There are individuals who have influenced my professional journey significantly. Sometimes, by working with me directly. Other times, by their writing or position in our software community. And other times, simply as a role model.
I've started a segment on my blog called – My Heroes. I’ll post intermittently, perhaps every 1-2 months. But it serves as a reminder to me to be thoughtful and appreciative of the folks who’ve influenced my growth and skills. And of course, they get none of the credit for my many foibles.
The fourth one up is: Mike Cohn
Mike is one of those folks in the agile community that influences things without taking an obnoxious or too controversial stand. He's supremely experienced, is very pragmatic, and simply shares what has worked for him.
I first "met" Mike by reading his books. He wrote two of the most influential books in the "early days" of Scrum and agile.
- User Stories Applied, in 2004
- Agile Estimating & Planning, in 2005
these books were seminal at the time when many of us were really struggling with agile requirements (user stories) and agile planning. From my point-of-view, they were game-changing in providing practical guidance and advice for agile teams when it was needed the most.