Bob Hartman
Forum Replies Created
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Birds and cats, oh my!
Small CSM class this week, but huge fun!
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Ok everyone, we need your help for the first time. I have a one video course I need your feedback on. You can go to http://www.agileforall.com/courses and register for the course there. Just watch the video and give us your impressions by replying here. We’re interested in all feedback, not just about the video, but the registration process, and anything else that strikes you. Thanks!
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They looked intense on day 1, but they sure look happy at the end of day 2!
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Certified ScrumMaster class today with 11 people who are passionate about Scrum. Fun times! Check out https://agileforall.com/upcoming-courses/ for your chance to be in a future class.
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@Chrisco leaders understand dollars and sense. How can you turn this into a fiscal problem? For example, is there a way to quantify how much it is costing in extra support or rework? Is there a way to figure out how much other work isn’t able to be done because of this extra support burden? Can you calculate the cost of turnover or burnout? These are just probing questions to get you started. If you can turn a problem into a dollars and sense problem you can get the attention of any leader. Their bonuses are often tied to numbers and if you can help them get numbers better, then it is in their best interest to listen! Always remember the phrase “WII-FM” What’s In It For Me. If you can help them see it is in their best interest to solve the problem then they will. Until then it is all just hot air they can ignore. 😉
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@James here are a couple of things I’ve heard that other teams are using to get people in the mode of more frequent communication:
1. As @Chrisco mentioned, using Slack can be useful, but sometimes our goal is to just get people to “yell across the room” more often. In the virtual world we have to get them habitually using a tool. One way to do this is to make the tool fun. I have some clients that have set up a “Watercooler” channel in Slack, where almost anything goes. It is place to brag about your kid winning an award, a cool recipe you made and loved, posting a funny video of your pet. It is just a place to be yourself and let others see the real you.
2. Some clients are having a daily “game” of sorts. Each day the ScrumMaster sets out a task and the team members show their results. It is always something that is simple so you aren’t taking a ton of time away from work. One is giving prizes to the “overall winner” each week as voted upon by the group. Tasks are things like “Upload a picture of the funniest orange thing in your home” or “Take a picture of a left-handed coffee mug”. It lets people be creative and express themselves. Again, around the theme of letting them be human!
3. Some clients are scheduling watercooler times on Zoom. One has 10:00-10:20 and 2:30-2:50 each day blocked out as an open Zoom for anyone to get on and chat. They have Zoom set up so people can go in and out of breakout rooms for more private conversations if needed. One has created some standard breakout rooms like “Music discussions”, “Sports discussions”, and “Video game discussions”. Again, getting people interacting together.
4. One client simulates “yelling across the room” by having one channel in whatever their collaboration platform is (whether Slack or Teams or whatever) that is deemed the emergency channel. If something comes through that channel it is treated like someone needs help right now. You can ignore discussions in every other channel, but not that one. If a message comes through that channel, someone is drowning and needs to be saved right this minute. The channel is rarely used, but it gets everyone’s attention when it is.
Maybe some of these ideas can help you out. Others of you, please add more ideas!
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I’m going to go grab some popcorn 🍿 and watch what happens here. It will be interesting to see if there are responses to your questions, or more sharing of what is happening. C’mon everyone, chip in here!
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Laura, when I hold trainings for my clients, I am often surprised by how few people really understand how Agile came about in the first place. We have a short (free!) course available with some background. Go to https://agileforall.com/courses and take the “Discovery of Agile” course. I’m pretty sure you will find some interesting nuggets there. You did say you wanted to keep learning, right??? 🙂
– Bob –
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Love it Mark! Some other terms I like to change:
Priority -> Order
Fail Fast -> Learn Fast
xxxx, but -> xxxx, AND
In my experience, those changes really help ScrumMasters and teams be more successful.
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Tommie, while the book Jeff Sutherland wrote has really helped the Scrum community, I’m not so sure I really like the title. Check out this #AgileDailyDose video for why:
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Toritse, welcome! You have come to the right place for information about splitting user stories. Check out https://agileforall.com/how-to-split-a-user-story/
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Dmitry, it is a pleasure to meet you – at least electronically!
You may want to go over to the Agile Topics forum (https://agileforall.com/forums/forum/agile/) if you have specific questions about Scrum events.
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Allan, it is great to see you here! I was in São Paulo a long time ago for work. I still remember the 7-hour lunch/dinner we had that day! One of the best meals I’ve ever eaten and one of the most productive work lunches at the same time!
– Bob –
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Fred, this is a very cool set of answers. I’ll be interested to see if you become cool here 😉
– Bob –
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Shaker, I love that Steve Jobs quote! Welcome.
– Bob –
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Meg, I love the ABLE acronym. I haven’t seen that before. Do you know where you got it, was it from Cisco?
– Bob –
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Rob, it is great to have you here! We’re looking forward to hearing what you learn in your class.
– Bob –
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Todd, it is great to see you here. @peter will do a great job with your class. Once it is over, let us know if you have specific questions. That is one way this community can really help people!
– Bob –
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Sally is awesome!
@peter we might need to add a question about pets and encourage people to upload a picture. This made me smile!
– Bob –
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Hector, we’re glad you are here! If you have specific questions, feel free to ask them. If you don’t I’ll start you with one:
What will be (or is) the biggest impediment to agile success with Scrum in your company?
– Bob –
