Growing up I played the piano. I must have been at least slightly musically gifted because there were definitely times I didn’t practice and I got away with it. My music teacher finally quit me, and that was probably a good call. I held myself to such crazy expectations to get things quickly it was… Continue reading A Work In Progress
Category: Agile
Best Books I’ve Read This Year (So Far)
I read A LOT! This year I scaled back my Goodreads Reading Challenge to only 175 books. I’m more than halfway there at 91 books. I’ve been mixing it up, per usual with books both inside and outside my comfort zone. I continue to learn a lot along the way. I’ve got a few, like… Continue reading Best Books I’ve Read This Year (So Far)
The Power of Noticing
Recently I’ve pondered the power of noticing. Not judging, nor solutioning, just noticing. I think it’s a profoundly human instinct to jump directly to solving problems we see. A solution can become part of the problem without pause. Without observation. Without clear eyes to see what’s there, what’s connected, what’s working and not working. At… Continue reading The Power of Noticing
Do No Harm
A feeling has been rising in me over the last year about how agilists choose to speak and behave. At Path to Agility in 2017, it became overwhelming in a moment when a conversation I was a part of took an unexpected turn. If I had not seen Tim Ottinger‘s opening keynote on aggressive curiosity,… Continue reading Do No Harm
The importance of time
It’s an interesting quandary. Organizations say they want to get better and see benefits from agile, but they don’t want it to cost them any time. Things worth doing rarely work that way.
Agile Principles for Everyone
Based on the 12 Agile Principles and adapted for any delivered value. Early and continuous delivery of the most valuable work. Welcome and manage change. It happens. When work can be broken up and delivered in smaller (but valuable and usable) chunks, do it. Work directly with your customer daily throughout projects. Use motivated individuals.… Continue reading Agile Principles for Everyone
Best Practice: Impediment Backlog
At it’s simplest the backlog is a list of work we want to do. There are several types: Sprint Backlog: The work team(s) have committed to do in a sprint, or the work that is prioritized to start first in Lean / Kanban. Product Backlog: All of the work that has been requested to do… Continue reading Best Practice: Impediment Backlog
Common Retrospective Challenges
I often hear about poorly run retrospectives. Below, I’ll describe a few different common problems and some ways I have addressed them. Beyond what I list below, you may want to learn more abut how good facilitation can help any team. Common Challenge #1: Skipping The Retrospective The most common challenge for the practice of… Continue reading Common Retrospective Challenges
Retrospectives for Everyone – CodeMash 2016 – Resources
Materials Slides: Retrospectives for Everyone Photos from Session The Path to Nirvana 1: Now The Path to Nirvana 2: Next Step The Path to Nirvana 3: Ideal State The Flying High Technique Resources Online Retrospective How-Tos 7 Step Agenda for an Effective Retrospective: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/7-step-agenda-effective-retrospective Ben Linders: Designing Valuable Retrospectives: http://www.benlinders.com/2014/designing-valuable-agile-retrospectives/ Ben Linders: Which Questions do… Continue reading Retrospectives for Everyone – CodeMash 2016 – Resources
Materials from “Yes, It’s Alive” CodeMash KidzMash Presentation
For those of you who were interested in my daughter and I’s presentation on Fermentation for KidzMash and wanted more information, we put this post together for you. Kombucha Recipe Materials Needed Sugar (Refined white sugar ferments faster than organic and less quickly minimally refined sugar) Organic Tea SCOBY (optional) Distilled Water Clean Jar Coffee… Continue reading Materials from “Yes, It’s Alive” CodeMash KidzMash Presentation