Hi all,
Just wanted to let you know that my mac is up and running again [phew] and that I am working on integrating the new blogging platform into the overall look and feel of the site — so please be understanding if a page does not load correctly or you get an error of some type from the site.
One of the cool new features of the site now is that you can leave comments to any of the postings from here forward. I have decided not to import the “old” blog entries into this new system for a few reasons — the main one being that I do not want to flood you with “old” entries if things go wrong. The old entries will stay as they were and it should really look seamless to you [soon].
Thanks for sticking with me through this change and PLEASE let me know if you have any ideas to make this site more helpful to you on a regular basis.
Thank you,
- mike vizdos
This week I am focusing on the newly minted ScrumMaster.
This person has just completed a CSM Class and now has the audacious title of “Certified ScrumMaster.”
Gulp.
The pressure is on, or so it seems.
Or.
Is it?
One of the first things I remind people is the class is not set up to impart enough knowledge to be an effective ScrumMaster on day one.
Read that last sentence again.
You have learned enough to know the basic vocabulary and some of the many issues that you will be facing as you start working in this new role (including things like organizational change, what does “done” mean, and how to help people give and receive effective feedback).
You have been taught enough to cover the requirements of Ken Schwaber, which all Certified Scrum Trainers need to follow.
You know about the secret handshake (which I talk about but would never make them actually do — I listen to feedback then inspect and adapt… hmmm… how agile (smile)).
You can read more about the Certified ScrumMaster course here.
It is important not to fool yourself — or others — about what this certificate means. And, as much as people in other areas of “Agile” stuff complain about the certification and its name…. remember…. this has opened your eyes to possibly a very new world.
In fact, this is just the beginning of a very long journey.
For those willing to take it.
And guess what?
Most are not willing. They will take their certificate, hang it on their cube walls, update their resume, and post it on monster and other places. Some maybe will even go and make sure they get their credits with the PDU’s from the course.
But.
And I do mean BUT.
Do not kid yourself into thinking you can take on the world.
Reality will hit you sooner or later.
I have been doing work in “official” agile land (whatever that is…. for me it is when the light bulb went on for me that this DOES work) for almost 6 years out of an 18 year career in software development.
And.
I learn something new every day.
Seriously.
And.
That is the attitude I encourage a newly minted Certified ScrumMaster to take.
The rest of this posting is for those who “get it” — or are interested — or think they do.
The rest of you, go back to arguing the nuances of the agile practices or stay doing what you have done in the past.
You know… there are people that say, “This can never work in reality.” My response to them is, “In your reality.”
Heh.
OK… I just may actually think that.
This takes courage.
And there are a lot of people who will try to knock you down.
Learn from them.
And.
Learn from the community around you.
Get involved in the MANY yahoo groups out there. The Scrum Alliance (which does not endorse this site!) is also a good place to go. Heck, I have an unmoderated forum on this site which is pretty active. And a great search function on this site. For the bigger picture on all things agile, check out the Agile Alliance website.
Start learning about engineering practices. Remember… Scrum does not address them. This does not mean you can stick your head in the sand and forget about them. Look at my posting on this here.
Start learning about other agile practices.
There are many.
And.
Keep learning.
As people attack you for being called a, “Certified ScrumMaster” after only taking a two day course and paying your fee, remind them that this has helped elevate and promote all the other agile techniques out there (including XP, Agile Modeling, TDD, FDD, and other of the agile alphabet soup names). If the term “Certified ScrumMaster” bugs you or others….call yourself a Scrum Facilitator or Yellow Bearded Dragon or a Miniature Schnauzer (Luke and Leia)).
[tangent on]
Sorry… the last comment was from a recent posting from a list that said dogs could be certified. This was written by Scott Ambler (one of my mentors) who has recently been blasting the agile community about what he considers the absurdity of calling people a “Certified ScrumMaster” after only two days of sitting in a training class. Thus the thing at the end of the last paragraph to his two little doggies. Scott is a great guy by the way and I have learned much from him and others in the agile community!
[tangent off]
Still with me?
Still interested in Agile?
Still interested in Scrum and where it can take you?
Learn.
Stay positive.
And keep your sense of humor.
You can also enter The Scrum Community to discuss this entry and other Scrum topics. Thank you!
August 28, 2007
I want to take a quick opportunity to say a sincere apology for skipping a week of a new comic strip and blog entry. Excuses aside, my machine died and well…. live and learn. Inspect and adapt.
So you see a “new” look and feel the the blog entry today. Once my machine gets back from the shop, the blog will be fully integrated into the “real” site — for now, stick with me and realize this has to be “good enough” for now. At least I can communicate information with you!
I do not know if you have noticed, but the past entries in the blog have focused a lot on the word “and” instead of “but.”
Think how easy it is to always say, “Yeah… but….”.
Heck, I did it in the sentence above the last one and people probably did not even notice it.
Wow.
Old habits can be hard to break.
So.
Remember that Scrum has to do with the, “Art of the Possible.” Ken and others always remind us that we should continually look for something called “positive intent” in all interactions we have.
This is hard to do.
In business.
And.
In life in general.
This is something I must continually work on.
Daily.
Or even every hour or minute (smile).
One of the exercises I do in the ScrumMaster Workshop to help people always look for positive intent is something like the following:
“Let’s plan a party for after the session tonight.”
I need two volunteers.
One person starts the plan with an idea.
The other person then says “Yes, but….” (negative stuff)This continues and people struggle for a while.
Then.
We switch to…
One person starts the plan with an idea.
The other person then says “Yes, and….” (Build on it kind of stuff)
This continues and people actually get excited.Of course, the exercise can (and usually does) go off into wild directions.
But.
Oops. I mean…And.
It gives people a point of reference to NOT say “but” anymore.
And then I usually get called on saying “Yes, but” if I slip up in the rest of class.
This is something you can try with your Scrum Teams — either in a retrospective or some other point in time.
It may seem silly.
It works though.
You can also enter The Scrum Community to discuss this entry and other Scrum topics. Thank you!
August 21, 2007
I have been receiving a lot of requests from people asking if they can print tee-shirts or mugs (or whatever) for use either internally at their company or for sale. At this time, it is strictly prohibited to use the cartoons or characters for anything that is of commercial interest (read: makes you money off our brand!).
We have a LOT of comic strips (I think we are are approaching 50!) and of course our characters. At this point, all the artwork on the site is “optimized” for the web viewing (meaning if you try to print them they are not “book” quality). This will take time to do.
So.
Instead of me rushing to convert all the artwork and creating a lot of products and an online store (bla bla bla)… I figured I’d ask YOU and see if there is any interest in merchandise for you and your teams. Am thinking T-Shirts, Mugs, and whatever cool stuff you can think of doing.
That’s where YOU come in.
Please let me know if there is any interest in merchandise from the site.
It is not a commitment to order, but rather actually me talking to my customers before trying to deliver something. Wow. How Agile :).
If you can, please take a few moments and send me your thoughts.
I’d really appreciate the feedback!
And also don’t forget to tell your teams and friends about the site (thank you).
Gotta run….
Please send comments, questions, criticisms, ideas, or whatever here.
You can also enter The Forum to discuss this entry and other Scrum topics. Thank you!
August 9, 2007
His September column “Agile on a Fixed Budget” is now posted here.
——
From Scott Ambler:
The article was originally motivated by the “How do I do Agile on a fixed price/estimate project” questions that I invariably get when working with clients or internal development teams. So I decided to take it one step further and address the question “How do I do Agile when one or more of the cost, schedule, or scope is fixed up front?”
The column first summarizes strategies for what you would do when each of these factors is allowed to vary so that you understand what trade-offs you’re making.
Then it describes what I consider to be your best approach remaining to you for each combination of constraining the three factors.
The main point of the article is that although it isn’t ideal to have one or more of these factors constrained, you can still take an Agile approach even when such constraints exist.
——
Hope it is helpful for you!
Gotta run….
Please send comments, questions, criticisms, ideas, or whatever here.
You can also enter The Forum to discuss this entry and other Scrum topics. Thank you!
August 8, 2007
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