My Agile20Reflect Story

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” - Gloria Steinem

The quote above represents Agile20Reflect and the phenomenal success recorded globally.

WoW! It is week already and bitter-sweet experience that the festival is over fondly remembering the emotional tribute by the Chief Pirate at the fiesta during the closing event.

Agile20Reflect started during the second phase of the global lockdown from covid-19 pandemic as many organizations and countries grapple with the realities of remote working, necessitated by the 'disruption' of the pandemic that ravaged the world. Refreshingly Agile20Reflect emerge focusing on bridging the gap within the Agile community pushing the envelope a little further by promoting inclusion, diversity of gender and race. 

A friend and colleague Kemmy Raji was gracious to nudge and guide me on how to apply for the Agile20Reflect application; as it was my first experience volunteering for any Agile event; though all my life I am always seeking opportunities being a JCI (Junior Chamber International) member through the countless community-led project aligned with UNMDG goals.

"True greatness is not in being great but in the ability to make others great" – Mercy George-Igbafe

I applied and submitted, shared application details with Learntor Cohort I students on the Three Months Agile Digital Transformational Training; encouraging everyone to apply as volunteers for hands-on practical experience and a few applied and were selected. Grace Johnson offered Trustee and becoming co-lead. This is a testament to how diverse and inclusive the festival was devoid of age, gender, experience even cultural background.

What was Agile20Reflect Festival really about?

Agile20Reflect was the first-ever global community-led agile festival to celebrate 20 years of the signing of the agile manifesto, reflecting on the past, present and the possible future of agile; founded by Scott Seivwright, the chief pirate, working with distributed volunteers from across the globe. The festival recorded, archived, and energized the next generation of agilist with over 800 events from 140 countries and over 85 Ambassadors with less than ￡1,800 expense raising ￡2,484 donations through gofundme.

The main purpose of the Festival is focused on three main themes:

• The History and Origin of Agile
• The Current State of Agile
• Future Possibilities for Agile

Nigerian on the board of Agile20reflect.

Grace Johnson is from Lagos, Nigeria, Agile Newbie and Learntor cohort I, she was the first to be interviewed by the founder, the chief pirate and immediate she was offered the role and appointed as the trustee on the board then promoted as Co-lead of the Agile20Reflect becoming the first Nigerian-African woman on any Agile community board. Grace's sheer brilliance, commitment and devotion led the Ambassador Network, producing 80 Ambassador from 140 countries with over 800 registered events.

“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” - Elizabeth Andrew

Volunteerism and its benefits

In Africa especially Nigeria there are limited Agile organisations to enhance the certification through experience becoming a major impediment limiting Nigerians ability to have global competitiveness within the community.

This was my only reason and motivation that led me to volunteer despite my crazy schedule, work, family even the student yet I was determined to add value to the festival and increase my technical expertise, increasing my experience of working within a large Agile team. It was a huge challenge that I was unsure how to proceed but I was focused, fearless, dogged and unbothered by the distraction but resolute with the thrills to learn from the experience. Oh boy I know I worked sometimes 18 hours straight whilst catering to my other responsibilities and went over and beyond to deliver my tasks, assignment and responsibilities simply because I had the freedom and platform to express my creativity through my work with the support of the teams. 

I cerebrate Learntor Cohort I Alumni for their individual contribution and collective contribution to the festival, thank you for being great ambassadors for Nigeria and Africa

Grace Johnson I Emmanuel Awa I Chioma CLARE OKAFOR I Tolulola Odubonojo I Rasheed O Ogunniran I Chidinma Ezeka I Rosemary Ishola I Karibi Iketubosin I Tarlisha Inakoju I Imaobong Ntia I Gloria Ibeakanma I Oyindamola Aileru I Oyeronke Ladapo I Ezekiel Balogun I Everest Obot I Anne Akpose I Franca Ibuzo I Oyebola Omoya Olojede Olusegun John

Agile20Reflect festival triggered a phenomenal paradigm shift giving fresh voices like myself a Nigerian woman newbie and many other Africans the stage to be heard and seen through their locally-driven event with the opportunity to evangelise the benefit of the agile mindset to encourage adoption; uniting and bridging the gap for more inclusion and diversity. Equally the festival connected a distributed world fostering collaboration and volunteerism to reflect, learn and rebuild together a dysfunctional agile community. Life-long relationships and partnerships formed, simply because of the festival.

Some of the highlights of the festival for me were event hosted like a few listed below:

1. Learntor co-hosted with Scott Seivwright Nigeria's first-ever Agile Lean coffee which was made possible by his generous connection and the event will become a regular activity starting March after Learntor Cohort III career open day.
2. Nigeria: Agile for Good Governance - "Uncovering a path to continuous improvement in governance" an initiative by 17 Nigerian Agilists; a Re-enactment of the Agile manifesto with 4 values and 12 Principles for good governance in Nigeria. We recorded over 300 registration and over 100 attendees. 
3. Agile for Nigerian youth organised by Mercy George-Igbafe - Learntor
4. Franca Ibuzo on aligning Agile can aid Cyber Security 
5. Rosemary Ishola & Chioma Clare Okafor on Agile Word Search Game
6. Grace Johnson & Tolulola Odubonojo on the Evolution of PMI & Growing Business Agility; A Startup/SME Experience. 

None of this event would have been possible if there was no Agile20Reflect festival and volunteering to be part of the festival.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”  – Margaret Mead

Variation of Agile20Reflect logo designed by Learntor Team

My interview with Scott Seivwright was less than 15 minutes for the role within the marketing circle was to lend my digital marketing expertise to the team as a volunteer working closely with Myles Hopkins where

With the purest of intentions to learn, I volunteered going all out not holding anything back with the support of my digital team led to speedy creation and deliveries of over 300 flyers for the festival and nearly 200 flyers Nigeria: Agile for good governance an initiative by 17 Nigerian Agilist. We produces varying designs and eventually, the trustee approved the sum of 500 as payment to the graphic designers for the remarkable work done; every one of the Trustee applauded and commended them. It was humbling for me to enjoy the support of the team, their resilience, dedication and devotion even in the dead of the night.

My work and deliverable were totally voluntary as part of my contribution to the festival at no cost. The experience afforded me the opportunity to connect with brilliant minds, made life-long relationships interviewed many Country Ambassadors including one of the Patron Ellen Grove and interview my mentor and coach as a speaker on the Agile20reflect festival Erin Randall. However, my role was short-lived after 3 months of intense work but I am grateful that I got a lot of learning and eventually co-hosted a few events with the chief pirate.

Agile20Reflect badges designed by Learntor Team

Volunteerism is worth exploring because of its remarkable benefits;

• Opportunity to work with experienced professional for experience
• Newbies exposure to a hands-on practical learning experience
• Connecting and networking with other professionals from across the globe.
• Knowledge sharing and opportunity to contributing as part of the team
• Connection possibilities with other communities

Here are my few key takeaways and highlights;

• The future of Agile is here with room for improvement of inclusion and diversity.
• Agile20Reflect was a huge success necessitate what next phase II
• Don’t waste re-inventing the wheel, be open to learn, unlearn and relearn
• Agile is not all about certifications; it is a mindset; leading with empathy
• Change is critical and everyone needs to adopt the Agile mindset, not the frameworks
• It’s imperative to always seek out learning from other people’s mistakes and miss-steps.
• It is possible to collaborate despite working with a distributed team collaboration is good
• Agile is not a destination but building a better destination with room for improvement
• Ideas are infectious and infectious ideas is key to innovations.
• The happiness of customers is key to excellent customer service
• Do not ever live for regret always seek out lessons to learn with open-mindedness
• It is okay to make fail but it is critical to rise above failures and seek ways to better
• There is no I in a team, respect must beget respect
• Be professional as much as possible and do not be carried away People are different from diverse background and culture - tolerance is key for collaboration
• Be kind, considerate of others with open-mindedness and be intentional and guarded with relationships and be guarded

The experience I sought I got more than I bargained for with valuable lessons that I will never forget and the value of collaboration despite our cultural lines and diversity and I am truly grateful for the relationships, connections and exposure the other agile communities. Thank you everyone for sharing your expertise and experience with me.

Learntor promises to carry on the touch of evangelising Agile adoptions as we focus on bridging the digital skill gaps for Nigeria as we plan out our meetups and encouraging conversation and discussion with hopes of a better more inclusive and diverse Agile community. Thank you Scott Seivwright for initiating this laudable idea for your leadership and your heart; you are a great man. I will never forget you in a hurry

Happy 20th Anniversary celebration Agilists

Thank you Rasheed Oguniran for your contribution and selflessness whenever I call

 Mercy George-Igbafe,  Digital Strategist, Agile & Data Enthusiast 

Founder - LEARNTOR from Lagos, Nigeria

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