Agile and Project Management - DrunkenPM Radio

In this interview, Mika Trottier and I talk through a subtle but significant shift that has to occur in the mindset of a traditional PM who is trying to adopt an Agile mindset. How do you flip that switch in your brain that thinks of the people who do work as resources and make them start thinking of them as people? During the conversation, Mika and I also dig into some of the challenges facing introverts who become project managers and some of the coping mechanisms that have aided each of us. If you’d like to get in touch with Mika, you can reach her via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mika-trottier-848a7525/

Last fall Anderson Diniz Hummel became a Certified Scrum Trainer. This means that he has been approved by the Scrum Alliance to teach Certified Scrum Master and Certified Scrum Product Owner classes. The journey to becoming a CST is never easy and never as quick as anyone would like and for Anderson, it was over three years from the time he first started working on it. (And this is after already having taught at the University level for a number of years.) During the recent holidays Anderson and I had a conversation about what his journey to CST was like. We recorded this in hopes of helping offer some encouragement, advice and support for others who are headed down the path. To help provide some background about the CST designation, according to the Scrum Alliance’s 2018 State of Scrum Report, there are over 500,000 certified practitioners of Scrum worldwide. Within that community, only 234 people are certified by the Scrum Alliance as being allowed to teach Certified Scrum Master and Certified Scrum Product Owner classes. So, it is a rare certification to have and many people who begin heading down the path do not have a great understanding of what to expect. Hopefully this interview will help with that. SHOW NOTES 00:09 Podcast Begins - What’s up with Anderson 01:56 Anderson’s background as a teacher and how that led to him applying for Certified Scrum Trainer 03:10 How is teaching Certified Scrum classes different than teaching at the University level 04:39 Anderson’s 3 year journey to become a Certified Scrum Trainer 10:17 Being a CST is a lot more than just teaching Scrum correctly 11:36 How Anderson went from failing art exams in school to excelling at creating art in his classes 15:45 How big a role does experience working on Scrum teams play into teaching CSM and CSPO classes 19:25 Anderson’s advice for coaches who want to become Certified Scrum Trainers 25:20 Understanding how teaching all day impacts you as a human and planning recovery time 27:32 A word of caution for new CSTs who try to book too many back to back classes 29:32 Parting words of encouragement and advice for CST candidates 32:25 Getting in touch with Anderson 32:27 Interview Ends CST CERTIFICATION https://www.scrumalliance.org/certifications/trainers/cst-certification CONTACTING ANDERSON LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersonhummel/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/anderson_hummel

John Cutler describes himself as a Product Development Nut. He’s deeply focused on Product Development with a Lean /Agile approach and finding ways to improve how we work. He posts his thoughts in Medium, and although he says he is not a professional blogger, he generates new content about twice a week. I really enjoy reading his posts because they always challenge me and push me into seeing things through a different perspective. A few weeks ago John posted an article called “Flow, Decoupling Cadences and Fixed Sprint Lengths” (https://hackernoon.com/flow-decoupling-cadences-and-fixed-length-sprints-3eac1428ad73) in which he challenged the idea of Sprint time boxes. (There is a video version (https://vimeo.com/248376811) if you’d rather watch that ). The article was thought provoking and left me with a number of questions. So I reached out to John and he was kind enough to let me pester him with my questions in a podcast. Show Notes 00:08 Interview Begins 00:50 Some background on John 04:31 Lessons John learned as a touring musician that help him work with teams and build new products 07:46 Intentionally disrupting your flow in order to grow and learn 08:47 Introduction of the main topic - Flow, Decoupling Cadences and Fixed Length Sprints 11:48 Understand they why behind the practices you are applying and figuring out how to make them work for you 13:30 What job do we hire the Sprint for? If you don’t know why you are using these time boxes, they may not be helping 19:47 If you are failing Sprints, is it about the length of the Sprint or the size of the work? Get ridiculously uncomfortable. 22:09 When you can’t get through it, go slower and do less. Blazing away at tempo is not going to help anyone 23:29 Why brand new teams should start by going slower and doing less 25:17 Is it that Scrum doesn’t work, or that people aren’t doing it right? 30:02 Be intentional and understand why you are employing practices, and then figure out how you’ll know if they work 32:27 What is your company hiring Agile to do? 33:42 Know your audience 38:00 Filling your Product Backlog with goals instead of features 41:18 Visualizing dependencies in your backlog - WITH STRING! 51:55 How to reach John 52:36 John’s upcoming events and deliverables 54:31 John’s writing process 55:40 Podcast Ends Links from the Podcast John's post “Flow, Decoupling Cadences and Fixed Sprint Lengths” http://bit.ly/2mNekgR LeanAgile US (February 26-28) http://leanagileus.com FlowState (application) http://hailoverman.com/flowstate Contacting John Twitter https://twitter.com/johncutlefish Medium http://bit.ly/2rkYkrL

This episode of DrunkenPM Radio features a conversation with ThinkLouder’s Giora Morein. During this discussion Giora offers his take on how things have evolved within the Agile space over the past few years and some of the challenges we currently face. For example, if you are trying to use Scrum to build twice the work in half the time, how do you make sure that all the extra stuff you are building is the right stuff? And what if you run out of valuable things to build? Giora and I cover a lot of ground during the interview, which culminates in Giora breaking down life in the world of Post-SAFe-ism. SHOW NOTES 00:08 Podcast Begins 00:50 An update on ThinkLouder 02:15 Taking greater ownership of your organization’s Agile Transformation 03:20 Pivoting from the “You want more agile, you need more coach” mindset 03:45 Why an experienced Agilist and an agile coach are not the same thing 08:48 Have we moved on to the “cleaning up after the party” stage of agile? Have the thought leaders moved on? 12:27 Have we moved on to a less dynamic stage of the agile conversation? What new ideas in agile is Giora paying the most attention to. 16:14 If you can do twice the work in half the time, how do you make sure the additional work you are doing is the right work? 17:27 The new thing…. the language of innovation 18:10 It’s easier to sell increased velocity/speed to IT than it is to sell transformation of an entire business 19:57 It has to start with “What’s the business driver?” 20:45 The only way Giora and I are going to end up with flying cars 22:32 Use Agile to figure out how to best meet the organization’s business drivers (getting deep in Oklahoma) 23:34 Building the wrong thing really fast is not helping anyone 24:13 Micro-maturation in Scaling 24:34 Post-SAFe-ism 25:45 How to reach Giora 26:29 Podcast Ends CONTACTING GIORA If you’d like to contact Giora directly, here are some ways to reach him: Web: https://ThinkLouder.com Email: gmorein@thinklouder.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/gmorein

In this interview Devin Hedge and I dig into some of the research he has been doing around the impact of Digital Transformation, how it impacts consumers and the role that things like Agile and Design Thinking play in helping companies move from an analog way of managing their work to a completely digital way of managing their work. SHOW NOTES 00:08 Interview Begins 00:47 Introduction to the topic of Digital Transformation 01:58 Defining Digital Transformation 04:19 Is there conflict between digital transformation and the goal of having greater empathy for other humans 05:38 Using the Apple Store as a way to dig into the digital vs. deep empathy connection 08:03 Our addiction to the dopamine hit we get from our devices and our need to increase the hit 09:48 Are we letting our desire for the “hit” drive decisions which lead to inefficient business practices? 10:39 How the articles in management magazines drive the pursuit of increasing the frequency and depth of the hit 12:55 Hopper in the tunnels = Stickiness 14:02 How are Design Thinking and Agile actually helping? 18:45 Can developing a level of comfort with constant change also become an addictive hit? 20:17 The constant influx of information can be valuable in some respects and have a deeply negative impact in others. 24:45 Agile can provide a set of tools to hope us cope with change 27:43 What are the challenges of creating a culture where change is the only constant? 30:54 Devin wanders into Dangerous Territory! 35:56 The tools and techniques we use are not destinations. They are ways to deliver more value faster. 37:25 Why we need a User Centric approach 40:10 Summarizing the conversation 41:42 How to get in touch with Devin 42:16 Podcast Ends CONTACTING DEVIN LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinhedge/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/devinhedge Web: http://devinhedge.com

The Scrum Alliance’s Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) designation is changing on Jan 1, 2018. If you meet the qualifications for the current version of CSP, applying before it expires on December 31, 2017 may provide you with a much easier path to the the practitioner level of certification offered by the Scrum Alliance. You’ll find details on the current version of CSP here: https://www.scrumalliance.org/certifications/practitioners/csp-certification In order to quality for CSP there are a number of requirements that must be met including earning 70 Scrum Education Units (SEUs). With the pending change, I have been recommending to all my CSM and CSPO students that they apply for CSP as soon as possible in order to beat the deadline. Many of them have come back with questions about how to earn the SEUs required for the CSP designation. In this podcast, Scrum Alliance Director of Global Leaning and Assessment, Erika Massie and Scrum Alliance Learning Coordinator, Cody Wanberg break down the changes to the CSP certification, the timeline for the change AND we talk though different ways to attain the required SEU’s before the deadline. It’s a short podcast, so no actual  show notes for this one. Just a few things to keep in mind… In order to qualify for CSP before the change you must have your completed application submitted to the Scrum Alliance before it becomes 2018 in Denver. Once you submit, the turnaround time you should expect is 8 weeks. Here are a few of the ways you can earn SEUs… Watch the CST facilitated webinars on the Scrum Alliance website. There are 19 of these and they are an hour each. If you watch  them all, you’ll earn 19 SEUs. Watch the Scrum Foundations e-learning series to earn 1 SEU. If you took a CSM or CSPO, each class is worth 16 SEUs. If you’ve taken both, that is 32. AND, if you’ve taken CSM or CSPO more than once, you get the 16 for each time you take the class. During the interview, Cody and Erika explain that listening to something like the Agile Uprising’s Manifesto Author Review podcast series could be submitted under Category E - Independent Learning. You get 1 SEU for each hour of time spent listening. It is a great series and I highly recommend it. You an find it here. There are a number of additional ways to earn SEUs and you can find that detailed on the Scrum Alliance site. https://www.scrumalliance.org/certifications/practitioners/csp-certification/ways-to-earn-seus Additional Questions If you have questions for the Scrum Alliance about the changes to CSP or SEU’s, send an email to support@scrumalliance.org with the subject line CSP Application Question

Finding a way to scale Agile within the Enterprise has been a very popular topic in Agile for the past several years. With options like SAFe, LeSS, DAD and many others, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that your organization may simply not be structured in a way that can truly support the introduction of Agile. In this interview, James Gifford took some time away from coaching and his work on the Agile Uprising to talk about why the conversation should really be about how “Descaling the Enterprise”. SHOW NOTES 00:10 Podcast Begins 00:44 The work James is doing now 01:45 Finding a job that provides you with a lab where you can run experiments 04:05 When you are coaching, how do you maintain the “child mind” when you walk in the door 06:10 Do you need to be technical to be a good Agile Coach? 07:41 What’s new at The Agile Uprising 12:50 Descaling the Enterprise 14:30 Making the argument for changing the dynamic of how we look at and structure companies 19:11 Have you ever seen anyone tasked with creating flow through the entire organization? 23:17 Making the case for descaling OVER simply buying a scaling solution 25:10 How long does it take to implement the cultural and organizational change a descaling approach requires? 27:27 How do you convince the “C” level to buy into the upheaval a descaling approach will involve (over just buying the promise of a scaling solution.) 29:51 Two leverage points: 1. Scaling didn’t work, but we want what it was supposed to give us, 2. your business is threatened and you need a better response 30:50 How do you measure progress while you are descaling? 36:36 If you want more on this topic, please let us know! 37:00 How to contact James 38:52 Podcast Ends LINKS FROM THE PODCAST Agile Uprising Links Coalition (The Message Board): https://coalition.agileuprising.com Manifesto Author Review Podcasts: http://podcast.agileuprising.com/manifesto-author-review/ Lean Agile Intelligence https://www.leanagileintelligence.com CONTACTING JAMES Email: james.gifford@scrummando.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/scrummando Web: http://scrummando.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scrummando/

Andrew Stellman and Jenny Green are back with a new book “Head First Agile: A Brain Friendly Guide to Agile and the PMI-ACP Certification”, which offers a strong foundational understanding in the most widely used Agile practices. The book is also intended as a PMI-ACP Exam preparation resource, providing complete coverage of the material included on the certification exam. In this podcast, Jenny and Andrew explain why they wrote the book, how PMI-ACP has evolved and why reaching a level where you are no longer concerned about the tools you use to get work done are traditional or agile is a great place to be. SHOW NOTES 01:19 Interview Begins 01:50 Background on Jenny and Andrew 03:30 Who the book IS NOT for 04:48 Who is book IS for and how it can help you move beyond simply going through the motions 06:29 The debate over principles vs. practices and it has impacted Andrew and Jenny’s approach 11:55 If you are new to Agile of have no experience working with Agile practices, how can this book help? 14:32 Why PMI-ACP prep is the secondary goal of this book. (And what the primary goal is.) 16:05 How the PMI-ACP exam has evolved and how Jenny and Andrew approached the topics for this book 19:23 How the authors ensured the book covers 100% of the material included on the PMI-ACP exam 20:21 Is is harder for a PMP to learn Agile, or harder for an Agilist to learn traditional Project Management? 21:40 Reaching the “Ri” level of project management where Agile vs. Waterfall is no longer a concern 22:43 Agile has moved beyond software, even reaching into construction, and how the is impacting PMI’s approach to Agile 24:46 Agile and the PMO: Is the PMO a dead man walking? 26:10 Scaling Agile is large organizations 27:44 What is the most dynamic/challenging area of Agile that we need to pay attention to? 28:29 Getting in touch with Andrew and Jenny THE BOOK You can find “Head First Agile: A Brain Friendly Guide to Agile and the PMI-ACP Certification” here: https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Agile/dp/1449314333/ CONTACTING ANDREW AND JENNY If you’d like to reach Jenny and Andrew, here is how to find them: Their Website: https://www.stellman-greene.com Andrew on Twitter: ‎https://twitter.com/AndrewStellman Jenny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennygreene

In preparing for my How to Hack Agile for Digital Agencies at the 2017 Digital PM Summit I did a lot of research and conducted a lot of interview. This conversation, with Lance Hammond and Robert Sfeir from HUGE Atlanta was the last one I did before the Summit. During this discussion Lance and Robert share many of the lessons they’ve learned in bringing Agile to HUGE and they provide clarity on what it takes to make Agile work in a Digital Agency. SHOW NOTES 00:08 Podcast Begins 01:42 Some background on Robert and Lance 03:17 How long HUGE has been working on introducing Agile 04:40 Resistance from Design when switching to an Agile approach 06:08 Why Kanban may be a better approach for Design 07:39 How the Designers at HUGE approach their work without having all the requirements up front 09:30 Establishing Vision up front with the client and prioritizing options with them 10:33 The client needs to own the delivery from the very beginning and become part of the process 11:50 Making the client your partner in the workflow and decision making process 14:17 Why teaching the client how to work in Agile has to be an accepted cost 16:07 Why those with experience in Agile transformation can be so beneficial for Digital Agencies and what you need to watch out for 17:52 Changing how the work gets funded 20:22 How to change your Statement of Work to support Agile practices 21:47 Tips for convincing your client to want to use Agile to manage the work 24:11 Caring and feeding of the client during an Agile project at a Digital Agency 27:53 Should you include the client in the retrospective? 28:46 Do you need to have cross-functional, stable teams that are each working on only one project? 32:04 How long did it take HUGE to get to stable teams 34:02 Use Lean metrics to find and remove waste 34:20 How critical is it to move to a retainer (fund the team) model 35:30 You have to know why you want Agile, which approach you’ll take, and what you want from it 37:05 Scrum may have you thrashing for a bit before you switch to Kanban… and there is value in that 37:49 Why you need to switch the entire Digital Agency over to an Agile approach (including sales) 39:22: What is the hardest part about implementing/working with Agile in a Digital Agency 42:32 Defining what you are willing (and not willing) to try changing, when you switch to an Agile approach 44:30 How HUGE approaches estimating work 48:40 Why it is so important to watch and learn (inspect) before you start trying to change things (adapt) 50:45 Why Robert and Lance do not believe Scrum can work in a Digital Agency that wants Agile, but why you need to try it first to unlock the value of Kanban 53:00 Contacting Lance and Robert 54:06 Podcast Ends LINKS FROM THE PODCAST HUGE http://www.hugeinc.com/ Agile in Digital Agencies - Dave and Lance from the Atlanta Scrum User Group Meeting https://www.pscp.tv/leadingagile/1YqxomWqrwMGv (there is some static that persists until the interview begins at about 1 minute in) CONTACTING LANCE Twitter: https://twitter.com/lance5684 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-hammond-7288914/ CONTACTING ROBERT Twitter: https://twitter.com/robertsfeir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertsfeir/

In this interview Agile Alliance Board Member Declan Whelan makes the case for reframing Technical Debt and having organizations develop practices and programs supporting Technical Health. During the interview we discuss what technical debt it, how our perception of it has evolved and why taking a more positive and proactive stance for it can be so beneficial for organizations that are trying to improve flow and remain competitive in the marketplace. Declan also shares details on the Agile Alliance’s OnAgile 2017 virtual conference which is taking place on October 25, 2017. SHOW NOTES 00:09 Interview Begins 00:36 Background on Declan 02:35 What is Technical Debt? 03:55 How the definition of Technical Debt has evolved 05:11 Impediments to flow 06:15 Why it makes sense to think of Technical Debt as Technical Health 09:42 How does technical debt happen? 11:15 The environment (or system) may be set up to support increased technical debt 13:12 Explaining to management why technical wellness is so important 14:26 Measuring technical health (and debt) 15:58 Explaining the debt in dollars and showing the value of investing in technical health 16:22 How much faster could you go? 17:25 Why Declan enjoys legacy code and why some folks get frustrated with it 19:00 Finding the right people to work on it 20:16 Should technical debt go in the Product Backlog? 20:55 Employing the Boy Scout rule 24:25 Does Leadership and the PMO understand the importance of dealing with technical debt? 26:00 How the PMO can have a positive impact on technical wellness 30:55 OnAgile 2017 - the Online Conference (10/25) 30:04 What is Psychlomatic Complexity? 34:16 The things in Agile that Declan is focusing on learning about 36:00 Contacting Declan OnAgile 2017 http://bit.ly/2i3G0f6 CONTACTING DECLAN Leanintuit http://leanintuit.com Twitter https://twitter.com/dwhelan LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/declanwhelan/ Agile Alliance https://www.agilealliance.org/