Using Scrum for Training Scrum
By Bachan Anand / Filed under Uncategorized / April 27th, 2010
I was fortunate to organize and participate in a 2-day CSM class by Tobias Mayer in Orange County.
Initial two Sprints of the CSM Class
It was fascinating that Tobias was using the principles, values, and practices of Agile and Scrum in order to provide an experiential training for the participants.
The 2-day, experiential training was run as eight Sprints, each with a duration of 90 -100 minutes separated by breaks.
To begin the training Tobias highlighted the importance of open communication and transparency to the team by letting everyone know that his co-trainer was not doing very well. This provided a reminder that it is important to be sensitive at our workplaces to the challenges team members face outside of work, especially those that impact work.
Task Board at the end of Day 1 of the training
In order to exemplify the experiential nature of the training, Tobias actually used Task Board for the training, instead of simply describing the importance of Task Board to visualize work.
He started with a backlog for the whole training, and then picked up stories for each Sprint. Each of the stories were assigned tasks, and he moved the tasks across the board from Task To Do, Work in Progress (W.I.P) and Done. The photo above displays the task board at end of Day 1. Note that you can see the stories completed in the initial four Sprints on training Day 1 and the backlog items to be prioritized for Day 2.
Next CSM Training in planned for June 2nd and 3 rd in Irvine,CA
Below is a complete video that captures the topics covered in this training. Topics may differ slightly for future training. Each class is unique in that mid way through the training the class prioritizes what is important to cover based on the vision statement and what is valuable to the attendees.
Agile Mentoring and Coaching Circle
By Bachan Anand / Filed under Uncategorized / April 22nd, 2010
We started our coaching / mentoring circle last week . Many thanks to Michael Spayd for being our mentor and others who are part of this wonderful group.
So far it has been an empowering and humbling experience to share , listen and receive feedback on the challenges and victories with leaders who are part of the Agile adoption in their organization.I believe having more coaching circles is a very effective way of promoting discussion and getting feedback .
I wanted to share this video so that you get a perspective from Michael Spayd on value of Coaching circles during an Agile adoption.
Here is an article by Michael about coaching and mentoring circles.
How can we add value to CSM Training and Certification?
By Bachan Anand / Filed under Uncategorized / April 21st, 2010
There has been lot of discussions around dropping the letter C and M in the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) Training offered by Scrum Alliance, as some believe that it is misleading to certify someone as Master with only a 2 day training and an online exam. All those discussions have merit and it kept me thinking on how can we as a community take action to add value to this introductory Scrum and Agile training.
If you believe and want to explore how to add value to CSM, I welcome you to read on leave your comments , contribute and take action. If you
- Believe that Agile and Scrum can transform the world of work and want to explore how to add value to CSM
- Think that C and M letters have to be dropped, for I believe you were questioning the value that CSM provides, and not the title. Your question was how can we make the CSM title more meaningful and help the transformation of work .
- Thinks that CSM is good the way it is , because adapting and inspecting anything including CSM certification process is in line with the Agile and Scrum values.
I believe that certification in general has value, and if not anything it shows a commitment from an individual or organization for growth. Personally, CSM is one of the first certifications I have taken other than my college degree, because I believe that the best experience comes from action rather than taking classes. I did CSM because I saw value in it , I wanted to get more involved in the Agile/Scrum community and wanted to pursue being a CSP and CSM.
If you take time to understand what is involved in being a CSM, you will have no doubt that CSM is not certifying someone to be a Master of Scrum and CSM is an introductory course to Scrum and Agile. H0wever if someone in HR or Management does not take time to look at the details, the title can be misleading.
So what do we do to make CSM more meaningful and add value to it? Its not about making CSM an expert, but instead
- making them capable of being part of a Scrum implementation ,
- to be an effective ScrumMaster
- to be a change agent who acknowledges that they have a lot to learn and contribute to the community.
Here are some thoughts on how to add value to the CSM:
1) Beyond the 2 day course , have three or four 90 minute follow-up session with the attendees to answer any questions that they have, to give opportunity in bringing in some more real life situations, and to discuss these situations as a group. This could be facilitated by the CST.
2) Suggest or arrange a session for a group of attendees to come together, have a 1 – 2 hour review session before the exam, and then take the exam together at the same time. If a CST is available for this great , or else this can be self organized by the team.
Why?
- Deepen the understanding of Agile and also get some additional inputs from CST in real life SCRUM implementation.
- Promote the fact that the biggest learning would be from working together and sharing ideas, and provide opportunities for the participants to see the value in it.
- Introduce them to a peer and mastermind group so that they can continue this discussions within same group or in their organizations.
I would love to hear thoughts from others on the same. Let’s take some action , let’s transform the world of work.
Life is good 
| Prerequisites: | Prior to attending the CSM course, students should familiarize themselves with essential Scrum documents and resources. |
| Intended For: | Individuals who will work on a Scrum team. The course has a strong emphasis on the role of the ScrumMaster. |
| Certification Process: | Currently, an individual is certified when he or she has attended, participated in, and completed a Certified ScrumMaster course, and passed/completed the CSM online evaluation. |
| Certification Duration: | The online Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) evaluation launched October 1, 2009 and is a part of the CSM course certification. It is not currently available without a course by one of our CST’s. The CSM evaluation link is located within the members completed profile.
For more information about the certifcation process, refer to Frequently Asked Questions |
| Recertification Process: | To recertify, CSMs who have not previously passed the CSM evaluation will be required to do so. CSMs who have previously passed the CSM Self Evaluation will not be required to retake it, but will be required to provide some evidence of continuing education. ( this process to be determined). The recertification fee is $150. |
More Agile stories ( outside of IT)
By Bachan Anand / Filed under Uncategorized / April 9th, 2010
I was having a discussion with Tien Chiu about Agile for Non Profits and she was asking what is special about Non Profits , isn’t it more about Agile in General. Yes that is true, it is more than non profits , it’s more about Agile outside of IT . Non Profits maybe a good start , eventually it is about spreading Agile values and principles outside in all settings IT, Non Profits, churches,education institution , scientific research and ….
Read on for some exciting work that is already done
“Here in Brazil, me and Marcos Garrido have been introducing Scrum in (mostly free) presentations to professionals of several areas in the past few months. We believe Scrum fits in several kinds of projects, much more than most people think.
We already made presentations for hundreds of young entrepreneurs (not always that young) from business incubators, who’re already starting new businesses in different areas. Before a presentation, the only thing most of them have heard about at that point is PMI/PMBoK. They usually leave the room fascinated about this new way of work and keep in touch with us asking for more material and exchanging ideas.”
- Rafael Sabbagh,4/5/2010
” I intend to try to keep track of what benefits Scrum (if used) will have brought to their new businesses, although it’s not an easy thing to do. I believe that, this way, we’re doing a little part of our share in transforming the world of work.I wanted to let you guys know that I’ve recently run a free CSM course (no certification) for 14 members of non-profits organizations. Everybody loved it and I’ve found 2 very interested candidate organizations for mentoring/coaching as part of my personal RSE initiative (I’m a for-profit organization after all): Greenpeace Argentina & a micro-credit NGO that works with very very poor people.”
Abrazo,
Alan Cyment, 4/7/2010
“We, ReosPartner have a major practice in using Agile for already. Last year we worked with the WWF on education in the UK, with the Charter Accountants Institute on redrafting the World Finance System, UK International Development on Climate Change, and the Dutch Ag Ministry (through a group called Transforum) on Metropolitan Agriculture.”
Matt Gelbwaks, 4/7/2010
Agile for Non-Profits Update
By Bachan Anand / Filed under Uncategorized / April 8th, 2010
April 15th 2010
Next Steps, Notes and discussion from the initial Conference Call on Agile for Non Profits
April 14th 2010
Session on Scrum for Non IT in Brea, CA by Tobias Mayer on April 24th , click here for details
April 12th 2010
Here is the response to the questionnaire on Agile for Non Profits
Here is the link to the questionnaire
April 10th 2010
Two kick off Conference calls are scheduled
April 12 , Monday 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM PST ( – 8:00 GMT) – Kick Off Meeting 1
April 13 2:30 Tuesday 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM PST ( – 8:00 GMT) – Kick Off Meeting 2
Looking forward to the meeting .
April 8th 2010
We have great participation so far for the Agile for Non-Profits initiative and I am grateful for everyone who has joined the groups and are ready to contribute
Here is a summary of where we are
- We have around 60 people who joined the Linked In group.
- We have around 10 people who are enthusiastic about participating to build this initiative and meeting on a periodic basis.
- We have CSTs and other community folks who are already leveraging Agile for non profits ready to contribute.
Next Steps:
- Conference call scheduled for introductions and to determine initial few items for the group to focus on.
- Define vision and mission of the group
- Schedule a train the train program
- Open to anything else that comes up.
Nanni ( thanks in my mother tongue Malayalam)
