A passion for Agile leads to national recognition for Planit’s Leanne Howard
Internationally recognised Agile expert and advocate, Leanne Howard, has been formally acknowledged for her leading role in the local industry, receiving the iAward for ICT Woman of the Year (NSW 2014).
For many years, Leanne has demonstrated her thought leadership in both software testing and Agile practices, being a highly active international speaker presenting across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Germany, while also regularly contributing to various ICT publications.
As one of Planit’s resident Agile experts, Leanne is heavily involved in Agile project work, imparting Agile best practices in many client environments, including some of the region’s leading companies. Additionally, Leanne has been involved in all aspects of Agile training, from course creation through to delivery, having authored globally taught Agile certification courses. This includes the iSQI endorsed Certified Agile Essentials and award winning Certified Agile Tester courses.
As well as being a prominent female leader within Planit, she is a keen supporter of the Agile and Testing communities. This includes her role as an Associated Member of the Australian and New Zealand Testing Board (ANZTB), founding member of the ANZTB SIGiST, member of the Australian Standards Committee sitting on the IT-015 Software and Systems Engineering group.
Commenting on the award, Leanne said “This award is such an honour, particularly as it has been judged by my peers in the industry. Working in a male-dominated industry can have its fair share of challenges, but perhaps my passion for Agile is somewhat contagious as I feel no shortage of respect in my delivery of addresses, articles, consultancy and training in this domain.”
Leanne also encourages more women to take up careers in ICT, stating that “there are so many exciting opportunities in the tech sector for bright and passionate women.”
“It’s great working in an organisation such as Planit that proactively seeks a balanced working environment, employing an equal split between males and females. In the future, when I’m looking back on my career, I hope that many more companies in the tech space will look like Planit.”
“I am so thankful for the support provided by the whole team at Planit. I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoy our continuing journey to becoming the Agile practices consultancy of choice in Australia, New Zealand and beyond.”
“I welcome anyone who would like to discuss Agile or testing best practices to get involved in the Planit Software Testing LinkedIn Group and attend the ANZTB SIGiST events. I’m always happy to chat if you have questions about Agile and how it should work in your particular environment.”