Personal Value Stream Mapping
As a project manager, a scrum master, a team lead, or even as an agile coach I’ve wondered from time to time about the true value that I bring to a team. You see, to me it is entirely plausible that a...
View ArticleScrumalienation
I’ve been a certified scrum master for about 5 years now. I’ve learned a lot from the scrum community. There have been things that I liked and more than a few things that I had quiet reservations about...
View ArticleHow to Start a Science Fair
Tired of doing the same old tired demos? Maybe it’s time that you tried a science fair format instead. When we first adopted Agile, we had six teams that were all synchronized on the same sprint cycle....
View ArticleThe Fractal Beauty of Process
There is something about a well designed process that I find mesmerizing. It really doesn’t matter if it’s XP, Scrum, Lean, or Kanban the end result is the same: for some brief period I find myself...
View ArticleOn Product Ownership
Recently I’ve been dealing with disengaged product owners. You know the type: they don’t show up for the stand-ups, when they come to the standup meeting they don’t bring any stories and instead simply...
View ArticleDeveloping the Impediments Game – An Interlude
I know what you’re probably thinking by now: MORE on this silly game? Well, yes (I’m so embarrassed). You see, it just gets more interesting as I continue to play with it. Today I decided that I needed...
View ArticleDeveloping the Impediments Game – Part 4
So today was a day to make a few changes and take stock of where things are at. The first change I wanted to make was to double the length of the game from 20 spaces to 40: Changing the board like this...
View ArticleDeveloping Games Fosters an Experimental Mindset
So, for the past week or so, I’ve been developing the Impediments Game. You can see some of my efforts: interation 1, iteration 2, Interlude, and Iteration 3. Now I have no experience or expertise...
View ArticleValue Creation is a Dialog
Day two of trying to live the first principle of the 12 principles of the Agile Manifesto (“Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable...
View ArticleAgile Coaching and Training is a Scam
In the Agile world, coaches and trainers are distinctions that were created in order to create different ways of making money. They have no useful business purpose outside of filling the pockets of...
View ArticleCulture Club
Recently I’ve been challenged by the question, “Can you change culture?” I think this is pretty common for folks who work in large organizations. The question of culture and how it blocks...
View ArticleKilling the Buddha
“If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!” This is a popular saying derived from an old Zen koan. When it comes to working with Agile projects I find this saying very appropriate. People who do...
View ArticleRole != Job
When I talk to folks about Scrum, one of the points I make sure to cover is the holy trinity, the three basic roles in Scrum: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Team. I’m starting to think I must be...
View ArticleThe Grumpy Scrum Master
“Going against men, I have heard at times a deep harmony thrumming in the mixture, and when they ask me what I say I don’t know. It is not the only or the easiest way to come to the truth. It is one...
View ArticleSwarming Context
The application of Swarming as a method can be broken down into four main contexts. For each context the process of swarming is different. Allowing for different contexts makes sense, because we...
View ArticleThis is the Way Scrum Ends
This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper. - T.S. Eliot Did you ever wonder if this is the future of Scrum? Will it...
View ArticleKeeping It In the Family
I was asked the other day, “Do you use Scrum at home?” It’s not the first time that I’ve been asked this question. The honest answer is: no. Oh, I’ve used bits and pieces here and there. I’ve put...
View ArticleThe Agile Gymnasium
I used to be a weightlifter. All through college, and for much of my adult life I have been in gyms exercising in one form or another. I’ve had some modest success. The experience of joining a gym...
View ArticlePainting The Spots
If you do a little reading about Scrum one of the first things that you learn are the 5 basic values of Scrum: CourageFocusRespectCommittmentOpenness I’d like to examine one of those values that I...
View ArticleTime Machine
OK, Mr. Peabody, where are we going today? Well Sherman, Any time I explain what Scrum or XP is, I start with time boxes. The time box method has been around a really long time. The earliest record I...
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