Agile transformation brings a lot of challenges. Josef Šedivý takes them on in ČSOB where he has been working for more than ten years. Josef got thrilled by the agile way of functioning, he launched the first agile train (ART) at ČSOB in 2020, he is a certified SAFe Program Consultant and at the beginning of this year, he took on the role of the leader of agile transformation.

Josef, can you describe yourself in terms of your professional role?

I would define myself as a person who likes to try new things. I like change and challenges. It always hurts a little to do something new, unusual, but this is how one improves and grows. This is true in sports, at work and in personal life. At work, I was lucky to be there when changes in risk management started happening – we pushed it to the level of KBC. I was also present in ČSOB retail during a large digitization program and now during an agile transformation. Life goals are a pretty difficult topic to cover in a few lines. Let’s just say that once I look back at my life, I’d rather regret the things I’ve done but failed at, rather than regret the things I wanted to do but didn’t.

The theme of the 13th year of the Conference is “Tips & Tricks”. What are the main ideas you will want to talk about?

I will talk about the benefits of agility, of the product approach and where to use it so that it brings the greatest benefit to your company. I will also talk about how to connect a multi-way delivery to the collaboration between IT and business.

How would you describe a person marked as Experienced Professional or working with know-how and skill?

I imagine a person who lives and breathes the topic and has a lot of experience. They work in the flow and like to pass on their experience because they know that it is the only way to achieve better results.

Karel is an experienced project and program manager who has been working in the banking sector for more than 13 years. Since last year he has also performed the Release Train Engineer (RTE) role and is an integral part of the agile transformation in ČSOB.

Karel, can you describe yourself in terms of your professional role?

Although the job titles gradually changed on my business cards over time, I have always been a project manager, body and soul. This is true in my personal life as well. I like things to be planned out, I can react flexibly and remove impediments that go against the plan. For me, my life goal is an intimate matter of long-term values and attitudes. My professional goal is to be good at what I do.

The theme of the 13th year of the Conference is “Tips & Tricks”. What are the main ideas you will want to talk about?

Agility is not chaos – there is a plan and order, which suits me. I would like to share with you my tricks and tips on how we handle agility at ČSOB.

How would you describe a person marked as Experienced Professional or working with know-how and skill?

For me, they are a person who understands the topic. They are a natural authority for their colleagues and can laugh at themselves. They don’t speak just to be heard at any cost. On the contrary, they are good at listening to others and considering their opinions.

Roman is an executive IT manager and an experienced program manager who will enrich the talk of ČSOB with an IT perspective and experience with what happens when an organization scales agility and many teams responsible for a complex IT infrastructure enter into the implementation.

Roman, who are you and what is your focus? What is your life goal?

Within ČSOB, I am in charge of the IT department of provision and support of digital channels. It’s an area that must be very flexible and at the same time operationally stable because we provide services (such as ČSOB Identity) on which other front-ends depend. My primary (professional) goal is to balance all aspects of requirements, rapid development, adaptation to change, stability, finance and especially members of the team so that the team works like a well-oiled machine, so to speak. The interpretation of this is always subjective. One of my personal goals is to make sure that the work I do, as well as the results, are meaningful and useful, and by this I evaluate my work.

The theme of the 13th year of the Conference is “Tips & Tricks”. What are the main ideas you will want to talk about?

Agility is a discipline, supported just like all processes. On the other hand, it is a framework that can be used, modified and adapted, and it teaches us to work with change. Every company or team works in different conditions, with different options. Which is why I perceive the topic of ‘Tips & Tricks’ as a space for inspiration and reflection on what and where works and does not work, and what other approaches can be used. It is not necessary to “discover America” when it already has been discovered, let alone reach an impasse.

How would you describe a person marked as Experienced Professional or working with know-how and skill?

They are a person who knows the given area or activity not only theoretically but especially practically. They know what they are talking about. The things they talk about they can also execute, realistically and with the desired result. They manage it with natural authority, sufficient humility and enthusiasm. All the time it is evident they enjoy what they do. I think the state I described above is very difficult to achieve, let alone maintain in the long run. But we all can aspire to such a goal…