About

Hi, I’m Richard Lawrence. Here’s a bit about me and a guide to navigating the content on this blog.

About Me

I’m a second-generation software developer. Thanks to my programmer dad, I learned binary and decimal numbers at about the same time. By 6th grade, I was programming in BASIC, and soon after, Pascal. I got into web development when my only browser was Lynx and my connection was pretty slow dial-up. On my way to a PhD in Government (or something similar), my wife had our first son and I needed to start bringing in some money. It was the middle of the dotcom boom and I had that programming background, so instead of taking a job at Starbucks, I started working for a web design firm.

One big, bad waterfall project sent me looking for a better way to do software development, and I discovered XP (in about 2001). That changed everything for me. Since then, I’ve picked up Scrum, Lean, and the Theory of Constraints and I’ve used them with almost three dozen teams as a developer, ScrumMaster, or coach. By 2006, I was spending more time helping other teams succeed with agile than running my own projects, and the move to full-time coach was a natural one. In early 2008, I became one of the first Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Coaches.

By the time I got to my Master’s thesis, I realized that the job I was doing just to pay the bills was much more interesting to me than the job options at the end of the PhD. So, I left academia behind for a career in software.

In August 2008, I struck out on my own and started Humanizing Work, a consulting firm focused on helping software organizations become happier and more productive. In June 2012, Humanizing Work merged with Agile For All. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some great clients. I’m always looking for more software organizations who see what’s possible and would like help making it a reality.

I’m married (since 1998) and have three boys (born in 2000, 2002, and 2004). I live in the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver, which is all about community and fits what I’m about in work and life pretty well. I grew up in Orange County, CA. While I sometimes miss the beach and often miss my CA family, after over seven years in Denver, I can’t see moving back.

I really enjoy eating and cooking good food and drinking wine. I love cycling, tennis, disc golf, and ultimate frisbee. I play guitar, drums, bass, and mandolin, but not nearly as often as I’d like.

Where to Find Me

You can follow me on Twitter.

This, obviously, is my blog. Over on the right, you can subscribe to my RSS feed or sign-up to get new posts by email.

I’m on LinkedIn. If know each other, we’ve done business together, or we should be doing business together, add me as a connection. (If we don’t already know each other, please explain why we should connect. I get the open networking argument, but I think it causes a Tragedy of the Commons problem for LinkedIn, and I’d like to see the LinkedIn model not break.)

I’m on Facebook. If we know each other, add me as a friend. (My Facebook profile is more personal than professional, so I stick with people I know in the “real world.”)

In the aforementioned “real world,” you might find me at Agile Denver, Denver APLN, Boulder Agile Meetup, and SQuAD events. Don’t hesitate to introduce yourself. I look pretty much like the photo above.

About

About Me

Where to Find Me

Top Posts and Topics

Scrum & Scrum Meetings

Product Management

Behavior Driven Development (or Acceptance Test Driven Development)

Making Work Better

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