As an executive, you will be faced with the choice to do the pivot (if you can) or persevere (if you have no other choice). This will lead to a series of “bets”. You lead with a hypothesis that the things you change will allow you to operate at pre-event levels. But, how long will it actually take for you to validate your hypothesis and have a bet pay off with pre-event levels? If you run out of time to figure it out or run out of bets you can place, then you either lose your standing in the market or worse risk going out of business.
Regardless of the organization or institution, there will always be dependencies. The larger the organization, the greater chance of the existence of dependencies.
This template is available for download from Tableau Public
I keep getting asked, does Jira Align support Flow Metrics, as defined in the Flow Framework and SAFe? The short answer is yes. If you believe these metrics will help unlock the potential of your teams, use this community post to see working examples of Tableau reports I have created using Jira Align and Enterprise Insights.
This summer, things come in three's.
I'll be hosting Lean Coffee Baltimore on July 11 at Mad City Coffee. >> Register Here >>
I'll be presenting at Agile2014 in Orlando on August 1. >> Register Here >>
I'll be conducting a 2-day user story workshop on August 14-15 in Bowie, Maryland. >> Register Here >>
Though I've been doing Enterprise Agile Coaching with LeadingAgile for over a year now, I haven't been doing a lot of training (or blogging). I've been sticking to agile transformation work and the occasional private class.
Well, it's time for an update. Dennis Stevens and myself co-authored the International Consortium for Agile (ICAgile) Agile Project Manager learning objectives back in February. The result was a solid certification even a PMP could respect.
LeadingAgile has decided to offer more public training. We're offering classes in Atlanta, Denver, Orlando, and Washington DC.
Certified ScrumMaster certification class
Certified Scrum Product Owner certification class
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification prep class
Fundamentals of Agile (CIP certification awarded)
Agile Project Management (to be announced)
After each PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) workshop that I offer, I refine the format to make it better. I learn some new content from the ACP Support team at the PMI Agile Community of Practice and some I learn directly from the students in my class. Originally, my key objective for the class was to provide an introduction to Agile; strictly positioning the class as a knowledge-based learning workshop. The 3-day workshop was a learning experience filled with lecture, group discussions, hands on exercises, and videos. Based on feedback through formal course evaluations and talking with the students, I actually added performance-based learning as an additional key objective. (ie. getting a passing score on a certification exam versus just learning new approaches to deliver value to customers). It's been an interesting progression. The name of the workshop started as "Agile Fundamentals: PMI-ACP Prep". The feedback from the classes was there was not enough exam prep. I didn't want to create a PMI-ACP Bootcamp but I did want to help my students. I changed the name to PMI Agile Certified Practitioner Workshop and then scattered relevant questions throughout the 3-day course. I also added an ACP Practice exam so people could get a real idea of what the test is like. The last thing I did was give each person attending my class a free Premium account with my tool AgileFlashcards.com.
The results from my latest class were very positive with comments like I liked the fact that this course provided great learning about Agile practices, fundementals and not ONLY ACP prep. Great amount of balance.
I give David Bland some of the credit for getting my class where it is today. I used his Course Canvas to visualize my course and make it better. I'm sure you could use this visual tool to improve all kinds of things. Just remember that you don't need to reinvent the wheel to make improvements. You just need to find the right tool for the job. I found such a tool, with the Course Canvas.
Just yesterday I was complaining about my first day as a technical advisor for a contract source selection committee. What can I say? The PMO asked me to do it and it's important that it gets done correctly. But being asked to sit in a room for the next 6 weeks, with no access to Internet or phone was going to be very painful. I understand that I can't be connected 100% of the time. I understand there needs to be balance and I can't tweet what is going on in my life 24x7. But using modern forms of communications makes me feel informed and connected. If I have a question about something, I feel I can reach out to half a dozen people in a moments notice to get an answer.
So, as I began my second day with the committee, I just sat there for about 10 minutes and stared at the binder sitting on the table in front of me. How the hell was I going to survive this?
Well, I have an answer. I got an offer to go work with someone else. Long story short, I was offered a position with LitheSpeed and I accepted. LitheSpeed offers premium Agile software development training, team coaching & management consulting services. They blend Agile methods like Scrum and XP with Lean process expertise to speed value delivery and drive enterprise evolution.
I'm very excited about my future with them.
I've been working with a federal PMO managing a multi-year, multi-phased, multi-million dollar program for a few years now. I don't think anyone in the PMO knew what Agile was before I arrived. Rest assured, I'm not turning my back on my project management roots. I'm still very much a supporter of PMI and the PMP. But even PMI couldn't ignore Agile forever. It's time for me to help others to speed value delivery and drive enterprise evolution. It's time for me to turn the page and start a new chapter.
Drawing by Pictofigo
HT: LitheSpeed
