CHOW #13– Getting the best from and individual contributor in a Scrum team
Judy, the newest member in the team that you are the Scrum Master for, walks up to you to discuss a challenge she has been facing. After her first week of self study of project artefacts, and understanding the coding standards, the source file structures in the repository as well as the commit, build etc […]
Is DevOps = Agile++?
This is probably the most frequently asked question that I have received. In many sessions when I introduce the concept of DevOps and some characteristics, after the first 30 minutes or so, the question is a variation of: – We are already agile. all this sounds just like agile. how is it different and why […]
Motivating teams
A frequent question or topic of discussion with Scrum Masters, in course of coaching, is on motivation. How does one motivate the team members? A difficult question, which does not have “a” right answer/ approach. As a leader, one needs to deliver what is expected of him or her, this delivery is done by the […]
Seven pillars of Servant Leadership
Often I get asked by Scrum Masters, who are in the process of adopting Agile Scrum, on references to servant leadership. How should one go about changing from “command and control style” to “servant leadership”. I used to share relevant examples from my experiences that has helped teams self-organize. Highlight instances, based on my observations […]
Keeping Daily Scrum Focused (2)
Here is an update from Rekha, one of the team member from the teams I was coaching. I am working on TSK-206, I took the build, tried to test on ST-OS1 setup, was unable to test. Then I tried ST-OS3, then Nithin told me that he had changed the environment to test earlier build, he […]
Keeping Daily Scrum focused…
The Daily Scrum is one ceremony that the teams following Scrum adopt quickly. There are some hiccups initially, which are sorted out, often with inputs from the coach/guide. The ceremony is on time and at fixed time, occurs even if Scrum Master is not present, team members unable to attend do call in or provide […]
How does one create a DevOps Culture?
This is probably the most frequently asked question related to adopting or rolling out a DevOps initiative in an organization. We need to look at this question more closely based on the principles of DevOps. While traditionally, organizations are structured into functional silos or departments, value for a customer is not created by any one […]
Role of testing in DevOps
One question that I get asked frequently is whether DevOps implies significantly higher costs for testing. Before answering that question, I would like to spend a few minutes on the types of testing that is usually recommended and what is done. Teams following the V-model would have a focus on Unit, Integration, System and Acceptance […]
Role of Architecture in DevOps
DevOps approaches highlight the value of early and frequent releases into production. In extreme cases, it is continuous deployment. In order to achieve this – or even progress towards this, the underlying application as well as the portfolio architecture should be aware of such evolution. The discipline of Enterprise Architecture recommends structured approaches to layer […]
Tracking in Agile projects
During a workshop on Agile Scrum, for participants new to Agile, a question came up – how is tracking in Agile different than in traditional project management? A very interesting question, which cannot be answered in short – covering some aspects, more to elicit interest in those new to Agile Scrum. In a typical project, the team […]
