SPaMCAST 340 -Tom Howlett - Scrum Master, Teams, Collaboration, Distributed Agile

Software Process and Measurement Cast 340 features our interview with Tom Howlett.  Tom is a Scrum Master.  We talked about teams, collaboration and how to effectively be Agile in distributed teams. Tom’s bio: Tom's been building and working with teams that focus on continuous improvement for 15 years. In that time he's written about the difficulties he faced and how he overcame them in over 100 blog posts on "Diary of a Scrummaster", and a book called "A Programmer's Guide To People". He has a strong focus on breaking down the barriers that restrict collaboration (whether remote or co-located) and ensuring the people who do the work can effectively decide how it's done. He's becoming well known in the Agile community through his speaking and running his local group the "Cheltenham Geeks'. His company LeanTomato provides help forming new teams and helping existing ones meet people’s needs more effectively. Contact informationBlog: Twitter: Website:  Remember: Jo Ann Sweeny (Explaining Change) is running her annual Worth Working Summit.  Please visit  Call to action! Reviews of the Podcast help to attract new listeners.  Can you write a review of the Software Process and Measurement Cast and post it on the podcatcher of your choice?  Whether you listen on ITunes or any other podcatcher, a review will help to grow the podcast!  Thank you in advance! Re-Read Saturday News The Re-Read Saturday focus on Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox’s The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement began on February 21nd. The Goal has been hugely influential because it introduced the Theory of Constraints, which is central to lean thinking. The book is written as a business novel. Visit the  and catch up on the re-read. Note: If you don’t have a copy of the book, buy one.  If you use the link below it will support the Software Process and Measurement blog and podcast.  or  I am beginning to think of which book will be next. Do you have any ideas? Upcoming Events CMMI Institute Global CongressMay 12-13 Seattle, WA, USAMy topic - Agile Risk Management DCG will also have a booth! Next SPaMCast The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature our essay on Agile team decision making. Team based decision making requires mechanisms and prerequisites for creating consensus among team members. The prerequisites are a decision to be made, trust, knowledge and the tools to make a decisions. In many instances team members are assumed to have the required tools and techniques in their arsenal. In many instances team members are assumed by management and other team members to have the required tools and techniques in their arsenal.  Next week we will explore decision making and give you tools to make decisions. 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, neither for you or your team.” Support SPaMCAST by buying the book . Available in English and Chinese.