Today, I was the guest for a live web interview with @AgileScout. I'll admit, I'd never done a live (video) web interview before. I did recently do an audio interview with @tykiisel & @RaeLogan. I enjoy interacting with people but I usually do it one-on-one. I rely a lot on audio and visual feedback to steer a conversation. So, that made both interviews a bit challenging for me. Since I had no visual feedback for the audio interview, I literally closed me eyes to stay focused. To help me stay focused during the video interview, I closed all screens with the exception of the one of me on camera. No, I'm not vain. I just wanted to make sure I was centered on the camera. So, let me say, I really enjoyed the interview. Peter made it seem effortless. There is a lot going on behind the scenes. We talked before the interview to resolve technical issues and roughly go over the scope of the interview. When you watch the interview, know two things. [1] I was pretty excited and anxious. I had already drank a pot of coffee. [2] I was staring at a live feed of myself, not Peter.
ASL002 - LIVE with Derek Huether 2011.01.22 from Agile Scout on Vimeo.
The Retrospection
While we were doing the interview, my wife was in the other room watching the live feed. After the interview, she said she thought I drank way too much coffee (during the interview) AND I moved around too much. You know what? That's not bad feedback! If she had walked into the room and told me what I was doing (during the interview), I would have probably stopped (drinking my coffee). Though it would have been a momentary interruption of the interview, it would have been a perfect testament to the need for short feedback loops. THIS is a perfect example of why you want co-located teams. THIS is a perfect example of why you have daily stand-ups.
Shorten the feedback loop and you will have less waste and deliver more value.
Thank you, again, to Peter Saddington for being an independent voice democratizing Agile.