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AdamM

About AdamM

https://ouragilejourney.com

I have been a software developer since June 2008. Before that I spent almost 5 years working my way from part-time computer support to Systems/Network Administrator & IT Team Lead of a 500 person multiple campus company. Before that I did 2 years as a phone support technician. With over 12 years of IT industry experience spread across both system administration and software development I see IT in a broader scope than most. Now I am becoming something more. I am an Agilist. I am moving on to project management. I am pushing positive change within my team, group, and company. I am looking to provide the best solutions for delivering the most value to organizations in the shortest practical time. I believe that even as I move from implementing Agile to teaching Agile to others I will never be done learning it.

Posts by Adam Myhr:

Red Flag: Combined Product Owner and Scrum Master

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Red Warning Flag On Beach
Stuart Miles – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Every attempt at transition can have issues. Some issues are fairly common regardless of who attempts the transition. No matter who tries to cross the Sahara there will be a lack of water available during the trip. These common issues are often called red flags.

Every desert crossing attempt is unique. The people and methods involved vary. Some may be making the trip over the course of week, others in just a few hours. In each of these circumstances the best way to address the lack of available water is very different.

In Agile transitions there are also red flags. Just as with crossing the desert each Agile implementation is different. As such there is not a proper way to address every issue every time. The more similar organisations are the more similar the solutions may be, but even that is not a given. Today we are looking at the Agile red flag of a combined Product Owner & Scrum Master.

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What We Use

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This week I’m listing out the tools that we use in an average iteration, focused on what helps us on our Agile Journey. I will expand a little on how and why we use them. Basic office and job tools such as furniture and email are not being mentioned. Assume that we have a Microsoft tool for basic things like this that are not mentioned.

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Back to the Basics: Working Software

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High Angle View Of Working Adult Female Doctor Stock Photo
imagerymajestic – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The next value pair starts fairly easily with working software.

Working Software
over
Comprehensive Documentation

 While there are nuances that can be debated over it doesn’t take long for the act of debating them to devolve into little more than meaningless mental exercises. Changing this from “Working Software” to “Complete Products” may help when trying Agile in non-software environments.

The second half of this one, comprehensive documentation, this is the one that most people miss the meaning of when looking at Agile. This one could be debated for a long time. Unfortunately the only generic “right” answer for what it truly means is “it depends.”

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A Beginner’s Guide to Planning Poker

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I have written about estimation before. I have written about Planning Poker before. Today I am going to do a simple beginners guide to Planning Poker. The difference is that this guide is meant to be used by you. You could use it as a presentation presenting the idea of Planning Poker. Alternately it can be used to teach a team and run the first session. With that frame of reference in mind let’s get started.

How many of you like to estimate as a team? I do. I find it an easy process with lots of value for everyone involved. What if I taught you a method that will get your team rapidly reaching a consensus while estimating? These estimates will be accurate enough for iteration planning. As a side benefit, the team will have a better understanding of the product and its future direction. The process is lightweight enough to keep the team engaged. The end result is estimation meetings that are not dreaded by anyone.

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Who is the Product Owner?

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3d businesspeople connecting puzzles.
David Castillo Dominici – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Product Owner. Part of the team; apart from the team. The final answer to the question “what?” The primary respondent to the question “why?” She knows what the users want. He understands what the users need.

The Product Owner (PO) has a great amount of power. (And responsibility – “With great power comes great responsibility.” – Stan Lee via Uncle Ben) The PO ensures the Development Team produces value. In scrum the PO is the keeper of the Product Backlog. The PO is one person. The PO is the final authority for the product. The PO role is not to be taken lightly. It must be given to the proper person. Who that right person is depends on a lot of factors.

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Back to the Basics: Individuals and Interactions

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Engineers discussing in front of computer.
Serge Bertasius Photography – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and Interactions
over
Processes and Tools

This is how the Agile Manifesto starts. Not with a list of acceptable practices. With a statement that people matter. Specifically that they matter more than the process and tools that we use to get value.

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The New Daily Stand Up

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I’ve spoken about the Daily Stand Up before. I’ve also talked about how it didn’t work right for us. Some time in the last couple of weeks I came across a blog post that resonated with me on these meetings.

See, I’m all for Scrum. It’s a great tool. The process framework is something that will really help enable change in most organizations. That said, Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools. The Agilist in me can not allow Scrum to become a sacred cow.

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The Development Team

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Team by graur codrin via FreeDigitalPhotos.net
graur codrin via FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Scrum runs as a team process. Part of the Scrum Team is the Development Team. Having a dedicated team of professionals delivering fully “Done” product is something that every form of Agile can relate to. An unfortunate side-effect of the name is that not every team is created with the ability to deliver a “Done” product.

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The Journey Belongs to All of Us

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I am learning a lot about Agile. Most of it I learn by reading. I also learn by writing. Each post I put here forces me to reign in my thoughts so I can share them cohesively. This is one of my primary reasons for having a blog.

This blog in particular though has more reason for being. One goal I have is for this to be a community. It is called Our Agile Journey, not My Agile Journey, for a reason. There are not many places where Agilists can congregate without being tied to a particular type of Agile. I would like to see a forum someday. I would really like to have other people contribute though.

Maybe you don’t have a blog of your own. Maybe you have one, but it is tied to your company and not a good place to put certain things you would like to share. Maybe you feel you don’t have enough to start your own blog, but would still like to give back. This could be the place to do it.

This is not a place I want to commercialize. No advertorial’s or straight advertisements. Links that may generate revenue are ok, but they need to be relevant. (Such as to a book, class, or business page.) The point here is to give back to the community, not create the next Agile Alliance.

It could be a single guest post. It could be a mini-series. It could be weekly, or even daily postings. It can be attributed to you, a pseudonym, or anonymous. Every author that wants one will get an about page. From there they can link back to their site or their business.

The details are a little fuzzy but will be worked out as the need arises. The important part is that it remains a place to share about our journeys. We can then learn from each other as we teach each other.

If you are interested please contact me via the “contact me” link above, or via any of the methods available on the “about me” page.

Scrum Master Defined

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The topic of what a Scrum Master (SM) seems to be pretty hot lately. In some sense this is confusing to me. I haven’t taken a class and obtained CSM yet. That said, everything I can find points to the CSM and PSM, which I did obtain, being equal. Equivalent in function, knowledge, and ideals.

The Scrum Guide from Scrum.org spells out what a SM does. It does it in 291 words that span half of two different pages. My assumption is that the Scrum Alliance has some similar definition of what a SM does. Of course, Scrum is a framework. Much like the frame of a car is not drive-able Scrum will need more than what is defined to truly deliver value. 

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