Category: adaptation

Scrum At Hail

I’m starting this post with a pun of a title…. hopefully I can weave one together so that this title makes sense…

Let’s say you have an Agile team. You probably call it a Squad, admit it. Let’s also say this team is running Scrum, and because this is all hypothetical, let’s finally say it’s doing Scrum well.

Well done. ‘Twas all you. Give yourself a… self-five.

Let’s now say you have more than one Agile team Squad, at varying levels of Agile maturity at different stages on their Agile journey, and their work is either related to or dependent on each other no, wait, that was right, let’s keep it… and their work is either related to or dependent on each other.

Well, crap. It’s all on you. Pick a scaling framework… from five.

Let’s celebratorily say you’ve picked one. Now you can have focused conversations around ‘the now’ and ‘the next’, incorporating more aspects of the business, and hopefully addressing impediments quickly, even with as many Squads as you have.

Well, there you have it: Scrum, at scale.

This does not make sense when you’re a ScrumOfOne. Or does it? No, it doesn’t. Continue reading Scrum At Hail

I Am Writing A Musical

What’s the next logical thing for me to do? Write a musical, of course.

Started almost 5 years ago, “Annie Get Your Scrum” is a tale of personal struggle, communal dynamics, and software development, of course.

In the course of writing my book, I’ve come to realize that the purpose of the book may have been already accomplished by a purpose of this blog! In learning about who I am and who I want to be, I have written about messages like:

And what’s a conclusion I’ve come to, almost 5 years ago?

Of course.

And thus, I surrender to my playful & silly & punny nature, drawn to create in a curious area where two of my gifts meet: music & Agility.

What’s the next logical thing for you to do?

I Am Writing A Book

If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ll notice that I haven’t been posting much lately.

If you’ve been writing this blog, you’ll notice that I haven’t been posting much lately, either, but you’re OK with it, since you’ve been prioritizing the rest of life, and since the role of this creative outlet is one of journal, where you think through your journey, aloud. This open ruminating on the odd intersection of personal development and Agility ultimately serves me. I am unabashedly the target audience.

(But he said in the title that he’s writing a book… tell us about THAT!) Continue reading I Am Writing A Book

Are you Lazy? Get a Routine

I’m pretty useless after the dance party.

After dinner, the table mostly put away, and our daughter’s toys mostly… not put away (yet), the CD player goes on, and the dance party begins.

Matt Heaton steps the tiny masses through basic behavioural norms like stopping and going. Then there’s a Wombat Dance. (We have a 2-year-old, so this all makes sense.) Before Matt, but still in popular rotation, we had Karen K and the Jitterbugs, wherein you, too, may want to be a Jitterbug, or have Pancakes for Dinner.

At some parentally appointed point, the music stops.

At some later painfully negotiated point, toys are put away.

At some even later peacefully navigated point, our daughter is in bed.

At this point, I’m pretty useless.

There’s 1-2 hours left in regulation time before the daily game is over, and I’m not really in the mood for anything creative or productive. Personal growth-related activities? Pfft, grrrl, please.

So what’s a citizen to do? Continue reading Are you Lazy? Get a Routine

What I Learned from the Consultancy Experiment

Ever wanted to be a mad scientist? As a Biomedical Engineer, my version of this involved lab coats, organs, and Southern accents.

If you drive North from Boston on I-95, before you get to New Hampshire, you’ll see on your right an Alfalfa farm. You’ll know because it is written out in what should be wrought iron.

If you take a Systems Physiology class in college, you’ll learn how the kidney’s mostly passive filtration system is truly magical. You’ll know because your kidneys will vibrate warmly. Giving you a hug. From the inside.

If you put those 2 together, you logically derive the motivation for studying Tissue Engineering in grad school: the commercial for Merrill’s Kidney Farm.

Picture folks in thick-rimmed glasses, wearing overalls, and white lab coats. Cue that Southern accent… Continue reading What I Learned from the Consultancy Experiment