Agile and Project Management - DrunkenPM Radio

Scrum Inc, CEO, JJ Sutherland’s new book The Scrum Fieldbook: A Master Class on Accelerating Performance, Getting Results and Defining the Future offers a compelling collection of stories breaking down what makes Scrum (and other forms of Agile) succeed or struggle in organizations. Drawing on his personal experience, as well as that of his colleagues at Scrum Inc., JJ offers a wide range of case studies on how individuals and organizations have been able to leverage agile practices to solve business problems and deliver value for their customers. In this interview JJ shares a few of those stories, makes the case for The Renaissance Enterprise, and explains why organizational refactoring is such a crucial part of Agile Transformation. One thing students request in every single class I teach is “More Real World Examples”. JJ”s new book offers exactly that. If you are familiar with Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time, you’ll have an idea of what makes this book stand out. JJ is not only the son of Jeff Sutherland, co-creator of Scrum, but he also worked as an award-winning news correspondent and producer at NPR before becoming a Certified Scrum Trainer. With a background that is deep in storytelling JJ has put together a collection of tales from the field that draw you in with the narrative while delivering tips you need to know on what it takes to make Scrum (and Agile) succeed (or fail) in your organization. The Scrum Fieldbook Amazon - https://amzn.to/2lILCRE Google http://bit.ly/2nfHcST Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/2msNuyn Apple Books https://apple.co/2ngyXpw Contacting JJ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jj-sutherland-b1486b6/ Twitter https://twitter.com/jjsutherland Scrum Inc. https://www.scruminc.com

Esther Derby has been helping individuals, teams, and organizations understand how to introduce and embrace change since she got her start as a software developer four decades ago. While she is possibly best known for the book “Agile Retrospectives,” which she co-authored with Diana Larsen, her list of accomplishments extends well beyond that. In her words, she draws on “four decades of experience leading, observing, and living organizational change.” She is wise and inspiring AND she has a brand new book: 7 Rules for Positive, Productive Change: Micro Shifts, Macro Results (https://amzn.to/2kiUEUR). In this episode of the podcast we discuss what led her to write her first new book in 13 years, some of the key ideas it introduces, tips to support positive change, and her podcasts, workshops and online courses. FOR MORE ON ESTHER DERBY • Esther's Books on Amazon http://bit.ly/estherderby • Esther Website http://www.estherderby.com • Esther Podcast: https://thelawofjam.podbean.com • Esther Workshops: https://www.estherderby.com/workshops/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/estherderby LINKS FROM THE PODCAST • Slow Ideas - the Atul Gawande article Esther mentioned in the interview http://bit.ly/2knLaru • The Software Project Manager's Bridge to Agility by Michele Sliger and Stacia Broderick https://amzn.to/2mbKJAT

Zach Stone is an agile coach with a background that includes organizational change management, conflict transformation, and behavioral science. He leverages these experiences in his work helping organizations, teams, and individuals adopt an agile approach to work. One of the primary techniques in Zach’s toolbox is Motivational Interviewing. In this episode of the podcast, Zach explains what motivational interviewing is, how it works, and why it is such a powerful approach to helping individuals move towards choices that can better help them achieve the outcomes they are looking for. If you are looking for better ways to help your teams and organizations make more mindful and intentional choices, the information Zach shares in this interview will offer you a new skillset to begin developing so that you can better serve those around you. While you are listening to this podcast, pay close attention to Zach’s voice. As you’ll hear towards the end of the interview, his measured use of language, speech patterns, and the way he engages is not only intentional, but it is a skill he spent a lot of time developing. I was keenly aware of it throughout the conversation and it made doing the interview an absolute blast. Contacting Zach LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stonezach/ Web: thatscrum.life  Email: zachjstone@gmail.com

Urs Reupke is a Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile Coach who works for the Hamburg-based Agile Consultancy It-Agile. A lot of Urs’s time and attention is focused on the work he does coaching management and providing leadership consulting as they move towards adopting a more Agile approach to work. One specific area Urs is passionate about is the Core Cycle of Agile Product Development. In this interview, Urs and I talk about what the Core Cycle of Agile Product Development is, why it is so critical to the success of your product, and why his desire to help others produce better products is what motivated him to move out of his development role and into a role where he could achieve that goal. Here are links to some of the things we discussed during the podcast: - Urs’s presentation Tear Down This Wall, which focuses on the Core Cycle of Agile Product Development and can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/2SnUckJ - Steve Jobs' attention to yellow: https://www.geek.com/apple/steve-jobs-as-ceo-he-cared-about-a-shade-of-yellow-on-a-sunday-1415795/ - Roman's axis of product ownership: https://www.romanpichler.com/blog/be-a-balanced-product-leader-not-a-feature-broker-or-product-dictator/ - Godwin's law: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law - Urs’ Tai Chi Page: http://centre-qigong-hamburg.de/ If you’d like to contact Urs, here is how you can reach him - Web: www.it-agile.de - Email: ur@it-agile.de

Many teams practicing Scrum adopt a mid-Sprint Review as a practice to help them ensure they are on track to deliver on their forecast by the end of the Sprint. For some teams, this involves holding an informal demo halfway through the Sprint to get feedback on the work they are doing. For other teams, the mid-Sprint review works differently and is used to provide transparency around a different set of issues. This episode of The Reluctant Agilist was recorded at the 2019 North American Global Scrum Gathering in Austin, TX. In the interview, EvolveAgility Founder Dhaval Panchal and I talk through how he began using a mid-Sprint review to help the teams he is working with gain awareness of their level of confidence that they will meet their commitment for the Sprint. During the conversation you’ll hear Dhaval and I discuss how it works and why. Here is a link to the Team Confidence Chart referenced during the podcast: http://bit.ly/2JL9tbl If you’d like to reach out to Dhaval directly, here is how you can reach him: Web: https://evolveagility.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/evolveagility/ Email: dhaval.panchal@evolveagility.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/evolveagility

One of the things a Project Manager and a ScrumMaster have in common is that at times, they are both called upon to act as a coach and act as a mentor. For anyone in a leadership role, creating clarity around the difference between the two can be challenging. And even for seasoned pros, knowing when to act as a mentor and when to act as a coach is not always easy. This podcast is about on mentoring and features Brandon Brown. Brandon has built a career that is deeply rooted in providing mentorship and serving others. His work focuses on creating, ensuring and sustaining safe places for young people to flourish so that they can, as he says, replace him. During the interview we dig into mentoring: what it is, how it is different from coaching, what it requires, and what the mentor and the mentee should expect from the relationship. We also spend time during the beginning of the podcast discussing some of the work Brandon is currently doing around trauma for Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine. This is a subject we will be revisiting at a deeper level on an upcoming podcast. If you'd like to reach out to Brandon with follow up questions, here is how you can reach him: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brbphilly/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/b_pbs AboutMe: https://about.me/brandonrbrown

What kind of projects don’t fit with Agile? This is a very common question in the CSM and CSPO classes that I teach. My answer is always that while there are some types of work that are better suited to an Agile approach than others, it really comes down to the organization and the people involved. With the right mindset, an iterative approach that is focused on inspect and adapt can be valuable in pretty much any situation… including building a bar. Alex Brown is the Founder and Principal at Glaessel Ventures, a Boston based firm that combines strategic consulting, agile training, and co-investment to help innovative companies of all sizes bring new products to market successfully. In this interview, recorded at the 2019 North American Global Scrum Gathering, Alex shares his story of “Boozy Scrum," or how he used Scrum to build a bar in his basement. It offers a great case study of how Scrum can be used for personal projects that fall well outside the realm of technology. If you’d like to see some before and after pics of Alex’s work, head over to my Reluctant Agilist blog at ProjectManagement.com -> https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog-post/54822/Boozy-Scrum-with-Alex-Brown-at-2019-Austin-Scrum-Gathering Contacting Alex If you'd like to reach out to Alex to follow up with questions on his Boozy Scrum project, here is his contact info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderjbrown/ Email: alex@glaesselventures.com

Nic Sementa is man of many skills. He’s an Agilist, a Marketing Consultant, an Entrepreneur… he does Business Development, he’s a sales ninja, and he’s someone who spends a lot of time honing his skills in listening and communicating. This podcast began at the 2019 Scrum Gathering in Austin. Nic and I were talking and ended up on the topic of nonviolent communication. The conversation we had in Austin and Nic’s take on NVC and other communication practices was so compelling that I asked if we could pick up the topic during a podcast. For anyone who makes their living as a traditional PM or is involved with Agile and helping to support, motivate, and lead teams, studying different communication patterns and language techniques is a survival tactic. In this conversation with Nic Sementa, you’ll gain insights into several new communication tools, how and why they work, and how you can practice a language technique like NVC from a place that is both vulnerable and strong at the same time Nonviolent Communication Links Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg https://amzn.to/2J1llXI What We Say Matters: Practicing Nonviolent Communication by Ike and Judith Lasater https://amzn.to/2JvDH2b Center for Non-Violent Communication: https://www.cnvc.org Nic’s Contact Info: Web: https://nicsementa.com Formula Ink: http://www.formulaink.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicsementa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-sementa-2753242b/

At the 2019 North American Global Scrum Gathering, I had a chance to sit down with Ilker Demirel to talk about his involvement with The Leadership Gift Program and how it has transformed his life and his work helping individuals, teams, and organizations become “free, powerful, and at choice” and move from a mindset of scarcity to a mindset of abundance. Ilker is a Certified Leadership Gift Coach and Certified Scrum Trainer. The Leadership Gift Program and the Responsibility Process were created by Christopher Avery. I’ve interviewed Christopher previously about his work and The Leadership Gift Program (https://bit.ly/2xgr0Cx). I was excited to get the chance to spend time with Ilker because he is someone who has been working with the Responsibility Process for many years. The impact that it has had on him and his ability to communicate and interact with others is inspiring. Links from the podcast The Leadership Gift Program: https://leadershipgift.com The Responsibility Process: https://theresponsibilityprocess.com To Contact Ilker Demirel Web: https://LeadershipMindset.de LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilkerdemirel/ Email: ilker@ilkerdemirel.com

The Daily Scrum is one of the simplest and most critical elements of Scrum. Unfortunately, for many, this event becomes a traditional status meeting that delivers little value. If your Development Team has lost its way with their Daily Scrum, this podcast is for you. Jason Tanner is the CEO and Co-Founder of Applied Frameworks, as well as a Certified Scrum Trainer and a Path to CSP Educator. During the 2019 North America Global Scrum Gathering in Austin, he was kind enough to block out some time to talk through the different reasons he sees teams lose their way with the Daily Scrum and what can be done about it. If you’d like to get in touch with Jason: Applied Frameworks: https://appliedframeworks.com CSP Fast Pass: https://appliedframeworks.com Email: jtanner@appliedframeworks.com