Illustrated Agile
It’s been a little more than 18 months since we initially launched our Agile transformation and 9 months since we formally moved from being project-based, siloed, and process heavy to become product-focused, collaborative, and agile. We have made incredible strides throughout our transformation and have countless success stories from our journey – however – we […]
When writing the Agile Leadership Principles post and specifically, the principle around the expectation of excellence, I was reminded of a guest post that Seth Godin wrote for Tom Peters in 2010. One paragraph in particular stood out for me: Excellence means that you’re indispensable. At least right now, in this moment, there’s no one […]
To be truly effective and long-lasting, an Agile transformation must reach every nook and cranny of the organization and this obviously includes leadership. Organizational leadership includes everyone from front-line managers on up – everyone who has someone reporting to them. Oftentimes, managers are the last ones to participate in the transformation or they may not […]
Since our Agile transformation began 9 months ago, I have been able to observe over 100 retrospectives spanning 10 dedicated Agile teams. It’s pretty fascinating to watch the evolution of a newly formed team turn into a well-functioning and dynamic group. Every team has their own language and interactions and it’s important to give the […]
This is the third in a series of posts walking through my approach to the performance review process for Scrum Masters. 10. Visually show the results based on the Scrum Master expectations diagram. To assist in keeping the performance review discussion focused, I take the expectations diagram created in step #1 and draw indicators next to each […]
I suppose it’s that time of year again…resolutions. With my own goals in mind, I’ve created three resolutions for Scrum Masters that are sure to get 2012 off on the right path: Get Personal. Resolve to invest more time in finding out some of the personal, but not intrusive, details about your team members. Birthdays, […]
This is the third in a series of posts walking through my approach to the performance review process for Scrum Masters. 7. Determine the meaning of “meets expectations” for the Scrum Master role. Scale mapping. The rating scale for performance appraisals are typically on a 1 to 5 scale with the rating based on what degree a […]
This is the second in a series of posts walking through my approach to the performance review process for Scrum Masters. 4. Observe, Observe, Observe Be present. In my role as a Methodology Leader, I am able to bounce between many of the Scrum sessions for different teams throughout the day. I set the expectations with the […]
This is the first in a series of posts walking through my approach to the performance review process for Scrum Masters. PREPARATION 1. Set clear and visual expectations for the Scrum Master role. Determine a “noble cause” for your Scrum Masters. Our noble cause is “Amazing Workplace + Happy Product Owners.” As we emerge from […]
As the end of the year approaches, you may be facing the task of preparing for and/or receiving an annual performance review. Like many others (such as Esther Derby), I feel that we need to start thinking differently about this tradition. The reasons are many and Esther does a fine job of describing the reasons […]
The role of Scrum Master is often misunderstood and in some cases underutilized. To help articulate the vision and expectations for the role, here is a sketch to highlight the key focus areas differentiating them from a typical project manager.
#1 – Is my team healthy? Team health can be quite subjective so this question should be answered by looking for the typical dysfunctional team “smells.” These smells usually manifest themselves with minimal laughter and celebration, constant long hours to complete sprints, lengthy and wandering daily scrums, story hangover from sprint to sprint, consistent lateness to […]