Jim Highsmith

I am an executive consultant with ThoughtWorks, Inc., having spent 30-plus years’ as an IT manager, product manager, project manager, consultant, and software developer. In 2005 I was honored to receive international Stevens Award for outstanding contributions to systems development.

My first job out of engineering school was on the Apollo manned space program. So I can say that my first project was a success ( my part was minor of course). I ran my first agile (not called agile back then) project in the early 1990′s, published my first “agile” article in 1992, published “Adaptive Software Development” in 1999, co-authored the Agile Manifesto, co-founded the Agile Alliance, and the Agile Project Leadership Network. My most recent book is, “Agile Project Management.”

My work has included consulting with IT and software companies in the U.S., Europe, China, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Japan, India, and New Zealand, helping them adapt to the accelerated pace of change in increasingly complex, uncertain environments. I’ve held technical and management positions with software, computer hardware, banking, and energy companies. My degrees are in Electrical Engineering and Management. I speak a lot at conferences worldwide, and have published dozens of articles in major industry publications. I’m a semi-regular blogger and infrequent tweeter.

Major Publications

  • Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products (Addison-Wesley 2009)
  • Agile Software Development Ecosystems (Addison-Wesley, 2002)
  • Adaptive Software Development: A Collaborative Approach to Managing Complex Systems (Dorset House, 2000) which won the prestigious Jolt Award
  • Co-editor, with Alistair Cockburn, of the Agile Software Development Series of books from Addison Wesley

Industry Contributions & Affiliations

Awards & Recognition