Xavier Galleri

My name is Xavier Galleri.

Being a software engineer by education, I am fond of object-oriented design since my beginning in 1991. After a 2 year experience within the research engineering team of Chorus systèmes on micro-kernel technology in C++, I make my first steps in IT services for an Ada/C++ project at Digital Equipment Corporation.

In 1997, I decide to become freelance in a big project between Alcatel, Digital and Sun microsystems, where I work on porting Alcatel telecom middleware based on Chorus micro-kernel to the Digital/UNIX, and then Sun Solaris plateforms. This is an opportunity to value my experience in distributed operating systems. The project is a success story!

This way, I acquire step by step an expert status in this domain. This allows me to conduct several missions with very high added value directly for Sun microsystems between 1999 and 2001. At this time, I decide to develop my skills in the core business information system for 9Télécom as a functional architect.

Between 2002 and 2004, I work for W4. My goal is to rise in skill on J2EE and .NET application server technologies. I have the opportunity to consolidate the R&D team organisation by the setup of a new "agile" methodology known as eXtreme Programming. The quality and efficiency brought by XP are so valuable that the company board decides to extend its use to all its projects!

Since then, I cultivate this double skill as both a NTIC expert and an agilist through different adequate missions in several business domains (telecom, banking, insurance, administration,...). All agile techniques and practices that I bring are welcome, even if driving the implied cultural change always requires a lot of patience and caution.

Being a CSM since march 2008, my work for People in action up to fall 2009 allows me to reenforce my savoir-faire as an agile coach, from project setup to core development management, as well as for requirement or risk management. I am pleased to say that each project is a success! And I am even more pleased to say that this is true thanks to agile practices that only allow to avoid falling into the traditional pits of the waterfall approach, such as over-documented up-front functional perimeter definition or the belief that "estimations are predictions"!

My first mission as an agile coach is for Sagemcom, a big corporate company in electronics and communication manufacturing. During more than one year and a half, I was to facilitate agile adoption with SCRUM in several software teams in different business domains. Half of the projects I assisted were successes, half not.

Then, I worked for Direct Assurances in order to launch the project team in charge of the French part of an overal international program dedicated to the renewal of the information system of Axa Global Direct subsidiary companies. I helped the project governance to settle and structure the team, and then I facilitate this newly created team to grasp and adopt agile practices. This is done under the Atern DSDM méthodology which provides, beyond the usual SCRUM-like practices, a framework of new practitces more dedicated to multi-team steering and leadership.

As usual in all my experiences, what I can say is that the key success factor in agile transformation is to have a real sponsor in the organization to help change management occur and overtake the inherent change reluctance of any existing structures