer group.
As an Industry technology leader, she currently serves as Vice Chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Communications Quality and Reliability. She also serves on the advisory board of cybersecurity at University of Dallas as well as Archangel Ventures Inc. Ms. Knowles is passionate about STEM advancement for under-represented groups, and has made many contributions to organizations like National Academy Foundation and GSMA Caribbean Region. She is a sought after inspirational keynote speaker on leadership and technology, a 2022 recipient of a Silver Stevie award for women in business and 2023 Finalist for Women in IT Awards.
Abby graduated from Morgan State University with a BSc degree in Electrical Engineering, and has an MSc in ITS from Johns Hopkins. She is married, has 2 adult daughters and a granddaughter, and now lives in Dallas TX.
Vice President (GTS) Global Technology Solutions
Verizon
Moving from a project-based to a product-centric approach is more than just a shift in terminology – it demands a fundamental transformation of your organizational DNA. Within Verizon's Consumer Group, teams embrace agile methodologies and a product and platform-driven model at scale across the tech stack. This talk, drawing on Verizon’s own experiences, delves into the strategies, challenges and tangible steps for aligning your organization with your product vision.
Leading people, teams, and companies is my calling. I thrive on building relationships and cross-org partnerships that calm chaos, ease decision making, carry out change, and elevate performance. It excites me to develop strategies that reimagine how work is performed and unite people to get it done. Throughout my career I have joined organizations that are going through significant people, process, and technology changes. Regardless of the subject matter, my leadership agility becomes the north star that guides people through complex challenges to achievement of enterprise goals. Enthusiastically focusing on what is best for the customer, the people, and the company allows me to bring years of successful vision, strategy, implementation, and people leadership to Autodesk.
Director of Connected Planning
Autodesk
Team performance is a crucial ingredient to achieve business outcomes. Traditional hierarchical team structures are giving way to more agile, collaborative models tailored to defined goals or specific products. This shift calls for intentional and inclusive team design strategies that empower individuals to shape the very structures they operate within.
This presentation tells the story of a untraditional finance team that together, choose to restructure themselves using a modified Team Topologies framework. We'll dive deep on the problems the team was experiencing and the transformative impact on organizational effectiveness and stakeholder collaboration after the change. By creating a culture where every member’s voice is valued, empowered team members redesigned their team structure which improved engagement, commitment, and ultimately, superior performance outcomes. Attendees will gain practical insights and actionable strategies to lead their own intentional team design workshop and tips to empower individuals to actively shape the organizational structure.
Key takeaways for attendees of this session:
Ayyappa Das, Senior Director, Delivery, Infosys Consumer Retail & Logistics. 24 years of experience in delivering Digital transformation programs for Fortune 500 enterprises in Retail and Logistics industries. Leading globally distributed Product teams building digital products that are helping customers to disrupt traditional Logistics industry. Passionate about building and scaling high performing sustainable product engineering teams.
Senior Director, Delivery
Infosys Consumer Retail & Logistics
Traditional organizations in centuries old industries are forced to change due to business model disruptions and digital native competition. In this talk, I will be sharing learnings while working with organizations that are 100+ years old who are changing from within to prepare for the fight. How they are changing their thinking first, structuring themselves to adapt to Product and Platforms ways of working, training and experimenting. There are patterns of org structure change in such organizations moving to digital and how partners can create a “virtual satellite teams” environment to collaborate in that journey. The journey of such organizations include modernization from decades old legacy landscape to digital products, forming new entities from within that can experiment with Product ways of working, “performing while transforming”, building “bright and shiny objects” through experimentation to build momentum and demonstrating results through a data driven product delivery.
Key takeaways for the attendees of this session:
Make plans to network, learn, and embrace the future of product-centric excellence. This year's Project to Product Summit is tailored for leaders like you, guiding the transition from traditional project management to a product-centric innovator mindset.
Register Now