Agile Team Values

I was in the process of reviewing the book “Exploring Scrum: the Fundamentals” by Dan Raswsthorne and Doug Shimp of 3Back. I thought the Team Values bears emphasizing (I believe not just within an agile team but more so for any teams that are endeavoring together in a project or program):

1. Openness—I believe the openness is not limited within the team itself, but will include the SMEs, stakeholders and the business owner. There should not be any secrets, nor should anyone be on a “need to know basis only.” I have worked in non projectized structural organizations, along with functional silos in the past. Nothing irritates me more than the lack of openness and forthrightness even with an enterprise.
2. Focus—this is “elementary my dear Watson.” The entire agile or Scrum team must have laser like focus on what is necessary, important, in everything that they do. It would be similar to the eye-shades that race horses put on, during a race. Not that the peripheral vision is darkened (for team members), everyone’s vision is the accomplishment of the sprint goal.
3. Commitment—all agreements and commitments made by the team members, including those outside of the team (SMEs, stakeholders and business owner or sponsor) are followed through. Everyone is true to their word, everyone’s word “is their bond.” There isn’t a need for a written contract for what everyone has agreed to. I love people who deliver based on their prior commitments.
4. Respect—the team members believe and have the presumption that people are always doing their best they can do at any point in time, or any given point in time. The team respects all points of view, including those outside of the team who are looking in (SMEs, stakeholders, and business owner). Finger pointing and blame pointing (so prevalent in my two previous work lives or organizations) were pretty disappointing, counterproductive and morale killer.
5. Courage—the team has the courage to say no, to make the current state of the product visible and transparent, and the courage to stay open with each other.  It is the courage to move forward even without having all the information up front, to overcome team inertia.
6. Visibility—to make the state of the product visible to outsiders (SMEs, stakeholders and business owner). The state of the product is available to the latter.
7. Humor—this is take things in stride, to be able to laugh at ourselves without being self deprecating, a means to re generate and keep the team velocity constant.

I believe even non Agile teams can incorporate these values to their team or teams. I challenge the reader to incorporate these values in your sales team, service team, or marketing team. Let me know how these have changed your organization.

The Dreaded “Networking” Word

Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Project of the Year award (Photo credit: Savannah River Site)

Having lost or having had a recent  contract (for a Dow-listed OEM) terminated, I have been out in market  attending IT (Agile, Enterprise) Chicago meet ups, along with PMI (Project Management Institute) and AITP (Association of IT Professionals) local meetings apart from interviewing with recruiters, hiring managers, and a forthcoming Skype interview this week.

We have heard a lot about coming up with our own personal “elevator speech,” a short introduction and short description of our personal brand and how we bring value to an enterprise or organization. I haven’t really sharpened mine, but in the past five weeks—I have really worked on this. This is a necessity, a necessary tool in our arsenal for personal marketing.

In the process of personal marketing, we have heard the necessity of “networking” at “networking events.” This is pretty hard for someone like a Melancholy (personality type like me). I am, not by nature, a salesperson. I am not an extrovert. To make up my handicap, I married an overtly extrovert, a Sanguine person (but I digress). Nor have I read a “how to network handbook.” From one of the few podcasts on project management (“People and Projects Podcasts by Andy Kaufman ), I heard one of his interviewees say she does not really “work the room”—she was by nature an introvert as well. Her counsel was to just focus on a few meaningful conversations, i.e., one or two, or even three people. I certainly have come a long way during public and association events. I used to just focus on the people I know and not introduce myself to strangers.

I have learned much from the five weeks, and this is what I do nowadays,

• I do now focus on two or three people at an event,
• have a deep and meaningful conversation,
• determine a need whereby I could be of help,
• get a business card so I can connect with them on Linkedin,
• determine a commonality (e.g., running, social media),
• and not worry about “not having worked the room.”

Hope this is a help to someone who is headed to free agency and consulting work. On this path, we are the Business Development, the Program Manager, the Inside Sales, CEO, and Founder—wearing all hats at the same time.

QBQ! Application – Personal Accountability

One of my favorites (actually, for now, the only one) podcasts related to project management is “People and Projects Podcasts” by Andy Kaufman. There are so many truths and principles laid out albeit the podcast is typically 20 to 25 minutes. One of the podcast I have listened to repeatedly is “QBQ,” or question before the question. John Miller is the author of “QBQ,” espousing personal responsibility.

Being in IT/IS/MIS industry, technology is constantly evolving and changing. To put the BQB hat, I should not be asking:

• Why is my employer not providing training?
• Why are my project staff not being provided the needed training?
• Why are the help desk personnel not getting the required technology or application training?

My question or questions should be:

• What additional training and or certification should I undertake to make me more valuable to the PMO, the team, client, or applicable project or program?
• What can I do, given appropriate authority, to get my project team the adequate training relevant to the program or project?

BQB has other timeless truths but this aspect of human capital development stuck with me. This month, I will undergo an e-learning seminar on Agile–Agile Development and Project Management provided by International Institute for Learning, Inc. Personal accountability. It starts with me.