I saw the following note about the Agile Alliance posted on LinkedIn by Ray Arell.
For 20 years, the Agile Alliance has been a critical resource for people and companies to build an Agile way of work.
2020/21 has been hard for our non-profit organization. Our annual in-person conference is typically the primary fundraiser that enables our programs and mission work, and this has not been possible due to the pandemic. To keep us going, we need to grow our membership and sponsorship. So I am asking, if you have been a loyal follower and benefited from our work, please consider becoming a member or sponsor one of our programs. Together we have changed the industry, and together we can continue to grow a better way of work.
If you are already one of our 5000+ members, then thank you so much. You can help by getting the word out and encourage others to join ❤
Please go to https://lnkd.in/gP2vM_Va to find out more about membership or contact me directly if you have any questions. #agile #thankyou
My Take
To be honest, I’ve been an on-again, off-again, Agile Alliance member since about 2007-8. My first Agile Alliance Conference accepted talk was in 2008, so it was around that time that I joined. And, yes, I’m on again as a member.
I’ve always respected the Agile Alliance because they’ve been the sole agnostic voice of agility in a world of Scrum, Kanban, DevOps, and Scaled Agile groups. They haven’t gotten caught up in the certifications game either. Simply put, they’ve been a true north star when it comes to aligning with the Agile Manifesto and broadly guiding and fostering agility in our agile community.
So, when I saw this post from Ray, it dawned on me that the Alliance might be more fragile than I’d thought. And that inspired this response.
I want to encourage everyone in my network and beyond to consider joining or rejoining the Agile Alliance. It’s only $49/year for an individual membership. And for that, we’re supporting the one and only independent group whose sole focus is maintaining the original intent, focus, and spirit of the Agile Manifesto. Nobody else does it better!
Three Initiatives Important to Me
Just to give you a taste of some of the initiatives that the Alliance supports, here are three that are very near and dear to my heart—
Women in Agile – this is an ongoing initiative to celebrate and invite more women in our community and the Alliance has been highly supportive of the group.
Agile in Color – an initiative to be more inclusive of People of Color in the agile community by fostering training, mentoring, and sponsorship.
Coaching Ethics – finally, something dear to me is increasing the professionalism in the field of agile coaching. A common view to our coaching ethics has been long missing and the Alliance has stepped in to support development efforts in that space.
Wrapping Up
Please support the Alliance in any way you can. With funds. By volunteering and participating in events. By speaking and sharing at the conferences and locally sponsored meetups. However, you can, please consider increasing your awareness of and engagement in the Alliance.
We need the Agile Alliance to continue as THE strong, agnostic, and supportive group it is in our broad and diverse agile community.
BTW: Thanks Ray for the inspiration!
Stay agile my friends,
Bob.