End Of The World As We Know It

After the public announcement last night, that PMI intends to create an agile project management certification,  I heard REM playing in the back of my head.  "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine".  Though I will admit I was a bit nervous when I learned PMI was going to do an Agile certification, back in October (2010), I made my peace with it.  I came into the picture toward the tail end of the PMI Agile Project Professional (APP) process.  As Mike Cottmeyer stated on his blog,

We’ve had a ton of really smart people involved, people you’d know and respect in the agile community.

Those people worked really heard and I applaud them for their efforts.  As an independent reviewer of the competencies, techniques/tools, knowledge and skills, I can personally assure members of the Agile community that PMI is not trying to rewrite Agile as they know it.  It's not perfect, but it's a pretty damn good version 1.0!

For those who were not at the PMI North American Congress back in October (2010), there was strong representation by the Agile Community of Practice and a lot of curiosity, and might I add ignorance, by the average Congress attendee.  I didn't find it surprising, considering there is a complete omission of the word “Agile” in PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) version 4.0.

It is my hope that this new certification will provide that baseline understanding of Agile for many.  I do believe this is a step in the right direction.

Like the drawing? Get it free at Pictofigo

Team-Based or Value-Based

I'm currently reading a book about Systems Analysis and Design.  In a chapter discussing Agile Methods, one of the statements really rubbed me the wrong way.

The Agile Manifesto is a set of team-based principles...

For the last 6 or so years, I've assumed the Manifesto was a set of "value-based" principles.  That is, at its core, Agile is about delivering value or eliminating waste.  What I like about the Manifesto is it leaves a lot to interpretation.  It doesn't spell thing out to the N^th degree.  But, I'm very curious what the community thinks.  How would you describe the principles?

Please leave a comment.  Tell me what you think.

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Project Management Joke

So the NCI Research Fellow and the PM Blogger are having beers.  The Fellow turns to the Blogger and begins to describe the structure and function of viral RNAs and their interactions with proteins with a focus on the identification of new targets and the development of novel anticancer/antiviral strategies.  The Fellow asks the Blogger if he had ever heard of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The  blogger says no, and then received a high level summary of what PCR was. After a few beers, the the Blogger turns to the Fellow and begins to describe different methods of project managers and leaders and how they may interact differently with a team, depending on the project.  The Blogger asks the Fellow if he had ever heard of Agile practices or approaches. The Fellow says no, and then received a high level summary of what Agile was.

So, that is where the joke ends.  This really was not a joke.  After a short discussion about fast zombies versus slow zombies, Dr. Legiewicz and I found ourselves talking shop.  We talked about recent conferences we spoke at and about how things have changed in our jobs.  We started our careers following one set of practices and have watched how techniques have developed, matured, and evolved.

Dr. Legiewicz stated, when PCR was developed in 1983, nobody saw its value.  But, it is now a common and an often indispensable technique used in medical and biological research labs for a variety of applications.  I told him that Agile techniques sound like they may take a very similar path.  Being Agile just celebrated 10 years of the Manifesto, I have seen a lot of acceptance in just the last few years.  Could it be that it to shall become common and an often indispensable technique used on projects for a variety of applications?

Or, did Michal and I just have too many beers?

Like the drawing?  You can get it free from Pictofigo

Free Intro To Scrum Wallpaper

Around 2005, when I started using Scrum, I went looking for figures that would help me describe the process to my product owners, stakeholders, and my team.  I think that it's always good to use a visual aid to help someone understand process or where they fit into that process.  Well, I found a free wallpaper over at Mountain Goat Software.  Since then, I've seen this exact wallpaper used over and over again by many people, to describe Scrum.

Scrum Intro Wallpaper - Mountain Goat Software

Well, I thought it was time for a refresh.  After I created my first prototype of a new wallpaper, I worked with Pictofigo to refine my vision of the Scrum process.  Because the process is centered around people, I wanted to make sure they were in the drawing.  Additionally, we made male and female versions.  This free 300 dpi wallpaper is available for download from Premium Pictofigo.  The first wallpaper (of figure) is 1600 x 1200.  More sizes will be posted soon, so you don't have to mess with them.  Depending on feedback from the Scrum Community, we may refine the drawing a little.  To get the latest and greatest, go to the Pictofigo website and get it for free.

Scrum Intro Wallpaper - Pictofigo

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License, which means you can copy, distribute, and display the images including in commercial and derivative works as long as you include attribution to Pictofigo and myself. (just don't delete our names)

Veni Vidi Loquor

Julius Caesar, in recognition of his overwhelming victory against Pharnaces II of Pontus, sent a simple, but powerful message back to Rome and the Senate: "VENI VIDI VICI", I came, I saw, I conquered.  My message back to Washington DC and my Project Management colleagues: "VENI VIDI LOQUOR", I came, I saw, I spoke. It's now been a solid week since I left for home from the AtTask Work Management Summit (WorkOut2011), in Salt Lake City.  I was asked to come out to Utah and be a speaking guest of the conference.  I basically ran two themes:  [1] Balanced project management through the use of Agile concepts [2] Project Management Zombies.

I had the opportunity to participate on a panel the first day I was there and then was part of the keynote the next.  The keynote was by far the highlight of my trip, sharing the stage with Ty Kiisel and Raechel Logan (The hosts of TalkingWork), Donna Fitzgerald (Research Director at Gartner), and Scott Johnson (Founder and CEO of AtTask).

WorkOut 2011 was nothing short of spectacular.   From the exceptional venue (The Grand American Hotel), to the passionate and approachable people, to the forward thinking product design, I am in awe of what AtTask delivered.

Because I spoke completely unscripted, I'll have to wait until the YouTube videos comes out (I've been told by the Firm Snapp Conner PR, my panel talk and the Keynote will be out soon) to see exactly what I said.  Fortunately, a few people in the audience quoted me in their tweets.

"One of our failings in this day and age is we forget we're working with people."

"Inspire more people from the bottom up, empower them to become leaders"

"Remember you're not managing resources - you're managing people"

"Don't judge zombies [on a project] they don't know what they're doing"

Thank you, everyone, for the memories! I look forward to seeing you all again.

Photo: Bryant Livingston

Zombie Elephant

I read a REALLY compelling post by Philippe Kruchten, who among others, was at the 10 years agile celebration meeting in Snowbird, UT, organized by Alistair Cockburn on February 12. Philippe stated on his blog post, after covering the walls with a couple of hundred issues cards, David Anderson noted that there was “an elephant in the room”. [read Philippe's post to find out what it was]  ...A small group identified a few other such “elephants in the room”, i.e., other topics that the agile community is not really willing to tackle for a variety of reasons. They ended up with a long list of about 12 such “undiscussable” topics (or at least not discussable in the open).

The elephant that jumped out at me was number eleven.

11. Certification (the “zombie elephant”) This massive elephant was reported dead a few times, but seems to reappear…

Now, I don't want to beat this proverbial dead horse but I do think it's important to talk about this.  The idea of "Agile" Project Management certification seems to drive some people super crazy.  There are arguments against certifications (in general), saying they are just a way to make money; that they don't offer any real value.  Like it or not, certifications ARE out there and they ARE here to stay.  This argument is not unique to the Agile Community.  There are almost daily debates in the blogosphere on the subject of certification value.  There is a distinct difference between wisdom and knowledge and I think the Agile community has a lot of wisdom to offer the "traditional" project management community.  If you don't have the wisdom, you need some basic foundation of education in order to help projects (and people) reach their goals.

The ongoing problem I see is some people outside our project teams perceive those with certifications as experts.  It's either that or the Hiring Managers are so damn lazy that they go looking for certifications rather than actual people who will make good culture fits.  Either way, we have the same results.  People who don't know the first thing about project management or leadership, with certifications, get hired.  This is not an issue with the certification itself.  It's a marketing issue.  The message is being controlled by the wrong people.  The communities as a whole need to be more vocal and shape the correct message.

In my post for Agile Scout, about the State of Agile, I called it mastery-based learning and the paradox of the certification.  What is the goal?  Are we trying to discover better ways to deliver value to our customers or are we just trying to get a piece of paper and a few extra letters after our names?  Some only care about getting a passing score on a certification exam versus being a good manager or leader.  I would argue that certifications do offer some value but we may need to do away with terms like "Master" or "Professional", in order to help control the message.

So, why certification and not traditional higher education?  In preparation for writing another blog post, I was reading a University of Maryland textbook on Systems Analysis. The section on Agile & Scrum were flat out wrong!  In addition, this college textbook used Wikipedia as its reference source.

I would argue, the respective communities introduce themselves to the elephant in the room and get to work on better ways to educate people and measure proficiency.  You better do it soon, before that elephant becomes an 800 pound gorilla.

Like the drawing?  Get yours free at Pictofigo

My Next Speaking Gig

I just got back Thursday night from my appearance at the AtTask Work Managment Summit 2011 (WorkOut2011).  I had an amazing time. I had an opportunity to be on a panel and be part of one of the Keynotes (YouTube videos are coming).  But, the post about the AtTask conference is still to come.  Until then, I'm happy to announce that my talk has been accepted at the Great Lakes Software Excellence Conference (GLSEC).  I will be presenting my talk Breaking the Law of Bureaucracy, April 16.For the last few years, I've been advising a Federal PMO. I know, old news.  But, something has been eating away at me that I just couldn't put a finger on.  It's the amazing level of tolerated bureaucracy. See, in the Federal Government, I think the Law of Bureaucracy can be stronger than the Law of Gravity!  Sometimes (not always) people don't care what the primary goals of the project are.  They put their own goals ahead of the project.  As an example of egoism, they impede progress or the delivery of value, while furthering their own agendas. I feel life has to be more than just opportunities to complain about things.  It's a series of opportunities to help people and make thing better than how you've found them.  So, I started work on an article for PM Network magazine, with a proposal of ways to break this Law. As part of the process, I started to package my idea in a presentable "talk" format.  So, before I left for Salt Lake City, I submitted my proposal.

I actually was unsure how it would be received.  But, while I was at WorkOut 2011, I saw Donna Fitzerald of Garter unknowingly mentioned details of my talk as part of her presentation (Embracing Agile Leadership: Making Better, Faster, Cheaper a Reality).  That's justification enough for me, to believe I was on the right track.

So, though finishing my zombie book is still at the top of my list, I'm really looking forward to standing in front of a room and giving this talk.

Valentine's Day Pull System

Nothing is quite as romantic as sitting with your husband or wife, sharing a dinner of fondue.  Nothing, that is, unless you’re sitting with me.  I’m not a big fondue guy.  This is sad because my wife loves it.  She enjoys the whole process.  To counter that, I like my food to be given to me, already prepared.  I enjoy the results! So, leave it to me to point at the fondue pot half way through dinner and yell “Fondue is a pull system!  Fondue is a pull system!”

What is a pull system you ask?  Perhaps you’ve heard of Drum-Buffer-Rope or Kanban?

Businessdictionary.com defines it as a Manufacturing system in which production is based on actual demand, and where information flows from market to management in a direction opposite to that in traditional (push) systems.

The idea behind a pull system is to keep a smooth production flow.  For the sake of argument, let’s say N is a volume of work output.  It can be trouble-ticket call volume, software development, or hardware manufacturing.  Any of these work in the example.  If you and your team can consistently deliver quality N in a month, and keep a good work-life balance, you should know that a C-Level executive asking you to deliver N+10 is going to create bottlenecks in your process flow.  Your overall delivery velocity is going to slow and your team is going to work longer hours trying to deliver N+10.  This increase is unsustainable unless something changes.  You need to get back to N, either by cutting back the work, expanding the amount of people or things to complete the work, or find some efficiencies.

You limited your work in progress (WIP) for a reason!  If more is going into your process than is coming out, you’re going to accumulate a backlog.  For every unit exiting your process, you should have another unit ready to enter it.

For fondue, you limit your work in progress by the amount of long-stemmed forks you have to put into the pot (caquelon).  Before you start, you cut up all of your fruits, vegetables, meats...whatever you plan to dip.  That’s your product backlog.  You then begin dipping whatever you have, X at a time.  We had 3 forks each.  When the food is done, you take it off the fork, add another piece of food, and back into the pot it goes.  You can’t eat anything until it’s done with the process.

Am I a romantic buzz kill or what!?

Image: Recipe Tips