Company Overview
News & EventsRally Software Development Expands Management Team
Two Agile specialists bring more than 34 combined years of Agile software development, project management and IT expertise to Rally’s leadership
BOULDER, Colo., September 8, 2005 - Rally Software Development Corp., the leader in on-demand software lifecycle management solutions for scaling Agile software development practices, today announced the addition of two new members to its management team, a move that further strengthens its management and services capabilities. Hubert Smits was named Director of Services and Zach Nies has been appointed Vice President of Strategic Development.
Smits brings more than 15 years of software project management and IT expertise to Rally, specializing in Agile software development approaches. He has helped hundreds of software team members successfully transition dozens of projects to Agile and Lean practices. Born in the Netherlands, Smits is a Certified Scrum Master Trainer. He gave the "Introduction to Agile Methods and Practices" tutorial at Agile2005 and has lectured at Glasgow University on Agile software development and Agile project management. Prior to joining Rally, he served as a senior project manager at VisionWare plc, where he was responsible for all customer-facing implementation projects. He also has worked as a senior consultant for Vision Consulting and as a senior project manager for Buchanan International.
Nies has worked in the software development industry since 1991 and brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of the software development lifecycle, including product design, architecture and core development practices. During his career, he served as chief software architect at Quark and technical leader at Creo, Inc., now a division of Kodak. At Creo, Nies was lead architect for the company's Creative Software Group. Most recently, he served as the principal architect and director of systems architecture for Level 3 Communications, while also serving on the board of directors at Ralston Technology Group and industry best practices group Agile Denver. Nies has presented papers at numerous industry conferences and events, including Agile Denver, Vignette Village and XML '99.
"With Hubert and Zach, we continue to bolster the breadth and depth of expertise Rally offers to software-driven companies looking to implement and scale Agile practices across their enterprise," said Tim Miller, CEO for Rally. "This expansion is in response to not just the growing acceptance of Rally's coaching services and on-demand tools, but also the mainstream adoption of Agile methodologies."
Rally is helping change the way software is defined, developed and delivered around the globe. Through its hosted, Web-based service, Rally supports the mainstream adoption of Agile development practices, a fast-growing trend that helps software organizations respond faster to changing customer needs. Rally helps companies shift from building software using long, expensive and high-risk development cycles to delivering needed features using rapid, fully-tested iterations that provide immediate customer value. Rally has gained success by helping formalize and expand Agile practices for a growing roster of small and large clients that include software vendors, Internet companies and corporate IT teams. Rally is ideal for organizations implementing Agile programs, regardless of team location, size or number of concurrent subsystems being developed.
About Rally
Based in Boulder, Colo., Rally Software Development is the leader in on-demand software lifecycle management solutions for scaling Agile development practices across the enterprise and around the globe. The company's customers include leading software vendors, Internet companies and corporate development teams that are committed to improving their responsiveness to new opportunities and fast-changing customer demands. Rally marries Agile project management with tracking of requirements, tests and defects so larger or distributed teams gain the visibility and collaboration needed to define, develop and deliver high-value software in rapid iterations. Rally's world-renown coaches and expert partners complement its tooling with training and consulting services for creating the Agile organization. For more information about Rally, visit the company's Web site at www.rallydev.com.
Press Contact: Anne Greenhaw
303-565-2832
anne@rallydev.com