Two day Super Early Bird tickets £435 + VAT - prices increase on 25 September
The North of England's practical, hands-on agile and lean software development conference
Join us for the 11th edition of Agile Manchester, running since 2015, held at thestudio in Manchester's Northern Quarter, a hub for tech and innovation with excellent transport links, making it easy for UK and international practitioners to participate.
Designed to spark ideas, share practical insights and support meaningful learning experiences. Real workshops, real collaboration. Join the mailing list to hear first when the call for speakers opens and the programme is announced.
What is Agile Manchester?
Agile Manchester is a practitioner-led conference held annually in Manchester's Northern Quarter. Since 2015, it has brought together the people who build products, lead teams and change organisations - around 200 practitioners each year, with speakers who do the work rather than just talk about it. Recent sessions have come from inside Co-op, GDS, Autotrader, Rolls-Royce and NatWest - browse every programme back to 2015 and see for yourself.
The programme covers technical practice, product, delivery, leadership and organisational change, with hands-on workshops of up to two hours, and low-fi lunchtime talks over food - evolving every year to reflect what practitioners are actually grappling with. Keynotes since 2015 have included Dave Snowden, creator of Cynefin, Charity Majors of Honeycomb, Linda Rising, Trisha Gee, Dan North and Annette Joseph MBE.
CPD accredited and signed up to the Diversity Charter, with a published Code of Conduct. We provided BSL interpretation in 2026. Organised by Software Acumen, who also run Agile Cambridge and Lean Agile Scotland, with over 22 years running technology conferences. The 2027 conference takes place on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 May.
"Agile Manchester reminded me what a good conference actually does: it creates the conditions for people to think, connect, and care. First time in Manchester. First time at Agile Manchester. And honestly, what a lovely one."
Rachel Dubois, Speaker, Agile Manchester 2026
Who comes to Agile Manchester?
Scrum Masters and Delivery Managers
Managers and Heads of
Product Managers and Owners
Programme and Project Managers
Directors and C-Level Leaders
Agile and Lean Coaches
Designers and Researchers
Developers and Engineers
Practitioner-led. Proper Manchester. Worth two days.
Conversations made easy
Around 200 practitioners, sticky badges that show who's up for a chat, and a venue that keeps everyone together. Quiet space and a working space too, for when you need either.
Practical, not theoretical
Talks, case studies and hands-on workshops of up to two hours, built around real work by practitioners, for practitioners. CPD accredited, 2026 participants earned 10.75 accredited hours, with a certificate to show for it. Leave with ideas you can use the following week.
Care in the details
Seasonal menus prepared fresh on site by thestudio's kitchen, using local suppliers. Lunch is part of the conference, not a break from it. Lego name badges, a duck hunt, and £2 to charity for every piece of feedback. As one 2026 speaker put it, a place to think seriously without taking yourself too seriously.
"An incredibly valuable experience. I came away with a range of practical insights and tips that I'm looking forward to applying both in my work and in my day-to-day life."
Melinda Biro, Senior Delivery Manager, Participant, Agile Manchester 2026
Trusted by practitioners since 2015
11th edition
running since 2015
Practitioner-led
programme
Northern Quarter
thestudio, Manchester
CPD
officially record your hours
Organised by
Software Acumen, 22 years of experience
Code of Conduct
& inclusive
What makes Agile Manchester worth two days?
Agile Manchester is built by practitioners, for practitioners. Every speaker is here because they have something genuinely worth sharing.
Real work, real organisations
Case studies from inside, not theory from outside.
In 2026 alone, sessions came from inside Co-op, GDS, Rolls-Royce, Barclays, Bloom & Wild and IBM - people reporting on work they actually did, and what it actually took.
Design your own experience
Multiple tracks across two days - you choose what matters most.
Talks, case studies, hands-on workshops, low-fi lunchtime talks over food. Mix and match to build a programme that works for you.
Workshops that are actually hands-on
Up to two hours of doing, not watching.
Sessions tackle the hard questions - technical practice, product, delivery, leadership, organisational change and AI - with time to properly work through them.
Keynotes worth travelling for
A stage with a track record.
Dave Snowden, Charity Majors, Linda Rising, Trisha Gee, Dan North and Woody Zuill have all keynoted here. Our 2027 keynotes will be announced first, ahead of the full programme - join the mailing list to be first to know.
An event that takes wellbeing seriously
Space to breathe, not just sessions to sit through.
A quiet space when you need a break, an active working space when the day job calls, seasonal food cooked fresh on site, and sticky badges that make it easy to find people up for a chat.
CPD credits included
Officially record your hours and demonstrate commitment to learning.
Every ticket comes with CPD certification through the CPD Standards Office - 2026 participants earned 10.75 accredited hours.
A community that keeps giving
The hallway conversations are as valuable as the sessions on stage.
Many participants and speakers return year after year - and plenty of speakers were participants first. Our call for speakers for 2027 opens later in the year, so keep an eye out if you have a story worth sharing.
Manchester in May
The Northern Quarter on your doorstep.
Coffee shops, record stores, street art and some of the best food in the North, all within a few minutes of the venue. Stay for the weekend and make a proper trip of it.
Don't just take our word for it
From the 2026 feedback wall
"Fantastic sign interpreters" · "Lego badges playful" · "Wow! long breaks & opportunities to network" · "Inclusive atmosphere" · "Great food, thanks for the veggies" · "Keynote: plenty of practical tips, inspiring" · "Great talk, very thought provoking" · "Loved the leading humans one, personal & human"
"Line dancing in a keynote speech. Inclusive and collaborative. It typified what makes Agile Manchester so great. Every talk I went to had something I can take into my professional world."
Kashif Naveed, Participant, 2026
"Overall the quality of the speakers and talks was pretty high. I'll be more intentional about how I learn, and how and when to use AI."
Matt Machin, Participant, 2026
"Really insightful keynotes and case studies that will definitely drive a different way of thinking and learning in my career path as a project manager."
Sadie Hiard, Participant, 2026 · LinkedIn
"Very impressed by quality of other delegates - very high powered practitioners."
Charles Weir, 2024
"Easy to flow around the venue and engage with other people - we couldn't just disperse over a large venue, had to interact."
Ben Walder, 2024
"I felt welcomed, appreciated, and supported every step of the way."
Woody Zuill, Speaker, 2025
The social side
The talking doesn't stop when the sessions do. For the past two years, day one has ended with pizza and drinks at Ramona's, and we are working out the details for 2027. Then when the conference closes on Thursday, rather than everyone scattering, we gather locally for a drink - a quieter, informal way to say goodbye, or swap contact details with the person you meant to catch all day.
Sponsor Agile Manchester
Want to get your organisation in front of around 200 senior practitioners, delivery leads, engineering leaders and agile coaches? Agile Manchester offers a friendly, focused environment where people are genuinely paying attention - not distracted by a trade show floor. Sponsors have included Booking.com and Autotrader.
We offer bespoke sponsorship packages including sustainable giveaways, exhibition space and session sponsorship.
Get in touchCommunity Groups
Are you a meetup organiser or part of a not-for-profit community group in the agile or lean space? We would love to work with you. Groups that help promote Agile Manchester to their members receive a discount on tickets - a simple way to give your community access to the North's best practitioner conference.
If you organise or are a member of a group and would like more information please get in touch.
Contact usReady to join us?
Agile Manchester 2027
Prices rise as the event gets closer - the earlier you book, the less you pay.
Agile Manchester is a practitioner-led agile and lean conference held annually in Manchester, UK, running since 2015 and now approaching its 11th edition in May 2027. Across its first ten editions, Agile Manchester has welcomed 2,997 participants and speakers and hosted 513 speaker appearances across 406 sessions. Around 200 practitioners attend each year, including scrum masters, delivery managers, product managers, programme managers, engineering leaders, agile coaches, designers, researchers and software engineers. Across its history, Agile Manchester keynote speakers have included Dave Snowden (creator of Cynefin), Charity Majors (CTO of Honeycomb), Linda Rising, Dan North, Trisha Gee, Woody Zuill, Allen Holub, Jurgen Appelo, Bjarte Bogsnes, Emily Webber, Clare Sudbery, Holly Cummins (IBM), Annette Joseph MBE and Vimla Appadoo. Speakers have presented real case studies from inside organisations including the BBC, Co-op, Government Digital Service, DWP, HM Passport Office, Autotrader, Rolls-Royce and NatWest. Over ten editions the programme has covered agile delivery, product development, continuous delivery, observability, refactoring, testing, user research, service design, accessibility and inclusive design, psychological safety, leadership, organisational change, flow, lean, complexity and AI, in talks, case studies and hands-on workshops of up to two hours. Agile Manchester is CPD accredited through the CPD Standards Office, is signed up to the Diversity Charter, publishes a Code of Conduct, and has provided British Sign Language interpretation. It is organised by Software Acumen, which also runs Agile Cambridge and Lean Agile Scotland, and has run technology conferences for over 22 years. The full programme archive from 2015 onwards is published at agilemanchester.net/archive.
Sponsors
Thank you to our wonderful sponsors who help make this conference possible year-on-year. If you want to showcase your organisation to our participants in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, get in touch to discuss the perfect package for you.
