Early and often also provides options

Today I got a gift.  One of my clients is on the verge of delivering  to production their first release of a new [internal] product  It is only an increment, and while it has some value to a set of users, it is only a step along the way to bigger things.

It's taken them 5 1/2 months, with a team of almost 25, working half-time.

"Sorry?" asks the Blog Reader, "did you call this a gift?"

Well, yes.  Local folklore says this team has worked on this domain for almost three years without a release at all, and in light of that, this is blazing speed. But the gift is something else.  This little release has provided an option to address an emergent business need that is suddenly a top priority to the company.

Well shazzam!

My client is struggling to refresh its developers' skill sets, as well as improve the rate of deliver and satisfaction of the business. Very recently the Powers that Be pushed to the top of the priority list the need to support a new [external, for sale] product to their marketplace.  As you'd expect, time is of the essence; it needs to be in production in six months.

The Product Owner and her Customer Team coined new user stories to tag the needs.  The Team was given the stories with dialog and time to ruminate.  The proposed solution, signed off by everyone, even the Old Technology Bigots, uses this Little Release That Could as a key ingredient.  In fact, without this Release, the only options would have been Old Technology only. And while I acknowledge that that would not have been Evil and could still be considered agile, this option is much more compelling and compliant with my client's goals.

Thank you Santa!  As their agile coach I could not have asked for a better example of how delivering early and often is really good!

Agile coach, are you a meterorologist?

I'm learning the power of meteorology in my endeavors as an agile coach. As I influence the people in the organization I find that pressures are important.  Not pressures on individuals necessarily, but pressure zones in the organization itself.  


For example: I needed to find someone to fill  the Product Owner role for a business unit that wanted to start using Scrum. One of my ScrumMasters-in-training was worrying about finding the right person.  The conversation went something like this:


"What if we choose the wrong person?" he asked.
"Well, perhaps WE don't choose at all.  Perhaps we can get a volunteer.  It IS a hard role after all, and volunteers are better than conscripts."
"Ok, how do we do that?"
"Well, we are already creating a vacuum by spinning up Scrum Teams.  Let's produce a source to fill that vacuum, a pressure dome if you will."
He has a blank look.  "Uhm,  say what?"
I smile.  "Think of a weather map.  We have a low pressure system, spinning in place.  Let's build a high pressure system and move it close."
"Er, oookay.  I don't quite follow, but say we do; what will that accomplish?"
"We'll at least get some cool thunder and lightning."


We built a high pressure system by doing a series of Brown Bags on Scrum and the importance of the Product Owner role.  Some folks expressed interest in the P.O. role, and voilá! We had a supply to fill our vacuum.
So embrace your inner meteorologist, ye agile coaches and mentors.

In the center of every real business problems stands a human

It occurs to me that often even we, the [in our own eyes] Enlightened forget that at the center of every real business problem stands a human.

We often find ourselves in target rich environments. We witness the waste, chaos, and misery around us and, because we wish to Deny Pain, we apply ourselves and/or our advice to targets that are second order effects, or worse, mere consequences.

One of the principles given us is, "Build projects around motivated individuals." Permit me to show my bias by stating the corollary, "Form Teams around motivated individuals." And who is more motivated than that human standing in the middle of that real business problem?

As men and women that focus on improving, we ache to have sponsorship for our ideas and notions. We yearn to have access to people that have the organizational power to turn those notions into action. I submit to you that one need look no farther than the humans mentioned herein.

It isn't necessarily the IT managers. It isn't always the CIO/CTO/CWhateverO. It is the line of business manger. It is the Operations Team Lead. It is the Mail Room clerk.