A Short History on the Agile Alliance Organization

Velocity Partners has been a member of Agile Alliance since we opened our doors in 2004.  The non-profit organization’s mission is to “supports people who explore and apply Agile values, principles, and practices to make building software solutions more effective, humane, and sustainable.”  It has served the Agile software community since 2001.   

For those new to Agile, the website offer lots of resources including a short history on the origin of Agile.  According to the organization, the late 1990’s brought several different methodologies to the public arenas that were a blend of old and new ideas.  The methods all had a common theme, which was a close collaboration between “development teams and business stakeholders; frequent delivery of business value; tight, self-organizing teams; and smart ways to craft, confirm, and deliver code.”

Sometime in early 2001, 17 software developers met in Snowbird, Utah to discuss the best methodologies and practices to use to provide the most effective software development.  “Agile” was the term that came out of the meetings and was applied to a joint collection of values and principles that resulted in the Manifesto for Agile Software Development and its twelve principles.

The Agile Alliance organization was founded shortly thereafter as a forum for practitioners to share ideas and experiences.  Now fifteen years later, it still is a great resource for helping individuals adopt Agile practices and to improve their “ability to develop software with agility.”

Our team at Velocity Partners has successfully completed hundreds of projects for some of the biggest names in business using the distributed Agile model.  Founded as a spin-off of an Agile training company, we are regular contributors at Agile conferences as well as running our own Agile seminar series.  Just remember, that while we strongly believe in distributed Agile methodologies and practices, we work with each client in whatever way they are most comfortable with.

Velocity Partners expertly delivers nearshore (Western hemisphere) software development services using a distributed Agile model that offers outstanding planning, accurate delivery and optimal business value. Our team is comprised of top Agile experts, consultants, and engineers who believe in not only meeting but exceeding our customers’ expectations. For more information about our exciting career opportunities, please see our website.

Ready to Respond to Our Customers’ Unique Needs

Velocity Partners offers a unique combination of software development prowess, Agile expertise and personal accountability to create cost-effective software solutions for our clients. Our business plan includes engaging in lots of dialogue in order to fully understand the challenges and functionality requirements for each project. 

We feel that using an Agile framework gives us the ability to respond quickly to the inherent unpredictability of software development.  With careful planning and on-going communications, our team is positioned to make changes as they develop and to avoid the potential for project risks.  Furthermore, since Agile and Scrum methodologies are incorporated into the core of our business, our clients stay informed of a project’s progress through practices such as daily standups and process and code reviews.

Each of our nearshore delivery centers (in Argentina, Uruguay, Columbia, and Venezuela) are all equipped with the latest state-of-the-art communication tools that fully support virtual teamwork.   Furthermore, our services are designed to help you scale your business by expanding your existing teams or to add development capacity within your organization.  Your team is specifically built and takes into account the technical expertise you need as well as your business domain.  Also keep in mind that since our retention rate for employees is above the industry average, there is a good likelihood that you will have the same team for the duration of your project.

We make it a point to provide our employees with a workplace that encourages creative flexibility and also offers cutting-edge training and career development.  With the help of our strong brand and attractive culture, we have been able to hire some of the most talented project managers, software architects and developers, and Scrum Masters in the field.  We know that satisfied employees translate into satisfied clients, which is our top priority.

Velocity Partners provides nearshore (Western hemisphere) expertise in software development services using a distributed Agile model that provides accurate delivery and optimal business value. Our team is comprised of talented leaders from the software development community, and we offer cost-effective solutions for any size company. Please contact us for further information regarding services from a world-class global software outsourcing company.

Our Delivery Center at Caracas

Caracas, or officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the largest city and capital of Venezuela and is the site of one of our Velocity Partners’ Latin American delivery centers.  The city embodies why we chose Latin America as the location of our nearshore delivery centers as it is an advanced technology center with a large talent pool that allows for cost-effective services.

Located in the Cerro Avila Valley, the city runs alongside the Guaire River and is 2,490 to 2,990 feet above sea level.   The Cordillera de la Costa Central mountain range separates the city from the Caribbean Sea.  Caracas was originally inhabited by the Toromaimo Indians and founded by the Spanish in 1597. 

The Metropolitan District of Caracas has an estimated population of 5,243,301 and is divided into five municipalities.  The Libertador Municipality is the administrative division of the Venezuelan Capital District.  The other four municipalities are in the Miranda State and include Chacao, Baruta, Sucre, and El Hatillo.    

Caracas is largely a service-based economy with a small industrial presence and is home to some of the tallest skyscrapers in Latin America.  The city is Venezuela’s cultural capital and has many museums, restaurants, theaters, and shopping areas.  The Caracas Stock Exchange and the Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the country’s largest business, are headquartered in Caracas.

The Chacao district is a top tourist destination offering great food, drink and the opportunity to socialize.  A beautiful example of colonial architecture is the Iglesia de San Francisco church built in 1593 under the design of Antonio Ruiz Ullán.  It is an annex of the Convent of San Francisco and dedicated to Francis of Assisi.  For breathtaking mountain views, the El Ávila National Park surrounds Caracas.  It is accessible by cable car and off-road vehicles as well as by foot, and there are a variety of hiking trails suited to different skill levels.

Please see our website to learn more about Velocity Partners and our commitment to delivering customer value through a lean and Agile execution model.  We have years of experience under our belt and serve businesses of all size. 

Velocity Partners provides nearshore (Western hemisphere) expertise in software development services using a distributed Agile model that provides accurate delivery and optimal business value. Our team is comprised of talented leaders from the software development community, and we offer cost-effective solutions for any size company. Please see our website to learn more about our cost-effective software development services.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracas

Our Professional Partnerships Ensure the Best Final Product

At Velocity Partners, our goal is provide cost-effective business solutions to companies of all sizes and we are proud to have successfully completed projects for hundreds of satisfied clients.  We have accomplished this by hiring an extremely talented group of people as well as by partnering with some of the biggest names in the industry.

By teaming up with companies such as Microsoft, Red Hat, VersionOne, Rally Software (now a part of CA Technologies), and Scrum Alliance, it helps to ensure our clients receive a superior final product.  As the world's leading provider of open source solutions, Red Hat uses a community-powered approach to provide reliable, high-performing cloud management platforms.  In addition Rally Software provides cloud-based solutions for managing agile software development.

VersionOne offers enterprise solutions for software organizations scaling agile and DevOps and supports methodologies such as the Scaled Agile Framework®, Enterprise Scrum, Kanban and others.  Furthermore, not only do we have a partnership relationship with Microsoft, but we are proud of the fact that they have also been a client.

Our relationship with Scrum Alliance is productive as they are a membership organization that encourages and supports the widespread adoption and effective practice of Scrum.  The organization is focused on Advocacy, Community, and Education.  Their work in advocacy revolves around Scrum careers and educating companies on the benefit of bringing Scrum to their workplace. They also offer Scrum certification including Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM), Certified Scrum Coach® (CSC) and Certified Scrum Trainer® (CST).

Velocity Partners expertly uses a distributed Agile model to build software, and can help scale your business by extending your existing teams, or adding additional development capacity.  We specialize in Microsoft, Open Source, mobile technologies and QA test automation.  Please contact us or visit our website to learn more.

Velocity Partners expertly delivers nearshore (Western hemisphere) software development services using a distributed Agile model that offers outstanding planning, accurate delivery and optimal business value. Our team is comprised of top Agile experts, consultants, and engineers who believe in not only meeting but exceeding our customers’ expectations. Contact us to learn more about how a distributed Agile model provides high-quality software development.

Discover Multiple Resources on Agile from the Experts

Velocity Partners is pleased to offer the community a variety of educational resources on Agile and Scrum practices and methodologies.  We are well suited to the task as our team consists of industry leaders in Agile software development.  In addition we were founded in 2004 as a spinoff of an Agile training company and distributed Agile is part of our DNA and core to our business model as well as engrained in all of our technology processes.  

One example of the resources we offer is a video by Bob Galen on “Implementing Automated Testing”.  As our Principal Agile Evangelist, Bob’s background includes being an early adopter of Extreme Programming, Scrum, Kanban, and Lean practices, and he is now a nationally recognized thought leader in the space.  In addition he is a Certified Scrum Coach with the Scrum Alliance, an honor he proudly shares with only 30 others in North America and 60 in the world. 

We also offer a very informative video by Brian Estep, called the “Scrum of Scrum.”  Brian is a Senior Partner at VP, and among his many responsibilities, he oversees our IT Operations that support the company’s strategic objectives for both North and South America.   Other examples of some of the educational content we offer are a Kanban webinar and a video called the “Three Pillars Approach to Your Agile Test Strategy.”  

However, while these materials are available for download on our website, items are for single, individually licensed, personal use and not intended for commercial use.   We do not approve of distribution outside of the initial down-load.  If you would like to distribute the materials more widely, please do the following: ask the individuals to join our mailing list/community and/or ask us for permission first.  In addition, if you intend to use our materials in your own works, contact us for permission, and then give us credit. 

At Velocity Partners, we expertly deliver nearshore (Western hemisphere) software development services using a distributed Agile model that offers outstanding planning, accurate delivery and optimal business value. Our team is comprised of top Agile experts, consultants, and engineers who believe in not only meeting but exceeding our customers’ expectations. Contact us for more information regarding world-class services from a top offshore software development company.