Agile Mentors Podcast

Join Brian Milner and Sherman Gomberg for a discussion of the importance of a Scrum team’s developers and why self-organizing teams are at the heart of agile methodologies like Scrum.  In this episode of the Agile Mentors podcast, Brian Milner and Sherman Gomberg discuss the evolution of one of the Scrum roles: developer. They also explain why self-organizing teams of developers have become critical to all organizations.  On agile projects, developers are the people who “do the work” and while at first glance you may see agile developers as always engineers or other software development professionals, that’s not invariably the case. According to the Scrum Guide, the development team can be composed of all kinds of people including designers, writers, programmers, etc. Using over 25 years of Scrum, agile, and project management experience, Sherman and Brian compare notes on the topic of how to build and sustain agile, self-organizing teams. They share their insights and advice on why empowering individuals to work in cross-functional agile teams leads to greater efficiency, higher rewards, and lower risks.  Listen now to discover:  -       03:38 –How to tell whether your agile team is self-organizing -       05:25 – The advantages of having self-organized teams in agile environments  -       07:10 – Bruce Tuckman’s four stages of team development: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing -       09:17 – Advice for Scrum Masters and product owners on how to promote self-organization among team members -       09:60 – The parallels between software teams and sports teams: self-organize and work together to shine  -       13:34 – How and why to build a learning organization  -       18:00 – The definition of “self-managing” as cited by the Scrum Guide -       22:00 – How to address bug-fixing and technical debt during a sprint -       28:00 – The three most valuable practices adopted by developers in a sprint -       37:50 – The importance of understanding the developer role and why all three roles on a Scrum team should take a Scrum developer course -       40:48 – The role of a tech lead in Scrum   -    43:00 – Why it is essential to form a team of equals and how self-organization works to support this  Listen next time when we’ll be discussing… Sprint planning with guest co-host Scott Dunn. You’ll learn about the sprint planning event as described in the Scrum Guide and the 3 essential “Why? What? How?” topics addressed in order to plan successful sprints. References and resources mentioned in the show ●      Scrum Guide ●      The Bruce Tuckman Model ●      The Agile Manifesto       Want to get involved?  This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input.  ●      Enjoyed what you heard today? Don’t forget to rate and review: it really helps!  ●      Got an agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode’s presenters are:  Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He’s passionate about making a difference in people’s day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work.  Sherman Gomberg is CEO at Scrum Adventures, Inc. He is a CTC and has a total of eleven certifications from the Scrum Alliance. He has over 25 years of experience with agile, Scrum, and project management across various industries. He enjoys working with teams during breakout sessions in online courses, where he helps to bring curiosity to valuable discussions and in doing so, moves the needle from training to knowledge obtained to knowledge applied.

Join Brian Milner and guest co-host Lance Dacy to look at the key capabilities of the product owner, mistakes to avoid, and getting maximum business value from the resources available.  In this episode, Brian Milner and guest co-host Lance Dacy take a detailed look at the role of the product owner.  They discuss a common source of confusion about what a product owner is, or does: people try to boil down the role to its tactical processes—such as writing user stories. The product owner may be accountable for these processes, but providing direction for what the team is trying to accomplish is their forte.  Product owners need to be great communicators and collaborators, with passion for solving problems with their product. Brian and Lance share their experiences of what makes a great product owner, the importance of protecting a team’s capacity, and why saying no is often essential to protecting the vision. Listen now to discover:  04:10 - What’s the difference between a product owner and a product manager?  07:25 - Henrick Kniberg’s criteria for successful product owners  08:57 - Why Scrum Masters focus on the how and product owners focus on the why 09:05 - What does ‘being passionate’ mean to a product owner?  12:48 - The mistake of trying to be too productive as a product owner  19:46 - Can you combine other roles with that of the product owner?  25:55 - What should you find out about a company before accepting a job offer as a product owner?  34:49 - Why one of the most important things you can do is act as a steward of the team’s capacity   Listen next time when we’ll be discussing…  A special bonus episode with details about Brian’s talks at the upcoming Scrum Gathering on June 6-8   References and resources mentioned in the show Agile Product Ownership in a Nutshell - Henrick Kniberg   Want to get involved?  This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input.  Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one.  Got an agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com    This episode’s presenters are:  Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He’s passionate about making a difference in people’s day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work.  Lance is a Certified Scrum Trainer®, Certified Scrum Professional®, Certified ScrumMaster®, and Certified Scrum Product Owner®. Lance brings a great personality and servant heart to his workshops. He loves seeing people walk away with tangible and practical things they can do with their teams straight away. Show edited by Rhett Gill.  

In this special episode, Brian describes the upcoming Scrum Gathering in Denver, including the subject of his talks on the daily scrum and leadership styles.  The Scrum Gathering is happening in Denver on June 6-8, so in this podcast episode Brian discusses the conference and shares a preview of his two talks: one on the daily scrum and one on leadership styles.  In “Daily Scrums Suck: How I Killed the Daily Scrum and Replaced it with Something Even Better,” Brian shares his advice for making the most out of those 15-minute meetings. For his second talk, “The Opposite of Leadership: The George Costanza School of Agile Leadership,” Brian designed an interactive workshop to encourage you to turn your idea of leadership on its head to perhaps reveal a much better way to lead.  Listen now to discover:  02:33 - Daily Scrums Suck - a teaser about Brian’s first session 03:45 - The George Costanza School of Agile Leadership - details about Brian’s 75-minute workshop 08:33 - Why go to conferences? The value is often in the connections as much as the content 14:19 - If you have a Scrum Alliance certification, one conference can help you earn SEUs you need to renew 15:03 - How conferences can help you chart your next career steps 18:29 - The Coaching Clinics available at the event 19:25 - The Open Space - anyone attending can pitch a topic to talk about and Brian shares his tips for getting the best from this opportunity 21:38 - Introverted? So is Brian, but here’s how he survives a conference environment 24:55 - Planning to attend and want to meet Brian? Don’t hold back!  Listen next time when we’ll be discussing…  Join Brian Milner and Sherman Gomberg as they discuss the importance of the developer role within a Scrum team and why self-organizing teams are at the heart of agile methodology. References and resources mentioned in the show Global Scrum Gathering 2022 Brian’s Talk Descriptions George Costanza turns his life around by doing the opposite Want to get involved?  This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input.  Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one.  Got an agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com  This episode’s presenter is:  Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He’s passionate about making a difference in people’s day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work.

Join Mike Cohn and Brian Milner as they discuss the Scrum Master role: its distinctions from project management, Scrum Master responsibilities for team success, and advice for new Scrum Masters. In this episode, Brian Milner talks with Mike Cohn about the Scrum Master role from the inception of its title to the role it plays in agile today.  Mike Cohn has trained more than 30,000 Scrum Masters and shares his experience of the challenges he faced early on helping project managers to transition to effective Scrum Masters.  Brian and Mike discuss the distinction and overlap between traditional project management styles and the servant-leadership role of the Scrum Master. They also talk about how responsible a Scrum Master should be for the success of the project and the success of a team.  Finally, Brian and Mike share the advice they would give to Scrum Masters who want to be valuable to any team and organization—including those looking to get their first job in this role.  Listen now to discover:  02:14 - Why the Scrum Master title was created to help people succeed in this position  04:54 - Job role, title, or accountabilities? Is one more important for defining someone’s position in a Scrum team?  07:41 - The key differences between a project manager and Scrum Master 08:43 - How responsible should a Scrum Master be for the success of a project?  13:21 - Facilitator or leader? How not to fade into the background 17:46 - How to deal with people in power who make bad agile decisions  22:06 - Continuous improvement doesn’t mean you should play it safe 26:34 - How do you know when you’re ready to break the rules to be a successful Scrum Master? 27:06 - No experience and looking for your first job? What to do (and not do) to improve your resume Listen next time when we’ll be discussing…  The product owner role with guest co-host Lance Dacy. You’ll learn what it takes to be a great product owner as well as common misunderstandings people have about the role.  References and resources mentioned in the show Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch Kaizen approach for continuous improvement Lyssa Adkins Coaching Stances Want to get involved?  This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input.  Enjoyed what you heard today? Take a second to leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one.  Got an agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com  This episode’s presenters are:  Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He’s passionate about making a difference in people’s day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work.  Mike Cohn is co-founder of the Scrum Alliance, and founder of Mountain Goat Software. He’s a veteran of applying Scrum and agile principles and practices to help organizations build better products, and ship them on time. Show edited by Rhett Gill.

Agile expert Mike Cohn discusses succeeding with agile, choosing a framework, and breaking the rules. Topics include misconceptions about Scrum, importance of team decision-making, dangers of strictly following rules, and the evolving nature of Scrum. They also touch on the importance of culture in agile implementations, keys to success in transitioning to agile, and the significance of continual improvement.