Agile2013

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. -Yogi Berra

You can talk all you want about practice, but ultimately it all boils down to the doing. Practice well and you can achieve world class expertise in almost any domain you desire. Practice poorly and you only perpetuate an endless cycle of going through the motions with only minimal improvement, if any. Through the research of Anders Ericsson and others there is compelling evidence to suggest that practice matters more than intelligence, more than experience, more than any kind of innate skill. Practice, when done well, is perhaps the single most important and reliable predictor of mastery in any field.

If that is true, then we should all be extremely passionate about learning how to practice our discipline well. Perhaps you want to become an outstanding developer. Maybe your interest lies more with the soft skills, like facilitation. It might even be that you strive to be an outstanding leader. The question is: how do you practice?

In this tutorial, we will explore the techniques you can use to practice and hone your skills as a developer, tester or team leader. From individual exercises through collaborative games, we will explore how we can improve the way we practice both individually and as a team.