Hi all,

After leaving town on Sunday late afternoon I arrive in Atlanta (yeah… it was not a hub for me… an actual destination!) and hopped on the MARTA (their train system) to one of the outward bound stations; I arrived around 9:00 PM. Spent the night in a decent Holiday Inn Express (non-smoking, thank you!) and got started at 7:00 AM to head to the training center via the hotel shuttle.

The first class this week was geared toward, “Agile Project Management” and about 14 people had signed up. We had 8 show up.

So.

Eight it would be.

This course talks a lot of Agile from a much different perspective than just “Scrum” — which of course I normally teach to certify new ScrumMasters.

It was a great two day course that I facilitated discussions about topics such as the origins of Agile, Agile Project Management basics, Lean and Agile, XP, Scrum, and a few other topics. As with most of the courses I teach, the feedback was great (OK… so the projector at this site sucked but I could do nothing about it turning black text into blue text).

One good story that came out of this that I feel like sharing includes a story from a company that is implementing XP (Extreme Programming... remember… the Agile Practice that actually talks about engineering practices — Scrum does not by design!). This is not a Fortune 50 company; instead, it is a company that is looking at revenue (religiously??!!) and had brought in Scrum.

What is happening in their shop?

Hmmm…. Something I did not expect.

See. The development team was/is using a modified version of Scrum and XP; and they are blowing away the quality standards that have been measured in the past (however that was).

And.

People starting seeing that the customer was astounded.

That’s a great thing, right?

Uh.

Not really.

Why?

Well…. the company using this modified version of Scrum and XP became so good at producing software without defects that….

… take a breath please….

…. the support team in operations had nothing to do.

The customers had nothing to report as not working.

Fabulous some people would think.

Including me!

But.

The majority of this organizations revenue comes from support and maintenance contracts.

Uh.

See the problem?

Do you?

Really?

And this was from bringing in Agile / Scrum / XP.

Interesting learnings.

I will cover our Richmond CSM class tomorrow.

It was awesome and I did some co-teaching with a non-CST (Certified Scrum Trainers) who should soon be a trainer. Tomorrow I will tell you more about co-teaching with another instructor and why I feel this is something everyone should try.

And try again.

And again.

Again.

I got home from Atlanta at about midnight so I could prepare the for the next days of classes — a CSM class in my home base of Richmond, Virginia. More on the tomorrow. Gotta keep you in some suspense. Or whatever we call that in geek-speak blog worlds.

Have an incredible Friday!

I will be putting in cabinets into the kitchen with my wife. For all those who have taken the course, I’d rate that a 20+ for story points (smile). Hope you understand that reference!

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!

Interested in becoming a Certified Scrum Master?
Come to my next workshop!

Hi.

Wow. I just did an informal count (and recount) of all the comic strips that have been posted on this site. This is comic strip #65 since we started with the initial comic series of the Chicken and Pig since September 11, 2006.

I was having a conversation with another “Scrum Person” last week over lunch and the topic of this site came up. He was surprised that this blog has been updated on such a consistent basis since we started the site. Turns out a lot of people in the industry thought this idea had no staying power. I met for dinner with an ex-CIO of a past client this evening (just got back and am writing this now!) who was surprised we only had 60-something cartoons up there… so…. information is taking off in all different directions about this site.

Back to my pundits…. [Still getting over the fact that I do have people out there that want me to fall flat on my face!]

“This is Scrum… how much can you really talk about this each week Mike?”

“Scrum is a simple framework. That’s it. Duh!”

And.

I agree.

It is.

A simple framework.

It is designed to be that way.

For a reason.

What makes this fun for me — and I hope for the people who read this on a regular basis — is the fact there is almost a never-ending product backlog of ideas for me to write about and Tony to illustrate new comic strips for us.

Huh?

Remember… Scrum deals with people. Not resources. People.

This is not a static topic that will go away. People will continually show me there is new material to write about in the context of Scrum.

And for that, I thank you sincerely.

In fact…. over the time we have been publishing this blog, it has grown in popularity (we consistently receive over a million hits per month) and some of the comic strips have been translated into over a dozen different languages.

What amazes me is that the comic strips (most of the times without the write-ups) are showing up in other Scrum Training presentations and being used selectively in team rooms and corporate presentations.

When I start seeing these posted in team rooms, seldom do people in the rooms realize I am the author of this site.

I ask, “Why do you post this (or these) comic strips?”

A consistent answer to me is, “They are great conversation starters with our outside stakeholders.”

“Oh, and they are funny and our team really relates to them.”

Wow.

Um.

When I started the vision for the site I originally thought I’d connect with an illustrator (it took me six months to find Tony) and start to see if we could push the envelope on some topics that a lot of people in the Scrum Community have been avoiding.

Or.

Should I say, “had” been avoiding.

Why do I say “had”?

I have seen that these comic strips and blog entries are now bringing out some very tough conversations about transparency or real-world issues between team members, product owners, ScrumMasters, and outside stakeholders.

Wow.

Bringing the fringe to the forefront.

In my case, one comic strip and/or blog entry at a time.

Do you see this happening in your team, organization, or enterprise today?

Has one — or more — of the comic strips help create some change that was really effective for your team?

What about thinking if one of the comic strips has been disruptive to your team?

I hope you do not agree with everything I write or Tony illustrates.

I do a lot of what I do to help people start thinking about the ordinary in an unordinary manner.

Is this happening for you?

If not… Why not?

Meanwhile, my plan is to keep cranking out new comic strips and blog entries no matter what my pundits are saying. I’ve never been one to follow the crowd. While it may not make me popular…. I stopped worrying about that sometime in high school and now think about how well I can sleep at night — and feel good about me. And not only about me (that sounds selfish in retrospective)…. but does this stuff add value to you (the person or group of people reading this blog and our comic strips)?

Is that a bad thing?

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!

Hi all.

Wow. Looks like next week will wind up a little different than I anticipated (smile).

Inspect and adapt. How so very agile of me!

I wanted to let you know I *just* got contracted to do a Certified ScrumMaster Workshop in Richmond, Virginia (my home town right now!). It will be on Wednesday and Thursday, January 30-31, 2008.

You can read more about the class (and others) at http://www.michaelvizdos.com/enroll.

I want to try something new here too… if you mention to me you saw this announcement on implementingscrum.com I will take off $100.00 from the price of the workshop… and group discounts are still available.

Please let me know if you have any questions and have a great day!

- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com

Interested in becoming a Certified Scrum Master?
Come to my next workshop!

I hope this posting challenges some of your current thinking. If it does, please share it with others in your organization. It can be a great conversation starter (like a lot of the postings on this site!). If it does not challenge your current thinking or beliefs… think about why that is so.

Ready?

There is a saying I’ve heard in the past that goes something like this:

“The farther away people get from the money, the less they live in reality.”

Think about this for a minute. I’ll wait (smile).

In most organizations I work with — no matter what the “size” — there always seems to be a divide (sometimes a chasm) between the “Business” versus the “IT” side of the house. This includes government clients and both for-profit and non-profit organizations.

Huh?

When people in the outside world hear about this “divide” in an organization, eyes glaze over when I try to explain this.

Really. They don’t care.

They are consumers.

They buy your product or service.

That’s all.

If you are a Developer (this includes all the various roles like architect, tester, coder, and other names like that) let me ask you a serious question:

“When was the last time you picked up an industry trade rag or read a “real” business magazine or newspaper?”

The trade rags exist for every business domain out there.

Really. I have worked in many industries and there is at least one specific to your business no matter what you do.

This is scary but true.

I am not talking about technical journals (well… keep reading those AND start looking at the business perspective).

I am also not talking about Playboy (although they do have great articles and cool gadget reviews).

Think about resources like The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, and others.

Why should Developers care about keeping in touch with what is happening in the business world?

Think about the statement I made above… About “Customers”…

“They don’t care. They are consumers. They buy your product or service.”

What does this mean?

Think.

Again.

Please.

Who are your Customers?

Most Developers I speak with about this answer, “The Business Side” of the organization (for example, Business Analysts or Sales or Support or some muckity-muck Vice President or other bigwig).

Uh.

No.

Your Customer in your organization is the person that pays for the ultimate product or service your organization sells.

What?

Think about something simple, like umm…. Sugar. As a product.

[Side note: I have actually worked with a major company that produces sugar and now know more than I need to know about what they actually do to make and deliver it!].

There is a ton of stuff (from an IT and Manufacturing perspective) that goes into getting that five pound bag of sweetness into your pantry at home.

The people (Customers) who use the sugar want it for something specific… to make things sweet.

Do they even care — or even think — about what went into getting that sugar there?

Here is an answer that is tough for IT and Business people to swallow, but I am going to say it.

Probably not.

I may even go as far to say, “They do not care.”

They paid for a five pound bag of sugar and moved on with their life.

When they need more, they will get it from a neighbor or go to the store and get more. They consume it.

And are willing to pay for it.

Wow.

This means your Customer is actually someone who has to part with their cash and put it into the organization bank account.

This is not…

… a budgetary or imaginary number.

… some mystical “divisional spend” you may receive.

… a VP or some higher up.

Think of it this way.

The customer could actually be YOU.

What if you looked at whatever you do to actually add value from the Customer perspective?

Would that change the way you work today (or tomorrow or the next day, week, or month)?

So.

Why am I harping on getting out there and doing some reading about what is happening in your industry — or the business world — in general?

Why do you think?

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!

Hi all,

I wanted to let you know some late-breaking news in case you — or someone you know — can use it.

I just got contracted to conduct an Agile Project Management Class in Atlanta, Georgia, this coming Monday and Tuesday (January 28-29, 2008). It is NOT a “CSM” class; however, it gives some great information about a lot of different techniques you can use in your toolbox of stuff for working in an Agile world. I posted details up on the Scrum Alliance site or you can view more at www.michaelvizdos.com.

See… even a Certified Scrum Trainer knows a hammer is not always the most elegant solution.

I have very limited seating still available. As an incentive for anyone who signs up and mentions this posting, I will give you a $100.00 discount (wahoo!). Just contact me directly please.

Thank you!

- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com

Hi all.

Wow. This evening I spent time with my son who is 7 years old (soon to be 8 as he reminds me) watching the, “Naked Brothers Band” on TV. For those of you who do not have kids or have not had the pleasure of watching this, well… let me remind you….

Sometimes… OK…. Almost always… It is important to spend time with your kids doing (or seeing) what they love. So tonight was a special night (and my 7 (soon to be eight) year old really appreciated me hanging with him).

The next posting will be tomorrow.

Yes. I have the cartoon (smile) and it is a good one.

For now… remember…. as I have to remind myself…

It is important to have a life. My kid (and he has a little brother) is a great artist too; he has been a guest artist on the site in the past.

Really.

Thank you and also remember the comic strip tomorrow is brand new and really applicable to Scrum.

And.

Your Business.

You know…. The thing that generates revenue to do what you do on a daily basis??!?!?

Right now, I need to read a story to my oldest kid. As he tries to go to sleep for the night.

Hope you have a great day (or evening, depending on where in the world you read this!).

Thank you!

- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com

Hi,

Let’s take a quick moment and talk about the business of running a blog. As with anyone using Scrum today, we have to remember that one of the key things we all have to be good at is “inspecting” and “adapting” to the markets out there.

For those of you Blogging today… PLEASE read this (and participate please!).

For those of you who are not Blogging today… PLEASE consider doing it (and participate please)!

If you know people who are Blogging today who may be interested in this… PLEASE send them to this link!

I get a lot of people asking me to link to their sites (or blogs) AND I ask a lot of people out there to also link to my site (www.implementingscrum.com) or blog (www.implementingscrum.com/blog). This method helps all of us in both the short and long term because, as you may (or may not) know, Google and other search engines like to see people cross-linking other relevant sites to your own site.

In addition to talking to other bloggers around the world, I stumbled upon a tool last month from a friend called “Blog Rush.” This can be seen on my pages in the right column located in a box entitled, “From the Blogosphere.” If you have a blog or site today and want to see if this tool can help increase traffic (in a month, I am seeing an increase!), please click on the following link (it is free and does not cost you anything):

If you want to try it out, please let me know you have enabled it on your blog and let’s see if we can get more blogs about “Scrum” and “Agile” in general out more into the mainstream computer media.

Now back to our normal blogging fun…. Let’s see if this thing helps all of us get better results for Scrum and Agile overall in the rankings out in cyberspace. I am trying to do my part to promote a tool that could quite possibly change the way our sites are viewed by people today!

Can we make that big of a change?

We’ll see! And let me know your thoughts.

Thank you

- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com

Interested in becoming a Certified Scrum Master?
Come to my next workshop!

Good day.

I am sorry I was unable to write about this topic further last evening. Life happens and I thank you for staying with us.

You know how some days you just know things will not come out sounding correct? Last night I had one of those feelings.

So. I stopped.

Until tonight.

Without further ado….

I am blogging about Social Networking Sites.

Now…. before you think you hear crickets singing in the trees from the dead silence you may think this topic deserves…. please hold on and let me explain. There is actually a reason for using Social Networking Sites when you are on Scrum Teams.

Can you think of some off the top of your head?

Seriously.

Think of the possibilities!

Got some? Write them down, as that list — I hope — will motivate you to sign-up or become more active in some of the sites I mention this evening.

Trust me. I know there are a ton of Social Networking sites out there (heck, I am working with a few clients who are developing their own portals for niche markets today!).

I’d like to talk about the main Social Networking sites I am using today, along with “why” I am using them, and for how long. Will it be an exhaustive list?

No.

Do they work for me?

Yes. In different ways.

And.

In an Agile fashion, if it is delivering the results you expect, maybe that is “good enough” for now.

Will these change in the future?

Of course.

So.

Here is a snapshot of a few “Social Networking Sites” I use today (along with my links to them) with the main reasons why I use them.

I use three main Social Networking Sites today.

They include the following:

1. Plaxo
2. LinkedIn
3. FaceBook
4. Twitter.

I use Plaxo to keep my address book on my computer and iPhone up-to-date.

Why is this important?

I see a lot of people move around quite a bit — both personally and from company-to-company. As people become members of Plaxo, it keeps me up-to-date. If I have a business relationship with a person who moves from Company A to Company B, at least I am aware of it. As people then move from Company B to Company X, I know about it and stay informed.

From a Business standpoint, I find this information valuable so I can keep in contact.

Or at least try.

Which brings me to the next one I use, LinkedIn. I have been a member of that service since the product was in Beta many years ago. My personal network has over 500 people (who I have worked with in the past!) and the way this works is to “link you” to other people’s connections — out to what they call “degrees.” From spending the time using this tool, I am approaching almost 4 MILLION other people I can actually contact through the connections my direct contacts with me have.

My link to this profile is just below on the button.

This has been a powerful tool for me at the business level both for introductions to others — and making connections for people that I know and trust. Also, this is a place where people can find out more about me at a professional level, and even feel free to leave (or read) comments from people I have worked with in the past. It is something that I also use when talking to new people I meet and may want to do business with.

At the personal level, I got pulled into 2008 with FaceBook. OK… so this is what I thought would be a totally “personal” kind of site. It turns out that a lot of my contacts from the two services listed above also use FaceBook… and I am learning more about them too.

My “profile information” can bee seen in the little signature thingee below.

Are there other Social Networking sites out there?

Yes.

Will I join them.

Maybe.

I do think as the “open standards” (where the different Social Networking Sites start “talking” to each other and “sharing” information) come about in this space, it will be a lot easier for people to become even more involved.

If they want.

I have personally not hopped on the Twitter bandwagon yet, since I really do not think people need to know everything I am doing every second of every day. Um. I don’t even want to remember that sometimes LOL.

OK. I am now on Twitter. Follow me! Man, how hip am I now!?!?!?

What does this all have to do with Scrum?

Remember.

Scrum deals with what?

People.

Not technology. There are plenty of other Agile Software Development techniques out there for that.

People.

People.

People.

Are you beginning to see how there may actually be a connection to these Social Networking sites and Scrum?

Do some thinking about it.

And get out there and do some personal and professional networking.

It is a small world.

Trust me. I travel it regularly (smile).

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!

Hi.

Wow.

Well…. reality has set it and Tony (the artist) delivered the cartoon on time (as usual). And, as usual, it is a great one (nothing but the best here!). Unfortunately for you, it will not be visible until my next posting.

I have been teaching a class today (and the rest of this week) and ugggg…. I am sorry to say the posting that I was going to deliver this evening (today) is going to have to wait until tomorrow. I am out of steam today and want to make sure what I deliver to you is of the best quality.

So…. tomorrow it is (smile).

Here is a preview….

Think about social networking.

And what it can mean for you personally.

And for your team.

And organization.

It can be pretty mind-blowing.

And.

I will cover it in my next posting!

Sorry for the delay. Thanks for understanding.

- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com

Hi all,

At the end of this month a friend of mine (another CST who I co-train with regularly) is hosting a public Certified ScrumMaster Course in Paris, France. The course will be conducted in French on January 28-29, 2008.

If you are interested in attending the course, please contact me and I will get you in contact with them.

Or if you contact them directly, please let them know you saw it on www.implementingscrum.com!

For a full list of my upcoming workshops and public speaking engagements, please visit www.michaelvizdos.com.

Thank you!

- mike