Category Archives: Getting started

Where to start?

Some of us have been doing Lean-Agile-Scrum for awhile now, and we forget that others are just starting. So, where does one start? The first answer is to start from where you are. One thing this means is to start with the impediments one has today, and you use Scrum to help tell you, “What […]

A re-write….

I have taken an article out of context and re-written it below. Here is the original. See how you like the re-write: If social psychologists have proven anything during the last 30 years, they have proven that the actions we take leave a residue inside of us. Every time we act, we amplify the underlying […]

What to do first?

I just got an email from someone who recently went to one of our Scrum courses. (Note: This is a long but, I think, interesting post. Bear with it if you can.) QUESTION: Hi, Let’s say one is going to work as a team lead for a software project in an organization that currently does […]

How do I start an Agile project?

I have been teaching Agile courses for a while now. One of the persistent questions is: “Enjoyed the course, but I want more help on actually doing an Agile (Scrum) project?” In part this question arises from a wish to have a “cookbook.” This cookbook notion is something most of the smart people (at least […]

How to learn more about Lean-Agile

Several people who have taken recent courses have asked: “Where do we find a discussion group where we can learn more about Agile?” Here are some answers: First, find local people. Agile Alliance has a list of agile groups. In fact, the Scrum community has identified its community more broadly and specifically, here. [Not sure […]

The Agile Recipe; on second thought…No recipe.

I have been asked recently to provide a recipe for how to do Agile. I am sympathetic with this request, but I feel it misses an important point. First, why am I sympathetic? Well, because I look at Agile as an art form, like playing the violin or learning Hapkido (Korean version of Aikido). It […]

Keeping with the Beat

Where would I go to find the latest information on Agile and Lean? What if you had a question and wanted expert advice? Try these “boards.” Sign up. They are free. ScrumDev Extreme Programming Agile Project Management Lean Software Development Industrial XP I am a particular fan of the last one. Its theme is applying […]

Proposed Reading List

A teacher recently told me this: β€œTo know and not to do is not to know.” We know from many teachers that we learn best by thinking a bit and then practicing some, and then thinking some more and practicing more. This is embedded, as one example, in the Deming Cycle. So, I have already […]