SPaMCAST 429 - Ryan Ripley, Agile Certifications Good and Bad Influences

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 429 is a  special event. Ryan Ripley (who appeared on and is the host of the A Podcast) and the I recently connected virtually to discuss the role and impact of certifications on the Agile movement.  Certifications are an important gating tool in the job market and may provide evidence that people are keeping up to date with changes in the industry.  Or certifications could represent the calcifying of boundaries that make the adage ‘inspect and adapt’ a thing of the past.  We discuss!  We are going to release the audio on both our podcasts serially, the SPaMCAST today and then Agile for Humans on the 13th!   Make sure both and the Software Process and Measurement Cast are part of your weekly rituals!   Mr. Ryan Ripley has worked on agile teams for the past 10 years in development, scrum master and management roles. He’s worked at various Fortune 1000 companies in the medical device, wholesale, and financial services industries. Ryan is great at taking tests and holds the PMI-ACP, PSM I, PSM II, PSE, PSPO I, PSD I, CSM, CSPO, and CSP agile certifications. He lives in Indiana with his wife Kristin and three children. Ryan blogs at and hosts the Agile for Humans Podcast. You can also follow Ryan on Twitter: @ryanripley Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackle in Carol Dweck’s : The New Psychology of Success (buy your copy and read along). In Chapter 2 Dweck provides a deeper dive into fixed and growth mindsets.  The chapter begins with Dweck’s relating how the discovery that there were two meanings to the word ‘ability’ shaped the work.  The first definition for ability is a fixed capability that needs to be proven (continually); the second definition is that an ability is a capability that can be developed through learning. The distinction between two definitions are at the heart of the behavioral differences between the growth and fixed mindsets.  Those that believe that abilities can be developed will seek stretch goals and view failures as learning opportunities, while those with a fixed mindset will have a very different point of view.   Every week we discuss the chapter then consider the implications of what we have “read” from the point of view of someone pursuing an organizational transformation and also how to use the material when coaching teams.   Remember to buy a copy of Carol Dweck’s and read along! Visit the to participate in this and previous re-reads. Next SPaMCAST The Software Process and Measurement Cast 430 will shift back to the magazine format with an essay on product owners.  The product owner role  is nuanced and sometimes hard.  The essay will help you sort things out.   We will also have columns from Steve Tendon with another chapter in his Tame The Flow: Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban, published by J Ross () and an installment of Gene Hughson’s (the same Gene, that Ryan called out on this week’s cast). Shameless Ad for my book! co-authored by Murali Chematuri and myself and published by J. Ross Publishing. We have received unsolicited reviews like the following: “This book will prove that software projects should not be a tedious process, for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book nglish and Chinese.