Project Manager to what? ScrumMaster? Agile Coach?

Who is Lyssa? Before Scrum 15-year career in project and program management PMO director PMP Six Sigma Green Belt After Scrum All that + Certified Scrum Trainer and a belief that teams really do know what s best a rabid focus on delivering business value Certified Scrum Coach Co-active Coach Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting 2 Hello from Lyssa Adkins! I am certified as a Scrum Trainer and I am also an Agile Coach. I came to Agile as a project leader with over 15 years project management expertise. Even with all that experience, nothing prepared me for the power and simplicity of Agile done well. My Agile experience, along with my professional coaching and training abilities, gives me the perspective needed to guide teams and Agile leaders to harness Agile as the competitive advantage weapon it was meant to be. I know the transformation path is rocky. As a former large-scale program manager and director of Project Management Offices, I have lived it myself. This makes me uniquely able to help others translate their existing world to the Agile world. For the last four years, I have been coaching teams in the financial services industry and coaching coaches who represent the gamut of Agile implementations, from small consulting firms to the giants of industry. I believe that Agile is more than an alternate project management methodology and am passionate about deepening the roles in Agile specifically Agile Coach and Agile Manager to help Agile move into its fullest expression. I hold an alphabet-soup of certifications: Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), Certified Scrum Coach (CSC), Project Management Professional (PMP) and Six Sigma Green Belt (SSGB). I am also a professionally trained Co-Active Coach which gives me the skills to coach people one-on-one and in coaching circles (and to help them be the agile coaches their teams need them to be).

What is this session about? Who s here? Tell us one thing you LOVE about being a Project Manager. And...one thing you HATE. PM to what? What are my options in an agile world? So, who s doing the PM stuff? So, if not the PM stuff what does the ScrumMaster/Agile Coach do? How willing are you to take up this new role of ScrumMaster or Agile Coach? How ready do you feel? 3 Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting

One thing I LOVE about being a PM. And...one thing I HATE.

In the session, the 75 attendees did a giant mingle where people walked around and met as many of their peers as they could in 4 minutes. They exchanged their LOVE and HATE things and then declared some of them out loud. LOVE Working with people Delivering stuff Sense of accomplishment Getting finished And many, many more HATE Problems (always problems) Staying on top of people Politics Doing stuff that doesn t really matter And many, many more 5 Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting

PM to what? What are my options in an agile world?

What is a ScrumMaster/Agile Coach? Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting 7 A ScrumMaster/agile coach is a Bulldozer. Bulldozing impediments out of the team s way. Shepherd. Guiding the team back to agile practices and principles when they stray. Servant leader. Serving the team rather than the team serving you. Guardian of quality and performance. Examining both what the team produces and how they produced it to make observations and help them tune the human system they are. Source: The coach as bulldozer characteristic came from Mike Cohnʼs Certified Scrum Master Workshop. The coach as sheepdog - protecting the flock from outside attackers is Ken Schwaberʼs idea. This was the seed for Lyssa Adkinsʼ adaptation of it to shepherd, guiding the team back when they stray. Coach as servant leader was first coined by Mike Cohn and Ken Schwaber in the January 2003 Agile Times Newsletter article, The Need for Agile Project Management. Text excerpted from Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches and Project Managers in Transition copyright 2010 Pearson Education.

An agile coach creates the environment within which the agile values flourish so that teams can perform, such as: courage focus commitment simplicity collaboration respect self-organization emergence prioritization communication 9 Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting

What is a Product Owner? 10 Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting A product owner is a: Business-Value-Driver. All decisions and tradeoffs, including when to stop the project, are made through considering which alternative gives the most business value now. Daily Decision Maker. Being fully present with the team to engage in conversation and make decisions as they arise so that the team moves forward unimpeded. Vision Keeper. Keeps the big picture of the product in the team s sight and directs them toward it each sprint. Heat Shield. Protects the team from all outside noise and pressure, giving them focus. Single Throat to Choke. Being completely invested in the product. The team s work is not just some assignment for you it truly matters - so you graciously accept the burden of being the person answerable for the success of the product. Let these phrases create a vision of great product ownership in the people you coach. Invite them to explore what these mean to them and where they feel comfort and discomfort with the role. Both comfort and discomfort signal growing edges for them and fertile places for you to coach. Text excerpted from Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches and Project Managers in Transition copyright 2010 Pearson Education.

So, who s doing the PM stuff?

Some typical project manager functions Select Team Members Create and Manage Schedule Monitor Progress and Success Coordinate Work between Team Members Manage Budget Manage Scope Manage Risks Set Priorities Commit to Delivery Dates Assign Tasks Represent Team Status Communicate with Stakeholders 13 Source: Based on a June 25, 2008 post by Peter Stevens at Scrum Breakfast Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting

Function Project Manager Scrum Master/Agile Coach Product Owner Team Members Create and Manage Schedule initial ongoing Monitor Progress and Success x Coordinate Work Manage Budget Manage Scope Manage Risks Set Priorities Commit to Delivery Dates Assign Tasks x x x shared x x x shared x Represent Team Status x Communicate with Stakeholders x 14 Source: Based on a June 25, 2008 post by Peter Stevens at Scrum Breakfast Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting

So, if not the PM stuff what does the ScrumMaster/Agile Coach do?

How willing are you to take up this new role of ScrumMaster or Agile Coach? How ready do you feel?

Overall, the attendees are willing and feel ready to go! In the session, the 75 attendees revealed to one another how willing they are to take up this role of Agile Coach, and how ready they feel. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but basically this is what it looked like: Willing Willing Willing Willing Willing Ready Ready Ready Ready Ready Not willing Don t feel ready Completely willing Ready to go! Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting

Last words

Don t go it alone 21 Copyright 2008-2010 Cricketwing Consulting If I could leave you with one thought, it s this.don t go it alone I know how hard it is to live these radical thoughts I've just shared with you. I have been humbled into remembering this, in fact. I recently coached a couple of teams directly rather than being the coach of coaches. And I remembered, again, what it *feels* like to be the "leader" of the team. The pressure of wanting the team to do well, the pressure of outside forces asking you when? why? How? Lots of emotions in play that can lead one back to their old, non-agile behaviors. The cure for this is friends. Use your network of like-minded colleagues - as sounding boards, as venting partners, for advice. Don't go it alone.

Ways to not go it alone 1. Learn about Agile and Scrum. Great resources: MountainGoatSoftware.com ScrumAlliance.org 2. If you are in a ScrumMaster or Agile Coach role, get this book 3. If you are a practicing ScrumMaster or Agile Coach, sign up for Agile Coach Inspiration emails (free!), join us in the Coaching Agile Teams classes (coming to SFO early 2011) or join a Coaching Circle. Find out more: www.coachingagileteams.com lyssaadkins@cricketwing.com @lyssaadkins Copyright 2008-2010Cricketwing Consulting Please contact me with questions or to talk about coaching or training. I help agile coaches be EXCELLENT and LOVE their jobs (and their teams). lyssaadkins@cricketwing.com CoachingAgileTeams.com