Archives

Changing people (that would include you)

I am involved with Scrum as a coach and trainer, and occasionally, I get the question, “I would really, really like to do Scrum (better), but I need to change X, Y and Z.” And X, Y and Z are people, or groups of people, at that person’s organization. And, just to remind us of […]

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Additional Value from the Scrum course

In the prior post, I spoke of a simple way of measuring the value of a Scrum course, and the real subtext was: You must measure velocity (productivity) and you must increase velocity dramatically. (And, oh, by the way, a course might help you do that.) But aside from velocity, does the CSM course provide […]

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Value from the Scrum Course

I wanted to reiterate views I think I have expressed elsewhere. My best guess is that a typical development team in North America of seven or eight, including the Product Owner and the ScrumMaster, costs about $1 million per year, including all related costs. (In my opinion, every team should know their total annual cost.) […]

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Business Value Communication

In March I did a short workshop on business value engineering at the ScrumGathering in Orlando. Very interesting to me, although it was mainly about the work that the attendees did. As I commented to them, it certainly was not about what I said. It was not even about what they learned in the session. […]

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Business Value Engineering Workshop

At the Orlando ScrumGathering, I will do a mini workshop on Business Value engineering. Click here to view my slides. Most of the slide deck is for reference; only a few of the slides will be used in the workshop. The mini workshop is about two exercises: Define at your table “Business Value.” Articulate your […]

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CSM course + Workshop in Ottawa March 1-4

Joe Little will be leading a Certified ScrumMaster course (2 days), followed by an optional workshop (2 days). In Ottawa, Mar 1-4. Here are the details: https://leanagiletraining.com/LittleOttawa/LittleOttawaCourse.html The workshop is good for any team that needs a boost. Either at the beginning, or in the middle. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have […]

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Do Scrum and Kool-Aid go together?

Occasionally I hear the complaint, “Oh, you [scrum, agile, lean, x] guys have drunk the Kool-Aid. You don’t care how reality intrudes, you’re just going to propose your [x] solutions.” What does this person mean? He or she might mean, “Completely on faith, without any support of reason and facts, you are a strong advocate […]

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The importance of the Product Owner

It is probably true that the Product Owner is yet more important than the ScrumMaster for the success of the team. The ScrumMaster should, almost by himself, triple the velocity of the team. He or she is the ingredient without which it does not happen. And the Product Owner can execute the 85-33 Rule — where […]

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Change and how we feel

Why is it that we change? And how do we feel about it? And how does change stick? My business is to change people, including myself. As a change agent, one is always interested to know more about why people change.  Maybe better: How do we get people to change, and stay changed? One idea […]

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Change

Taylor Swift just won the Grammy, I think, for album of the year. Maybe a few other Grammys, too. Taylor Swift has a song out called Change. Maybe “old” now by music industry standards. Watch the video here. In 1988 there was a movie with Uma Thurman called “Dangerous Liasons.” OK, Uma Thurman was not […]

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