This week Tony and I are finally reintroducing the weekly cartoon blogs after a bit of a hiatus. Sorry for the long wait; however, you should start seeing these on a weekly basis once again! I am going to try to take a different tact going forward — let’s see how it goes. I am going to present YOU with a scenario. And I want YOU to add comments as to how you would handle the scenario using Scrum. I will add comments to your comments to get a conversation going. Make sense?
If you have any ideas please contact me and we can talk about exploring them via a comic strip or even you writing a guest blog entry!
Here is the scenario:
You are running a Scrum Team in an organization that contains a large contingent of Waterfall Projects and surviving somehow in a command-and-control environment.
Maybe you even have multiple teams running at this point.
You are following the “Combo Approach” of rolling this out, and you have support of the team and a person at the highest level within the organization, so that when impediments are hit they can be cleared if you ask.
All of the sudden, there is a reorganization.
The Chickens have moved around.
Your Scrum Team inherits some very new Chickens with little experience using Scrum and are pretty tight when it comes to command-and-control management styles.
One of the new Chickens walks into the Scrum Team room and asks for status reports to start up again. In writing using the template this Chicken has always used to get control of projects.
Starting today.
You look at this Chicken in amazement.
You ask, “Why?”
This project seems to be out of control in the view of this Chicken.
“We also need to start having daily one hour status meetings from everyone in this group… Fifteen minutes is not enough. I (The Chicken) will run the meeting and set the agenda. It may have to be two times a day.”
The Chicken wants a “all hands” meeting at the end of the day today for a few hours.
The Chicken is thinking about instituting mandatory sixty hour work weeks.
The words “Microsoft Project” are thrown around.
The Chicken also wants to put the teams back into offices because their stature in the company is high — the team members have all been with the company for a long time and want their own offices back (according to the Chicken).
The Chicken wants to have an all day post moderm to determine the root cause of the problems with this team because the boss of the Chicken wants the Chicken to be in charge.
So,
What do YOU do?
- As a Team Member?
- As a ScrumMaster?
- As a Product Owner?
- As “The Chicken”?
Comment on your responses.
Let’s get the conversation going!
Welcome back to yet another week at www.implementingscrum.com.
Thanks as usual for coming back this week and helping me spread the word about this site.
If you have some time today, please tell three or four of your friends about it, and let’s see if even more people can have fun with us.
Ask them to subscribe. Please. There are opportunities all over the site (please let me know if it is confusing in any way!). In fact, you can forward them this note and have them Subscribe to Implementing Scrum via Email!
Now… about “Fun.”
Yeah, I know, I know… we do serious work in the real world Mike….
I know.
I live it, as I hope you can tell.
So last week I wrote a few segments about Fantasy Island, and I really loved that comic strip.
One of the things listed was, “You may be on Fantasy Island” if you play Planning Poker without your Product Owner.
For a quick overview on an introduction to Planning Poker, please see this posting.
And come back! I am not going anywhere.
You back?
See. I told you I’d still be here. I am persistent that way (get it geeks of the world?!?! HA??? Ug… nevermind lol).
OK.
Ug.
WARNING: IF you have a very sensitive sense of humor (or none at all)… PLEASE STOP READING THIS POSTING.
My title tonight varied from, “How Planning Poker is like Unprotected Sex” to the one you see you actually displayed.
Guess it is at least a little more politically correct.
SO.
Um.
How can Planning Poker look like a one night stand?
Let me see if that can be answered sufficiently….
1) When you leave a Product Owner out of the process, you are at risk of waking up the next morning wanting to gnaw your left arm off. Clear?
OK.
Next one.
2) A Product Backlog does not have to be something that the Scrum Gods (aka Mr. Schwaber or others) think is perfect. Here is a fair question for you…. “Does it meet the needs of your customer?” If yes, all is good. If no, hire me (smile). Um. Dunno what that has to do with a one night stand (sorry).
3) Scrum Planning Poker without a Product Owner lands you in Fantasy Island. And. You cannot get off. Much like drinking and partying which can lead to the one night stand. You know, cannot get off the Island. And… never get to “Done.”
4) You cannot do any type of real release planning. Just like a one night stand, you may wind up with something you will have to live with for the rest of your life in about 10 months with not a clue it was coming (see my “Making Babies” post). Well, you saw it building and growing, but you have no idea what you are in for.
5) Hmmm…. I think the number one reason was the best (lol). Let me think. Oh…. this thing called “Group Think” may take place where everyone makes ASSumptions about the other. Can lead to going back to #1 in this list (smile).
6) Having a Product Owner there is like wearing a…. hmmm… do I dare say it? Nope. Use your imagination if you can. And. If it is missing it may feel fine but your team can wind up catching something that is hard to get rid of - or even cause your team to die.
7) And I guess my final word of advice… If you find yourself out during that “last call” and someone has that “five beer” look… GO HOME ALONE. This can be paralleled to playing Planning Poker without a Product Owner. If the Product Owner is not there… CANCEL THE MEETING.
Wow.
Was that the most inuendo-filled-posting I have ever posted? I think the most inuendo-filled-COMIC-STRIP was the one on CSM Training. Strange how that is the most downloaded comic strip on the site (smile).
Hehe… It was a little fun.
Now… back to the work thing.
And remember your PRODUCT OWNER!
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Gotta run! Please send comments, questions, criticisms, ideas, or whatever here.
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June 3, 2008
Welcome back to yet another week at www.implementingscrum.com.
OK.
So what was I talking about a few nights ago with the cartoon posting above?
It really truly is not politically correct.
In no sense of any being.
But.
It is HIlarious to me.
Because it can help me make a point.
Actually tonight, eight points.
Eight Points.
Just for you.
How is that for a Thursday night or Friday morning?
Hmm.
Think about it this way.
You are arriving on “Fantasy Island” if you think…
1) You can stock the Product Backlog without a Product Owner present during Planning Poker
2) The definition of “Done” is not important to anyone
3) BurnDown Charts are useless, actually more useless of tracking tasks
4) The CSM Workshop is a waste of your time
5) You can pronounce the last name for
Ricardo
(c’mon Fantasy Island Buffs (or OK… is there even a “buff” reading this?))
6) Documentation is not needed on any agile projects
You can get a date with the “Hot” ScrumMaster replacement (smile) or Jessica Alba or with some hot babe with her Bottom Up.
9) This cartoon is about SCUBA Diving [strangely enough this is one of the most downloaded cartoon on this site)
…. OK.
Enough for now.
Man.
I can go on for a while.
But I think you get the picture.
What have I missed?
Now….
Do you see where you can spend a lot of time on Fantasy Island?
Do you want to leave it?
Really?
Why?
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!
May 29, 2008
Welcome back to yet another week at www.implementingscrum.com.
OK.
This week may be the week that actually dates people reading this blog.
Tattoo. Not Toto.
Scary.
But true.
Admittedly I have had grey hair for a while (that is one of the reasons I keep it short short lol) and I know I am one of those people “in between” on the high and low-age readership of this group. Next year will be 20 years in the industry for me, so I do have some real life experience. And for you, a lot of this life is lived working with clients on Scrum Projects around the world.
And.
This may be one of my favorite cartoons Tony has done to date. This has been one that has been brewing and talked about for over a year with clients and class participants.
And as usual, Tony nailed it (got it right for the non-Americans — this is a good thing (smile)).
Maybe for tonight I just leave you with the cartoon.
An give you a little more about it as the week progresses.
I am on the road.
And wow do I have some ideas and opinions on this one.
See where this one cartoon strip can lead you?
First… see if you get the context of it!
Here is the cheater link if you have no clue (and THAT is OK!).
Please read part two here
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!
May 27, 2008
Welcome back to yet another week at www.implementingscrum.com.
Wahoo. We made it another week and did not wind up six feet under or having our ashes spread in some remote location of the world. In other words… yipee… we all made it another week to see another great cartoon and continue learning.
OK… so the title of this one is a little twisted. OK. A lot twisted. I guess I should have named it “The ScrumMaster Guide to Picking Up Filing Cabinets” but then who would really want to read about that?
This week I am writing about something that all people playing the role of ScrumMaster must be aware of.
Actually, I’d consider it important for the ScrumMaster on a team to help show the Team Members and Product Owner — through example — what to do when you are in over your head and really need help.
How many times have you been in a situation where you felt like you had to “wing it” or “fake” an answer?
We have learned that as a Product Owner, that can have dire consequences for the team.
Instead of “faking it” or “winging it” or “making up an answer” the Product Owner should feel safe enough to say to the team, “I do not know, but I will find out and get back to you in the agreed upon time.”
And then do that.
Guess what following through on promises helps build?
Trust.
Really.
The agreed upon time should be something that is ummm…. agreed upon by the team — maybe as one of the team norms that are posted on the wall of your team room.
You have those, don’t you?
Right next to the Burndown Chart and team Definition of Done, right (smile)?
So what can the ScrumMaster do to help show the team that they do not know everything (really… we do not!) and sometimes we need to bring in outside help.
Think about Retrospectives.
And.
What if the ScrumMaster is part of the problem in the current system?
You know the answer.
Get help.
Really.
Ask someone else to facilitate the Retrospective.
I have written about this in the past, but have been recently reminded how important this is for all roles of the Scrum Team.
Wow.
Something as simple as asking for help.
That simple.
But.
It does not get performed enough.
As a ScrumMaster, how can you make some simple changes on a daily basis to show the team how to become the best they possibly can?
Remember that the implementation of Scrum should sometimes be taken in small baby steps.
Which small baby step can you take today?
Please share them with us in the comments or on the forum.
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!
April 1, 2008
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