JOE TINDAL and BRIAN SUMMERS on: IMPLEMENTING AGILE COMPANY-WIDE AT MASTERCAM
MASTERCAM is the leading provider of software and tools to the toolmaking industry. Customers include HARLEY DAVIDSON, UNITED TECHNOLOGIES and thousands of smaller shops. The software MASTERCAM makes is used to control lathes and ‘CNC’ machines. These machines are capable of turning a block of metal into any arbitrary object, for example a tire rim, a gear, or any other object that can be sculpted from a piece of metal.
In late 2010, MASTERCAM leadership under Brian Summers decided to implement Agile throughout the company. They started with some experiments and a pilot team or two. Led by Joe Tindal as the change agent inside the company, MASTERCAM experimented with various forms of training and coaching. In 2011 New Technology Solutions provided training for over 90 employees. Shortly after that, all teams began working in an Agile way. Scrum was rolled out to all software teams.
Joe and Brian learned a lot an many many mistakes. They also did many things right, and had a strong company culture to begin with. Attend this session to learn about the game, the players and the situation at MASTERCAM before, during and after the Agile implementation.
You exit this session with the real story from a real company, doing real Agile in the region. This is a very interesting story.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- The trials and tribulations of adopting an Agile mindset
- The role of existing culture in the success of your adoption
- How Agile adoption is a ‘culture hack’ from the start
- What pitfalls to avoid as you embark on the Agile journey in your company
- What practices for adoption actually WORK
NOTE: On June 13, the Agile Connecticut User Group is convening AGILE FOR REAL at the MASTERCAM facility in Tolland, CT. During this event, you can attend sessions AND get an actual TOUR of the Agile workspaces at MASTERCAM. Take the tour, hear the story, and observe what real Agile looks like when successfully rolled out across an entire organization. That’s the AGILE FOR REAL EVENT. Learn more here.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Joe Tindal is Senior Project Manager at MASTERCAM in Tolland CT . He spearheaded the study and adoption of Agile inside the organization. Joe attended numerous Agile-CT user group meetings, did web research and examined books in preparation for adopting Agile inside MASTERCAM.
Brian Summers is a founder and currently the Vice President of MASTERCAM, the leading CNC software company in the USA. MASTERCAM technology is used by thousands of manufacturing organizations, including some truly awesome companies such as Harley Davidson.