Archive for January, 2008
“Process Backlog” at 1st Agile for Distributed Teams
Posted by in Feedback on January 31st, 2008
A tight, focused group made up the first public “Agile for Distributed Teams” course. Despite a wide range of experience with Agile and distributed development, students gained several unexpected insights from the course. Highlighted topics included the subtleties of Agile practices from first-hand experience, ways of communicating with distant teams, andhow the RallyDev tool can be used effectively.
I was most happy to see everyone expand their definition of The Product to also include their own processes. Using Scrum and Agile principles to explicitly change the way the organization works — is there nothing that Agile can’t do? 
A big thank-you to everyone for their participation, discussion, and engagement in the exercises. 
Scrum in the Sunshine State
Posted by in Feedback, Press Releases on January 17th, 2008
January is usually considered a good time to attend training, huddling indoors out of the cold. Not in Florida, however: there the bright sun and warm breezes outside can easily lure students to take extended breaks, and the air-conditioning indoors can dull even the sharpest minds.But when Derek W. Wade and Doug Shimp delivered 3Back’s Certified ScrumMaster course in Orlando on January 15 and 16, the breaks were short and all the energy was firing in the classroom.
Attendees to the course formed and demonstrated the characteristics of truly well-formed teams. By the end of the two days, many people in the room (not just the instructors) were acting as Agile coaches, leveraging the principles of Scrum and reminding each other to apply the agile “attractors” that they found most powerful:
- Let the product lead
- Make it visible
- Pay attention and adapt / feedback cycles
- “Teamlet” heads are smarter than one
The teams also invented their own catch-phrases and in-jokes, and to understand “I’ve got an Expert Sticker” and “let’s eat… food,” you would just have to ask one of the team members.
The instructors were delighted with the energy and “social intelligence” that attendees brought to class. Any additional insights, thoughts on applying your knowledge, or other comments here are greatly appreciated!
