Reflecting on Technical Craftsmanship

Written By Allison Pollard

Photo by torbakhopper

The folks at Agile Velocity were kind enough to interview me about technical craftsmanship and post it online. I feel like I'm occupying a special role as an advocate for technical excellence here. Those who know me realize that I don't consider myself a "technical coach," and I am not the person to look to for hands-on mentoring in technical practices. However, I find it impossible to work in the software development sphere and not pay attention to the technical practices of the teams and organizations that I work with. That's the craft. Whether you know how to write code or not, be in the conversations about the technical practices used where you work and find out how you can support improvement.

Allison Pollard

Allison Pollard is a coach, consultant, and trainer who brings the power of relationship systems intelligence to go beyond tasks, roles, and frameworks to create energy for change. She engages with people and teams in a down-to-earth way to build trust and listen for signals to help them learn more and improve. Allison focuses on creating alignment and connection for people to solve business problems together. Her experience includes working with teams and leaders in energy, retail, financial, real estate, and transportation industries to help improve their project/product delivery and culture. Allison currently volunteers as program director for Women in Agile’s mentorship program. Her agile community focus is championing new voices and amplifying women as mentors and sponsors for the next generation of leaders. Allison earned her bachelor’s degrees in computer science, mathematics, and English from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), a foodie, and proud glasses wearer. Allison is a prolific speaker at professional groups and international conferences, including Scrum Gatherings and the Agile Alliance Agile20xx conferences. Allison is co-owner of Helping Improve LLC.

http://www.allisonpollard.com
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