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Scrum: Net improvement or net distraction? --------- "As many of you are well aware, most Scrum implementations are a hybrid of Waterfall and Scrum. As a result, there’s always a Waterfall-like, big-bang deadline quietly lurking in the background. [...] And when that big deadline inevitably arrives, the work from previous sprints is rarely enough to deliver on what was promised. The pressure mounts, Scrum gets suspended, and you’re left with your very own Agile-flavored death march..." "The process is ill-suited to the nature of their work, and they are powerless to change it. The only remedy is to restore autonomy and professionalism to software development. Let developers control both their craft and their process. Treat them as respected peers, not replaceable cogs in a machine. However, achieving these conditions will likely require grassroots efforts by engineers, either through building more ethical organizations or transitioning to freelance work." --------- One of the aspects I most appreciate about freelancing is the incentivised focus in working relationships: Clients value your domain expertise and trust you in deliverying code, hence you are given a high degree of autonomy which you're expected to make good use of. Besides writing code, building a system of work which supports day to day activities, i.e. linters, security checks, CI/CD automation is essential and the tooling to achieve this in any software niche have hardly been ever better than today - and are a major reduction of stress in my day-to-day work. Yet the way overall work is planned seems unsuited to the way work is actually done. What do you think? Is Scrum a recipe for burnout or imposing much needed constraints in order to focus work? Back to waterfall?

The Crucial Intersection of Agile Methodology and Distributed Version Control Systems in CSIS Education In the fast-paced realm of Computer Science and Information Systems (CSIS), the classroom serves as the foundation where theoretical knowledge meets practical application. Among the myriad of concepts and tools, two pillars stand out as essential for both academic learning and real-world readiness: Agile Methodology and Distributed Version Control Systems (DVCS). Over this last year I have applied agile strategies learned in the CSIS industry and DVCS in my programming courses taught at Murray State University and the results have been quite interesting. A recent study being completed this month has shown that students not only value knowing DVCS but desire to explore it and add it to their skill set earlier rather than later. Agile Methodology, with its iterative approach and emphasis on adaptability, has become a cornerstone in modern software development. Its principles instill in students the mindset of continuous improvement and collaboration, essential for navigating the dynamic landscape of technology. Yet, its true value transcends the confines of academic exercises, finding its greatest utility in real-world scenarios where projects evolve rapidly and stakeholder feedback is paramount. Similarly, Distributed Version Control Systems, exemplified by platforms like Git and Mercurial, revolutionize the way developers manage source code. By decentralizing repositories and enabling seamless collaboration across geographically dispersed teams, DVCS fosters a culture of transparency and accountability. Such tools empower CSIS students to not only track changes efficiently but also to collaborate seamlessly, mirroring industry-standard practices from the outset. While these concepts may seem abstract in the classroom, their integration into CSIS academic training is pivotal for preparing students for the demands of the professional sphere. Early exposure to Agile Methodology cultivates adaptive thinking and fosters a mindset of continuous learning, while proficiency in DVCS platforms equips students with the collaborative prowess necessary for success in distributed work environments. In essence, the fusion of Agile Methodology and Distributed Version Control Systems in CSIS education serves as a bridge between theory and practice, laying the groundwork for students to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of technology. By embracing these foundational principles early in their academic journey, students not only gain a competitive edge but also cultivate the resilience and agility needed to excel in the real-world challenges that await them.

📖 We've all heard of Agile working but how can this apply to the classroom or running a school? Let's explore Agile Schools.... 🏫 The Agile Schools Manifesto is an adaptation of the well-known Agile Manifesto that has been applied to education. It was developed by Steve Peha, founder and president of Teaching That Makes Sense, who sought to uncover better ways of learning and teaching. As a software entrepreneur, Peha recognized the value of Agile principles and decided to explore how they could be applied in schools.     The Agile Schools Manifesto emphasizes a student-centered approach to education, challenging traditional methods. Let's delve into its four key pillars:     1. Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools: This pillar emphasizes the importance of human connections within the educational context. Rather than focusing solely on tools or rigid processes, Agile schools prioritize meaningful interactions between students, teachers, and other stakeholders.     2. Meaningful Learning over the Measurement of Learning: Instead of fixating on standardized tests or grades as the sole indicators of success, Agile schools value meaningful learning experiences. The focus shifts from rote memorization to understanding concepts deeply and applying knowledge in practical ways.     3. Stakeholder Collaboration over Constant Negotiation: Collaboration among students, teachers, parents, administrators, and other stakeholders is essential. Agile schools encourage open communication, shared decision-making, and collaboration to improve the overall learning environment.     4. Responding to Change over Following a Plan: In an ever-evolving world, education must adapt to new challenges and opportunities. Agile schools embrace flexibility and agility by responding to changes promptly rather than rigidly adhering to predefined plans.     By adopting these principles, Agile schools aim to create an environment where students actively engage in their learning process, where teachers collaborate effectively, and where continuous improvement is valued over static routines.     This paradigm shift challenges traditional top-down management approaches in education. Instead of imposing priorities solely from above, Agile schools seek input from students themselves—acknowledging that their voices matter in shaping their own educational experiences.     In summary, the Agile Schools Manifesto encourages a dynamic and student-centered approach that values collaboration, meaningful learning, adaptability, and interactions among all stakeholders. It represents an exciting shift toward more effective and responsive educational practices. I am interested in learning about how you incorporate Agile methodologies into your classroom, school, or organization, let's talk!

Why I don't promote crash courses ☠ in Agile as part of my Agile Mentorship Program (AMP)? 1. Crash courses or quick fixes are like satiating your hunger 🥪 temporarily. It's not going to solve your hunger problem as such. It's like I catch a fish and give it to you. However, how about you learn the art of fishing 🎣 from me? Crash courses are like saying "Speed thrills but kills!" Crash courses do not quench your thirst... 2. Scrum is a good place to start your agile learning. However, "Scrum" is not a silver bullet to solve all problems or all the real-time challenges in your complex IT engagements. Hence, solutions exist beyond "Scrum". Only knowing Scrum will NOT help going forward. Understand that Scrum is Agile but Agile is NOT just Scrum! And "Scrum Master" does not mean you will be the master of a single entity/competency called "Scrum". 3. I do have a course in my AMP as "150 - Agile Interview Questions & Answers". However, it's a course that would take around 30 to 45 days of your commitment. Understand that real-time capability building would take some time. It's not like a weekend certification program! 4. The intent is not just to get offer letters 📄. There is no point in getting an offer letter with a high CTC 💰 and you end up having sleepless nights struggling to deliver sustained value in your new company/next project. Any improvement should be "holistic" in nature. Your next job or new opportunity should also provide you with a sense of well-being, happiness, being respected in your circle, etc. After all, Money 💵 is one of the by-products of the value that one creates in the market! isn't it? I also wanted you to watch my entire below video which is the "introduction class" alone of my lesson plan on 150 Agile Interview Questions & Answers and then get back to me if you are committed to expediting your career trajectory in agile using a well-structured learning approach. https://lnkd.in/gfC-ZHJR Above is a real-time mentoring video embedded in that link. The link is also shared in the comments section of this post now. This lesson plan is created and curated by me based on my 22 years of experience in IT, 14+ years of experience in Agile, and 8+ years of experience as an Interview Panel Member for multiple job roles in Agile. Attached are a couple of the recent testimonials from my Agile Mentorship Program (AMP) as a sample out of the umpteen testimonials to date. #agile #coaching #mentoring #capabilitybuilding #experiencematters #expertise #interviewquestions #interviewquestionsandanswers #interviewcoach #

Empowering Teams through Agile Learning at Raiffeisen Bank International AG! I'm currently working on a special learning initiative aimed at revolutionizing how we develop our test engineers in test automation while at the same time developing agile engineering coaches to agile learning guides meaning: Kill two birds with one stone In response to a pressing need to upskill over 40+ team members in test automation foundation, I'm thrilled to share our structured approach using Agile Workplace Learning methodology. We're kicking off by selecting a core group of 5 individuals ( 3Test Engineers and 2 Engineering Coaches) ready to dive into the world of test automation and agile learning. They'll work as a learning squad in agile learning sprints, tailored to their skill levels and learning preferences. But here's where the magic happens! Alongside their learning journey, Agile Engineering Coaches will join the sessions, not just to guide but also to learn. They'll observe, absorb, and prepare to implement the Agile Workplace Learning approach themselves. In other words: They will learn our Agile Learning approach by supporting their colleagues in Agile Learning". Armed with their newfound expertise, our freshly educated team members will transform into Learning Guides. They'll lead subsequent learning sprints, each targeting a group of 5 individuals. With each round, the level of support from my side will diminish, empowering the Learning Guides to take ownership of the process. But our journey won't end there! After each education round, we'll conduct retrospective sessions. We'll listen to feedback from participants, Learning Guides, and Learning Experts, adjusting and refining our approach. Continuous improvement is at the heart of what we do. I'm currently delving into an excellent book, "Agile and Lean Concepts for Teaching and Learning*," which has provided a wealth of additional helpful insights for this learning initiative. One chapter, in particular, explains how to use "eduScrum**" for developing software engineers. Conclusion: A Future of Growth and Empowerment By leveraging the Agile Workplace Learning methodology and empowering internal resources, we're creating a scalable and sustainable solution. Our goal? To equip our teams with the necessary skills and knowledge to drive excellence in test automation within Raiffeisen Bank International. *https://lnkd.in/diJxQvrh **https://lnkd.in/dGfBx7DB

Embracing Agile principles and the Scrum methodology in education has a profound impact on our children and students' academic growth. For a start: 1. Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools: As teachers and parents, we should focus on understanding why students grasp or struggle with a topic. Open, honest conversations are key. For example, my son quickly solved a math problem (34 x 12) using a method that was new to me. He explained his approach step-by-step, 12 x 4=48, carry 4, then 12 x 3=36 add the 4, which equals 40, so answer is 408 which was faster and more intuitive than my traditional method. This interaction taught me the value of being open to new techniques, highlighting that examiners care more about correct answers than the method used, method marks are awarded if incorrect answer. This efficient approach saves time and enhances learning. 2. Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation: The use of interactive whiteboards (smartboards) revolutionises how we teach. These tools make lessons more engaging and accessible, such as demonstrating how to use a protractor accurately. By presenting lessons in an interactive and differentiated manner, we can cater to the diverse needs of all students. 3. Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiations: Involve students in discussions about teaching styles and approaches. Encourage them to share their ideas and opinions. You’ll be surprised by the insights they provide. By allowing students to have a voice, we can create a more inclusive and effective learning environment. After all, they are our customers. 4. Responding to Change over Following a Plan: While having a well-prepared lesson plan is essential, we must be adaptable. Continuously assess students' needs both in and out of lesson time. Use thoughtful questioning to gauge understanding and adjust your teaching style as needed. Even when following a set curriculum, be flexible if students are struggling. Effective teaching is about ensuring comprehension, even if it means deviating from the original plan. Incorporating these Agile principles into our educational practices can lead to more dynamic, responsive, and effective teaching, ultimately benefiting our students’ learning experiences.

Implementing Scrum in Education: A Framework for Success Applying Scrum principles in education—particularly following Scrum events for planning, teaching, and feedback—can lead to more effective teaching and improved outcomes for students. Sprint Planning for Lessons: Start by planning a unit or topic with your colleagues. As a team, break down the content into manageable lessons, typically spanning 2 to 4 weeks with 4 lessons per week. During this sprint planning, assess the content to cover and determine the feasibility of delivering it within the given timeframe. This collaborative effort helps ensure a comprehensive approach to teaching, where team members contribute ideas on how to break down and teach each aspect of the topic, rather than it being an individual task. As part of this process, identify potential misconceptions students may have and plan follow-up lessons to address them. Share best practices for delivering each lesson, discuss potential extension/differentiated work, and suggest key questions to prompt deeper thinking. This teamwork approach ensures consistency in teaching and a stronger foundation for student understanding. The team also agrees on how to scaffold the units based on the department’s scheme of work. Daily Scrums: In this context, teachers are the developers. Often, either consciously or unconsciously, teachers gather in the department staff room and discuss challenges they are facing in their lessons, how students are responding, and what improvements can be made to enhance understanding. These informal daily scrums provide a valuable space for quick reflections, problem-solving, and REAL-TIME adjustments to teaching strategies. Weekly Department Meetings: Weekly department meetings serve as formal retrospectives where the team reviews how the lessons are progressing. This is a time to address any stumbling blocks, such as behavior issues or challenges with content delivery, and refine the plan for upcoming lessons. The department shares feedback, discusses what is working, and makes necessary adjustments. Stakeholders and Feedback: The senior leaders—your stakeholders—are expecting positive results, while the students—the customers—will ultimately test whether the teaching has been effective or teaching style as been great. Student performance and feedback will provide critical insights into the success of the sprint and inform how future lessons should be adapted. This approach, rooted in Scrum events, promotes a structured, TEAM-BASED process for planning, teaching, and reviewing lessons, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for both teachers and students. More on the other Scrum events will be explored in future discussions, focusing on how each phase unfolds based on the sprint plan.

Agile careers are in danger. Here are my top 5 reasons along with what I'm doing about it 1. Agile is about adapting and responding but most agile is done with pre-determined methods 2. An explanation of the cause and effects in how we work is mostly ignored, yet people learn slower and even resist good practices without it. Learning without understanding is very slow 3. Management is essential, but many agilists have a negative view towards them and most don’t provide them a means to improve 4. How people learn, listen, react and resist to new ideas is mostly ignored making improvement even slower. It also results in those people who do learn new concepts not being effective coaches 5. The high cost of training that provides no experience means people need to figure out much of what’s already known. Ironically, the people who provide training with no experience being gained are the same ones who say you need experience to understand The combination of the above has resulted in many essential concepts and practices not being manifested in many places Amplio University addresses all of these 1. Amplio includes a diagnostic method that collaboratively identifies your challenges and creates an improvement backlog 2. Amplio is based on the theories of Flow, Lean, and the Theory of constraints. It embeds ToC’s inherent simplicity in it to provide a deep understanding of the cause and effects present in knowledge work. Taking advantage of what you know enables you to be effective with the complex issues also present 3. It includes an effective role of management to support their teams and enable organization wide effectiveness 4. Amplio integrates how to coach and consult with its concepts 5. Amplio uses modern training and technology approaches to drop the cost of live training by 90% while creating more effective learning experiences The question isn’t if the Agile landscape is changing. The question is “why did it take so long.” And now that the shift has happened, expect it to accelerate quickly. As people are learning that Scrum Masters and Agile coaches are not that valuable, the bar is being raised even further by AI. It is likely that the bottom half of Agile coaches will find themselves without jobs in the next couple of years. The time to prepare for that is now. Fortunately, experience isn’t the only way to jump to the top. As noted above, the focus on experience without attending to how people learn has stagnated the path of many. There is no reason for you to be held back by this anymore It's not in a better 2-day workshop, but a different type of learning The biggest impediment to reducing the technology gap (see picture) is effective affordable learning experiences Amplio University provides this for about $40 and 4 hours a week over a six month period Live training at the cost of self-study You can not only separate yourself from the pack, but you can lead much of it. Check out the url at the bottom of the attached picture

Agile, Agilism Cult has destroyed programming and, by extension, software engineering, converting them into a kind of meaningless, micromanaged blue-collar job where everyone else, except programmers and software engineers, has something to say or order. Programmers have completely lost all their former power to the benefit of the technically illiterate scrum masters, who in turn are simple sycophant drones of the technically clueless upper management. This is why if you don’t use programming for yourself as a secondary part of your professional/business goals, think twice before going into it, because it has become a rat race played against you.

Are you up to changing the world? I invite you to join me because that is exactly what I’m working on. A bit grandiose, I know. But I am serious. Over 20 years ago, when the Agile Manifesto came out, this was how many of us felt – let’s change the world with Agile. Unfortunately, that enthusiasm was used to create a controlled training vehicle for a handful of people.  Agile now means expensive and ineffective certification programs in methods that don’t even pretend to see what your problems are before adopting them. The real cost of this is: - 85% of what’s learned in a 2-day workshop is lost in 1-2 days. - people use methods that are not fit for their situation - much of what’s been shown to be effective is not being offered - That the verifiable theories of flow, lean, and the Theory of Constraints are mostly being ignored in companies. - companies spend billions of dollars reinventing training materials that should be virtually free - companies are working at a fraction of their potential Agile is not dead, but more and more people are looking to create their own methods. I want to help them based on what I’ve seen work. “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein “A comfort zone has less to do with control and more to do with knowledge.” Eli Goldratt My Amplio Consultant Educators program looks at first to be a way to turn good consultants into great ones. It is more effective than normal live training because you learn over time yet is priced as if it were online training. But its real purpose is to get the right concepts to the right people at a significantly lower cost than in today’s market.  And to enable them to do their own internal training and consulting with license free materials. To change the world. Shift companies from followers to educators. I’m doing this by working with the ACEs to learn through co-creation. No one or two people can solve this problem. It takes a dedicated community. Right stuff – know what needs to be done to be effective and also know how to convey it. Right way – 10x effective learning methods at 1/10 the cost by attending to how people learn and taking advantage of remote training possibilities Right cost lower the time for people to learn, the waste of using not-fit-for purpose methods and the cost of internal training. Enable companies to have their own people be the “Agile” experts. If this is exciting to you set up a conversation – see my profile and book an appointment. And it’s ok to be just committed to changing your career or your company. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead