Agile and Project Management - DrunkenPM Radio

During the 2017 Heart of Agile Conference in Pittsburgh, Savannah Rayat gave a presentation called “Enhancing your life with Personal Agility”. During the session she explained how she has applied some basic Agile practices from Scrum and Kanban to refine and focus her approach to life, deciding what is most important to her, and managing teams. Savannah has also applied Agile in other non-IT areas. During the interview, we talk about some of the Scrum practices she has applied in working with her team of Realtors. Show Notes 00:10 - Interview Begins 00:52 - Background on Savannah 01:42 - How Day-Trading fits in with being a Realtor/IT Professional 02:15 - How Savannah defines Personal Agility 04:44 - Savannah’s approach to Personal Kanban and her issue with deadlines 05:31 - The important of setting and maintaining WIP Limits 07:06 - Reducing your WIP to 3-4 10:00 - Preventing the backlash of cutting stuff our of your life 12:15 - Having affection for your interests 12:42 - Deciding what you can live without 14:29 - Long term and short term road mapping 15:48 - Savannah’s Day to Day practice of Agile 18:50 - The need for slack 21:35 - The benefits of self-reflection and coping with the guilt of doing unplanned stuff 23:16 - Making the time for Personal Kanban 24:19 - Accountability Partners 25:33 - How to get started with using Personal Agility 27:44 - How Savannah uses Scrum to support collaboration on her Real Estate team 32:38 - Getting in touch with Savannah 34:39 - Interview Ends Contacting Savannah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savannah-rayat-8942b8120/ on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SavannahRayat Savannah’s Realty site: http://rayatrealtygroup.com Savannah’s Heart of Agile 2017 http://heartofagile.com/Session/enhancing-your-life-with-personal-agility/

Jessie Shternshus is the founder of The Improv Effect and the author of “CTRL SHIFT: 50 Games for 50 ****ing Days Like Today”. In her work, Jessie often incorporates improv techniques to help people tap into the things they need to become better communicators, team members and leaders. She also coaches organizations through Agile transition and cultural change. After recently completing my first improv class, and not feeling very confident that I “got it”, I had lots of questions. Jessie was kind enough to spend some time talking with me about my experience, the benefits improv can provide, what “yes, and…” really means, why it is important and the elements needed to create a safe space where people can thrive and be creative. SHOW NOTES 00:00 Podcast Intro 01:58 Interview Start 02:22 What Jessie has been up to lately 03:42 Jessie’s work coaching people to help them amp up their presentation skills 04:45 The Creative Courage Summit 05:58 Jessie’s Book “CTRL SHIFT: 50 Games for 50 ****ing Days Like Today” 06:17 Intro to the Improv Discussion 07:00 Dave’s fears about the safety provided by the improv framework 07:46 “I’m happy to tell you your being dumb” 08:22 How can you have an environment that is supportive AND critical 08:41 Dave missed some important pieces 09:08 Learning from what makes you uncomfortable 10:04 It’s important to find the class that is right for you 11:50 How you establish a safe improv space 13:36 Safety comes from setting expectations, modeling behavior and getting to know people 16:12 Finding a way to use improv to build camaraderie with remote teams 18:20 Do you always have to “Yes, and…” 18:50 How “Yes, and” works, and the benefits it can bring 21:22 What skills improv can offer to individuals and teams working in an office setting 22:50 Advice from Jessie on how to pick the right class for you 25:19 Part of being creative involves tapping into your childlike self, but you have to feel safe going there 26:18 What if you can’t let go of everything and reach that childlike state? 28:20 Being mindful of the things you are resisting 30:02 Getting in touch with Jessie CONTACTING JESSIE http://www.improveffect.com https://www.facebook.com/improveffect/ https://twitter.com/TheImprovEffect LINKS: Jessie’s Book: “CTRL SHIFT: 50 Games for 50 ****ing Days Like Today” http://amzn.to/2rhOxPk The Creative Courage Summit: http://CreativeCourageSummit.live My Video Podcast interview with Jessie at the 2015 Agile Conference: https://vimeo.com/135568636

There are lots of podcasts about Agile out there and each of them has something valuable to offer to the community. But a few weeks ago, a new kind of Agile podcast launched. John Le Drew is the creator of “The Agile Path”, a long form NPR style podcast… (think Serial for Agile). In this interview, John shares the story of how he ended up working on the podcast, what it was like creating it, some of his current projects as well as details about the process he follows in creating the podcasts and his favorite gear. If you are interested in podcasting, block out some time for this one, there is a lot of valuable stuff in here. SHOW NOTES 00:01 Podcast Intro 00:52 Interview begins 01:19 John’s journey from whizkid geek hooligan to developer to Agile coach/podcaster 10:29 What inspired John to create The Agile Path and the sources that influenced his approach 11:45 Creating the soundscape for listeners 14:15 Finding the right music and getting permission to use it in a very bold way 17:53 The benefits of overcoming the fear of approaching people on your bookshelf 19:57 We should all strive to bring out our inner Woody 20:25 John’s editing process and the work he’s doing on future episodes 22:05 How John is integrating improv in his upcoming workshops and why that is relevant to the topic of safety 25:51 Dave asks John a question about how safety works in improv classes and how “Yes and…” is about accepting what comes to you without judgement and building on it 29:40 Imagine it like a sieve… find the gold 31:09 Paying attention and what that really means 34:28 Scripting it all out, then editing 39:18 Work on the next episode and the schedule John is aiming for 40:29 John’s favorite recording equipment 45:05 Wrapping Up LINKS FROM THE PODCAST The Agile Path http://agilepath.fm Twitter: https://twitter.com/agilepathfm John’s upcoming speaking events and workshops: http://wisenoodle.me/speaking

Scrum Alliance Interim CEO Lisa Hershman shared some time at the 2017 Scrum Gathering in San Diego to talk about the top initiatives being worked on at the Scrum Alliance, including their partnership with Large Scale Scrum, changes to the certification programs and more.

Making the transition to Agile is never easy for PMP’s. Once you re-wire your brain to think like a PM, letting go of all of that you have learned, and accepting a completely different way of working presents a lot of challenges. A big part of what I try to do with these podcasts is to share stories of those who have successfully made the switch and what that transformation was like. At the Scrum Gathering in San Diego a few weeks ago I got the chance to sit down with someone I’ve been hoping to interview about this topic for a long time. Gene Bounds is the Chair of the Scrum Alliance Board of Directors. He is ALSO the former Chair of PMI. He comes from a background that is deeply steeped in the traditional space working on government projects, to someone who is now deeply invested in helping to grow the Agile community and change the world of work. Because Gene has dedicated so much of his life to being in the service of others, first in the United States Air Force, then volunteering for PMI for many years, and now working with the Scrum Alliance, we also took some time in the interview to talk about the benefits that come from investing all that time volunteering. You can find Gene here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugene-bounds-82b70754/ Scrum Alliance: https://www.scrumalliance.org/community/profile/ebounds If you have comments or feedback on the podcast, please send an email to drunkenpmradio@gmail.com

The Trust Artist, Olaf Lewitz, along with his partner, Christine Neidhardt, are gearing ready for their upcoming TrustTemenos Certified Agile Leadership trainings. Certified Agile Leadership trainings are a new, advanced level of training classes being offered through the Scrum Alliance. In this interview Olaf and I discuss the reason for his TrustTemenos CAL class, how it can help people become better Agile leaders, and the value of Certified Agile Leadership. Safety is a very hot topic in the Agile space right now. During our conversation about safety, Olaf shared one of the most powerful things I have heard during an interview this year: “When you talk to people about trust, it rises. When you talk to people about safety, they get scared” Every conversation I have with Olaf leaves me more aware and (I hope) a bit smarter than I was when it began. I hope you will get as much value from listening to this as I did from recording the conversation. And you can find links to Olaf’s upcoming classes and events, as well as his contact info, below the show notes. Show Notes 00:07 Podcast Intro 01:27 Begins 01:57 An overview of Agile Leadership Training 04:48 A skeptical response to the idea of Agile Leadership Training and Olaf’s response 07:16 Developing a thinking model to understand what we need and how that drives our actions 09:11 The power of metaphor in leadership and Dave’s aversion to boats 11:03 Giving people tools to grow their awareness of how they show up 11:34 These classes cover advanced leadership topics - not the basics 12:16 “If you trust in yourself… you will still get beaten by people” 13:05 Skepticism is an important part of any class and any transition 13:32 It’s about being intentional and aware 15:23 There is a specific type of learning that involves being uncomfortable because what you believe is challenged 15:57 Extending the question of leadership beyond work and helping them understand more about their awareness and intention 17:00 Olaf shares a story about his first experience working as a boss 21:29 The advice Olaf about give his 29 year-old self about being a boss for the firs time 22:23 It’s okay to ask for help 24:05 A question about safety and what it means to create a safe space 25:42 When you talk to people about trust, it rises, when you talk to people about safety, they get scared 27:22 What is Certified Agile Leadership Training? What level of knowledge experience do you need to attend? 28:08 What will CAL training do for a leader/manager in an Agile organization? 29:28 Where to learn more about Olaf’s upcoming classes, where you can see him speak and how to get in touch with him if you have questions. Links from the Podcast Showing Up - the book written by Olaf and Christine https://leanpub.com/showingup TrustTemenos Leadership Academy: https://trusttemenos.de Upcoming CAL Trainings - https://trusttemenos.de/certified-agile-leadership-cal1/ Olaf’s session at the 2017 Scrum Gathering San Diego is called: Product Owner: Mapping Dramas and Dreams and it will be held in the Harbor Island 1 room on Monday, April 10 from 1 PM until 2:15 PM For more info on the Scrum Gathering: https://www.scrumalliance.org/sgcal Contacting Olaf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olaflewitz/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/OlafLewitz Website: http://trustartist.com

A few weeks ago Don Kim put up a blog post challenging the value of certifications. I reached out to Don in hopes of doing an interview about it and found out he’s also written a new book “I think Therefore I Plan”. In this interview we discuss the pros and cons of different certifications, taking an artisan approach to managing projects as well as Don’s new book. You can find Don’s book here: http://amzn.to/2n7VEHu You can find Don’s blog post about certifications here: http://bit.ly/2okDUZA Show Notes: 00:07 Interview Start 00:30 What is a Human APEE 03:38 What is an Artisan approach to Project Management 05:15 Don’s Philosophy of Project Management 07:22 Trying to slow down and do less 08:21 Don explains his way of approaching project work and the reason for the book 10:56 How has the traditional vs. Agile debate changed over the past few years 12:53 Seeing the value in every project you work on - regardless of how you got it 16:15 The downside of certifications 17:29 The positive aspects of certifications 18:03 There is more to project management training than just PMP certification 19:48 Making the case for the value certifications can provide and how it can be misunderstood 23:22 Does it make sense for people to want to have a way of gauging their professional achievement? 23:55 What Don expected from PMP certification and how he went deep with the Kerzner to get the most learning out of it (instead of just passing the test) 26:41 Is it the certification that is an issue, or the way people interpret it as an end point rather than a beginning 27:50 An overview of the approach Don’s book takes towards the art of Project Management 30:56 Where you can find Don’t book and how you can reach him with follow up questions 31:54 Podcast Ends You can reach Don Kim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donkim/ Feedback/Comments: drunkenpm@gmail.com

This podcast features an interview with two educators from Grandview Prep in Boca Raton, FL. Aileen Palmer and Susan Rose have been working with the Scrum Alliance, John Miller and Mike Vizdos to help the school implement Scrum for both the students and school administration. The interview explains how Scrum got started at Grandview, the impact it has had on the students, as well as the benefits and challenges they’ve experienced along the way. Show Notes 01:16 Interview Begins 02:01 How Grandview Prep got interested in Scrum 04:59 Agile can be a lot easier for kids than adults 05:52 How Scrum has changed the way the students at Grandview collaborate 06:32 How the kids self-organize to make sure everyone is participating in the work 06:59 How teaching Scrum to a junior in high school impacts their ability to get work done and prepare for college 07:54 How visualizing the work is helping the students understand how to break work down into manageable pieces 08:35 Teaching students and teachers about how to break down the work and plan things out 10:20 Differences between how 1st graders and older kids are using Scrum at Grandview 11:17 The hardest parts of getting started with Scrum in school 13:17 Sometimes the transparency and seeing how much you have to do is overwhelming for adults 14:03 The struggle between Trello and Post-its 14:59 Student rankings and grading at Grandview - and how it has been impacted by Scrum 17:14 How using Scrum has improved the students and teachers ability to give and receive feedback 17:45 The reaction from parents/stakeholders to the introduction of Scrum at Grandview Prep 20:28 What Scrum means for the quiet kids who like to sit back and let others lead and drive the work 21:30 How will Grandview measure success to determine if/how Scrum is helping 22:33 The support Grandview Prep received from the Scrum Alliance 23:14 Advice for educators who are interested in learning more or trying to implement it at their school 24:39 How to get in touch with Susan and Aileen to learn more about Scrum at Grandview Prep 26:10 Wrap up 26:48 Podcast End For more information: Grandview Prep Info and Contacts http://Grandviewprep.net Aileen Palmer apalmer@Grandviewprep.net Susan Rose srose@Grandviewprep.net Scrum Alliance Info and Contacts Scrum Alliance https://www.scrumalliance.org/ John Miller agileclassrooms@gmail.com Mike Vizdos http://www.michaelvizdos.com/ Heather Leigh hleigh@scrumalliance.org

Richard and Dave Show Notes Podcast Topic - You’ve taken CSM Training and passed the Exam. Now what? In this podcast Certified Scrum Trainers Richard Cheng and Dave Prior share their thoughts on most important things that Certified Scrum Master students can do to be successful Scrum Masters once they have completed the training and passed the CSM Assessment Exam. The podcast includes an exploration of why each of the recommendations is critical to making Scrum work and both Richard and Dave share examples from their experiences in the field working with teams who did, and did not have these practices in play. Links Mentioned in the Podcast Geoffrey Moore Vision Statement https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2002/05/09/product-vision/ Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore http://amzn.to/2h3ruRS Roman Pichler’s website (where you can find the tools we mentioned) http://www.romanpichler.com Roman Pichler’s books https://www.amazon.com/Roman-Pichler/e/B00359XCV2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1482305119&sr=8-1 Contact Info Richard Cheng Works for Excella Consulting https://www.excella.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardKCheng Email: richard.cheng@excella.com Dave Prior Works for LeadingAgile http://www.leadingagile.com Twitter https://twitter.com/mrsungo Email: mrsungo@gmail.com Blog: http://drunkenpm.blogspot.com The music featured in the podcast was downloaded from The Free Music Archive http://freemusicarchive.org Intro Song Cash Rules by Ari de Niro. For more info: http://www.needledrop.co/wp/artists/ari-de-niro/ or http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ari_de_Niro/ Outro Song Cherry Skies - The New Mystical Troubadours. Find them here: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_New_Mystikal_Troubadours/

In this podcast, Dr. Sallyann Freudenberg talks about her new book “The Inclusive Collaboration Experiments: A short book of activities about working with all kinds of minds” which she co-authored with Katherine Kirk. The book is part of a campaign that aims to promote, embrace, and celebrate neurodiversity in technology. Sallyann is an agile coach, consultant and trainer who focuses on psychology and collaboration. The Inclusive Collaboration Campaign is dedicated to the memory of Jean Tabaka. Show Notes: 00:00 Podcast Intro 00:35 Interview Intro, background on Sallyann and how she got started learning about Autism 02:39 The Inclusive Collaboration Experiments book 06:00 Being diagnosed autistic vs. exhibiting some characteristics that may be shared by those with Autism 07:48 Confusion about Introversion 08:49 The GOTO Conference in Berlin’s Quiet Room 10:47 The Silence Experiment and how it can be used to support the team 14:00 Supporting the more introverted members of your collaborative team 21:50 The Rules for Neuro-inclusivity Charter 25:30 Should teams strive for neurodiversity? 30:07 Where to find the book and how to reach Sallyann 31:25 Sallyann’s upcoming events 32:03 What is the most interesting thing Sallyann has learned this year 32:50 Closing Links from the Podcast The Inclusive Collaboration Experiments Book LeanPub https://leanpub.com/theinclusivecollaborationexperiments Lulu http://www.lulu.com/shop/sal-freudenberg-and-katherine-kirk/the-inclusive-collaboration-experiments/paperback/product-22927832.html Inclusive Collaboration on Twitter https://twitter.com/inclusivecollab Sallyann Freudenberg on Twitter https://twitter.com/SalFreudenberg Katherine Kirk on Twitter https://twitter.com/kkirk Sallyann’s Presentation from Lean Agile Scotland - Fish Climbing Trees https://vimeo.com/192558543 OOP 2017 http://www.oop-konferenz.de/oop2017.html Wardley Maps http://www.wardleymaps.com Quiet by Susan Cain http://amzn.to/2h7gTX7