Books by Jamie Lynn Cooke

Agile Productivity Unleashed: Proven approaches for achieving real productivity gains in any organization introduces every industry sector to the Agile approaches that have dramatically improved the IT, product development and manufacturing sectors over the past two decades. Agile Productivity Unleashed clearly explains how the key principles of Agile approaches can be used to significantly increase productivity, quality and customer satisfaction in any organization. Written in non-technical language specifically for business professionals, this book is an essential tool for anyone whose job it is to deliver high-quality results on time and on budget.

If the goal of an Agile project is to deliver the highest business value solution possible, why is the business user the least supported member of the Agile team?It's good to be an Agile developer. The Agile community provides Agile developers with countless supporting resources including books, websites, forums, and conferences where Agile development issues can be raised, discussed, and jointly addressed by the group. The interesting thing is that, where Agile approaches go to great lengths to provide developers with the foundation they need to deliver high-value software solutions, there is relatively little equivalent support provided for the business users.In most Agile methods, the business user is solely responsible for the identification, requirements gathering, clarification, and assignment of priorities for their requested system capabilities. Agile development teams rely on business users having sufficient knowledge, vision, objectivity, and time to ensure that these capabilities provide the best possible solution.The Power of the Agile Business Analyst: 30 surprising ways a business analyst can add value to your Agile development team challenges whether Agile projects are truly positioned to deliver the highest-value business solutions without offering business users the equivalent level of support, validation, and collaboration that is provided for the Agile development team. To address this challenge, The Power of the Agile Business Analyst proposes including an Agile business analyst on the development team to provide business users with the support they need, as well as a valuable resource to assist the Agile developers in their analysis, design, testing, and implementation work throughout the project.30 ways an Agile Business Analyst can help your teamDrawing on more than 20 years' experience as a senior business analyst and international solutions consultant, Jamie Lynn Cooke details 30 achievable ways in which Agile business analysts can increase the relevance, quality, and overall business value of your Agile projects. Read this book and learn how to:Maximize the business value of your Agile solutions.Leverage the skills, experience, and opportunities an Agile business analyst can bring to your project.Find the most qualified Agile business analyst to complement your team.Identify how an Agile business analyst can help you address the most critical challenges on your Agile project.Use the strengths of an Agile business analyst to position your projects for ongoing funding and executive support.The Power of the Agile Business Analyst also provides guidance for business analysts who want to transition their skills to work most effectively in Agile environments.Bridge the gap between the business users and the Agile development teamThe Power of the Agile Business Analyst explains how having a skilled business analyst on the Agile team provides business users with peer support for their most critical business requirements, and provides the Agile development team with a business-knowledgeable resource who is available to work hands-on with them throughout the project. These are only some of the ways in which Agile business analysts empower development teams to deliver the most successful Agile solutions.Read this book and discover how an Agile business analyst can significantly increase the value of your solution.

Deliver exceptional results from your IT department using Agile approaches.Everything you want to know about Agile comprehensively addresses the issues that IT departments face when they try to implement Agile approaches within the constraints of their traditional organizations, including existing project frameworks, budgeting structures, contracts and corporate reporting. It is an essential resource for IT departments that want to deliver successful Agile results, even in the most challenging environments.Making Agile work in your organization:The book is written specifically to address the challenges of implementing Agile within the unique structures, constraints and culture of your organization. It describes Agile methodologies in clear business language specifically written for business professionals, providing you with the information that you need to:assess whether Agile is right for your departmentselect the Agile methodologies and practices that are best suited to your worksuccessfully implement these approaches in your department, andmonitor and measure the outcomes.Most importantly, this book gives you a range of strategies for aligning Agile work within the reporting, budgeting, staffing and governance constraints of your organization, which is arguably the biggest challenge.Written for IT decision makers (and those who want to influence them):Everything you want to know about Agile is written for executives, IT department managers and other senior decision makers, yet is equally valuable for IT project managers, team leaders and management consultants who want to deliver successful Agile results.If you are an IT professional already familiar with the benefits of Agile, this book can also help you to address management concerns that Agile approaches may not work within the traditional business practices and constraints of your organization.Agile methodologies and practices have been proven over the past two decades to increase the relevance, quality, flexibility and business value of software solutions. The IT departments of many large and successful organizations (including Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! and BT) have all delivered productivity gains through the adoption of Agile approaches. It worked for them, but will it work for you?Read this book and start delivering results right away.