Keith Richards
In the 1990s whilst working at IBM, Keith gained experience of their embryonic agile approach. He realised that the future of software development was going to be using this exciting new paradigm that later became known as ‘agile’. He left his job at IBM to set up his own consulting company, Keith Richards Consulting.
In the 2000s PRINCE2 was becoming the dominant force in project management in the UK. Keith had been training people in PRINCE2 for several years and had been pioneering ways of integrating its strengths with the benefits of agile. Keith discovered that the secret was to apply PRINCE2 in a pragmatic way to suit the individual needs of every customer. Keith quickly became a leading authority in this area.
As a leading agile player in the UK, in 2000 Keith was invited to become a director of the DSDM consortium and within months was the new Technical Director with a vision to evolve the existing method into something fit for the new millennium.
At that time the DSDM framework (Dynamic Systems Development Methodology) was fundamentally robust but needed updating to integrate with newer approaches and to make it work better with non-IT applications.
Keith became the lead author of the new DSDM framework (DSDM Atern) and led a team of 30 people that created a new version of the DSDM framework (called) which was launched in 2007.
This version of the DSDM framework later evolved into the successful AgilePM qualification for project managers.
In 2009-10 Keith was the main author of a new qualification for agile project managers in the form of AgilePM.
In 2011, Keith was voted “Most Valuable Agile Player UK” by his peers in the agile community. This was a proud moment for Keith and recognition for a decade’s work promoting the wider acceptance of agile.
In 2014, Keith was selected by AXELOS to be lead author and Chief Examiner for PRINCE2 Agile. Later, Keith was also selected to be the agile mentor for the update to PRINCE2, one of the world’s most popular project management methodologies. This most recent update to PRINCE2 included clearer guidance on how to tailor PRINCE2 in a variety of situations, particularly when being used in an agile context.
In addition to authoring many agile training courses and qualifications including AgilePM, DSDM and PRINCE2 Agile, Keith is the author of these publications:
- The DSDM project framework for SCRUM.
- Agile Project Management: running PRINCE2 projects with DSDM.
AgilePM® is a registered trademark of Agile Business Consortium Limited. All rights reserved. The APMG International AgilePM Swirl Device logo is a trademark of The APM Group Limited, used under permission of The APM Group Limited. PRINCE2® and PRINCE2 Agile® are registered trade marks of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.