What sort of Games can we play with teams? July 20, 2010
Posted by editor in Agile Practices.add a comment
This list is a just a collection of games around and I may or may not have played all of them. Please contact the authors for detailed instructions.http://www.agilefairytales.com/games.html
Over the years in coaching, I have been using a lot of games. Most of these games are what I have learned by being with other coaches, going to conferences etc. There is a lot that can be done with teams by playing games. We learn a lot by doing it:) rather than reading about it:)
Story point and their relation to complexity and uncertainity July 9, 2010
Posted by editor in Agile Practices.add a comment
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Do story point relate to complexity or time: This article on infoq talks about story point and its relation to complexity or time. The argument seems to be it should be only related to effort and not complexity When team members say Extra large for a story, generally it can mean one of the following. a) I don’t have all the information needed and hence I think it is large ( This is not complexity or effort. This is the ambiguity or uncertainity. In this case we cannot really base the size on Effort as effort can only come to play when the team member knows that he or she needs to do b) I know all about the story but this is complex. This is a good case to say this is complexity or more so effort. Its going to take me 10 days to do it as an example. Story sizing is all about relative measure. The real effort only comes to play when you work on story. At times what is a small story becomes extra large , the effort grows. So there should be not be a correlation to time alone. If we did time alone then why do we have to do task breakdowns. Estimate size and derive duration. This picture captures the intent. |
Does CSM certification make a good Scrum master? June 11, 2010
Posted by editor in Scrum.add a comment
I have been reading lots of discussions around the Scrum Alliance and its certification process. Does taking a two class make you a good Scrum masters? For an answer to this question, I asked some of my friends who have been great scrum masters.
The general opinion was that while the CSM class does give the basics of Scrum, it completely misses the ball on the “Human factor” involved in being a good Scrum master. Some of the best scrum masters seen are not certified but certification does help. The great thing about the CSM class is the interaction with others much less the certification part. Many times scrum masters learn by doing trial and error on Scrum basics and in doing so they end up causing a lot of damage to the team.
By going to a CSM or for that matter any training class , the interaction with the instructor and others in the class will get you going on the basics. I am an Agile coach and often play the role a scrum master. The toughest part in being a scrum master is not Scrum, it is being aware of what to do and what not to do in a team.
Every time I take the role of a Scrum master and coach Scrum masters, I always tell them not to apply the same rule to every team. Each team you will facilitate is different. As far as certifications go they are a nice to have tool , but that should certainly be not the criteria to hire a scrum master.
Along with it try to see if they pass the CFROC Test.
Are they committed to the team, Can the keep the focus on Scrum and distance themselves from the politics, Can they respect themselves and thier team members,
Are they open enough to help the team with whatever the team needs without taking any sides, Are they courageous enough to stand up to the team and protect them.
BTW this is spoken about in the CSM, but leaning and doing are two different things.
Do i need to buy an electonic agile management system February 26, 2010
Posted by editor in Agile Practices.add a comment
It depends. If you have an distributed team, you surely will need something more than sticky notes. In many cases Excel is good for distributed teams. But if that does not work then you could look at an online version of tool like Scrum works, Rally, Version One, Visual Studio for team etc.
But if you have teams that are face to face or teams that are distributed but are essentially seperate teams then you do not need anything more than a physical board.
Here is a version of a manual board
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| From PublicAgile |
You can get this by downloading this template and then go to Fed Ex Kinkos to print and get it mounted on a large board. Costs you around 80 dollars.
What is Metascrum February 25, 2010
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Most organizations need a way to look at where all the initiatives are as compared to roadmap. How far are from release , what are some organization impediments and so far. Metascrum is a meeting that works well when teams are working on the same product or initiatives that are related . Instead of each product owner having a meeting with stake holders, business owners, sponsors, a meta scrum is one meeting that can address these questions.
Read this article for more information on Metascrum, who should attend and how to run it.
