Web Interview Retrospective

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.

Upcoming Interview on AgileScout

LIVE Interview this Saturday with me at 10:30am EST, 1/22/2011.[GO TO: www.agilescout.com/live]

AgileScout will be broadcasting with live chat so you can ask me anything you want, or just join us for the web cast and see two Agile-fanatics go at it. Want to see more interviews by AgileScout? Check out the other broadcasts that were previously recorded.

Until then, if you're looking for an independent voice democratizing Agile, go check out AgileScout!

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Live (Agile) Video Sessions

If there is one place I like to get my information, it's from the experts.  For technology news and information, I tune into This Week in Tech (Leo Leporte and crew) or Tech News Today (Tom Merritt and crew) over at (TWiT.tv) When I can't watch them live, I watch the webcasts later.  When I want to do the same for start-up news and information, I tune in to This Week in Startups (Jason Calacanis and crew). What I see missing from my daily or weekly consumption of media is the topic of Agile.  Sure, I watch webinars, but these are mostly slide deck presentations.  What I see missing is a regularly scheduled "program" that serves the Agile community and more.  Well, it looks like the need is about to be met.  Peter Saddington over at AgileScout is about to launch  AgileScout "Live".

Though going back and watching interviews with industry experts, pundits, and aficionados is pretty awesome, watching it live takes it to a whole new level.  While watching a live session, you can also participate in a live chat, which allows you to interact with like minded people in ways you don't get from old-school media.

So, the big question is when? Peter posted a survey to find out when YOU the viewer would tune in for a live session. So, click the link below and let your voice be heard. Take the survey to pick the best time for live Agile video sessions.

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Assumptions and Constraints

I turned to my wife last week and asked what our plans were for the weekend. She countered by asking me if there was anything specific I wanted to do.  My answer was I wanted to eat somewhere featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  One quick search and a YouTube video later, and we had our Sunday planned. We were headed to Baltimore for lunch at Di Pasquales Marketplace. I could taste it all now. Mmmmm, homemade paste, sausage, and mozzarella.  After lunch, we'd head to the Inner Harbor and enjoy the beautiful weather. This is where my personal story ends and my project management story begins.  As I've said before, everything in life points back to project management.

Imagine our weekend adventure was a project.  We planned our little outing for Sunday.  We assumed Di Pasquales was open on Sunday.  We were wrong.  We discovered if we wanted to go to Di Pasquales, our time constraint was Monday thru Friday: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. or Saturday: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.  Fortunately, we had a plan B.  Always have a plan B! I added our trip to the backlog and we picked the next highest priority from the list.

Here's my little read world project management advice for today.

1. Don't start a project, until you know your assumptions and constraints.
2. Get buyin from stakeholders to ensure you are all in agreement on priorities.
3. When making a proposal, always have a plan B.

Since we were not able to go, perhaps we'll go next weekend.  Regardless, if we had not identified our assumptions and constraints, we could have found ourselves eating somewhere less desirable and "wasting" the day.

Why Agile Might Not Work (Video)

I was minding my own business when I noticed a tweet by Alistair Cockburn.  He clearly thought something was funny so I figured I'd check it out.  What awaited me was this video.  If you understand Agile or just interested about it, you should spend the next 3 minutes and 14 seconds enjoying a creative perspective on why Agile might not work for you.  It's very tongue-and-cheek.  The slideshow it was based on was located on the PMI website.  Since the site was updated, it isn't clear where it went. 

On the eve of a new phase

On this last day before our son starts his first day of public education, I look back and realize 5 years have passed in a blink of an eye. Project management can be a challenging profession but nothing can compare to being a parent. Sure, I feel guilt if I screw something up on a project, but in the end it's just money. What if we screw up our kids!? Because my wife and I figured family was more important than work (and money), my wife put her career on hold to ensure our son got the attention and nurturing he deserved. Our perspective and optimism of the future is represented in an awesome video created for the AARP U@50 video contest. You may have seen it before. It's worth the 2 minutes.

If anyone is looking for a technical writer, armed with a masters degree and years of experience, my wife may consider some part-time work. One thing is for certain, you know she has her priorities straight.

I won’t be staying late with you

I have to again give credit to 37signals.  In their book Rework, they pointed out the 800 pound gorilla in the room, over and over again.  This video is a "gorilla" I've been dealing with for the last 15 years. I usually arrive at the office around 06:30 or 07:00 (2 hours before anyone else).  Why?  I'll probably get more done in those 2 first hours than I will the rest of the day.  Though I only check my email at the top of each hour, I still deal with meetings and people "dropping by" to ask me questions or to tell me about the newest restaurant in their neighborhood.  Interruptions mean you don't get work done. I'm not saying you shouldn't make your customer happy. I'm saying you should be able to get it done without working late.

Tell me if this sounds familiar.  Some of your co-workers show up at the office around 09:00 (closer to 09:30) and then take a 1.5 to 2 hour lunch break.  They then don't understand why you turn down meeting requests scheduled for late in the afternoon or don't respond to emails sent to you after business hours.  Just because someone is unable to manage his or her work, I am not going to feel guilty for not working late.  Before I had a family or understood work-life balance, I didn't hesitate pulling an all-nighter at the office.  Now it just looks like poor time management.

So, are you working late tonight? Do you really have work you need to do are are you just trying to make yourself feel better by creating work for yourself? I'll make you a deal. Drink your preferred caffeinated beverage around 05:00 and get to the office no later than 07:00. You'll probably have the most productive day you've had in months.

Awesome Scrum Intro Video

As I was reading tweets over the weekend, I discovered an awesome video by Hamid Shojaee, Founder and CEO of Axosoft. It's an 8 minute introduction video on Scrum.  With background music sounding a bit like Block Rockin' Beats by The Chemical Brothers, this video is to the point and completely awesome.

I think this type of video is necessary to show to stakeholders, who have not had an introduction to Agile or Scrum.  In this ADD world we live in, I think we need to deliver some information in the same way we would deliver features in a Sprint.  Go for the items of highest value and deliver them in a short period of time.  Additionally, deliver the information is a way that it can stand on its own.

I remember getting 50 government people in a room with an experienced Scrum Trainer, to introduce them to Scrum.  After several hours, some still didn't grasp the basics.  If they were forced to watch this video in the first 8 minutes of the training, I bet the day would have gone a lot differently.