New Chapter

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

Pictofigo Promotion

I've been working with Pictofigo for a few months now.  I give them ideas for drawings I think others would find helpful.  In turn, I get access to some pretty cool (and original) stuff.  It's quid pro quo at its best. There are currently over 900 drawings available for free on the Standard Pictofigo site.  In addition to those, there are 13 Premium items.  These items range from a few free desktop wallpapers to Scrum posters and traditional project management posters.  What's the difference and why pay for stuff?  The standard site has drawings at 72 dpi resolution, perfect for a blog, website or presentation.  The Premium site has drawings at 300 dpi resolution, suitable for print or products.  Yes, I do offer links from my site to CafePress, if you want printed posters.  But, the actual high resolution drawings are available if you want to print out a few posters at a lower overall cost.  I got a notice today that Pictofigo is going to run a half off promotion on their premium content.  Because I like to encourage and support entrepreneurs, I wanted to write this quick post.  If you're in the market for some original drawings, look them up.  They are constantly iterating on the site so check back often.  If you have an idea for a drawing or poster, give them a shout.  If you want, you can send me the request and I'll forward it along.  To be clear, I am not Pictofigo.  I merely love what they do and want to see them succeed.

HT: 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)

Mura Muri Muda

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and listen to Jeff Sutherland a few days ago. For those who do not know who Jeff is, he and Ken Schwaber created Scrum.  It was really quite amazing to listen to him speak.  The topic of the talk was Using Scrum to avoid bad CMMI implementations.

Scrum and CMMI are often at odds with each other. What does each approach bring to the table? Scrum promotes the idea of focusing on the most important product issues first and supports frequent communication. CMMI brings a structure that promotes consistency and discipline to avoid waste and rework. So, why should we try to combine both approaches? Is this combination a good idea?

This post isn't going to go into detail about the entire talk. Rather, there were three words Jeff said that had me scrambling for my pen. "Muri, Mura, Muda".

The Toyota Production System identifies three types of waste (Muri, Mura, Muda).

Muri (無理, “unreasonable”) is a Japanese term for overburden, unreasonableness or absurdity.

Mura (斑 or ムラ) is traditional general Japanese term for unevenness, inconsistency in physical matter or human spiritual condition.  Waste reduction is an effective way to increase profitability.

Muda (無駄) is a traditional Japanese term for an activity that is wasteful and doesn't add value or is unproductive.

With commercial organizations, I consistently see two primary goals:  [1] Make Money and [2] Save Money

But as you drill down into an organization, these two goals are not as obvious.  So, to address this, I rewrite the two goals as:  [1] Deliver Value and [2] Eliminate Waste

When we reach this point, muri, mura, muda come into play.  In your day-to-day activities, are there areas you can make more efficient or improve?  Do you really need to go to that meeting or can someone just email you an agenda before and minutes after?  In your project lifecycle, do you really need a 10-step process workflow or can you achieve the same goal with just 5 steps?

Here is a practical exercise:  Make a list of activities you have to do this week.  Ask yourself why you need to do each of those activities. Do they map back to the core mission of your company?  Should any of these activities be postponed until the goal is clarified?  Should you just NOT do one of them?

I have a daily meeting at 10:00.  Why?  I fill find out what the team did yesterday, what they are doing today, and what impediments they have.  My job is to help facilitate their activities and remove roadblocks.  This 15 minute meeting is a keeper.

I have an invite to the Finance Working Group meeting on Monday. Why? Hmmm.  That's a good questions!  The meeting is scheduled for 1hr.  I know that it traditionally lasts 2-3hrs.  No invoice was attached in the meeting invite.  That leads me to believe they are going to review 500 pages as a group.  Though it's necessary to review the invoice, this is a very inefficient way of doing it.  I will send a request for a copy of the invoice to review when I can.  I will decline the meeting invite.

Of those activities on your list, highlight which ones just don't sit well with you.  Really listen to your gut. Are any items on your list an activity that does not directly translate into providing value?  Are any items on your list going to somehow cut into your personal life?  Are any items on your list literally a waste of time, money, or energy!?  If you can scratch any one of these items off your list, you are on the road to Kaizen (改善) (English: Continuous Improvement).

Before you accept that next task or meeting invite, ask yourself if there is a better way.

HT: Wikipedia

Like the drawing?  You can download it free at Pictofigo

Jeff Sutherland & APLN DC

Last night I had the honor and privilege to listen to Jeff (co-creator of Scrum) Sutherland speak. There were roughly 95 of us attending the APLN DC event. It was great to see faces of the local Agile community. I have to keep this post short. My plane is boarding for Salt Lake City. I just wanted to prove I could write a blog post on my Droid X.

Busy Week Ahead

If you don't hear from me for a few days, here's why.  Tonight I'm headed to the Agile Project Leadership Network (APLN) Washington DC Area Chapter event. The topic? Using Scrum to avoid bad CMMI Implementations (Presented by Jeff Sutherland). Yes, that's right! Jeff "creator of Scrum and signer of the Agile Manifesto" Sutherland. I don't sound too excited, do I? I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of people from the Agile community there. Tomorrow, I fly out to Salt Lake City to make an appearance at the Work Management Summit.  Follow it on Twitter with hashtag (#workout11) I don't know exactly what is in store for me.  I'm a special speaking guest of AtTask and I will be interviewed by @tykiisel and @RaeLogan in a live video webcast.  My instructions for my appearance: Please wear something that exemplifies your personal brand.

I will be the guy with spiky hair, horn-rimmed glasses, Doc Martens, and jeans (yes, I am wearing a collared shirt).  It's a bit of a departure from my normal office attire.  This includes, monogrammed cuff-linked shirts, wingtips, and a tie.  Though I'm much more of the Doc Marten guy, I understand C-Levels and SES don't always get it.

I'll be flying back to Washington DC on Thursday, due to time constraints.  Though I only get to spend 1 full day in Utah, this will be a great experience and I'm looking forward to meeting Ty and Raechel.  I will take plenty of pictures of the Grand America Hotel and try to blog while I'm there.

If you want to meet up for a drink, send me an email or direct message me via Twitter.

Like the image? Find it at pictofigo

New ScrumMaster Poster

Our newest Scrum poster(s) are ready!  We started with a poster that included the 3 primary roles of Scrum.  We then singled out each of the roles and made individual posters.  First up, the ScrumMaster.  This poster depicts a ScrumMaster with a taskboard and burndown chart behind him.  Below are the activities associated with the ScrumMaster as detailed by the Scrum Alliance. Please note, the female version of this poster will be out soon.

This poster has been discounted, compared to our others. Download the 300DPI image file for $14.99 to use on your own products or buy the poster!

Posters Mini (Size: 11" x 17") $9.99 Small (Size: 13" x 20") $17.99 Large (Size:23" x 34.5") $21.99

Free Drawings + Agile = Good

While I've been working with Pictofigo, they've developed over 800 free drawings (and a few premium drawings).  It's really exciting to discover blogs that are using Pictofigo drawings.  I see new drawings almost daily and more people will benefit from this free freehand drawing search engine. Recently, I was asked to write a guest post about an Introduction of Agile for Waterfall PMs. Now, I certainly believe if you're going to write a blog post, you have to have a drawing or graphic included.   Where else should I turn to get my drawing or graphic to capture Agile for non-agile people? For several years, I've seen people go over to Mountain Goat Software and use their illustrations and figures.  These are awesome and free!  Sometimes the users give credit to Mountain Goat, sometimes they don't (though they should).  So, to start fresh, I did a quick v1.0 mockup using free Pictofigo drawings.  It only took me about 20 minutes to do this.  What do you think?

For my first iteration, I captured the following:

• Product Backlog
• Sprint Backlog
• 2-4 week iterations (Sprints)
• Daily (Scrum or Stand-up) meeting every 24 hours
• Potentially deployable/shippable product increment

Though this is just a rough mockup, you get the idea.  Get out there an build something!  Hopefully, by the time I complete my guest post, I'll have a refined drawing for everyone to download.  Until then, iterate, iterate, iterate!