Deadlines: a boost

When you work with a team of smart people, deadlines can actually be positive thing. But there’s a catch: deadline cannot be fake.

If the deadline is something with meaning for end users (not just for the sake of plans- although we all understand the importance of those), the team will take a responsible approach towards delivery .

It’s a pretty simple principle: people need a purpose.

If the deadline is something that makes sense to the real world, then the team will be able to take decisions based on priority, will be more aware of consequences and will be able to keep decisions and options simple  and focused. Better than any manager, after all they know the real consequences of every option.

Have you read about Real options?

Read it, @PapaChrisMatts and @Olavmaassen have made a pretty good job explaining  it.

 

Key indicators of Team happiness

Key indicators of team happiness was something that struck me the other day. Out of nothing, as always, something I heard while walking through the corridors and  that made this click on my

head. Then I started observing some other things happening around me that also were a sign of team’s happiness. There is more stuff for sure, but I will only talk about this 3 obvious things you will certainly also notice around you.

I see teams cursing and damning the software and the build system (oh that little red devil). I see them stressed, under pressure, in frustration, angry, confused, tired.. you name it. Think about yourself! But nevertheless you can see some indicators that they love their work and that they are actually pret ty happy about that they achieve and with whom they do it.

Here are just 3 of the most silly but obvious one’s:

1. System.out.println(“Hello World!”);

They get here in the morning with their big smiles saying hello to everyone and telling silly jokes just to get everyone in the mood. They look like saying ” Hey i’m back home again, just went out

for some sleep”. This is a most positive point. They are not playing goofy, they are sharing their happiness for being at that place with the people they like to spend an important part of their day. Actually the most important if you think about it! When you get home, all the stress goes away, you are in your kingdom with your loved ones. While at work, you are under pressure, dealing with different cultures, people, opinions, failures and success. That’s where all the thrill happens!

2. System.out.println(“See ya Later Alligator!”);

They leave in the afternoon, but they take too long packing because they still want to chat a bit and be sure everything will be the same the day after.

A kind of promise everyone will be back. This is also positive. Means they are of course happy to leave, cause life exists outside the office, but they are happy they can come back. They will come back. And do it all over again. They don’t have to, they want to.

3. System.out.println(“We are Awesome!”);

This is for me the most important indicator, and the one that made me write this post. It makes the best of my day, when I to wonder through the corridors and lots of times hear people talking to each other saying: ” you know what would be cool?”
And this is the most important indicator you need to know in order to understand if your team is happy about what they do. When they are always trying to think out of the box, thinking about new stuff for the product they are building.. not just getting stucked to the plans, no! having space to dream and create, thenyou know they care for it. They like it and they want to make it even better.

This is what makes them return every morning. This is what makes me return every morning. The amazing everyday.

See ya!
Catia

A gift for the Agile Community

Hi there!

WAZZUP ?!?   :D

 

Long time no see, it’s how they say…when you are having fun you don’t have time to tell about it :).

But this is not what has brought me here today. today I have good news and A GIFT for all the people in the agile community.

This is a personal project I have together with my dearest friend @pintolaranja (translates into Orange Chick) , with no intention of getting rich or be (more) famous ( ;>).

This is purely from our hearts, with the evil intention to  make it easy for all of  us who want to know what’s, and where are the hot agile events happening.

We intend to upgrade this with a cool map and enhance user experience. For that we need you to give us feedback. Do it! Give it a try! Help us all!

Also we built it in a way everyone can update it and add new stuff. We don’t have any moderation system, we trust users. So.. go make it grow!

 

 

 

http://wazzup.wedoitforfun.org/

 

 

 

 

Ps: We’ll have more cool apps coming : http://www.wedoitforfun.org/

 

 
 

 

See ya!!

The WE DO IT FOR FUN Organization ;>
 

 
 

 

Never assume- Always ASK

Today was a long nice day.

I got home tired, I talked a lot, I listened a lot,  I saw a  lot and I want to do a lot.

Just some minutes ago I twitered :

” note to self: never assume things. Specially when they are ‘obvious’. There’s no such thing as obvious.All depends where you’re standing ”

Now I wonder how did I miss such an important lesson I already knew (something obvious actually).

Sometimes we think things are obvious and easy to see by anyone that surrounds us, we think that to such an extent that we forget to talk about it and explain it if necessary.  And that my friends,  is a big egocentric mistake.

One should always remember that knowing something isn’t obvious to someone else but you. And people aren’t ignorant or stupid, they just didn’t have the chance to understand and or learn it before.  So, from where I stand now, I am the ignorant.

But in the end, I’m happy. I manage to teach myself that Obvious isn’t that Obvious, even when it seems obvious.

Obviously!

http://inertiawins.com/tag/poll/

The new Pomodoro

Here you go, long time no see…but I’m back.

And I have 2 great tips for you :).

First: Read my dearest friend (@pintolaranja) new magazine on software TIPS and, right from there-

Second: take this new amazing software and  implement your own Pomodoro technique :

> 20 Cubed (yes, they say it also helps with your eye’s health )

Enjoy :)

Changing Teams Changes you

Some weeks ago there I was with this team doing a retrospective. A team with no appointed Scrum master, luckily a team with a Team Leader, a true leader with an open, honest, transparent and human mindset. He was leading the retrospective, something he actually does pretty well.

At the end I asked them how did they felt about rotating the organization of the retrospective. They kind of looked  and said that yes, they could give it a try. It actually might be funny!

It was not easy for that Team Leader to let it go, not because he wants to control but just because he’s actually pretty good at it and he enjoys doing it. He obviously accepted it and later we talked about how important it is to leave our comfort zones.

And this is where I come in.

I am.. hum..probably like you are!  I talk about comfort zones, I understand them, I smell them and  I actually have abandon some in my life.. but if I stop, I know : there’s still a lot I can do about it.

And that is what makes the difference right? I mean,  we  actually can do great talks, presentations, trainings, face to face conversations.. but can we be the best of us if we don’t live our own disruptiveness?

Answer: I don’t know. It might be.

So I’m trying now. I’m changing everything.  Job. Home. Country. Friends. Leaving all behind. Moving forward.

I can. I have lots of comfort zones to leave. And do you wanna know what I’ve realized these days? People come to me and wish me good luck… and all I can think is: I should be wishing you good luck, not the opposite.

I may crash along my path, but it doesn’t really matter!..it’s part of business and life if that happens. I’ll grow bigger.

These days, I feel more energize and motivated than ever! Yes I’ll miss you guys.. of course I will. But you know me, I can always do better ;). You have taught me that, changing you has changed me.

 

BRING IT ON!

Scrum Master TIP #5 – Retrospectives

 

Retrospectives are probably the most important event for Teams, and probably the less valued.
What I’m writing now is just a glimpse on retrospectives.. just a minor part of it. I truly advise you to read more about it (check bellow recommended book).

 

What are Retrospectives?

 

Retrospectives are the right time for the Team to get together and talk about whatever is getting in the way and whatever helps them performing better.

 

Whom should be in the retrospective?

 

Retrospectives are a team event, so only teams should participate (Scrum Team). External participants will probably make team members to be more quiet and shy, after all you’ll be talking about weaknesses, not only strengths. External participants should be, at the very least, trust-able observers.
I believe that when a team is mature enough (meaning that members have been together for a while) external participants presence will impact less in team openness.. but then again, it’s really important to understand how useful are those external participants. I’ll explain:

Retrospective is a team event, the right place for team to understand and talk about, RECOGNIZE, it’s strengths and Weaknesses. The team. Not anyone else. If the team is not getting there, then whatever an external participant will point out will not be considered. We don’t want that right?

On the other hand, when things are found by teams, just that process of finding, understanding, recognizing and working out the issue, makes the team grow, get more mature. And that’s what we aim for our company. Grow Teams.

 

Retro Script – How To

 

Retrospective session should take 2 hours in a 2 weeks sprint (for other lengths do the math yourself )
Retrospective is supposed to be a valuable, focused, professional, simple and FUNNY event. Funny because we want our team to feel comfortable and to enjoy those 2 hours with the rest of the team mates.
So, best way to lead a retro is by using exercises.
We can break the retro into 5 steps:

1.Set the stage
2.Gather data
3.Generate insights
4.Decide what to do
5.Close the retrospective

So, lets go, briefly through these.

1.Set the stage
This is where you:

• Welcome participants,
• Explain retro purpose,
• Understand participant’s mood and
• May establish some retro working agreements (no telephone,no Blaming)

This step will help people focus .

2.Gather data
This is where you:

• Collect information regarding previous sprint – both good and not so good stuff
• Remember: Strengths and Weaknesses – we need both. The first one to keep on doing it and the second to stop, avoid or change.

This step will help people see the most important things that happened.

 

3.Generate insights
This is where you:

• Ask WHY (where and why all those strengths and weaknesses come from)
• So you’ll understand where info comes from and why things happen that way

This step will help people building new perspectives and understand the root of things.

 
4.Decide what to do
This is where you:

• Define actions for the team to improve

This step will help people build collective decisions

 

5.Close the retrospective
This is where you:

• Thank everyone participation and review actions

This step will help people review actions and understand clearly what’s to be done.

By “you” I mean the TEAM. TEAM Talks, discusses, argues, defines actions. Not the Scrum Master, not the Manager. The Team.

 

When?

 

Retrospectives should always happen at the end of each Sprint (or iteration or cycle). Each Sprint should end up with one Retrospective- don’t skip it.. if you do so, you’ll be wasting time for improvement, and you’ll probably making bad stuff worst (this is like a disease, if you don’t take care of it from the beginning, it grows!)

So, do one retro at each sprint end. And do it before the next sprint starts. That is before next Sprint Planning. I’ll explain why: after each retrospective you’ll have improvement actions (if you don’t then the retro was a total failure).. as such you need time to implement those, so you need to consider them in next planning makes sense right? )

 

Traps

 

I heard once @rachelcdavies saying in a  lightning talk (#ALE2011), that :

Retro is about change. If you’re not changing anything nor taking actions, then you should change your retro

Simple, honest, and so true. I always remember that whenever I facilitate a retro or help someone setting up one.
Sometimes this is the biggest trap in Retros: we do them but we don’t get anything from them. This is then a waste. So you need to change the way you’re doing stuff.

Another Trap I’ve found several times is that teams tend to focus only in technical issues. Maybe this is human nature… we just focus on stuff outside our circle of influence or out of relations-sphere. take s a lot of courage to talk about feelings, specially at office.

I personally don’t care about technical issues.
Yes, it’s important to mention that we don’t have enough servers to do testing, and we’ll escalate that..but do we need retro to point that out? No! we actually should have done it before.
Retros are for humans. Retros are the place where we try to grow our team. Where we try to evolve from a group of individuals to a team.

Retrospectives are about people needs, emotions, wellbeing, team’s dynamic and synergy. It’s about strengthening relations and grow stronger.

Another trap is to do same exercises ever and ever. If you do so it will stop being funny, and it will start being boring. We don’t want that right? So, try to change from retro to retro. New stuff, funny stuff. Experiment!

 

Where can I find more about this?

 

You can find several exercises for all different stages in Agile Retrospectives Book (by  @estherderby and @DianaOfPortland )
My advise to you is for you to read the first chapters where there’s a pretty good explanation why retrospectives are so important. And then, just flip through the exercises and see how interesting and funny they can be.
But, I challenge you: next time, try to create new exercises for your team!