Agile Conference Pakistan

Agile has become a household name in the tech industry of Pakistan. Not only has it reshaped the cross-functionality and organization among teams, but it has also enhanced the overall project delivery methods. This year, the Agile Conference Pakistan was arranged for the fourth consecutive year. Organized by the Pakistan Agile Development Society, the ACP has proven to be a successful event ever since its launch in 2014.

This year’s conference, however, was far more successful in gaining attention of industry magnates and practitioners alike. The theme of the conference was Scrum In Pakistan. Aimed at Scrum specialists and newbies, the conference was a great avenue for everyone to learn about Scrum.

For myself, the highlight of the event was the keynote by Naveed Khawaja. He is the Master Trainer and Coach at Xecofy. With his extensive years of experience, he brought a lot to the table. The most interesting part of his speech was how beautifully he connected the use of Agile methodologies in one’s personal life. We often hear about practicing what you preach, but he took it to the next level. Life needs organization and he showed just how tools like Kanban could be used to create synergy between our personal and professional lives.

Muneeb Ali, the Co-founder of Clickchain Inc. also had great tips for the newcomers in the field of Agile methodologies. His topic, “Successful Product Management In Scrum” covered user story mapping and release planning among other factors.

Last but not the least Owais Ashraf, the Director Software Services at Contour Software, presented the different aspects of Scrum and Kanban. The Q&A session afterwards was much needed and it cleared the air for many regarding it’s usage.

Other speakers included Khurram Ali and Syed Ahsan Ahmed from BroadPeak,
Sumara Farooq from Five Rivers Technologies and Ibrahim, a bright young MS student from Peshawar who presented his research paper on Scrum vs. XP.

This is where I had to bid farewell and call it a day. I missed the session by Mohsin Lodhi, IFC World Bank Certified Trainer. I later learnt that his session on the concept of capacity and capability was highly interactive and kept the audience involved till the end.

The conference was a great event for tech enthusiasts to meet, learn and grow. No matter how experienced you get, there is always something new you can learn from such events. I will definitely be going back next year to grab my share of the knowledge.

Shamim Rajani is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Genetech Solutions, a one stop shop for all web services specializing in Web Development, Customized Web Applications, Social Media Marketing and other IT related services. Follow her on twitter @ShamimRajani & Linkedin.

Shamim Rajani