About Us

I’ve always worked in an agile way – even before I knew what that meant. When I was an IT project manager, others often wondered why I was never at my desk. Instead, I was spending most of my time with our business teams or customers, trying to understand their needs and frustrations so I could find the best solution for their problems. 

Throughout my career working on IT projects and change management initiatives, I found that a lot of organizations try to tackle complexity with even more complicated solutions, technology or hierarchies. When what they really needed was simplicity.  

The sentiment of agile that struck me the most was how it helps you find the simplest and most efficient solution to meet the needs of your stakeholders. This mindset served me well in my more technical IT roles working at Honda Suisse SA and Radford Software, and it ignited my passion for coaching and creating high-performing teams. 

As a certified trainer, facilitator and coach, I find the most joy in equipping teams with the skills, knowledge, freedom, and support they need to solve problems and delight customers. Creating team cultures that thrive on open communication and collaboration is also what drew me to DevOps. Agile and DevOps go hand-in-hand in that sense. 

Outside of work, the agile way of thinking is not something I can turn off. I’ve renovated a few houses and always use a visual board to manage the workflow. When I’m not renovating houses, I like to travel with my wife and our four kids. Our village, Féchy, is surrounded by vineyards and is well known in Switzerland for its superb white wine. 

Chris is an experienced leader in enterprise technology with over two decades in training, coaching, and emergent technology enablement, particularly in project management. He excels in creating transformative technology training programs focused on software development, data environments, and agile methodologies. His expertise encompasses enterprise software engineering, advanced analytics, data engineering, and the application of AI and machine learning in business. Chris combines design thinking and lean technology management to innovate in product development and operational strategies, impacting various sectors such as government, education, and multinational corporations. 

I started my career as a biostatistician, but I’ve always had a strong interest in computer programming. So, pivoting into the IT space was a natural transition for me. And that’s where I’ve spent the last 30 years delivering software solutions as a developer, designer, and architect.  

Leveraging my vast knowledge of programming languages, I’ve designed and delivered systems for businesses in the medical, building, telecommunications, and finance industries. I even created the security and access control system for the first internet café in New Zealand.  

I bring this technical expertise to my role as a trainer at SoftEd. My background also means I’m the go-to programmer - if there’s a system that needs automating or improving, I’m the guy to make it happen.  

As one of the longest-serving trainers, I began working at SoftEd in 1997, before agile had a name. And today, agile is a vital mindset for any successful organisation.  

To effectively design a new system or product, understanding the big picture of what you are trying to achieve is crucial. But drilling down in small increments to gather feedback along the way is where the real gold lies. That’s why I enjoy teaching DevOps, or what I like to call agile plus. DevOps goes a step further than agile by continually listening to the needs of the end-user.  

In the classroom, I like to draw on my real-world experience, and I’ll also throw in plenty of quotes! One that resonates with me in work and in life is a quote from George Santayana, who said that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That’s why we have a retrospective in agile. To make sure that we’re always improving and making things better.  

I first encountered agile while working as a software developer at Suncorp. I'll never forget the strangely set-up room with tables pushed together and boxes of sticky notes everywhere. I was skeptical at first, but it wasn't long before I felt like I was beating the bureaucracy of the waterfall approach and shipping software much faster. 

Fast forward a few years, and I became an active driver for the new agile culture at Suncorp. I was shoulder-tapped to be the Agile Delivery Coach for their Business Services Division, and I have never looked back. 

Following my role at Suncorp, I worked as an Agile Coach at the Australian Department of Home Affairs, GMHBA Limited, and Unbound DNA. Coaching is my passion. I love walking with people on their agile journey and helping them unlock their potential. 

Tapping into my experience as an agile practitioner, I teach most courses at SoftEd and even created some of them. As part of my coaching and consulting role, I’ve supported businesses big and small through their agile transformations and change efforts. 

My experience has led to many opportunities in the agile world, including my current position as Agile Editor at InfoQ. I’ve also reviewed numerous books, including Becoming Agile, Agile ALM and Sonar in Action. I’m a former director of YOW! Conferences, the largest software development event organizer in Australia, where I often speak about the importance of an agile approach to software development. 

Connecting with like-minded agile enthusiasts is what drives me. I’m privileged to be a board member of the international Agile Alliance, and a highlight of my week is hosting my local Agile Meetup. I also chat with people all over the world on my podcast, The Agile Revolution. 

As a single, working mum, it was my son who inspired me to live in an agile way. He had a picture-filled Kanban board before he could even read, and the techniques helped us plan and prioritize our days. 

There is a principle in the agile manifesto about keeping things simple and maximizing the amount of work not done. This philosophy is how I make sure that everything I do is connected to real value and purpose. 

In my career, I started my agile journey as a developer, business analyst, project manager and agile lead at Whole Foods Market. My role was focused on bridging the gap between the information technology teams and the wider business by introducing a more collaborative, agile approach to working. 

When I moved into a team coaching and scrum master role, I realized the importance of putting people first. Agile helped me understand that at the heart of every product, service, or solution are the people who use them and the people who create them. I am a strong believer that I coach people, not resources. So, to bring out the best in our teams, I had to combine my technical expertise with holistic practices and behavioural science. 

This is something I've carried with me as an agile trainer and consultant. When I'm working and travelling internationally, connecting with people is what keeps me grounded. 

When I'm not at work, agile helps me balance all of my interests. I love to cook, and I’m a trained chef. I'm on the board of the Institute for Transactional Philosophy, and I am an active supporter of non-profit groups that provide safe places for families and refugees.

Over the past 30 years, I've worked as a business analyst and project manager, helping companies like Unisys and Ford Motor to streamline their systems and improve the success rate of their projects. 

After working on many different projects across multiple industries, I uncovered the key to successful delivery. Delighting everyone involved in a project always comes back to how you engage stakeholders. This discovery inspired me to write my book Stakeholder in Your World. 

When I moved into a new role at a mortgage company, I was fascinated to find that they had adopted an agile way of working. I loved how agile had a strong focus on early and continuous collaboration from all stakeholders throughout the entire lifecycle of a project. From then on, I became actively involved in agile conferences and interest groups.  

The spirit of agile is all about creating a culture of curiosity and learning. That's why I'm so passionate about teaching. For over ten years, I've been a trainer, coach and consultant. I've also worked as an adjunct professor at Lawrence Technological University.  

In that time, I've supported thousands of students from all over the world, helping them to bring agile ways of thinking and working into their business analysis and project management practices. As a trainer and coach at Skills Development Group, I was also involved in developing the Business Data Analytics program. 

Although I started my career in the military and spent two decades working with the US army, I am not a fan of inflexibility. In fact, it is a common misconception that the command-and-control structure means that military people are rigid in their thinking.   

It was the leaders who mentored me that inspired my agile journey. They valued action over deliberation and detailed planning and were experimenting with agile practices without even knowing it. So, I took some of those ideas and began to challenge traditional ways of working.  

I had many varied roles in the army, but before I left, I was the leader of a military science department with more than 120 students under my wing. This experience ignited my passion for education. What I love about agile is that it places significant importance on curiosity and continuous learning.  

As a trainer and consultant at SoftEd, I get a thrill out of teaching and supporting people and organizations in various stages of their own agile journey. As well as sharing my knowledge and experience, I love getting the opportunity to learn from my students. I believe that knowledge sharing is how you build strong and connected agile teams.   

For a successful transformation, you need high-performing teams. I get so excited when I see organizations creating environments where motivated people can build their technical expertise, welcome diverse backgrounds, challenge assertions and assumptions, ask the right questions, and work collectively to build the team’s knowledge.  

Todd A. Duchaine is an accomplished Agile Coach and Transformation Leader with a 15-year technical career. He has successfully led large teams at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and TD Bank, managing Agile transformation, establishing organizational goals, and delivering SAFe and non-SAFe training/certification courses. 

Previously at Lincoln Financial Group/Liberty Mutual Insurance, he improved team delivery commitments as a Scrum Master and Agile Quality Coach. At WellPoint, Inc. (Anthem), he managed software releases as a Release Management Senior Advisor. 

Todd holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Southern Maine. He is a certified Certified SAFe SPC, SAFe Agilist, Certified Agile Leader, and Project Management Professional with technical proficiencies in various platforms, tools, and hardware.