"Poor management can increase software costs more rapidly than any other factor." (Barry Boehm)

I'm off to Agile Open Northwest, an Open Space conference on Agile Methods. As the "main" Agile conference grows bigger and Agile hits the mainstream, small conferences like this provide an opportunity for converstation, collaboration, and exploration.

At the end of the week, Jens Ostergaard and I are teaching a CSM workshop.

And here are the ScrumMasters.

posted by Esther Derby at 9:53:00 PM  

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A while back, someone told me that they were having trouble with their daily stand up meetings.

"What's the issue?" I asked.

"People don't like standing for such a long time," came the response.

I was puzzled. Fifteen minutes doesn't seem like such a long time to stand for most people.

So I asked more questions.

It turned out that the stand up meeting was lasting nearly an hour. The standup meeting started with one team, and as other people heard about how effective the meeting was, they started showing up. And talking. Pretty soon there were 40-some people at the meeting. So this meeting was something, but it wasn't a daily stand up (and it wasn't effective anymore, either).

All of which leads me to Jason Yip's article, It's Not Just Standing Up: Patterns of Daily Stand-up Meeting.

Most of what you need to know about stand up meetings. Thanks Jason.

Labels: agile

posted by Esther Derby at 6:22:00 PM  

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Earlier this week, I posted a bit about barriers to effective listening.

Two days later (conincidentally) I received an email from my friend Janis Aaron Moore. Janis was a programmer for years, and has recently gone back to college, where she's doing the college thing and writing essays. The one she sent me was about her experiences as a student with hearing loss. In spite of her intention and effort to listen and understand, some times she can't.

Here are some excerpts from her essay:

Those of us with hearing loss lose many nuances and subtlety of human communication. We miss visual nuances because we focus on a speakers lips, not their face. We miss audible nuances because a portion of the incoming sound is muted or distorted. For example, we frequently "dont get the joke". When telling a joke, people frequently lower their voice at the punchline, leaving people with hearing loss "in the dark".

...

Some vocalized subject material might have a lot of words which are familiar and easy to lip / speech read. Other material might have a lot of words which are not lip readable. In certain environments I can hear many sounds, but my brain is unable to process {the sounds} so I can understand human speech. "Sound" does not equate with human speech.

...

There is a variety of things a speaker can do to help ensure that hard-of-hearing people in the classroom or audience can both hear and understand. They range from selecting the hearing environment to controlling speech patterns and personal actions. For example, select rooms with good acoustics. Cement or plaster walls, high ceilings, and wooden or tiled floors make sounds reverberate, creating excessive ambient noise. Close windows and doors if theres a lot of noise outside the room. Make sure theres adequate lighting on your face for people to read your lips.

Make sure you have everyones attention before you begin speaking. Face the audience when you speak. Dont hide your mouth, chew food, gum or smoke while talking. Speak for a few moments, and ask the audience if they can hear you. If someone cant hear you, ask how you can accommodate them. Do they need to move closer to the podium? Can some of the other things, like lighting, ambient noise, be adjusted to facilitate hearing?

Speak clearly, at a moderate pace. Use facial expressions, gestures. Give clues when changing the subject. Repeat or paraphrase comments from participants who might not be able to hear. Encourage others to be sure their comments are spoken clearly and with volume.

None of these things requires expensive technology or extraordinary effort.

Good advice. You can read some of Janis' writings at her website. Perhaps she'll post the final version of her essay, Understanding / Hearing.

Labels: personal effectiveness

posted by Esther Derby at 5:43:00 AM  

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My teachers in school and at university spent lots of time and effort teaching me how to speak and write effectively. I didn't get much instruction during my school years on how to listen effectively--mostly my teachers told me to "sit still and listen." Yep, if I just sat still, I'd be a better listener. That might work, except for people who can hear better when they are moving.

At any rate, I came across this fine article by Michael Webb, Eight Barriers to Effective Listening again this morning.

Most attention is paid to making people better speakers or writers (the "supply side" of the communication chain) rather than on making them better listeners or readers (the "demand side").

Diana and I sometimes run an activity in workshops that asks people to identify their barriers to effective listening. Some of the barriers that come up over and over are (and aren't on Michael's list):

Distractions, whether external like noise and activity or internal, such as preoccupation with other matters.

Physical discomforts such as being tired, hungry, ill, or other wise uncomfortable

Judgements about the person speaking.

Labels: personal effectiveness

posted by Esther Derby at 12:53:00 PM  

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Johanna tagged me in a game of 5 things you don't know about me.

So here 5 things you probably don't know about me:

1. I first heard about computers and computing when my father brought home a flowcharting template. I was nine years old.

2. Some years later, I got my first portable computer. It was a Compaq.

3. I own two accordions, a plain black/sliver one and one that could safely be described as "gaudy."

4. I like to bead, and this is my favorite neighborhood bead store, where Becky and Miranda are the reigning bead queens.

5. I learned how to downhill ski when I was 38. The ski instructors marveled that someone "so old" did as well as I did. We do actually have ski hills (not mountains) in the northern plains.

If you want to join the fun, consider yourself tagged.

Labels: personal

posted by Esther Derby at 11:12:00 AM  

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Yes, it really is National Clean Off Your Desk Day.

And in honor of this auspicious day, I have ordered a copy of A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder--How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place

My desk isn't a mess...it's emergence.

(15 books, several decks of cards for a simulation I've been working on, a notebook, feedback from 3 workshops, index cards, business cards, two bracelets, a spare computer, assorted papers, and a box of caramels. And some bills. Maybe the bills should go.)

posted by Esther Derby at 11:43:00 AM  

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We've all heard the jokes about consultants who answer every question, "It depends."

Actually, it often does depend on the context. Not this time.

Someone asked me recently if ScrumMasters (or other agile coaches) should be involved in yearly performance reviews, ratings, and rankings.

You can read my unambiguous answer here.

Labels: agile, annual reviews

posted by Esther Derby at 10:18:00 AM  

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Ken Flowers suggests answering these three questions to clarifiy your leadership philosophy (which he came across on George Ambler's blog):

What you believe about people ...
What you believe about life ...
What you believe makes groups and organizations effective ...

I'd add these questions:

How closely do my actions match what I say I believe?

If my actions don't match my beliefs, how is that working for me?

If I really believed what I wrote, how would I act?

(You can read Ken's answers to the first three questions on his blog.)

Labels: management

posted by Esther Derby at 5:48:00 PM  

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