Dr. Nicole Forsgren is considered one of the most prominent and important minds in DevOps and developer productivity. She has led efforts to improve DevEx and AI-native developer productivity at some of the largest companies in the world. She is author of two best-selling, award-winning books: Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps, which netted a Shingo Publication Award, and The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability & Security in Technology Organizations, now in its second edition. Her latest book, Frictionless: 7 Steps to Remove Barriers, Unlock Value, and Outpace Your Competition in the AI Era was recently released. She is best known for her work measuring the technology process and as the lead investigator on the largest DevOps studies to date. She has been an entrepreneur (with an exit to Google), professor, developer, sysadmin, and performance engineer. 

Nicole’s work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and conferences. Nicole earned her PhD in Management Information Systems and Masters in Accounting from the University of Arizona. She lives in the Southwest and recharges her brain with gym time, tacos, and Diet Coke.