Hi everyone,
I received some feedback today that the second picture that Mark included in his posting yesterday was not showing up in some browsers.
Guess I was a little distracted last night, as the pilot was landing my plane over the Potomac River last night had to take a sharp bank to the right and I watched as the wing (which I was sitting over) actually graze the water and make waves. Yikes. Guess it is better to make waves then crash and burn into another airplane on the runway. Hmmm… Almost as profound as the posting from Mark last night (smile).
Aneeeeway… I updated his original posting this evening with a JPG version of the file; please let me know if that has fixed the problem for you.
For me, I am in a place that is freezing and am seeing that there will be some really cold white stuff headed here this weekend. At least (I hope) I am on the first flight out on Thursday morning (and back here Sunday night) so I will hopefully miss the mess.
Thanks for continuing to read and respond to these blog entries. I hope you are receiving some real value from what you read here.
- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com
Some of you may be familiar with the term, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas….”
Well, tonight I am introducing a new guest writer to the blog, a guy I have worked with for almost the past three years on some major enterprise rollouts of Scrum and co-train with him on a pretty regular basis. His name is Mark Pushinsky and this “enlightenment” came to him a few years ago and we have been waiting on how to actually introduce this to the Scrum Community.
So… without further ado… here is his write-up on the topic (and thanks to Tony as usual for the cartoon!).
I may add something to it later this week (smile).
=================
I was on my way back from Vegas sitting on a plane, with a massive hangover…….and this thought occurred to me.
I know they say that, �What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas� but this occurred to me on the plane ride home and I am pretty sure we cleared Nevada airspace before it did so I feel compelled to share it.
Do you know about the �Cone of Uncertainty�? It is a phenomena that people in software use to describe the fact that when you start a project you have no idea when you�ll finish.
The longer the project goes and the closer you get to finishing the better/more accurate your estimate. Basically you are pretty sure your going to finish it the day before its done.
We have been trying to make it go away in software for many years. Fancy new estimation techniques, months and months of analysis, and brute force have not materially changed the fact that software projects are unpredictable!
Period!
Managers having been trying for decades to make it disappear/pretend it doesn�t exist/figure out how to make it turn from a cone into a cylinder.
Yet time and time again the uncertainty in projects remains.
The epiphany that occurred to me is that Agile or Scrum flips it around. This means that if you ask me what I can deliver in the next 2-4 weeks I am pretty accurate, if you ask me what I am going to deliver 3 months from now I have some uncertainty, but I can give you a reasonable guess, and if you ask me what I can deliver 6 months from now I have no idea…….
When we teach Estimation and Planning in class, we make a point of saying that Agile does not make the �Cone� disappear.
Nothing will!
We use light weight, proven techniques to make our best guess at long term plans.
We don�t pretend to know the end…….in fact we are pretty sure it will change……and we commit to be back in 2-4 weeks to tell you how its changed.
Then we focus on short term commitments, doing the right things, executing well, and delivering real business value.
I have found that after a couple of iterations of working that way we get customers focused more on prioritization, the next release, and getting impediments removed.
They begin to worry less about when the whole thing will be done.
I think the best way to end a project is to stop working on it before all of �The Requirements� have been implemented.
The 80/20 rule, right?
=================
So there goes.
Mark is an awesome person, trainer, and mentor by the way…. While our opinions do not match 100% I love the opportunity to provide an outlet for different opinions and thoughts (even if we are competitors and collaborators in the marketplace).
Let me know if you are interested in contributing in the future!
Gotta run!.Please send comments, questions, criticisms, ideas, or whatever here.
You can also enter The Scrum Community to discuss this entry and other Scrum topics. Thank you!
February 18, 2008
Hi all.
Well, I finally had the idea to try and see if posting any information or videos on YouTube.com would help us spread the word more about Scrum.
So, tonight I had my almost-eight-year-old son (Dominic) and I record a very low-tech version of the cartoon using some audio files and the “original” Chicken an Pig cartoon. Right now, it is mainly a test.
My son and I are willing to post a version of the cartoons with commentary by myself and him on an ongoing basis.
Is this worth our time? My son loves doing this and I think this can add some very new perspectives on Scrum and all we do.
Thoughts?
I’d love to hear your feedback. Please spread the word.
Here is the link to the video:
Thank you!
- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com
Hi all,
Some of the most frequently commented posts I write here have to do with what I, as Michael Vizdos [consultant, author, and all around good guy most of the time], go through as a life of a consultant.
So tonight I am going to tell you how a totally crappy day turned into a great ending of the day.
Now.
People who do not travel for a living think people who travel for a living live high on the hog and can go anyplace in the world they want.
In a lot of cases, that is true.
Sometimes it take you to far-away lands like Kyiv and Moscow or Budapest.
And, as you may be able to tell, I enjoy flying to far away lands with different cultures, food, people, and things to do.
Today, my plan was much easier. Hop onto a plan from Richmond, Virginia (my home base) and fly to the north east to meet with a client. I’d be wheels-up by 6:30 AM and arrive at the client location by 9:45 AM for the day’s work.
Alas, this did not happen.
Too bad nobody can control the weather. At least the people working at the Richmond Airport; of course if someone could control weather they probably would not be working at the airport.
After closing the airport up until about noon because of fog (wow I have some awesome pics), planes were able to start coming in and flying out. A total mess does not describe the situation. And where I was headed TO had even worse weather than where I was stuck in Richmond.
Fun stuff, eh?
Now, I have near-Platinum status with Delta. This means I fly way too much with Delta. Period.
Today’s flight was on US Air, one where I have a ton of mileage but no real “clout” like the other airline clubs. Pretty much I am a regular joe. You know… like you and our friends. Nothing special.
So. After being really nice with the ground crew there in Richmond — with one women training two new agents in their first week of work — they took care of me and did the best they could. They rocked and did an awesome job in a totally non-fun situation; it was one of the worse days I can imagine to be working in that industry.
Big tip for people who do not travel a lot and want to blow someone’s brains off if they get mad at the customer experience: Don’t do it. Nice works. Almost 100% of the time.
You CAN go off on the agent if that agent treats you with total disrespect and tells you to take long walk off a short pier. See… then… you should and do get their badge numbers and write a letter to the airlines. People take that seriously.
Today I messed up (I was so happy to get out of Richmond!) and did not get the gate agents name; however, after this is posted I will send this blog entry to the folks at US Air to let them know they got it right today.
Kudos.
So instead of landing where I needed to be at 9:45 this morning, it was almost 6:30 this evening.
I got here.
And.
I am happy.
I was able to meet with a core team of people I will be working with on a possible project engagement. It was some great meet and greet time to see where we are all coming from (with perspectives, beer drinking ability (or lack there-of)) and learning a little more about our personal and professional backgrounds.
Tomorrow morning will start early with an executive at the client company.
Game face on.
Filters Off.
This is what I do.
Hope this little glimpse into the realities of the life of a consultant was educational and interesting to you.
I’d really not change what I do.
But.
It is not for everyone!
Have a great day.
- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com
Hi all.
Today I’d like to issue you a challenge and follow-through tasks.
The “winners” get bragging rights.
Huh?
OK.
As you may (or may not know) there are a few regular characters in our comic strips. Each of the characters can be found by, “Meeting the Cast.”
Here is what I’d like you to do for me today — if not sooner.
Please.
Head on over to that page and read about what our characters are fleshing out to be (as “real” characters if we can take it that far).
People — it is OK if you do not understand what a “persona” is right now; basically, we want to have a little fun and see what the characters actually “look like” when they are not working in our comic strips. When they leave the office, what do they do? What are their hobbies? What are their dark secrets? Where do they vacation?
Those sort of questions should be addressed based on what we have already written about them today.
Or… if you totally disagree with what we have come up with — give us a better one!
Good or bad idea?
Who knows.
It will be a little fun. All rights remain ours to use in the future (although we will let people know who added what!).
And.
There will probably be a point to this little exercise.
Feel free to write me off-line or via the comment section underneath the original blog entry (or this one… I can be flexible).
Have fun.
Make it a team exercise.
See where it leads.
And get it done this week!
Thank you.
- mike vizdos
www.implementingscrum.com
www.michaelvizdos.com
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