This year we’re looking for perspectives and insights that nurture curiosity.

We believe curiosity is about intentionally approaching people and situations with an openness to see things from a different perspective, different from our own. When we become curious, we suspend the type of judgement that closes minds. It’s less about changing our views, and all about being open to hear and explore different ones. This means that we’re bringing openness, kindness and a genuine desire to discover to the foreground.

We’d like to explore opposing positions, discover unexpected views, and go home with a more open, inclusive view of the world.

There is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in our community - we’re looking for speakers and attendees who will help us create a conference where we have a safe space in which to learn, and who will deeply support our mission to explore what it means to nurture curiosity as an Agilist.

We value:

• New ideas over old content
• Specific opinion over one-size-fits-all
• Own experiences from the field over theory
• Interactive sessions over sit-and-listen (but there’s room for both)

We want to be sure:

• Your proposal supports our theme – Nurturing Curiosity – and that it contributes depth (or breadth) to the community’s discussions
• You can comfortably deliver what you’re proposing, regardless of whether you are well known or a first-timer on the conference speaking scene
• People will be excited and intrigued to attend your session
• People will get something of value from the time spent in your session

You don’t need to achieve all the points above, but if you don’t hit at least a few of them, you need to give it more thought.

How to get rejected:

• Include a same-old topic or approach (unless there’s a new twist or a truly deep experience base)
• Include thinly-veiled (or unveiled) marketing or promotion of services
• Your submission’s golden thread and “Why?” are difficult to follow or understand
• It does not appear that an adequate level of effort was involved in your submission
• Include specific personally-identifying information (name, company you work for) in the body of the submission – please do not do this – we follow a blind review and selection process (we hide names of people submitting in the system so that the selection process is free from bias)
• Your submission doesn’t address any of the topic tracks outlined below

(Thanks to Let’s Test SA for inspiring us to clarify the CFP in this style)

Our Topic Tracks

(The questions included below are to stimulate ideas and to help clarify the focus of the track. They aren’t meant to be restrictive.)

Nurturing Curiosity: People

The people track will offer attendees opportunities to discover and explore how people and teams can achieve, deliver, and thrive in Agile spaces.

We are curious as to what you can share from your own experiences, what challenges you’ve overcome, or what you can help us learn about people, teams, and culture in Agile spaces.

• How do individuals become truly Agile? How can teams achieve and deliver sustainably and with enjoyment?
• What does effective leadership look like in Agile spaces?
• We hear about improving communication, collaboration, trust; how do we practically get this to happen?
• What would support making a Product Owner a true team member?
• How does the level of support Product Owners receive affect the team’s progress?
• How do we support the wider team to embrace a work environment based on trust?

Nurturing Curiosity: Product Excellence

The Product Excellence track will offer attendees opportunities to discover and explore ideas and techniques we can use to achieve Product Excellence.

What can you share from your own experiences, what challenges have you overcome, what can you help us learn about achieving product excellence?

• Which traits that Product Owners embody lead to product excellence?
• How has organisational support contributed to Product Owner success and, through that, product excellence?
• Which technical practices (DevOps, TDD, etc.) helped your team(s) improve your product?
• How has automation in testing, integration, and delivery contributed to your product?
• Are you a member of a development team that has something interesting or creative to share that has led to or can help to build good products?

Nurturing Curiosity: Organisation

The Organisation track will offer attendees opportunities to discover and explore Agility across entire organisations.

We are curious as to your experiences in bringing about broader Agile transformation. How do we help multiple teams and departments live and breathe Agile values?

• How do we bring an Agile mindset to areas outside software development - e.g. HR, Marketing, and Finance?
• How do we measure success and align to organisational goals?
• How does one align current organisation-wide policies with Agile behaviours?
• How do you deliver quality, in a sustainable way, within an organisation?
• We hear about shifting culture to one of autonomy, self-organisation and continuous improvement; how do we practically get this to happen?

Nurturing Curiosity: Process and Practice

The process and practice track will offer attendees opportunities to discover and explore practical mechanics, processes, and any practices relevant to enabling Agility.

We are curious to discover new practices and see existing ones from different angles.

• What does Agile decision making look like?
• Which practices have felt helpful in predominantly support-based environments?
• Which processes have helped or hindered teams in moving towards self-organisation?
• Which practice has proved most helpful to your team and what surrounding context influenced it?