Tag: agile adoption

Inderdip Vraich: Why pushing changes to a Scrum team can easily backfire, and what to do instead

When we start with a new team or organization, and especially if we are experienced Scrum Masters, we often have the temptation to push changes, to help the teams move quickly to a state we can already see in our minds. But is that the best approach? Listen to this story of how “pushing” changes to a team made things worse.

About Inderdip Vraich

Inderdip is an Agile Coach and a Scrum Master based in New Zealand. She has been working in the agile space with IT teams since 2007. She believes in lifelong learning and derives deep satisfaction from working with teams & individuals and see them grow in their journey.

You can link with Inderdip Vraich on LinkedIn and connect with Inderdip Vraich on Twitter. 

David Wallace: Working with Agile skeptics in a Scrum team

David was working with a team that had just started its Agile journey. And while most of the team seemed enthusiastic, the tester/QA in the team was not happy about the new way of working. Listen in to learn how to prepare for team members that might not be keen on adopting an Agile way of working. 

About David Wallace

David Wallace is an agile coach with 25 years of experience in the IT industry. He’s a passionate Agilist and the cohost of the Heart of Agile – Boulder meetup group. He’s currently based in Denver as a Product Delivery Coach at Xero, a New Zealand-based cloud accounting software company. 

You can link with David Wallace on LinkedIn and connect with David Wallace on Twitter. 

Richard Lizama: Tips on getting started with a new Scrum team

Richard’s first week on the job as a Scrum Master started with a realization that helped Richard change his stance. But not before he went through an important lesson for all newly minted Scrum Masters. Read on to learn about what you should consider in your first week, and when working with teams that have been at it for a long time!

About Richard Lizama

Before becoming a Scrum Master, Richard spent time as a college counselor, then a small business owner, then a tech support rep. Once he found Scrum and Agile, he knew it was where he needed to be.

You can link with Richard Lizama on LinkedIn. 

Mark Metze: When a simple format is the right format for an Agile Retrospective

Mark reached his Scrum Master role by preparing his path from line manager to Scrum Master. He knew that Scrum Master was the position for him, and in that position, he tried to help teams get value out of their retrospectives, however… When preparing the retrospective, Mark ended up finding a format that he loved, but the team didn’t! Listen in to learn about why sometimes the easiest, most boring format is the best format for an Agile Retrospective.

About Mark Metze

Following the pattern of all good Computer Science majors, Mark began his career as a programmer and devoted the first 2 decades of his career to the craft of writing code. His next decade was spent in a managerial role for a software team. And then recently he pivoted once again to the role of Scrum Master. Mark has a heart for leading through service and has enthusiastically embraced the role of Scrum Master.

You can link with Mark Metze on LinkedIn.

Med Marouane Ajraoui: Shaping products, by shaping the team’s mood and motivation

When Med Marouane joined this team, he observed that the team was missing daily collaboration and that the culture was to blame others when problems happened. While working with this new team, he recognized that Agile is a different philosophy for software development and that the quality of the work is directly affected by the mood, and motivation of the people working.

In this episode, we refer to Extreme Programming, an Agile approach that had a bias towards great technical practices.

About Med Marouane Ajraoui

Med Marouane Ajraoui enjoys practicing AIKIDO while helping individuals, teams, and organizations embrace the agile mindset. He is from Morocco but has lived in several countries, and he enjoys being a “citizen of the world”. He is the founder of Agile Africa, an NGO for disseminating Agile culture in Africa. He is also the CEO and founder of JediSquad, an international firm that supports developing Eco Agile businesses and meaningful digital products.

You can link with Med Marouane Ajraoui on LinkedIn. 

Artur Margonari: When being a Scrum Master is not about solving problems, but something else

As we start to work with a new team, the temptation is to “solve all the problems”. However, that’s not always the best for the team we are working with. In this episode, we hear the story of a Scrum Master that wanted to “push” the solutions, and what Artur learned from that story. 

About Artur Margonari

Artur is a Brazilian living in Belgium since 2014. When not playing music, practicing martial arts, or traveling, he supports organizations in their agile and continuous improvement journey. He also just adopted a cat and a dog 🙂

You can link with Artur Margonari on LinkedIn and connect with Artur Margonari on Twitter. 

Stephane Thanasack: From intimidated to a confident and impactful coach, a journey

When Stephane started his career, not all things went according to plan. In this episode, Stephane shares a story of a moment where he froze in the face of verbal aggression. However, that would be the beginning of a new journey, that of a coach that is able to handle high-pressure situations, and even situations where someone might lose their cool. An insightful story that many coaches need to be ready for. 

About Stephane Thanasack

Stephane works with Agile clients in France, where he lives. He’s also the co-founder of Nowshak, a consulting company helping organizations in their transformation journey. He’s a certified professional coach by the International Coaching Federation.

You can link with Stephane Thanasack on LinkedIn.

Ryan Brook: How to NOT change a Scrum team, a Scrum Master warning

Ryan has a background as a school teacher. And even if he did not have a long background in the IT space, he was able to transform his teaching and facilitation skills into a strength in his Scrum Master role. His failure story takes us to a high-pressure environment where Ryan came in as a “turn around” Scrum Master. We discuss what happens when we want the team to improve, despite the team’s own wishes. Ryan shares some critical tips for Scrum Masters that are brought into a team “to change them”. 

About Ryan Brook

Ryan is a practicing Agile Coach and Scrum Master based in the UK. He is also the co-creator of Scrum Lake, a safe community of practice focused on story telling and deep exploration with Scrum Masters from around the World. He holds both the PSM III and PSPO III and is a candidate Professional Scrum Trainer for scrum.org.

You can link with Ryan Brook on LinkedIn. Or check Ryan’s website at optilearn.co.uk.

Carsten LĂĽtzen: The surprising reason why you should never prolong a Sprint beyond its timebox

As this story starts, we hear about a common situation for many Scrum teams: the Sprint has just ended, and the team is “almost” ready, if they could extend the Sprint by one week they would be done. Or so they thought. In this episode, we explore the many nasty consequences that come from extending a Sprint beyond its timebox. Listen in to learn why that should never be an option for you! 

About Carsten LĂĽtzen

Carsten is an Agile Coach at the LEGO Group. Before that a Scrum Master for different teams. He has a deep love of graphical facilitation and professional coaching. Besides his full-time job, he shares weekly tips on YouTube and LinkedIn on Agile, Facilitation, and Coaching.

You can link with Carsten LĂĽtzen on LinkedIn and connect with Carsten LĂĽtzen on Twitter.

Nancy Beers: When transparency is no longer an advantage for a Scrum Master

Nancy has a background as both a project manager, as well as an Open Source contributor. Through her career, she eventually realized that the Scrum Master role would be a better fit for her because, as she puts it, it is about working with technology and humans, together! In this episode, we focus on that human aspect, and we learn that – sometimes – being transparent can have negative consequences. Listen in to learn how and when transparency can hurt you in the role of the Scrum Master.  

About Nancy Beers

Nancy says she is here to change the world one game at a time. She plays with people to learn or unlearn things. This can either be hard skills or soft skills (aka. Human skills)

You can link with Nancy Beers on LinkedIn and connect with Nancy Beers on Twitter.Â