From Vision to World Record: How Taiwan’s Agile Tribe Built the World’s Largest Agile Event, RSG

In the 2022 RSG, I served as the PO, and my vision was to showcase Taiwan to the world. As a result, that year we set a record for the highest attendance at a Scrum Alliance event since 2010: 888 participants. After taking a year off, another agile association hosted the event, and after two years of reflection, our Taiwan Agile Tribe decided to organize this large-scale event once again.

This event was of great significance to the Taiwan Agile Tribe. As the only international Scrum Ambassador CST in Taiwan and the keynote speaker for the event, I was unable to take on the PO accountibility again. This accountibility was taken over by the president of the Taiwan Agile Tribe, Li-hsiu Elly Chen . The event brought together resources from agile communities across Taiwan, and in the end, the number of participants reached 1,111, setting a new global record and surpassing the 888 participants I had previously set. With this achievement, the event ended on a perfect note.

The three key features of the event

1.Diverse topics expanding the influence of Agile

• This RSG was no longer limited to Agile topics but integrated a wider range of themes, including AI, ESG, Agile X Everything, Agile organizations, DevSecOps, Agile leadership, and the application of Agile in other fields. This cross-disciplinary integration attracted participants from diverse backgrounds.

2.Innovative Promotion Model: 24 Warm-up Events

• In promoting the event, we set another milestone by organizing 24 warm-up events called “Late Night Pit Stops,” far exceeding the usual maximum of about 10 events. Each session invited industry leaders to not only share Agile-related content but also discuss perspectives from other professional fields, attracting 5,000 new subscribers.
• Late Night Pit Stop Playlist

3.RSG Consultants’ Support and Ticket Boost

• The breakthrough in ticket sales is also thanks to our 32 RSG consultants, each of whom contributed an average of 15 to 100 tickets, totaling 745 tickets, which accounted for three-fourths of the total. Through ticket giveaways, they promoted the event to more friends and family, helping to bring even more people to this grand event.

Event Challenges and Overcoming Them

This event adopted an innovative format: two days of online virtual activities combined with one day of in-person events. While online activities were relatively easier to manage, there was a shortage of volunteers. Although we had 40 volunteers, the first day fell on a weekday, leading to a shortage of hands. The in-person event became the biggest challenge. The in-person activities included the World Café in the morning, with over 100 participants, and the CEO Awards in the afternoon, with about 230 participants, totaling 330 attendees.

The preparation for the CEO Awards took more than six months. The volunteer team held daily Scrum, progressing step by step according to the five events, demonstrating incredible perseverance and teamwork.

We even invited Dr. Mao Chi-kuo, the former Premier of the Executive Yuan. Although the process was challenging, through our patience and sincerity, and after “three visits to the cottage,” he finally agreed to participate and delivered a 30-minute inspiring speech before the awards ceremony.

Memorable Moments and Personal Challenges

The most impressive part of the three-day event was the two days of online activities, where we invited four keynote speakers, including myself, Peter Stevens, Teacher Huang Fang from Mainland China, and Todd Little, the President of Kanban University.

In addition, I also invited four Agile leadership experts—Hu Rui-rou, Zhang Ji-cong, Wei Bi-fen, and Huang Jing-qiang—to share their insights. During the event, I served as both the host and a speaker, leading six sessions as a host and delivering one keynote speech, which pushed my physical and mental limits to the extreme.

Especially on Saturday night, I had to take the high-speed rail from Kaohsiung to Taipei to prepare for Sunday’s in-person events, and I hosted the CEO Awards throughout the day. As the PO for the CEO Awards, I was responsible for the overall event planning and the awards ceremony, which was a tremendous challenge for both my physical strength and endurance.

Volunteer Unity and Coordination

Although the volunteers did not meet regularly before the event, during the event, they demonstrated incredible team spirit. With an attendance rate of over 75% from the 40 volunteers, they ensured the smooth running of the event.

Journey of Reflection

This event was the most exhausting yet the most rewarding one I’ve ever organized. With both virtual and in-person participation surpassing 1,111 people, we set a new world record. As a CST, I also contributed to Taiwan’s promotion of the CEO becoming CSM, which created another world record, making Taiwan one of the countries with the most CSMs in the world.

I link these three records together as a testament to my pride and emotions as Taiwan’s first and only International Scrum Ambassador CST. This experience not only showcased the value of Agile once again but also proved the power of teamwork, creating a new milestone for our Taiwan Agile Tribe.

Please inform everyone that the RSG Taipei and the Global Agile CEO Awards have been featured on a TV program!

At the same time, volunteers used an AI system to convert the content into an international English version, providing both spoken English and English subtitles.