Fred George, Forward Internet Group

JavaOne with Martin Fowler, acting as his foil, and assisted in XP Immersion sessions with Kent Beck, Ron Jeffries, and Robert Martin. Fred spent a year as a visiting lecturer at N.C. State University teaching Java programming to over 800 undergraduates, with a generous dose of object design, patterns, and XP practices thrown in. Fred joined ThoughtWorks in 2003, delivering yet more projects using agile processes. He has worked with clients in four countries since then, including a ten-month assignment in India, four months of projects in China, and a post in the London office. In 2007, he joined the London Internet advertising firm, Forward, bringing Agile practices to all aspects of the business. He believes in objects, Lean processes, fun in programming, and the client's successes. He holds a bachelors degree from N. C. State University in Computer Science, and a masters degree from MIT in the Management of Technology. Oh, and he still writes code!

Presentation: "Lean Programmer Anarchy"

Track: Solution Track: Wednesday

Time: Wednesday 12:05 - 13:05

Location: Rutherford Room, Fourth Floor

Abstract:

We are continuing to push the envelope of Agile/Lean at Forward, an Internet marketing firm in London. Servicing internal customers, this approach to programming has generated triple-digit growth in revenue and profit, generating a staggering £1M/employee in 2009. We have found many of the Agile best practices have fallen away, replaced by even Leaner processes based in the same fundamental principle of rapid feedback.

Programmer Anarchy moves beyond empowering the programmers to act, and moves into programmers being the driving force for constant delivery. "Developer-driven business" is a new term being floated for much of what we do, but we think "Anarchy", the seizing of control, is a better term for our process.