This post is a personal reflection. 2014 marks the 20^th anniversary of DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method). Ten years ago, back in 2004 I wrote the article “DSDM 10 Years on, RAD Relic or Agile Advocate?”, on re-reading it 10 years later I think it still holds true. It can be found on page 49 of this Agile Times newsletter.

Just looking at the names of contributors to that newsletter (Ken Schwaber, Martin Fowler, Mike Cohn, Lisa Crispin, Ester Derby, Brain Marick, Kent McDonald, Dianna Larsen, J.B. Rainsberger, Barbara Roberts, Linda Rising, Deb Hartmann, etc) reminds me of some of the great people I have been fortunate to work with over the years. Also how lucky we were to have such excellent collaboration from these thought leaders in a single publication. Good luck trying to get them all to contribute to a single conference today let alone an unpaid newsletter!

Realizing I have been doing pretty much the same thing for the last 20 years stirs up a few emotions. First of all there seems a worrying lack of career progression. Today I am managing agile projects along with training, consulting and writing. Back then I was also managing agile projects and consulting. However, just to prove my career councillor wrong - who said I would never go far, I did move from England to Canada which by anyone’s standard is pretty far!

I have tried other roles; I have had several stints as a program manager, development director and in various PMO roles. However I have always gone back to project management. It is what I love and what interests me. I read, on average, two project management books a month and am not getting tired of them. In fact the stack of new books to read on my desk is growing faster than ever.

I just don’t feel the same enthusiasm for program management or PMO work, for me, it is a little too far removed from actually executing projects. It is the problem solving, stakeholder coordination, execution and sense of achievement from delivery that gives me a buzz and keeps me excited about work.

Over the last 20 years the methods that we now call Agile have matured and morphed enormously. The whole Agile Manifesto popularity explosion of the early 2000’s opened up a tide of mostly good awareness and opportunities. Yes, a bunch of people jumped on the band wagon without really understanding things and caused some harm, but the vast majority of growth and adoption that I have seen has been extremely positive.

All in all I feel very lucky, I get to work in a field I find extremely interesting. While many of my colleagues have created large agile consulting and training companies, they now don’t get as much hands on project work. Maybe I lack their entrepreneurial spirit, business drive or sales skills, maybe my career councillor was right, but I can honestly say I’d be really happy to do what I am doing now for the next 20 years. I have no exit strategy planned or dreams of escaping it all.

I graduated in 1986 when the Timbuk3 song “The Future is so bright I gotta wear shades” was popular. From that song the line “Fifty thou a year -- buys a lot of beer” may no longer be true, but It feels to me that agile concepts are just getting started and the future is so bright. Hence, maybe like a family doctor who practices for many years, learning more but still in the same role, I will appease my uneasy guilt of treading water with a justification that is OK and hope I get to continue for the next 20.