Kevin Aguanno

Kevin Aguanno is a project management consultant who was one of the earliest proponents of agile project management, having taught Scrum, Extreme Programming, Lean software development, Feature-driven development and other agile techniques starting in the mid 1990s. His early efforts at advocating for agile practices integrated within a disciplined project management framework received extensive criticism at the time. Aguanno has focused on bringing agile methods to the executive and project management communities, rather than focusing solely on the software developer community.
Aguanno has published many books and DVDs on project management and agile topics (see '), and presents regularly at project management and agile events around the world. Aguanno has also co-written books and co-presented at conferences with several of the founders of the agile movement (see ').
Aguanno is the owner of GenXus Management Consulting, a company providing project management and agile methods strategy consulting, training, and coaching. Aguanno is also the owner of Multi-Media Publications Inc., a publishing company he founded in 1988.
Biography
He started his first company, Omega Enterprises, while in high school in the early 1980s. The company achieved notoriety by producing over 140 game, utility, and business software applications for the Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, and Commodore PET computers, written by high school and university students
After graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1989, he worked for a number of companies managing software development projects including the development of a medical office management and medical billing suite, the development of a series of award-winning interactive kiosks, and the development of the first Canadian web site selling insurance online in 1995.
In 1996, Aguanno was hired by IBM in its new e-business services group as a senior project manager. Over 15 years at IBM, he filled numerous roles including Executive Producer for IBM Interactive Media, Principal Consultant, Solution Manager, and Certified Executive Project Manager. While at IBM, Aguanno was tasked with creating an agile consulting practice to help clients transform their business and development processes to incorporate agile management practices. He held the Agile Centre of Competence Lead position for several years before leaving IBM in 2011. After leaving IBM, Aguanno started GenXus Management Consulting.
Aguanno started teaching university-level courses since 1996 at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies and Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. In 1999, he won the University of Toronto’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a guest lecturer at a number of other universities across Canada including Ryerson University, Trent University, and École de Technologie Supérieure. In addition, Aguanno has taught project management courses through the University of Waterloo since 2009.
Aguanno was a founding director of the Project Management Association of Canada (PMAC), the Canadian branch of the International Project Management Association (IPMA), and was its Present from 2010 to May 2013. In February 2013, PMAC recognized his contributions to the profession by naming him its first Fellow of the Project Management Association of Canada.
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Contributions
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Articles
* "Utilizing Offshore Tax Havens." Article in Vol. 1 No. 2 edition of Small Business Support Services, August 1990.
* "Tips for Modern Salespeople." Article in Vol. 1 No. 3 edition of Small Business Support Services, October 1990.
* "Pulling the Plug on Computer Viruses." Article in Vol. 1 No. 3 edition of Small Business Support Services, October 1990.
* "Using the Critical Resource Path." Article in the May 2002 edition of Project Magazine. Reprinted in Projects and Profits, August 2002.
* "Mapping Out the Project: A WBS is a critical project planning tool. Why is it so misunderstood?" Article in the May/June 2002 edition of Projects@Work magazine. Contributor.
* "Using the Critical Resource Path to Reduce Project Risk." Article in the July 2002 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Manage Change Better Using SCRUM." Article in the August 2002 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Business Value as a Factor in Software Design Projects." Article in the Vol. 3, No. 7 (September 2002) issue of Project Magazine. Reprinted in PM Boulevard, Issue 124, October 2002.
* "Work more efficiently using a Focused Work Breakdown Structure." Article in the November 2002 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Beyond the PMP: Advanced Project Management Certification." Article in the December 2002 edition of PM Word Today.
* "Advanced Project Management Certification Options." Article in the February 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Using Budget Burn Rate to Forecast Interim Project Costs Effectively." Article in the March 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Be Taken Seriously: Create a Professional Image." Article published in the July 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Watch Out for Hidden Culture-Specific References in Multicultural Projects." Article published in the August 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Using 3-Point Estimates to Reduce Project Risk." Article published in the September 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Motivating Team Members During Tough Times." Article co-written with Matthew David published in the November 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Analyze Your Readers for More Effective Status Reports." Article published in the November 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Low-cost Ways to Reward Your Project Team Members." Article published in the November 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Tips for Turning Around Troubled Projects." Article published in the November 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Use Two Types of Contingency to Reduce Project Risk." Article published in the December 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Ten Tips for Better Managing Contractors." Article published in the December 2003 edition of Inside Project Management.
* "Just Say No to Project Management Charlatans." Project Times. May 2009.
* "A Fresh Approach to Project Management Training." Project Times. June 2009.
* "The Need for an Annual Project Management Award." Project Times. July 2009.
* "Ending the Methodology Wars." Project Times. August 2009.
* "Best Practices are Still Best Practices." Project Times. September 2009.
* "Getting PM Training Without Breaking the Bank." Project Times. October 2009.
* "Project Managers vs. Scrum Masters: Agile Project Management Matures." Project Times. November 2009.
* "The ‘Ideal’ Iteration Length Revealed…" Project Times. December 2009.
* "What Value does a PM Provide at the End of a Project?" Project Times. January 2010.
* "Project Managers Can Shine in Today’s Tough Economy." Project Times. March 2010.
* "The Change Control Myth." Project Times. April 2010.
* "Is There Any Value to PM Certification?" Project Times. May 2010.
* "Why Do Most Project Manager Fail?" Project Times. June 2010.
* "Birds of a Feather: Project Managers and Business Analysts." Project Times. July 2010.
* "Multi-Cultural Project Management." Project Times. August 2010.
* "My Project is Harder than Your Project." Project Times. September 2010.
* "Project Management and Office Politics." Project Times. October 2010.
* "Why Project Managers Should Master the Art of Bribery." Project Times. November 2010.
* "Project Startup Activities are Key to Success in Both Agile and Traditional Approaches." Project Times. December 2010.
* "My Project Management New Year Resolution." Project Times. January 2011.
* "Testing Strategy is Critical to Project Success." Project Times. February 2011.
* "Project Management Advice from Popular Music." Project Times. March 2011.
* "What’s New in Agile Project Management Certifications?" Project Times. April 2011.
* "Agile Methods and the Need for Speed." PMAC Newsletter. November 2012.
* "Continuous Delivery: The Ultimate Challenge for Software Development Managers." PMAC Newsletter. November 2012.
* "Agile Practitioners Should Focus on the ‘Why’." ProjectManagement.com. March 2013.

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