--- title: Intertec Blog | Rafael Alvarez description: An agilist at heart, Rafael Alvarez has more than twenty years of experience working in software that is critical to a company's operation in the fields of E-Commerce, Last Mile Logistics, Insurance, Home Mortgage, and K-12 E-Learning. Throughout his career, Rafael has filled the roles of System Developer, Development Leader, Project Manager, QA Manager, and System Architect. He has been working with Agile Methodologies (like Extreme Programming and Scrum) since 1999, and is currently one of the in-house trainers for Scrum Masters. --- [![Logo_web](https://blog.intertecintl.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo_web.png?width=1920&height=1080&name=Logo_web.png "Logo_web")](https://blog.intertecintl.com/) - [Why Nearshore?](https://www.intertecintl.com/why-nearshore) - [About Intertec](https://www.intertecintl.com/about) - [Blog](https://blog.intertecintl.com) - [Employment Verification](https://info.intertecintl.com/request-employee-information-from-human-resources) [![Contact Us](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/7230565/ee4af9bf-0c3c-411c-a65a-bf21cf958902.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/7230565/ee4af9bf-0c3c-411c-a65a-bf21cf958902) [![Intertec International](https://blog.intertecintl.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo_web.png?width=1920&height=1080&name=Logo_web.png "Intertec International")](https://blog.intertecintl.com/) - [Why Nearshore?](https://www.intertecintl.com/why-nearshore) - [About Intertec](https://www.intertecintl.com/about) - [Blog](https://blog.intertecintl.com) - [Employment Verification](https://info.intertecintl.com/request-employee-information-from-human-resources) [![Schedule A Meeting](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/7230565/bb88404d-87cd-4a9d-9ec6-63d42304ee0b.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/7230565/bb88404d-87cd-4a9d-9ec6-63d42304ee0b) # INTERTEC BLOG ## **Our Latest Content is on the FPT Blog** Feel free to browse our existing content below, however, if you're looking for the latest articles, we now post them to [FPT Software's blog page](https://blog.fpt-software.com/).  ![](https://blog.intertecintl.com/hubfs/Headshot%20B.jpg) ## Rafael Alvarez An agilist at heart, Rafael Alvarez has more than twenty years of experience working in software that is critical to a company's operation in the fields of E-Commerce, Last Mile Logistics, Insurance, Home Mortgage, and K-12 E-Learning. Throughout his career, Rafael has filled the roles of System Developer, Development Leader, Project Manager, QA Manager, and System Architect. He has been working with Agile Methodologies (like Extreme Programming and Scrum) since 1999, and is currently one of the in-house trainers for Scrum Masters. --- ## Posts by Rafael Alvarez [![](https://blog.intertecintl.com/hubfs/Stock%20images/Multiethnic%20group%20of%20happy%20business%20people%20working%20together%20in%20office.jpeg)](https://blog.intertecintl.com/how-to-improve-your-agile-user-stories) ## [How to Improve Your Agile User Stories](https://blog.intertecintl.com/how-to-improve-your-agile-user-stories) November 17, 2020 / by [Rafael Alvarez](https://blog.intertecintl.com/author/rafael-alvarez) posted in [Software Development](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/software-development), [Agile](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/agile) [0 Comments](https://blog.intertecintl.com/how-to-improve-your-agile-user-stories#comments-listing) User stories are a great way to keep your Agile team on the same page--but are you doing enough to make them specific, measurable, and unambiguous? [Read More](https://blog.intertecintl.com/how-to-improve-your-agile-user-stories) [![](https://blog.intertecintl.com/hubfs/Stock%20images/Businessman%20showing%20computer%20screen%20to%20coworkers%20in%20creative%20office.jpeg)](https://blog.intertecintl.com/what-are-the-characteristics-of-strong-agile-leadership) ## [What Are the Characteristics of Strong Agile Leadership?](https://blog.intertecintl.com/what-are-the-characteristics-of-strong-agile-leadership) September 1, 2020 / by [Rafael Alvarez](https://blog.intertecintl.com/author/rafael-alvarez) posted in [Software Development](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/software-development), [Agile](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/agile) [0 Comments](https://blog.intertecintl.com/what-are-the-characteristics-of-strong-agile-leadership#comments-listing) Agile software development actually requires strong leadership from an Agile Coach or CTO--but does this person always have to be in-house? [Read More](https://blog.intertecintl.com/what-are-the-characteristics-of-strong-agile-leadership) [![](https://blog.intertecintl.com/hubfs/Stock%20images/The%20Speed%20of%20Agility%20written%20on%20the%20road-1.jpeg)](https://blog.intertecintl.com/5-key-stats-about-agile) ## [5 Key Stats About Agile Software Development](https://blog.intertecintl.com/5-key-stats-about-agile) August 21, 2020 / by [Rafael Alvarez](https://blog.intertecintl.com/author/rafael-alvarez) posted in [Software Development](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/software-development), [Agile](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/agile) [0 Comments](https://blog.intertecintl.com/5-key-stats-about-agile#comments-listing) These key stats about Agile give a good sense of how well Agile methodologies can work in theory--and how challenging they can be in practice. [Read More](https://blog.intertecintl.com/5-key-stats-about-agile) [![](https://blog.intertecintl.com/hubfs/Stock%20images/Businessman%20working%20with%20a%20Cloud%20Computing%20diagram%20on%20the%20new%20computer%20interface.jpeg)](https://blog.intertecintl.com/how-to-ramp-up-your-devops-team) ## [How to Ramp Up Your DevOps Team](https://blog.intertecintl.com/how-to-ramp-up-your-devops-team) August 19, 2020 / by [Rafael Alvarez](https://blog.intertecintl.com/author/rafael-alvarez) posted in [Infrastructure](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/infrastructure), [Software Development](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/software-development) [0 Comments](https://blog.intertecintl.com/how-to-ramp-up-your-devops-team#comments-listing) DevOps is a key piece of the time-to-market puzzle--but how do you actually implement it without jeopardizing stability? [Read More](https://blog.intertecintl.com/how-to-ramp-up-your-devops-team) [![](https://blog.intertecintl.com/hubfs/Stock%20images/Computer%20keyboard%20and%20multiple%20social%20media%20images.jpeg)](https://blog.intertecintl.com/5-challenges-in-implementing-agile) ## [5 Challenges in Implementing Agile](https://blog.intertecintl.com/5-challenges-in-implementing-agile) August 13, 2020 / by [Rafael Alvarez](https://blog.intertecintl.com/author/rafael-alvarez) posted in [Software Development](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/software-development), [Agile](https://blog.intertecintl.com/topic/agile) [0 Comments](https://blog.intertecintl.com/5-challenges-in-implementing-agile#comments-listing) Agile Methodologies can be a game changer for delivering software--but only if you have a strong grasp of how Agile software development works. 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