Archive for category Feedback
Agile Architecture and Development Public Class 6/30-7/1/09 SeaTac, WA
Posted by david.bernstein in Feedback on July 7th, 2009
David Bernstein led the 2-day version of Agile Architecture and Development – Essential Patterns and Practices. There we 10 students; all of them loved the class. Students rated the class at 4.5 and the instructor at 4.88 (on a scale from 1-5). Read the evaluations.
Extended Mind And the Scrum Pathway
Posted by Doug Shimp in Feedback on April 22nd, 2009
This was not your typical scrummaster training course. We raised the bar by bringing the Scrum Framework home in applied context to the classroom and helping each other understand it better through simulations that encouraged participation and responses from each of us. It focused on the truely adaptive nature of great teams and how the class over the course of 2 days stared to jel and move faster. Each person became a member of a close knit team and helped each other extend our ability to think about more complex and challenging issues of Scrum. This would be the same pattern of thought for teams building product.
Simple Rules For Emerging Collaborative Behavior Focused On Complex Demanding Business Drivers
- No heads work alone
- Let the product lead
- One bite at a time
- Make it visible
- Avoid and eliminate confusion
- Start with the end in mind
What an awesome course. Each attendee recieved a free identity boost with the course and we will work to build a community to grow from. The community will be focused on Collaborative Skills for and will help each open more doors by improving our connectedness through applied effort the driven by our passion. Coaching others is a reward and a skill we all need to polish.
We will be running this course again in San Mateo and creating another extended mind.
Brillant and Informative 
Read the hand written evaluations
and see if you agree!!
Agile Architecture Pilot Class Evaluations
Posted by david.bernstein in Feedback on April 16th, 2009
The pilot Agile Architecture class by David Bernstein at Techniques of Design was held on January 27-28 for a client in Boston. There were seven students in the class, all senior architects, and they loved it. Read the evaluations.
Learning Via Experience in Chicago
Posted by derek.wade in Feedback, Workshop on April 7th, 2009
Our session in Chicago focused on experiential learning.
The class elected to do 2 sprints on our “build a brochure” activity and learned by doing on each. The general consensus was that it’s all very well to ask and answer questions, but when you try to put theory into practice is when you really discover the challenges you will face with Agile.
Just to make things harder, the second sprint included some real-life waterfall challenges like budget-tracking and advance commitments. The discussion afterward focused on how these forces can easily drive us away from collaborative, visible behavior… even if “all” we are doing is building a brochure in class!
Honolulu ScrumMaster Training – A Hui Hou
Posted by Doug Shimp in Feedback, Workshop on March 26th, 2009
Traveling too Hawaii was a long trip but, once you there you don’t want to leave. Of course the thought of returning home to the thawing Midwest was not that bad since we are moving into the spring season. Being in Hawaii and hearing the local view of cold weather being less than 75 degrees brought a smile my face. If only I could see it from their side. As someone pointed out you have to be there a couple of years for your blood to thin and then you will understand.
Learning Agile / Scrum is not about memorization of explicit knowledge but, rather the application of that a mind set to an in-flight challenging problem. It is a learning process of using the scrum framework to move as a team to understand. Learning Scrum / Agile can be setup as such a challenge and the group present rose to the occasion to create their own learning experience as a team.
This trip was a real exposure to the varied and subtle tastes of Hawaiian culture. No where in the country have I seen “East meets West” be as pronounced as in Hawaii and that makes it all the more beautiful.
Coffee Question:
- Do you like your Kona blended or pure?
A Hui Hou
- Doug
Orlando Scrum Training and Scrum Gathering
Posted by Doug Shimp in Feedback, Workshop on March 25th, 2009
We spent a week down in Orlando this past month for two reason. One was the Orlando Certified ScrumMaster(CSM) training course we ran and the other was for the Scrum Gathering.
Both events were a blast and did much to continue raising awareness of Agile / Scrum in the community.
The Certified ScrumMaster course was run by Michele Sliger and Douglas Shimp. The event was delivered on a Saturday and Sunday just before the Gathering and was a success for the students.
Feedback on the Scrum training class was great.
- read the hand written evals to see what our students had to say
- Watch the Scrum Ideas Developed During Class
ScrumMaster Party 3Back and VersionOne
VersionOne and 3Back offered their first co-hosted Certified ScrumMaster training event in San Mateo, California. This was the first time these two companies co-hosted a joint public event. The event was nothing short of spectacular and continued to show a proven track that these two agile oriented companies are leaders in their complementary market niches. Both companies continue to raise the bar of what passes for excellence in Scrum (Agile) training, tools and implementations. Applied scrum is where the rubber meets the road and scrum coaching is how this happens.
“It was an awesome course with great feedback from the students. The explosion of energy and questions in this course clearly placed this event as one of the best courses we have ever run. This course offered a foundation in Scrum training that exceeded expectations and showed up clearly in the evaluations.” said Doug Shimp Senior Consultant
There were 11 folks in attendance and each person provided an evaluation.
See for yourself Handwritten Scanned Evaluations
Chicago Midwest Certified ScrumMaster Training Event
Posted by Doug Shimp in Feedback, Workshop on June 18th, 2008
We ran another Certified ScrumMaster training course in Chicago.
The newest topic that has been emerging with increased regularity is Agile Contracts. How do we avoid the pressures of big waterfall contracting models in and increasingly aware agile client world. Our old methods of contracting and working are becoming irrelevant and clients are no longer buying into the big bang waterfall contracting model. You can’t wald in with your big in house methodology and expect clients to be amazed at how smart (overly complex) your process is.
Thank you for a wonderful 2 days together.
- Doug
“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!
