James Carpenter

The main barrier to organizations beginning their lean portfolio journey lies in the conventional manner in which agilists start the conversation.  In my early scaling days, I was no exception: 🚩 Reinvent your enterprise funding model 🚩 Abolish phase gates 🚩 Stop driving dysfunction with different colors of money You will eventually evolve the funding model and adjust how you employ phase gates and other governance controls, but these are problems agilists are passionate about.  🚫 Suggesting them as starting points is a good way to stop the conversation! Try this instead: ✅ Find the problems the portfolio leadership is most passionate about today ✅ Pick one and use your lean toolkit to help them explore it ✅ Shape small experiments to reduce the pain and build traction ✅ Establish a flow of evolution What are some of your favorite 'first experiments'?

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I feel like I’m in the twilight zone. In 2008 I said that you could do Scrum better if you considered it a partial implementation of Lean. Ken and Jeff rebuffed me. Then, the 2020 Scrum Guide said Scrum is based on empiricism and Lean (which it actually isn’t). I based this assertion on my work that year where I used Lean to help a company that had been trained by Jeff but couldn’t get teams to work together well. I used Lean and value stream analysis to create BLAST, which is discussed in my book with Cecil Rupp Steve Pereira and Richard Knaster The Lean Agile Way. BLAST, while a predecessor to Scrum@Scale is more flexible since you can use Scrum or Kanban. About 10 years ago the client I had created it for was used as a case study for Scrum@Scale so they apparently had learned something from it. Scrum folks do seem to be catching up, however. Over the last 5 years, I have any number of posts by CSTs talking about the need to manage work in process and use flow as well. I've recently seen CSTs arguing over whether Scrum uses timeboxing or not. If CSTs can’t agree on what the guide says how can we mere mortals. What makes it feel like I’m in the twilight zone is this morning a CST said they teach Scrum where you should “Take the parts that will be helpful. Leave them behind if not. Who cares if you can’t call it Scrum.” It just feels so odd that things I’ve been vilified for years for saying are now being presented by CSTs and Scrum thought leaders. Of course, there’s never been any acknowledgement of my saying these things. If there were, I guess I’d really be in the Twilight Zone. :)

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Interesting to read the article…. And actually I was surprised about the connection between Agile Project Management and Polyvagal Theory!

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I saw another post today targeting agile certification. I understand the frustration of seasoned practitioners who may be struggling to find work, they look to each side and see neophytes and Joanna-come-latelys “diluting” the talent pool and making it harder for the old pros value to be seen and selected. The message was about having lots of badges but no real life experience being bad. It made me feel sad. (Maybe because of the lack of empathy… we all had to start somewhere didn’t we?) ********** I gave this response: “Is it true, is it kind, is it necessary? I wonder if this type of post actually pushes people, starting their journey, towards certification. Maybe instead of publicly devaluing and deriding classroom training and certification we should be publicly shouting out to those people “don’t spend your money at a time when money is scarce…. Come and do real life learning with me? “Want some real life experience, I’ll will help you get it” Otherwise what are these posts about, what are we really doing here?” ************ To those who know me, and how much I try to live my values I would like to ask a huge favour. Now I understand that this could be seen as self aggrandising and promotional (I’ll just have to take that criticism on the chin if it comes) but I would really like to promote not myself but a different attitude which I hope I live up to. Please, as I speak of in my response to the sad post… If you have ever benefitted from my time and effort and knowledge and generosity in a professional sense (not the times I was paid to work with and for you… the other times)… if you feel you were mentored or coached or advised by me or attended a meetup I ran or listen to the podcast I cocreate - because I want to personally invest in you and your potential… to raise you up, and reach a hand and have you benefit from my experience… Please could you respond to this post. Say what you want or say nothing… but lets role model that promoting positivity is generative and no one wins when we criticise our own or those wishing, somehow, someway to join us. Thank you

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I found so much value in Bob Galen’s recent thoughts on Navigating Agile Coaching Value, especially where he cautions us not to project our agile biases on our client’s goals. When we prioritize on our needs and preferences as coaches, it’s so much harder to see what our clients need.  Check it out here! https://lnkd.in/expcQw2m

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The Truth About Certified ScrumMaster (CSM): A Starting Point, Not a Destination There's been some critique lately about the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification. The argument goes that after just two days of learning, one can't possibly achieve expert proficiency. And you know what? They're absolutely right - but that misses the point entirely. Let's clear something up: "ScrumMaster" in this context isn't about mastery. It's a role name, much like Toastmaster or Webmaster (remember those?). The CSM certification isn't meant to create Scrum experts overnight. Instead, it provides the fundamental understanding of what Scrum is and how it works. Think of it like getting a white or yellow belt when you first start martial arts. It's an achievement, absolutely! But does it mean you can lead a dojo? Of course not. What it does mean is that you've taken your first step on the path to mastery. You can't master anything in just two days - be it a martial art, a musical instrument, or Scrum. But you can start on the right foot. The CSM certification is that first step. It's a doorway that opens up the path to true proficiency. So let's shift our perspective. The CSM isn't the end goal - it's the beginning. It's a solid foundation upon which to build real-world experience and deeper knowledge. Remember, every master was once a beginner. The CSM is just the start of your Scrum journey. Where you go from there is up to you. #Scrum #AgileMethodology #CSM #ContinuousLearning #ProfessionalDevelopment P.S. Same applies for other certs like PSM or even the PMP (there is some experience required for that, but, still , it does not mean you have mastered project management because you got a PMP)

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There are very few things related to organizational agility, that exist in a vacuum, yet we see agile practitioners incessantly trying to install things and making claims about isolated improvements. I suspect the compulsion to do this stems from a lack of systems thinking acumen...at least that's my working hypothesis. #lean #sixsigma #systemsthinking #agile #agiletransformation

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As a Scrum practitioner with years of experience working with teams in Silicon Valley, I was recently asked whether teams should estimate Spikes in a sprint. After consulting Scrum Sage: Zen Edition, I realized that its answer did not align with the discipline needed for hyperproductive Scrum or the patterns essential to implement high performance. The truth is, all work needs to be estimated in your sprint. Otherwise, you won't know your capacity, and you won't be able to use Yesterday's Weather to predict whether you'll finish a sprint. Without this knowledge, you'll maximize Bayesian surprise and be unable to innovate or improve. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of Bayesian surprise, I highly recommend reading "First Principles in Scrum" on leanpub.com or consulting with Scrum Sage: Zen Edition. Remember, estimation is key to success in Scrum.

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In coaching agile teams there are tell tale signs that the team is struggling and the project is not going well. Here are some of the most common ills and suggestions on how to overcome them. https://ed.gr/db1g3

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Company: "we're going to do scrum...policing framework consistency, information radiator consistency, etc." Consistency makes sense, but it sounds like they are measuring the wrong things. They should not be measuring things that depend on Scrum. Some leading indicators to consider measuring: behavioral test coverage, feature level cycle time. Some trailing (outcome) indicators to consider measuring: product quality (production incident rate? customer complaints?), product usage, ... None of those depend on Scrum. #agility #leadership

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If you're an inexperienced Scrum Master, here's how you can leapfrog 80% of the Scrum Masters around who have only had Scrum training. In my prior post I gave four reasons that Agile is stagnating. #1 is the Lack of verifiable theory based on first principles to explain most of the causes and effects present in knowledge work. The key word here is "verifiable." By this, I mean _you_ can verify the theory by looking at your past experience. It's also related to the #1 myth that keeps Agile stuck "1. Being based on empiricism is sufficient." Getting around these constraints takes about 8 hours of your time and it's free. I suggest taking a couple of hours a week to do this each week I have created a page in Amplio University called "Amplio Fundamentals" that provides a sufficient set of knowledge to do things that many in the Scrum community believe is not possible (see screenshot for URL). Hence, most Scrum Masters haven't been trained in it. But empiricism without theory is expensive and leaves you blind on what to do. This page has a significant amount of content that will enable you to solve many problems that few Scrum Masters, who have only empiricism, have. While it won't make you an expert, it will provide more options than even many experts have available to them. Go through the page which is a combination of articles and videos. Join the Amplio Community of Practice (free) and attend live sessions on Tuesday mornings (8am Pacific) to ask questions and learn more. This self-study approach mirrors the advanced learning techniques of "flipped classroom training" where students study on their own and then engage with the instructor in the classroom. It also takes into account that people learn best when they can try out what they've just learned. Learning over time also allows you to go deeper over time. #Scrum #Agile #PSMII #Amplio

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We have 3 spots left in our Certified Scrum Product Owner® Workshop tomorrow (Jun 19-20) 8:30-15:30 CT. We would love to see you! Product owner roles are becoming increasingly important. In 2020, LinkedIn named it the #15 emerging job with a 24% annual growth. The World Economic Forum went even further, calling it the #1 job needed for the emerging global workforce. Skills in the New World of Work report shows that 55% of companies are ready to pay higher salaries to those with agile certifications. Other summer dates available as well: https://lnkd.in/eajaKWX #Scrum #agile #productmanagement

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We need to attend to quality technical practices. David Scott Bernstein and I are working on a simple path forward. You don't need to be extreme to get the results of XP. The problem when you make things optional is that people likely won't do them. When Scrum leaders decided not to say how to do technical practices it would have been useful if the detailed what objectives needed to be met. Many people who adopt Scrum do it because they are attracted to its "follow" aspect. But when you don't tell people the objectives of quality tech practices they tend not to do anything about it. The focus on Scrum has been to enable it to work anywhere - software involved or not. But the world is more and more digital. Ignoring tech practices so it can work everywhere makes it work less well in software development.

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Loved chatting about misconceptions in test automation with Joe Colantonio on his podcast recently. If you are struggling to have success with your automation efforts, I highly encourage you to check out the full episode! #testautomation #qa

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Are you doing Agile correctly? Step 1) Admit you have a problem you are trying to solve and disclose why you chose Agile to solve the problem… #agile #scrum #businessagility AgileDad Scrum Alliance Agile Alliance

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Shifting the value perception of agile roles [The education, trust & value equation] Let's face it. "Agile has shat the bed" Cheers for that quote Scott Ambler! I've spoken to 100's of people in our industry in the past few months alone - Agile practitioners at conferences - People out of work with agile skills - Hiring managers responsible for capability One thing is clear: The perceived value of agile has dropped significantly. So if I could make one recommendation right now? Spend more time on point 3 in the below visual Articulating your value Because: When the value you bring isn't clear → It erodes trust Without trust? → You won't be in a position to educate "A Dead Scrum Master is Useless Scrum Master" - Ken Schwaber Bonus resources 1. Use a 'Value Obeya' to capture your value visually 2. Use 'Value Retrospectives' to reflect on your value 3. Use the 'Value Storytelling Canvas' to help you communicate value Hope that helps Thanks for resharing - It helps those struggling in our network P.S - What's missing from this visual?

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Quick video on how to improve your estimation of stories.

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