With 25 years of experience in software engineering, Susan George is learning current methodologies to advance her management career. After completing the Professional Sequence in Agile Management in one year, George is bringing new knowledge to her role as senior manager of enterprise performance management development at Oracle.
You finished the program in December 2014. What does this mean to you?
It means competency and coming up to speed with current methodology. In a few short courses, I learned how to adapt to and lead change in an organization. Some of the top professionals in Agile and transformation are leading the program. My instructor, Pat Reed, is an Agile thought leader and consultant. To teach the different Agile methodologies, she brings real-world examples of Agile implementations, whether from manufacturing, engineering, software development or personal use. Exposure to the best of the best was very inspiring.
I wanted to see what was going on in my field and how I could advance my career and personal growth; the program is the perfect way to do that.
How are you applying this new knowledge?
Agile is about focusing on delivering customer value. In the Agile methodology called Scrum, the software development cycles are shortened, and the customer is brought into the process very early. As a result, we build the software that the customer really wants—not what we think the customer wants. Even though my particular project wasn’t using Scrum, other groups within my organization are, so I wanted to get current. I wanted to see what was going on in my field and how I could advance my career and personal growth; the program is the perfect way to do that.
Looking back on your experience, does any one moment stand out to you?
I enjoyed collaboration and idea sharing the most: working side-by-side with smart, experienced professionals from all fields to solve a business problem using the Agile techniques. We continue to stay in contact, and the Agile meetups throughout the Bay Area will allow me to stay current and in touch with the professional Agile network. To be fresh, current and back in the academic world after raising three daughters is a great place to be.