Three day workshop on agile project planning, estimation and execution using scrum @Oracle Mumbai

Past three days, I was with a team of 20+ software professionals from the Oracle financial services, Mumbai. The participation level was very good, as some of them have already experienced scrum within the organization. My sincere thanks to the team for making this training really interesting, and for the hospitality extended to me during the past three days. Wish good luck to all participants for their future projects and career.

Earned value or value burn down

I am just thinking aloud. One of my assignments calls for coaching a team on how to deliver better value to the customer using agile projects. If I am scheduling high value features / themes in the early iterations then the team will be delivering maximum value early in the project and it will taper down over a period of time. Do any one out there use a value burn down chart (sounds very negative and useful) during product, release planning?. Just curious to know.

Scrum @ oracle Mumbai day#2

Are you implementing scrum?, then read this.

I am not bad in starting things, and at the same time do not have the perseverance to make them grand success stories. So is the case with many organisations embarking on the scrum journey. They get into it enthusiastically and then looses interest over a period of time for no major reasons. They do not hate it, and at the same time they do not adore it any more. It’s like buying that new car. You talk about it, take care of it, are enthusiastic about it during the early days of possession and then familiarity broods boredom. Scrum implementations are not different from this. It is here the commitment and the will of the senior management can make a huge difference.

What is the point in sharing ideas in bits and pieces?. So I have charted out a simple roadmap for those implementing scrum, which will help them to be realistic and have sustainable scrum implementations. Please visit http://www.scrmmaturitymodel.org for the first draft. This is an output of my tryst with 27 teams, helping them to implement scrum. Your comments will help to streamline it further.

http://www.scrummaturitymodel.org
http://www.abrachan.com @ kerala2dolist.blogspot.com

Using burn down chart for managing a training program

Iam really happy and the participants are also very happy about it. Our experiment with the information radiator (kanban) and the burndown to manage our three day pmdistilled project management workshop leading to pmp certification resulted in some tangible benefits.

The pressure to complete the syllabus was evened out. We had a smooth take off, flight and landing. This resulted in a relaxed classroom atmosphere which was conducive for learning. There was absolute transparency on the scope to be delivered vs being delivered vs delivered. Every day we completed the program on time without cutting any scope. The most important aspect is the fact that it helped us to deliver more value to our customers and hope to get the returns by way of referrals. Overall a great experience.

Using agile best practices for conducting training

At pmri we are using the burn down chart and the tracking board very effectively to manage our training sessions. We are delighted with the results. We are never under accute pressure to cover the topics, and that means every topic gets its share of time. By preparing the tracking board itself, the participants gets familiar with the syllabus, and it helps to tailer the contents during the planning. At any point the participants and the trainer are sure about the progress made and the balance to be achieved. Unwanted deviations are avoided. Helps to stick to the agreed upon agenda. At peace throughout the training. We are institutionalizing it.

Transitioning from a trainer to a coach

What is the difference between a trainer and a coach. Iam on my way to yet another training. What is the main motivator for me?. What is the growth path for a trainer?. What are the key differences betwen a trainer, a coach and a mentor?. Is this the right sequence of growth for a trainer?. Iam convinced of the fact that i need to innovate my work because boredom is slowly setting in which is bound to happen with repetition. Test driven training and moving from explaining to expriencing are two things which interests me these days apart from my book on agile project management. One key metrics which helps me here is a kind of value stream analysis of the training program, to be precise, effort vs effect. How true it is when people say ‘creative work happens outside office’. Iam still in the taxi, on my way to yet another agile training program.

Adding one more white board – for the product backlog

While doing the sprint planning meeting, very often new feature ideas crops up and if not recorded immediately can be lost. Why not have another white board with post it notes, for the product backlog itself. This gives the team absolute visibility on the shape of things to come, ans their brains also will work on “how to improve the product better”.

In the classtube project, we have three white boards; one for the design to evolve, the second one for the product backlog and the third one for the sprint tracking. It is working well for us.