Implementing Scrum » Tool Usage

Let’s Chat about Scrum – Open Mic – Round #2

mvizdos — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:59:17 +0000

Hi all.

The chat test today during the two hour-long sessions was a success.

I learned many things, and, as all things we do with Scrum the next iteration will be even better.

I can go into the retrospective we had — but suffice it to say that there were enough in the “cons” section (versus “pro”) for trying another tool.

So.

From 13:00 – 14:00 EST (GMT-4), Friday, June 12, 2009, we will test a new page (it is located at www.implementingscrum.com/chat). And a new chat system. Feel free to go in and take a look at it ahead of time; however, I will plan on being there for an hour in the afternoon to discuss a Product Backlog for the ImplementingScrum site.

As a stakeholder, I’d really appreciate like your input.

Tony is back from a short vacation and we will have yet another comic strip out early next week.

And.

I’ll make an announcement on Friday night that will put another service “live” on this site. And yes, as usual, it is still all free. I do love what I do for a living, and thank all my clients (and future clients) for the work I get so that I can give back to the community through initiatives like this site, www.implementingscrum.com.

And hey… if you are not following me on Twitter yet… do so on the right side of the screen in the sidebar. It is 2009 and there is so much GREAT stuff on that system about agile and scrum. Stuff you should not miss! Including real-time announcements that I do not make via the blog entry or e-mail (it is usually THAT time sensitive!).

I hope to see you online to discuss the Product Backlog for the site at 13:00 EST (GMT-4) at the following address: www.implementingscrum.com/chat.

Thank you.

- mike vizdos

“Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K” –> Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

mvizdos — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:41:18 +0000

Hi all.

Well I have done quite a bit of traveling around this great planet of ours, and a lot of time spent in the clouds (thinking of course while I fly to destinations afar).

So, tomorrow you are going to see something that I did not think I’d ever see.

We’ll start with the cartoon and try to turn a story around it related to Scrum — something you all know I am good at doing.

And the next night I will send you the inspiration for the cartoon this week.

Wow.

Inspirational?

I hope so LOL.

Thank you,

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

Social Networking and Scrum. Is there ANY Connection in Reality?

mvizdos — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:44:12 +0000

In French

Welcome back to a new day at www.implementingscrum.com.
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:

Plaxo
LinkedIn
FaceBook
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.

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 Scrum Community to discuss this entry and other Scrum topics. Thank you!

Originally Published:
January 15, 2008

Crack Cocaine. First Scrum is FREE!

mvizdos — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 02:18:24 +0000

Welcome back to a new week at www.implementingscrum.com.The topic for this week is regarding the use of software tools on a Scrum team.I am going to write about some of the commercial and open source tools that are available today. In addition, I will continue my public stance that these tools should not be used by a Scrum team — and give you evidence from real-world experiences about what I continue to take this hard-line stance.

Feel free to ignore me (as usual!). This is just my opinion. Like the rest of this site (smile).

[Full Disclosure ON]

I am not affiliated with any of the tool vendors mentioned in this blog entry. I have used some of the tools at various client sites and have worked with demos from some of the companies. I am not receiving any financial gain (or loss) from the companies mentioned. I know the main people at each of the companies and have spoken with them in the past about tool usage for agile and Scrum teams. They are nice people (smile).

[Full Disclosure OFF]

The “Software” Scrum tools out there include Version One (versionone.com), Rally Software (http://rallysoftwaredevelopment.com), Scrumworks Pro(http:/danube.com/scrumworks/pro) as commercial products.

There are more. And there are write-ups about the different tools (for example, “Fear and Loathing (http://weblogs.asp.net/bsimser/archive/2006/10/21/Scrum-Tools-Roundup.aspx or Dave Froslie – Microsoft Development on the Prairie http://blogs.msdn.com/dave_froslie/archive/2005/12/15/504251.aspx)

Open Source tools include XPlanner (http://xplanner.org/) and others that pop up on a regular basis (for instance, I heard about a new tool just last week called Project Dune (http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=671252).

There is always Microsoft Excel for the die-hard MS fans.

Microsoft Project is one tool I would not even consider using on a Scrum Team.

So, those are the “Software” tools that are available today.

Are there more?

Sure.

Will there be more in the future?

Of course. Geeks like to create tools. And marketing folks like to sell seats (licenses) for them.

“So Mike,” you may be asking me at this point, “Clearly the market has shown a need for these software tools, and people are buying them (or at least trying their demos!). You must be smoking something if you think software tools provide zero value to Scrum teams.”

First, I am not smoking anything. Or snorting. Or injecting. Or swallowing. Gulp.

The software tool mainly provides value to the software vendor. Remember, their goal is to sell “seats” or “follow-on” consulting services. Heh… remembering also that this statement comes from a consultant (who does not sell software tools).

And, wow, I work with teams that actually use these software tools; some clients even go as far as growing their own internal versions (so they can print cards nicely or bla bla bla).

Congratulations.

And what value does that bring to your team?

Think about this.

And then…

Here are some conversations I start hearing when software tools start getting involved / used on Scrum teams:

“Please make sure you update tool X so that we can report our burndown to [someone who is not even in the room].”

“Holy Shit. Our tool is down. What do we DO now?” [mad scramble ensues]

“I love this tool. It keeps me from having to be in the room all the time…..”

“I love this tool. I do not have to talk to anyone about what I am working on anymore. I can just enter my tasks and user stories in and just worry about the stuff I am working on.”

“Look at these cool graphs.”

“Wow. Our estimated time for a task was off my 37.5%, how do we ‘fix’ that delta so we don’t get dinged for giving bad estimates.”

“Oh, we do not have a bundown because our software tool admin is out of the country for a few weeks. And we do not show task cards or user stories anymore.”

And… I could continue for hours (really… and this makes me sad… barfy sad sigh).

I discourage the use of tools at any point in the project, but teams almost always want to use them . Geeks.

Are you seeing where this can have a reallllllllllly negative impact on the team and how the team works together?

The scary thing is, when teams get started using tools, it can be perceived as crack cocaine.

The first one is “free” (demo).

Then… The tool starts taking grip on the team. And starts growing to other teams within the organization.

Hmmm… now internal compliance people (at an enterprise level, these people say what applications “can” and “cannot” run on your machine) get wind of it.

Bad things start to happen.

So an internal software tool starts getting developed. This takes resources — or usually one poor schmoe who winds up doing it off the side-of-desk — away from the main goal of the team.

The compliance people may get involved again because hey, you are running some internal tool that is not supported by the enterprise and gulp, you are running it using a non-standard database (i.e. Microsoft Access etc.).

And then, and this is the really scary part, Chickens get this great idea that they can start comparing team velocities and setting up a control center or dashboard of some type to magically report what is happening in their kingdom. [Bad idea — here is why.

Throughout all of this, the comments I made above — REAL comments I have heard from teams using software tools — take place and start eroding the real purpose of why a team started using Scrum in the first place.

“So Mike,” you may be thinking. “What are the alternatives?”

My advice.

Keep it simple.

Really.

The alternatives include index cards, some markers, large post-it notes, and whiteboards.

I know, whiteboards can sometimes be harder to get than ordering new software for the team. Do not use that as an excuse to start using software tools.

And yes, whiteboards can get erased. It’s OK. Life goes on. And, since your team is actually using a whiteboard on a daily basis to discuss stuff, it may not be all that bad to refactor the board once in a while anyway (smile).

Remember the goal of setting up your team implementing Scrum?

Did you have one?

Was it to actually develop working software?

Think about it.

Delivering working software does not include “software tools” to get your there.

All the “stuff” I wrote about above regarding the use of “software tools” takes the team away from the primary goal.

I have actually seen teams burn more than 50% or their available velocity in trying to maintain a software tool.

Yikes.

50%???

Or more???

For WHAT????

Huh? Where the heck is the Product Owner in all of this?

Hopefully not the one saying, “I love this tool because I do not have to be in the room to answer questions anymore.” Unfortunately, I have heard this during a Sprint Review in the past.

Uggggggggggggggggg.

Just because you have a hammer does not mean it is the right tool for everyone. Or every team. Sometimes you can use a small screwdriver to finesse something together instead of whipping out THE big hammer and causing more collateral damage than good.

As software professionals, we should all carry a toolbox of things we can use. Sometimes, a “software tool” makes sense (hammer) while others it makes sense to use manual techniques.

And not lose site of your Sprint Goal.

Really.

Gotta run…

Please send comments, questions, criticisms, ideas, or whatever here.

You can also enter The Scrum Community to discuss this cartoon and other Scrum topics. Thank you!

Originally Published:
March 5, 2007