Writing

Years ago I was working for one of the biggest consulting companies in the world. It was an amazing experience and I learned a lot from them, but one of the most important things I learned was that I was never going to advance in the organization. I didn’t have the dedication that was required ...

(First published on the Scrum Alliance Website)   I ran a Scrum Master Summit for my company recently where we invited the 42 Scrum Masters for a day of learning for them and for us. At the end of the planned session we had a “Lean Coffee” discussion where anyone could vote on the topics for discussion.   One ...

I was fortunate enough to be the MC at the Happy Melly Exploration Day event in Waterloo recently and was asked this question that I think deserves some exploration. I do have a question for you about transitioning from Scrum Master to Agile Coach. I heard opinions that say that it’s just a title, and that ...

Ugh. What are you supposed to do when the executives ask for an “X”% improvement in the performance of your agile teams? I’ve been researching and reading a bunch of things to try and come up with a solution to this problem and so far it seem like there is no solution. Any way you try ...

I admit, I used to love project plans. I was a master of MS Project, with a sub-specialty in GANTT charts. I could link and unlink, change durations and critical paths with the best of them. You need a project to end in November, bang! it ends in November (the 30th, but still November). Now, I ...

I been working with Jason Little (@jasonlittle) on delivering Vision Collaboration Workshops for my company, PointClickCare. By ‘working with’ I mean he’s been doing all the presenting and I get to stand around, watch him and chip in my 2 cents whenever necessary.  I will be conducting this workshop on my own in the coming ...

The PM’s time is spent on a myriad of activities (as found here): • Planning and Defining Scope   • Activity Planning and Sequencing   • Resource Planning   • Developing Schedules   • Time Estimating   • Cost Estimating          • Developing a Budget   • Documentation   • Creating Charts and Schedules   • Risk Analysis   • Managing Risks and Issues   • Monitoring and Reporting Progress   • Team Leadership   • Strategic Influencing   • Business Partnering ...

I learned this one a few months ago and have been using it in retrospectives and in some of the training I have been part of.  It’s called “Fortunately/Unfortunately”. I explain that this warm up exercise helps with communication skills by making the participants actively listen to what the previous person said and then responding ...