Archive for category agile
I hate pair programming (and your code and you)
Posted by David Bland in agile, extreme programming, team room on January 20, 2011
“Are you pair programming?” our manager asked in his snarky tone, while using exaggerated double air quotes to emphasize his skepticism. He then walked away without waiting for a response…
This is merely one example of numerous instances I’ve experienced over the years from skeptics of pair programming… [Read More]
Lost in Agile Translation
Posted by David Bland in agile on December 23, 2010
As ambassadors for organizational change, we routinely face obstacles ranging from the usage of scrum rhetoric by trainers to stubbornly persistent misconceptions.
As a result, we continually strive to improve upon how we connect to those who may have already been biased by agile misinformation.
While some experts recommend a shock therapy approach, I try to find a way to relate on a personal level and then move onto more subtle ways of introducing change…. [Read More]
I’m speaking at APLN DC on Jan 6th
Posted by David Bland in agile on November 29, 2010
For those in the DC / MD / VA area, the December 2nd APLN session has been canceled. Instead, I’ll be speaking on Distributed ScrumMasters for the APLN event on Jan 6th 2011. You can register for the event on the APLN DC site using Eventbrite once they’ve updated the schedule.
And Now You Are Just a Project Manager
Posted by David Bland in agile, certification, jobs, scrum on October 25, 2010
You’ve seen the job description:
Project Manager / ScrumMaster
- Must have knowledge of traditional project management
- CSM preferred
- PMP nice to have
These are becoming more and more common as of late, and typically posted by 3rd party recruiters working on behalf of large enterprise organizations.
What they fail to mention in the description is how once their agile adoption fails, you’ll be a full time Project Manager
… [Read More]
Rotating Team Roles
Posted by David Bland in agile, facilitation, scrum, team room on October 12, 2010
Generally there are two schools of thought when it comes to Scrum team facilitation:
1. A dedicated ScrumMaster facilitates each session.
2. Each team member takes a turn facilitating sessions.
I’ll illustrate how I’ve approached the latter and explain below why I’ve seen it work quite well.
Daily Standups
Typically I start out facilitating daily standups using techniques that I’ve spoken about before. I’ve found that it takes 1 or 2 iterations of playing the ScrumMaster role in the daily standup before the team members feel comfortable enough to step in. Once I step back, we rotate through the iteration so that ideally each team member has an opportunity to facilitate at least once.
