AdvanScrum

Simplify,Simplify

Danny(Danko)Kovatch

AllrightsreservedtoDannyKovatchandAgileSparksLtd.
Allcontentofthisbookmay,withoutanyhesitation,bereproduced,copied,photocopied,
recorded,published,storedindatabases,receivedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans
electronic,optical,mechanicalorother.Anycommercialuseofthematerialincludedinthisbook
isstrictlyallowedandthereisnoneedfortheauthorspriorwrittenpermission.Itwouldbenice
howeverifyoucouldnotifytheauthoranyway,onanythingyouexperiencedalongtheway.
Rememberthatanythingyoudoisofyourownchoicethereforedontaddressyourcomplaints
totheauthorafterwards,itwonthelpyou.Actuallytheauthorwouldliketohelpyouandwould
evenbehappytodoso,butblaminghimwouldbeoutofline.However,ifyousucceededin
somethinganditworkedforyou,theauthoriswillingtotakethecredit.Ifyouarenotwillingto
givehimthecredit,thentheauthorwouldatleastbehappytobeupdatedonwhatworked.
Anyway,theauthorhopesthisisthelasttimehewritesinthethirdperson.

Anounceofpracticeisworthmore
thantonsofpreaching
MahatmaGhandi

Thosearemyprinciples,
andifyoudon'tlikethem...well,
Ihaveothers.
GrouchoMarx

DisclaimerandGratitude

First,Iwouldliketosaythatthisbookconstitutesanentiretyofthingsthathaveworkedforme,
basedonmypersonalexperienceandlimitedabilityincertainareas.However,Irecognizethat
thereareotherwaysandtechniqueswhichmayworkbetter.Thereisasayingwhenallyou
haveisahammereverythinglookslikeanail.Asdomostofus,Ihavealimitedsetofpractical
andmentaltoolsandtechniquesandwaysofimplementingthem.Theyaresuitableformeand
maynotbesuitableforeveryone.Myperspectiveoftheworldis,too,uniqueandindividualand
thereforeIdescribeherewhatworkedforme.Pleasetakewhatyoureadwithagrainofsalt.
Doubteverythingwrittenhereandfindyourownwayinthedepthsofyourprojects,asthiswillbe
thewaymostsuitableforyouand,nolessimportant,willbemorepleasurableforyou.

Secondly,Iwishtoexpressmygratitudetoyou,thereaderforgivingmetheopportunityto
interestyouand,Ihopeandbelieve,toimproveyourperformance.Iwouldofcoursebehappyto
receiveyourresponse:Danko@AgileSparks.com.Itdoesn'thavetobealongmessageitcould
beasingleparagraph,evenoneshortsentence.Ifyoudon'tfeellikedoingthiseither,thatisalso
fine,justsendmeanumberbetween1("terrible,arentyouashamed?!?!")to10(perfect!I
enjoyedeveryminute,whenwillthenextbookbepublished?)

Lastbutnotleast,IwouldliketothankallmyfriendsatAgileSparks,whochallengedme
professionally,protectedmefromstrangeideasandenabledmetodevelopprofessionallywhile
providingaprofessionalandsocialinfrastructure.Iamhonoredandaprivilegedtobeapartof
suchagreatteam.MostoftheideasandrevelationsIhadwereformedthroughthehardmental
workthatwasdonewitheachoneofthemandallthecreditbelongstothem.Iammerelythe
executorofwhatIbelieveworks.Sinceeachteamiscomposedofpeoplebearingdifferent
views,noteveryonealwaysagreeswithme.Thereforeinordertopreventdiscomfortor
misunderstandings,Iamwritingthisbookinfirstperson,andtakefullresponsibilityforits
content.Occasionallynotonlywastheredisagreement,therewasalsoobjection.Thatis
completelyalrightitisnotobjectionwhichIfear,butratherapathy,thoughinsuchaselected
teamthechancesofthisoccurringareslimtonone.
Althoughtheteamfunctionsasanentity,Iwouldliketospecificallymentionafewpeople.
ToInbarOren,apersonalfriendandaprofessionalfriendwhodeeplyhelpedme,encouraged
meandgavemeeffectivefeedbackallalongthewayupuntilthepublishingofthisbook.
ToYuvalYeret,atopprofessionalineverythingrelatedtoselflearningandimprovement.His
abilitytodevelopprofessionallyaswellasthemanyconversationswehadofAgilecontextsin
generalandofAdvanScrumspecifically,wereoftenaninspirationtomeandprovidedmewith
toolsnotonlytobeginthejourneyofwritingabookbutalsotopersistatmomentsofdifficulty.
ToShirlyRonenHarel,mycoauthorofapreviousbook(AgileKids),forthemoralsupportand
fortheexcellentandprofessionalfeedbackthathavemadethisbookofahigherstandardthan
thatwhichIamabletoproducealone,orthatIcouldhaveimagined.
ToGilNachmias,averyclosefriend,whobringsoutthemischievousandeffectivesparkinme
everytimewemeet,forgoodadviceandaviewintothereader'sperspective.
ToGevaNagar,mytrainerinCombinedMartialArts,whoseincredibletrainingsessionsand
insightsattheendofeachsessionalwaysexceedthepracticespace(Dojo)andwhichhave
givenmemuchinspirationexpressedasaconnectingfactorthroughoutthebook.
AndofcoursetoErezTatcher,myfriendandpartnerwho,thankstohisencouragementand
acquaintancewithmymentalandmotivationalpoints,succeededinhisownwayingettingmeto
publishwhatisinmyprofessionalheart.

Danny(Danko)Kovatch
September2012

WhoIsThisBookAimedForAndHowShoulditbeRead
Aftergivingmuchthoughttohowthisbookshouldbewritten,Iarrivedattheconclusionthatthe
bestwayformetoexpressmyselfandtotransfermyideastothereaderwouldbetowriteina
spoken,everyday,language,asifthereaderistakingpartinaconversationwithme.Oneway
oflookingatthebookisasacollectionofblogposts.ThisiswhyinmanyplacesinthebookI
turntothereader,addastoryrelatedtothemainissue,orajokeoranexperiencefrommyown
personalworld.ThisishowIconductworkshopsandfacilitatemeetings.

ThisbookisaimedforanyonewhohasbeguntheAgilejourney,morespecifically,theScrum
journey,andwouldliketoreceiveadditionaltoolsbeyondtheexistingshortanddrysetofrules
definedbyScrum.AftermanyyearsofteachingandimplementingScrum,thesearethingsI
learned.SomeofthemarebasedontherulesofScrum,yetsomebreakawayfromthem.
PleasetakeeverythingIproposewithagrainofsaltandcarefullyaskyourselfwhatyouexpectto
happenasaresultofusingaspecifictool/practice.Iwouldliketoemphasizethatjustaswith
anytool,youshouldexaminewhetheritsuitsyou,andwhenandhowtouseit.

Isuggestreadingthefirstpartofthebookchronologically.Thesecondpartofthebook,which
describesatoolset(charts,meetingsetc),canbereadasa"RecipeBook".

Ihopethisbookchallengesyoutothinkdifferentlyofyourprojectsandgeneralconductand
makethemmoreeffectiveandenjoyable.

Iamnotyoungenoughtoknoweverything
OscarWilde

ScrumasaBasis

IstartedmycareerasaconsultantandScrumTraineraboutsixyearsago.Astimewentby,I
noticedthatIammakingmoreandmorechangestowhatIwasteachingandcoaching.Many
changes.Ineverycourse.Ineveryimplementation.Furthermore,Idiscoveredthereareissuesin
ScrumwhichIdonotagreewithandevenseeaswrong.WhenatsomepointinthepastyearI
understoodthatitistoooftenthatIencounterthisdisagreement,Idecidedtostopforamoment
andcheckmyselfandScruminitspurestform,againstwhatIhavedonesofarandthethingsI
believein,suchasotherAgilemethodsorMartialArtswhichinmyperspectivearesimilarto
Scrum(IhavebeendoingAikidoandKaratefromarelativelyyoungage,andinmymilitary
serviceIstudied"MartialCombat",andinthepastyearsIhavebeentrainingin"MixedMartial
Arts"),extremesportsorevenparentinganddieting.Allthese,represent,inmyperspective,
certainaspectsofScrumandbecameasourceforaflowingspringofideas.Itookadeep
breathandbegansummingupthechangesIbelieveshouldbemadetoScrum.Iadded,
changedanderasedallsortsofthings,someofwhicharetechnicalandothersarefundamental.

TheresultwassomethingwhichsomepeoplemayseeasnotbeingScrumatallandIcant
blamethem.Moreover,IamnotsurewhetherpeoplewhostandbehindScrumwillnotbe
skepticalorevenangryatthewronguseoftheterm.Ifthishappens,Iapologizeinadvance.
AnotherthingwhichtroubledmewasthatsomeoftheprinciplesIdiscoveredseemtocontradict
Scrum,andasaCertifiedScrumTraineroftheInternationalScrumAlliance,thismademe
scaredatfirst,butIlaterunderstoodtwomajorthings.
One,thatScrumisadaptive.Asprint'slengthisagoodexample.WhethertheProductOwneris
apartoftheteamornot,isanother.ThesecondthingisthatIshouldnotbeafraid.WhetherI
inventedanewgenericlevelforScrumoranewpersonallevel,whetherIinventedsomething
completelynewbasedonScrumorwhetherIwrotenonsensealltheway,alltheseshouldnot
frightenme.EspeciallywhenIseethatitenables,meatleast,tobringpractitionerstobetter
places.ItdoesntmeanthatitwillworkidenticallyforyoubutIamhopefulthatitwillbesoandif
not,Iatleasthopethatitwillgiveyouafoundationforideasonhowtoimproveyourpracticeof
Scrum.

Sometimesinsteadofsolvingprojectproblemswithpeople
Ifindmyselfsolvingpeoplesproblemswithprojects
Danny(Danko)Kovatch

HowDoIEvenGetStarted...?

AfterexaminingalltheimplementationsIwasapartof,IarrivedattheconclusionthatifIwere
askedtodescribethewholetheoryinanutshell,allthatisneededistofocusonthreethings:
1.Thepeople
2.Theproject
3.Theatmosphere
Ibelievethatifpeoplehavethemotivationandtheunderstandingthatbringingvaluetotheuseris
paramount,allthatisleftistotiethistotheprojectandtocontinueworkingatthisatmosphere.
Thisbookdescribes,inpractice,howtobeginpavingtheroadforagoodstartinordertoachieve
thisgoal.

PainsSession

ThefirstthingIusuallydoisanexerciseInamedPainsSessionwhosegoalistounderstand,
togetherwiththepeoplefromtheorganization,whatprojectproblemstheyencounter.The
problemsareusuallycharacterizedbasedonthepeopleshierarchy.Thehighertherankofthe
managerstakingpartinthissession,thestrongerthetendencytospeakoforganizational
problems.Thelowertherankofthepeople,thestrongerthetendencytospeakoftheteamand
personalproblems.Muchcanbelearnedfromthesetwoextremes.Forinstance,whetherthere
isacontradictionbetweenorganizationalproblemsandtheteamproblems(anexamplefora
commonstatementIdonthaveproblems,Imalwaysonschedulewithmytasksbutthe
organizationsimplyisnotonschedule.).

RowRowRowYourBoatFiercelyDowntheStream...
Therearemanypossiblewaystoexecutethissession.IpersonallyfoundthattheBoatExercise
isveryeffective.Themethodissimple.Youasktheteamtodrawaboat.Theboatofcourse
needselementswhichsetitinmotionandotherswhichstopit.Thisboatissituatedinacertain
environment(shallowwaters,deepwaters,surroundedbysharksoricebergsormaybeitisat
theedgeofacliffandisunmovable)andthisenvironmentneedstobedrawnaswell.Whilst
drawingthemetaphoricalpicture,theteamisrequiredtowritewhateachelementrepresents.
Forinstance,iftherearefiveanchors,whatdotheyrepresent(e.g.:astrongdependence
betweentheteams,amisunderstandingoftheproject,lackoftrustbetweentheteammembers,
miscommunication,noclearvision,vaguerequirements,flawediterationprotectionetc...).The
samegoesfortheengines,thepeopleontheboat(oroutsidetheboat),sails,sharks,other
boats,etc.


Muchcanbelearnedbystudyingthedrawing.Inmyopinionthissessionisalmostalways
successfulfortwomainreasons:itismucheasiertospeakofsomeoneelsesproblems(in
ourcasethissomeonebeingtheboat)andtheotherreasonisthatitismucheasiertodraw
boatproblems(evenifthelasttimeyoudrewsomethingwasinthirdgrade)thanwritethem
down.Inotherwords,thehumanconsciousnessfindsiteasiertohidebehindametaphorical
drawingratherthanactuallywritingdownwhattheproblemis,thatistosay,confrontitdirectly,
specificallywhentheproblemissensitive(e.g.,miscommunicationbetweentheteamandthe
managerinthedrawingcanbeexpressedbyamanagerstandingonthedeckandtheteam
situatedinsidetheboatunabletohearhim).

DrawingAnalysisandRecognizingMainImprovementPoints
Itislaterrecommendedtoanalyzethedrawingbyaskingtheteamtodescribewhattheyhave
drawn.Ifthedrawingrevealsalot,havingtheteamdescribeitrevealsevenmore!Afterthe
teamsreflection,comesthestageofexaminingwhatshouldbedone.Therearenumerous
methodsforimprovementbutIlikefocusingontheanchorsandthewaysofremovingthemor
reducingtheirnumber.Ifwewanttoacceleratetheboat,itisbettertofocusonremovingthe
anchorsthantoincreasetheenginepower.

ReflectingtoManagementandSettingObjectivesandMeansofMeasuringThem
Managementsobligationtotheprocessisanecessarybutinsufficientconditiontoasuccessful
implementationofAgile.Managementboardmeetingsareaverygoodindicationthat
Managementhasassimilatedthefactthatitisanintegralpartoftheimplementation.Acommon
mistakeistoassumethatManagementdoesnotneedtochangeitswaysaspartofthe
process.Changeincludeseveryone.Theproblemisthateveryonewantstomakechangesbut
nooneiswillingtochange.OncethishasbeeninternalizedbytheManagement,being
Management,theyneedtosetobjectivesandmeasurethem(Ifyoucan'tmeasureit,youcan't
manageit,PeterDrucker).ThereforetheManagementvisionmustbedefinedtogetherasa
grouptoenabledecisionmaking(Whenyourvaluesarecleartoyou,makingdecisions
becomeseasier,RoyDisney).Thedefinitionprocessbyitselfisagreatpracticeofcreatinga
dialoguebetweendifferentstakeholdersandharnessingmutualobligationtowardsmaking
decisions.ThemethodIfoundmosteffectiveisacollaborationofaCauseResultChartandthe
Objectives.

First,youreflectthepainsfoundintheboatexercise.Thenyousortthemandsetthemona
whiteboard.Witheveryproblemthatiswrittenontheboard,theteamneedstodecidewhat
causesit(addingrelevantarrows)andwhetherthisproblemcausesotherproblems(andagain,
addrelevantarrows).Afterwehaveagroupofcircledproblemswitharrowsconnectingthem,
theteammustidentifyreinforcingcircles.Ofcoursesomeofthesearenegativereinforcements.
NowtheteamManagementmustdiscoverwhatthemainproblemsare,thatonceremoved,will
gainusfastestprogress.Inshort,letsfindthelargestanchorsandgetridofthem.Isuggest
implementingParetosPrinciple(definedas80%oftheactivityisoriginatedin20%oftheactive
factors)onthegeneralpainandtodiscoverandfocusonthe20%ofthepainwhichwillresultin
80%progress.

Sowhathavewegotsofar?adrawingofaboatwhichreflectstheorganizationalpains,circled
painsconnectedtootherpainsbyoutgoingorincomingarrowsandaprioritizedlistofpains
which,ifremoved,willleadustoprogressatafasterpace.

TotheImportancedimension,InowusuallyaddtheImplementationLeveldimensionandIthen
asktheteamtoplacethepainsonthistwodimensionalgraph.Thisgraph,whichisverysimple,
givesanadditionaland,inmyopinion,clearerindicationofwhatweshouldstartwithandwhat
weshouldsometimesleaveout(orprioritizelower).
IasktheManagementtoreprioritizethepainsinlightofthenewinformationandtocreatealist
withupdatedprioritization.Wewillofcoursepreferconfrontinganimportantandeasyto
implementpainratherthansomethingwhichishardtoimplementandunimportant.Thetrue
questionofprioritizationliesbetweenthesetwodimensions.Shouldweconfrontapainwhichis
lessimportantandeasytoimplementorapainwhichismoreimportantandhardtoimplement?
ThesearetheexactquestionsManagementwillneedtofaceandaccordinglycreateanew
prioritizedlist,ifnecessary.

AgileProgressionChart
NowwetaketheprioritizedlistofpainsandtranslateittotheAgileProgressionChart.
ThemethodofcreatinganAgileProgressionChartistowriteeachpainonstickynotesand
placethemtogetherbytheirprioritizationfromrighttoleft.Later,forthefirstpains,wewill
subgroupeachpainintosecondarypainswhichrequirerelativelyshorttermedattention.Each
painsubgroupassuchwillbewrittenonadditionalnotes(preferablyofdifferentcolor)and
placedunderthemainpain.
Betweenthemainpainanditssubgroups,theteammustplaceanotedescribingthemeansof
measureforthatmainpain.Assumingyouhaventlostmeuntilnow,foreachofthesenotes
(describingameansofmeasure),atopandabottomthresholdmustbedefined.

Confused?HereisapictureofanAgileProgressionChartthatIhopewillbeofhelp.Apictureis
worthathousandwords.Bytheway,ayearagoIcheckedthissayinganddiscovereditis
completelywrongsinceapictureis5MB,while1000wordscameoutatonly23KB...


IwouldliketostressthatanAgileProgressionChartisthefoundationforeverythingand
thereforeitisnecessarytomakesureitisnotonlyaccessibletoeveryonebutalsoaccessible
withinreachforexample,hangingonthewallandnotstoredinsomeinnerfileonaserver
whoselocationisknowntoonlyafew.

ChangeOverTimeTheory
Thischainofsessionsisbasedonmytheoryofchangeovertime,whichiscomposedoffour
stages:RecognitionPainVisionPrice.

Recognition
Therecognitionstageistheprimalstageinwhichwerecognizetheexistingsituation.Tothose
withamathematicalear,thisstagemaysoundverysimplebuttherecognitionstageisinfact
verydifficult.Thereasonissimplewelietoourselves.Amoreprofessionaldescriptionofthisis
rationalization,mixedwithdenial.Thatisthereasonwhyapersondoesnotknowexactly
howmuchtheyshouldjoginordertobefit,thatsomeonewhowishestostartadietdoesnot
knowhowmuchtheyweigh,thatapersondoesnotknowexactlyhowmanycigarettesthey
smokeaweek,thatafamilyinaneconomicalcrisisdoesnotknowwhatitscumulativemonthly
deficit(expenseminusincome)is,etc.Eachandeveryoneofusexcelsinpersuadingourselves
thatwearecompletelyalrightandonlystrayslightly,orthatifwetendtostrayreasonablythere
islegitimatereasonIhaveheavybones,Icantkeeptrackofallthebillsandsavings,I
haventjoggedinalongtime,Idonthaveascaleathomeetc.

Pain
Nowcomesthepainstage.Ifinthelaststagewerecognizedouractualsituation,wenowneed
toexamineifthereispain,itslocationandintensity.Dowewanttoleaveourcurrentplace
(comfortzone)ornot?Itisveryimportanttoexternalizeandsometimesexaggeratethesituation,
becausethepainwillbecomefueloncewegettotheprocessitself.Aspecificandprecise
definitionofthepainanditsexternalizationonaregularbasiswillgiveusabetterperspective,
notonlyatthebeginningoftheprocess,butalsoinitscontinuance,asitisveryeasytoforget
howmuchpainwefelt(amansuffersaterribletoothacheandarrivesatthedentistfor
emergencytreatment.Thedentistidentifiestheproblemandsolvesitwithinminutes.Doctor,
howmuchdoIoweyou?asksthepatientinrelief,theamountyouwerewillingtopaymefive
minutesagoanswersthedoctor).

Vision
Nowthatwehaveunderstoodtheexistingsituationandthepainlevel,weneedtocreateavision,
thatistosay,tocreateanewrealityandgraspit.ManyCEOsaskme:butIhavenoideahowto
achievethisvision.Thatisexactlythereasonwhythisisavisionandnotamilestone.Avision
isafaranddesirablepointinthehorizon,whichyouaspiretoreachbecauseatthatpoint
everythingwillbemuchbetter.Notonlybetter,muchbetter,evenperfect.(Aristotlesaid,The
probleminlifeisnotthatweaimtoohighandmiss,butthatweaimtoolowandhit).Itdoesnt
meanwellgetthere.Itispossibleandprobablethatwewillspendourentirelivesontheway
there,butthewayandtheaspirationtogetthereiswhatwillmakeusbetterandhappier.Dont
beafraidtoaimhigh,beafraidofaimingtoolow.Perfectionisonlyadirection.

Price
Thepriceisalmostalwaysidentical.Youneedtochange,oratleasttochangeyourbehavior.If
thatmeansyouneedtostartjogginginthemornings,eatlesscarbs,developacodeina
differentway,begintalkingamongstyourselvesratherthanbestuckinfrontofthecomputer,
etc.,Iwouldliketostressapoint.Itisnotsomeoneelsethatneedstochange,itisyou!I
describedtheprobleminthereflectionsessiontoManagementeveryonewantsachangebutno
oneiswillingtochange.Surelynotovertime(O.K,Ineedtolosetenkilosthissummer,sothis
monthImabstainingcarbs)or,inaworsescenario,makingfuturecommitments(thediet
startsaftertheholiday!).Theissueisalwayschangeasawayoflife.Shorttermchangeis
mucheasierbecauseyoualwaystakeonahighandfocusedemotionalcommitment.Change
overtimerequireschangebecomingsecondnaturesothatyoustopnoticingit(croissant?no,
no,Idonteatthosethings...IsuddenlyrememberedthatIusedtoeatatleastthreeaday!
unbelievable!!,No,Irefusetocontinuedevelopingunlesssomeoneimmediatelyverifiesmy
code.Ialsodontrecalluseverworkingdifferently).

Assessment
Afterhearingthemanagers,Imoveontotheteams.Itaketime(fromonedaytooneweek)to
meetwiththepeople,bothasteamsandoneononeandItrytounderstandwhatproblemsthey
externalize,whatatmospheretheyproject,whattheyenjoyandwhattheysufferfrom,etc.In
truth,itsnotsimple.Ialwaystrytopromisethemwholeheartedlythatnothingwillgetoutonthe
personallevelandthatlawyerclientconfidentialityexistsbetweenmeandeachandeveryone
ofthem.AllIwantistounderstandwhatishappening.Inordertoenablethisunderstanding,I
needtheirhelp.Ittakestimefortheteamstotrustme.Fortunately,inthemajorityofcases,that
isusuallywhathappens.(Or,perhapsIdeceivemyselfthatitishappening...).Next,Ireturnto
Management,wehaveanothersessiontofocusontheissuesraisedandtoupdatethe
objectives,ifnecessary.

TheFinalPresentation
Thispart(beforewegetstarted)istheoneIlikemost,asitmakesmostpeoplesjawdrop,if
theydontalreadyknowthistrick.Iaskthemtocreatethepresentationtheywillgiveattheendof
theimplementation.DoyoumeanwhatIwishwillhappen?Iamusuallyasked.No,no.
ImagineitisayearfromnowandyouareaskedbytheCEOtopresentapresentationofwhat
hashappened.Whereweprogressed,whereweregressed,whatdifficultiesweenduredetc.
Only,Iwantyoutocreateitnow.Inexactlyoneyearyouwillbesorryyouhadntbegunthe
changetoday...
Thispresentationisveryhelpfultoeveryoneandespeciallytomeasitfocusesontheissues
theyreferredto,consciouslyorunconsciously,ascritical.Italsoservesasacriteriontoseeif
weareallsynchronizedthroughouttheprocess.

LetterofRecommendation
Toclosethesubjectofbeginningwiththeend,IasktheManagementteamtowritemealetter
ofrecommendationatthisstage.NotbecauseIplanonescaping,onthecontrary,Iactuallyhave
nointerestintheletter.itself.Aftertheyprepareit,Iaskthemtoarchiveit.
Theletterprovidesmewithindicationssimilartothepresentationexercise,butthistimefocusing
onme.Whattheyexpectofme,whattheyareafraidof,whattheythinkwillworkwellbetween
us,whatwontgosmoothly,andmore.Forme,thisisoneofthegreatestgifts,asfromthevery
beginningIamawareofwhattheexpectationsareofme,intermsofquantityandquality.

SometimesanEntranceisJustanEntrance
Atthispointwehaveaprimaloperationalplanandawillforchangeandthereforeitispossibleto
begindescribingthenewgeneralwayofworkingthatIpropose.Butfirstly,rememberIamonly
showingyoutheentranceanditisyouwhomuststepthroughit.Secondly,althoughthisisthe
entrancethathasworkedformewiththelargemajorityofclientsIhavemet,theresno
guaranteeitwillworkforyou.Takewhatyouwishfromhereorcompletelyignoremy
suggestionsiftheyseemunreasonabletoyou.

RoleSpecifications

Iamnowgoingtodescribetherelevantrolesfortheprojectinthemanagement/operational
aspect.ThisdoesnotmeanthatifIhavenotmentionedoneroleoranother(anarchitectfor
instance),itdoesnotexist.Inotherwords,myprimalassumptionisthatallrolesexistinginyour
organizationremainandallIamgoingtodescribearechangesbasedontheexistingsituation.
Letmewarnyouinadvance:Iamnotgoingtodescribeanorganizationalrevolution,althoughI
assumeScrumsupporterswillexperienceafewsurprises.Ihopeyousurvivethese.Youdont
havetoagree,butIdohopeyouwillunderstandwhattheconsiderationsareandthenmakeyour
owndecision.

TaskManager
Yes,thisisinfactthePO,theProductOwner(asdefinedbyScrum).Thetruthis,Idon'treally
carewhatyoucallhim/herandIhaveneverbefriendedthisnamesuggestedbyScrum.The
reasonissimple.Inpastyears,incompaniesthatIhavehelpedtoimplementScrum,inalarge
majorityofcases,thepersonwhodecidedwhatwasinsertedintotheversion,whatwas
released,atwhattime,etc.,wasapersonotherthantheProductOwner.Therefore,Ihavefound
itappropriatetosplittheserolesintwoandfocusonlyontheTaskManageratthistime.Thisis
thepersonwhopaidfortheproduct,confrontedtherealclient,negotiatedtheeconomicextents
oftheprojectetc.

TheSpark
Inmyopinion,themostimportantthingisthattheTaskManageridentifieswiththeproject,
especiallywiththereleasedversion.Inotherwords,oneoftheworstthingstohappenisaTask
Managernotunderstandingwhyheisrequiredtoreleasetheversionbutinsteadconcentrates
onthehow.Anexcellenttechniqueofcheckingthisistosimplylethimspeakabouttheversion
andoffuturetasks.Ifhespeakspassionately,withasparkinhiseyes,thesituationisgreat.Ifhe
onlyspeakstechnically,thesituationisbad.Usually,ofcourse,thesituationissomewherein
between,thoughinmostcasesitunfortunatelyleanstowardsthetechnicalside.Itisamazing
howworkingwithaTaskManagertoachievethatspark,enablesthetasksandtheversionto
achieveacceleration,productivityandquality.

Availability
Anotherimportantpointistherecognitionofavailabilityofbothsidestooneanother:theteam's
(whomIwillsoonelaborateon)availabilitytotheTaskManagerandviceversa.Accordingtothe
oldsystem,allthatsrequiredisagoodandwelldetaileddocument.Ihavefrequentlynoticedthat
excessinformationdoesnotnecessarilyresultinbetterunderstandingormorerationaldecision
making.Whenlecturingabroad,IpresentaslideIcallTheUltimateSolutionforProject
Managementand,whileeveryoneisinsuspenseaboutwhatthesolutionis,Ishowaphotoofa
glassofbeerandexplainthat,thoughitmaysoundstrange,communicationisthemaintoolfor
effectiveconduct.

LiveandLetLive
Thefinal,andequallyimportantpoint,isthatbothsidesneedtoletgoofsomethinginorderto
receivesomethingelse(inJapanesethereisaknownsayingTowin,youmustsometimes
surrender).HeremymeaningistoensurethattheTaskManagerallowstheteamtooperate
freelyintheIterationframeworkanddoesnotpersistonknowingeverything(anemployee
shouldbeliberatedoutsideworkandatlibertyatwork).Inreturn,theteamisobligatedto
communicateanyinformationtheyseerelevant,onadailybasis.Ifyouwill,IunderstoodthatI
mustensurethatabartertakesplaceonaroutinebasislowvaluevisibilityforhighvalueliberty.

TheNextStageisTheTeam
Theresnodoubtthattheteamisthemostimportantfactorwhenitcomestopointoffocus,as
theyarethosewhowillexecutethetasksconstitutingtheentireproject.WhenIfirstheardthe
Scrumdefinitionfortheteamconcept,Ihadnodoubtthatthiswasanewandpromising
direction.(Especiallysincetheteamconceptinthepreviouserawas,inthebestcase,directed
atagroupofpeoplereportingtothesamemanagermuchlikethedifferencebetweenaswim
teamwhereeachpersonistohisown,wheremutualhelpandbackupisalmostnonexistent
andtheinteractionbetweenthemisonlyattheirmeetingpoints(byallmeans),andabasketball
team,whoneedstocommunicate,helpandbackeachotheruponaregularbasisthroughout
thegame.Myproblemwastoimplementtheseideaswithclients.Thereasonwasthatageneral
revolutionwasnecessaryinordertocreateateamconsistingofdifferentprofessions,working
togetherasateam).

MostoftheteamsIhavemetweregroupshavingthesameprofession(development,inmost
cases)whoreportedtothesamemanager,whereeachoftheindividualsworkedpretty
independently(whatsallthisteamnonsense?IreceivetasksfrommyManagerandcarrythem
out,whyshouldthisbechanged?!?!?oranothercommonsentence:Imindevelopment,how
doyouexpectaQApersontohelpmeorknowhowtoevaluatehowmuchtimeitwilltakemeto
carryoutthistask?!?!?).Ihavebeenbattlingthisattitudeforyears.SometimesIsucceededand
sometimesIfailed.Anyway,itdidn'tfeelright.NowadaysIrecommendhandlingitKanbanstyle.
Evolutionandnotrevolution.True,Ibelievethevisionshouldbeagoalorientedteamwith
amazingabilitiesandajointvisionconductingindependentlywithmutualprotectionandbackup
(mydefinitionderivesfromnumerousinterviewswithmilitaryofficials,onturningagroupof
soldiersintoateam.DuringtheinterviewsIdiscoveredthatthebestwayformetounderstand
whatIamaspiringto,wastoadoptthedefinitionofacommandounit(inmyopinion,the
accuratedefinition)).Ontheotherhand,Ibelievestartingoffbydeclaringateamacommando
unitisamistake.Whatworksbestformeistakingtheteamasisandgradually,workonhuman
interaction,abilitytodevelopdialogue,abilitytoconfronteachother(yes,arguingalsorequires
training,aseveryparentwellknows),andsimultaneouslyenrichtheteamwithpeopleofdiverse
professionswhocanperformatask,oranumberoftaskstogether.AnotherthingIrecommend,
(IwillreturntothiswhenIgettotheroleoftheManager),isthattheteammustrecognizethe
workenvironmentbordersandthepolicyandorganizationalnormsofthecompany.Andallthis
inaveryclearmannerwhichwillgivetheteamtheabilitytobeindependentwithinthework
environmentbordersandalsotochallengethem(ofcoursethisisoneofKanbansprinciples:
ExplicitPolicies).Anotherstrongemphasisisthatthereshouldbeadistinctionbetweenteam
members.Eachteammembershouldhaveaspecificareaofexpertise,aswellasotherareas
thatheisfamiliarwithbutnotnecessarilyfluentin(thisiscalleda"T"modelinwhichtheperson
knowsonesubjectindepthandtherestinbreadth,whichformsa"T"shape).Ifyouwill,each
teammembermustbearablackbeltinsomething.

TheScrumMaster,theManagerandtheTeam
Iwouldliketostartfromthebottomline.IthinkthatwhiletheessenceoftheScrumMastersrole
isimportant,andevencritical,forimplementationandconductingeneral,todaytheScrum
Mastersroleinitselfisunnecessary.
NowthatIhaveplacedabombonthetable,Iwouldliketoexplainwhatbroughtmetothis
conclusion.WhenIfirstencounteredScrumandtheScrumMasterrole,Ithoughtitwasonlyan
administrativerole.Schedulingmeetings,updatingchartsetc.OfcourseIwaswrongbigtime,
asthisisdefinitelynottheroleoftheScrumMaster.HisroleistoensurethatScrumiswell
implementedintheorganization.Frommyexperience,therolehasbecomefocusedon
protectingaScrumteamlocatedattheendoftheorganizationalfoodchain(Iwouldliketo
knowhowyouaregoingtosolvethis,Iwouldlikeyoutolowertheevaluationsforthistask
withintwodays,Pleasetakemoretaskstothesprintlevel,Fromthenextretrospectivethe
Managerswillalsobeinvolved,Thereisnopointininvitingtheentireteamtothereview
meeting,itsawasteoftimeandmoney,etc.).TheTeamManagersalsofoundthemselves
embarrassedandconfusedinlightofthisnewandunclearrole.Idontblamethem.Put
yourselvesforamomentinthepositionoftheTeamManagerwhentheorganizationisbeginning
aScrumimplementation.TheManagerissuddenlyrequiredtobeuninvolvedintheteam
decisions,astheScrumteamissupposedtobeindependent.Inaddition,theManageris
suddenlyunabletogivetheteamtasks,asthisistheTaskManagersroleorthePOatScrum.
Moreover,heisunabletoencouragethemwithfamiliarmethodsfortakingmoretasks,asthe
teamdetermineshowmanytasksittakesonandusuallyheisnoteventheManagerofthe
Scrumteam.Addthistothefactthatsometimeshisteamisdividedintotwoorthreedifferent
Scrumteamsandthisisanothercontrolproblemforhim.Nowonderanalmostimmediate
groupofresistingManagersisformedwhoeitherconsciouslyorunconsciouslythinkthatScrum
isactuallyaconspiracytofirealltheManagers.Forme,theonlyastonishingthingisthatittook
mefouryearstograspthis.Inthosefouryears,Ifoughtorganizations,foundmethodsof
persuadingthemandmyselfthatthereshouldbeaseparationbetweentheScrumMasterand
theManager,thatitisimportantfortheretobeamindsetandcontentseparationwhichtodayI
findridiculous(IwonderifinfouryearsIllfindwhatImdoingtodayridiculous...).Finallythe
pennydropped(IbelievetheequivalentofthisoldsayingissomethinglikeIfinallyremembered
thepassword...)andIbeganoperatingontwolevels.Theimmediatelevelwasloweringthe
resistanceandstresslevelattheManagerssideandthestrategiclevelwasdefiningthatthe
ScrumMasterisusuallytheTeamManager.True,thiscreatedotherproblems,summarizedby
theknownsayingLettingthecatguardthecreambuttheseweremoreminorproblemsthan
theoriginalones.
Atthesametime,IspokeaboutthisissuewithallkindsofAgileandspecificallyScrumtrainers.
Accordingtomyassumptionandtomygreatsurprise,IfoundoutwhatIthinktheproblemwas.
In2003,theManagersrolewasstilltheoldgenerationManagerandtherefore,inmyopinion,the
threefounderssimplydidnotaimhighenoughonthismatter.Undertheprevailingatmosphere
attheendofthepreviousdecadewhichwasbasedonaTayloristmanagerialfoundation,aiming
towardstheManagerbeingtheteamscoach,wasprobablymentallyimpossible.Thesethree
geniuses,possiblyunderstoodthatsomeoneisneededtocoachtheteambuttomyhumble
understandingtheymissedwhentheycreatedanewrole(theyreingoodcompany,Einstein
alsomadethesamemistakewiththecosmologicalconstant)anddidnotsubjugatethisaspart
oftheManagersrole.WhenIwasequippedwiththisinsight,Ibeganoperatinginadirection
whichtomeseemedmoreaccurate.Firstly,ImergedthetworolesandtheScrumMasterrole
becameapartoftheTeamManagerrole.ButIstillfeltthatsomethingwasmissing.Itried
searchingandobservingtheimplementationsfromtheoutsidewhichwasverydifficult(another
JapanesesayingfromMartialArts:Awarriorisblindtohisownbattle)andIthenunderstood
thatthroughoutalloftheimplementations,wehavethesameproblemofobligationandteam
management(whomakesthefinaldecision?!?!).AtthispointIwasbackonthesamesafe
groundwhereIwasatbefore:thecommandounit.AndthenIgotit.
Acommandounitonthefield,isperceivedasanindependentteam,alsoithasanofficer.And
theofficerhasalwaysbeen,fordecades,whatwecalltoday,anewtypeofofficerandnota
yellingauthoritymanagingtheteaminamicrostyle.
Fromhereoneverythingbecameclear.AScrumteamshouldhaveaManager.Thisinsight
scaredme!

AScrumTeamManager?Why,thisiscompletelycontradictorytoeverythingIhadbeen
teaching!True,completelycontradictorytowardsthepastandcompletelyreasonableinthe
present.Ihadtoremindmyselfthatthecommandounitalsooperatesinthisway.Moreover,as
Darwinsaid,itisnotthestrongerbutratherthemoreadaptivespeciesthatshallprevail.AndI
wanttowin...

SothereforeitisnotthattheScrumMastersroleisunnecessary,itisrathernecessarybutthe
ManagershouldessentiallybeaScrumMasteranddefinitelyapartoftheScrumteam.Butthis
shouldbeanewstyleManager.Challenging,enabling,aManagerwhoasksquestionsanddoes
notcomeequippedwithanswers,aManagerwhounderstandsthathisroleistoserveasa
securitynetfortheteam,aManagerwho,ratherthanpullingthethreateningauthorityManager
card,motivatestheteambynewmotivationmethodssuchasAMP(Autonomy,Masteryand
Purpose),onwhichIwilllaterelaborate.AManagerwhoseeshisemployeesasiftheywere
volunteers(andthisisasentencedeclaredbyPeterDrucker,founderofModernManagementin
the80softhelastcentury!)andtherefore,ontheonehand,hemustfindawaytoconnect
whatpeoplearegoodatandarewillingtoimplement.Ontheotherhand,hemustensurethat
thepeopleproducethethingstheprojectandthecompanyaremeanttoproduce.AManager
whodoeseverythingpossibletoreachaperfectworldofzeroextrahours.Makenomistake,
extrahoursarenothoursextratowhatiswritteninyourcontract.Extrahoursarehoursyou
dontwanttobeworking(PeterDruckeragain...).AManagerwhoknowshewillneverreacha
worldofnoextrahoursandunderstandsthatthewaytothegoalisthegoalitself.

TheBestManagersareThoseNoOnesHeardOf

AManagerwhoknowsthecompanyvisionandprojectvisionbyheart.AManagerwhodefines
theteamvisionincooperationwithhisteaminawaywhichinspireseveryone,aswellas
workingwitheachoneindividuallyontheirownpersonalvision.AManagerwhocanconnect
thesefourvisiontypes.AManagerwhocansetclearlimitsandenablefreedomwithinthem.A
Managerwhotoleratesmistakesbutwillnotallowtheteamtomakecriticalones.AManager
whoservesasasecuritynetfortheteam.AManagerwhoisresponsibleforimplementingthe
teamtasks,butprovidestheteamwiththefeelingthatitistheresponsibilityofthewholeteam
(muchlikedoinghomework.Theresponsibilityiseventuallyontheparentbuttheobjectiveisto
empowertheirchildrenandtogivethemthewillandabilitytodotheirhomeworkbythemselves
andtoeventuallytakefullresponsibilityfordoinghomework).

IfYoureLookingfortheone(1),itistheTopLeftKeyontheKeyboard
AManagerwhounderstandshedoesnotneedtointerferewiththeongoingeverydayworkofthe
team.AManagerwhocanhearthewordsYourewrong!andagree.AmodestManagerwho
putsthespotlightontheteamattimesofsuccessandtakesresponsibilityattimesoffailure.A
humbleManagerwhoisntlookingforpublicity.AManagerwhounderstandsthatchangeoccurs
asalongandcontinuousprocesscomposedofthefourstagesofchange
(identificationpainvisionprice).AnewtypeofManager.

AMPAutonomy,MasteryandPurpose
EarlierImentionedthenewmotivationalmethodwhichreplacedtheoldcarrotandstick
approachandIwouldliketoelaboratealittleonthis.Inthebeginningofthelastcenturyaman
namedFrederickTaylorformulatedtheconceptofmanagementanddefineditastheresultof
thechangeswhichoccurredaftertheIndustrialRevolutionthatbeganhundredsofyearsbefore(
peoplestillarguewhetherithaseverterminated).Idontwanttodescribehisentiretheory
(surprisinglynamedTaylorism),butIdowanttoemphasizeafewpoints.

FrederickWinslowTaylor
(18561915)

Who'stheBoss?
WhoeverwasappointedManageriscalledTheBoss.TheBosswasthenervecenterofthe
organizationanditoperatedbyhisword.Hecouldfirepeople,recruitpeople,replace(physically)
peopleintheproductionchain,andmore.Inconclusion,theBosskneweverything.

Resources
TheBosshadpeoplesubordinatetohimcalledresources.Thenamederivedfromtheir
capabilitiesandwhatwasexpectedofthem.Inotherwords,theresourceswerepeoplewho
carriedouttasksbutwererelativelyeasilyreplaced.TheBosswasalsoabletoreplacea
resourcewhohadnotarrivedforwork,astheBossknewthejobofeachandeveryoneofhis
resources.Unfortunately,thisnameisstillused,draggingitsatmospherewithit.Wordscreate
reality.Still,atthebeginningofthelastcentury,wheretaskswerecharacterizedbyroutine,the
nameresourceswasprobablyappropriate.

Output,InputandWhatsinBetween
Whathappenedasaresultofemployingresourceswasthepresumptionthatoutputisequalto
input.If,forexample,theresourceproducedtenscrewsanhour,heproducedtwentyscrews
intwohoursandahundredscrewsinaworkdayoftenhours.Inotherwords,iftheresource
wastorest,itwouldmeanthecompanywastedmoney.TheBossrolewastoreducethe
momentsofrest\wasteandthereforehewouldcometoworkwithamindsetforutilizing
resourcetimetothemaximum.Inordertomaximizetheresource,theBosscard,wouldbe
drawnfrequentlyinfrontoftheresources.Inotherwords,yellingwasoftentheBosskeytool.In
additiontotheyellingmethodforencouragingmotivation,therewasthecarrotandstickmethod.
Madeamistake?youwillbepunished!Doneyourworkproperly?excellent,thatswhats
expectedofyouandthereforeyouwillreceiveyoursalary.Thisdescriptionmaybeexaggerated
butitisimportantthatyouunderstandtheprinciple.

SatisfactionandUtilizationRelations
TheresourcesknewthattheywereundertheBossthumbandthereforeworkedvigorouslyto
satisfyhim.Theresourcesknewthat,iftheBossispeaceful,theywillalsohavepeace.Ifheis
aggravated,headswillroll.Inconclusion,therelationshipbetweentheBossandtheresources
wassatisfactionutilization.Intheeighties,anewmanagementmethodconsideredrevolutionary
emerged,itwasnoneotherthanPeterDrucker,whomImentionedearlier,whostartedit.He
arguedthatalltheassumptionsthatIdescribedaboveareslowlybecomingirrelevant.
TheBossisbecominglessandlessfamiliarwiththecontentworldofhisresources.Theword
BossshouldbereplacedbythewordManager.TheManagersshouldreceivemanagement
trainingasthiswillbecomeanorganizationalrole.
ThewordResourcesshouldbereplacedbythewordsKnowledgeWorkers,astheworker
andnottheworkplacewillbeconsistentlygainingmoreandmoreknowledge.
Theworkerstaskswillbecharacterizedasmoreandmorecreative,asmachineswillhave
replacedpeopleinallroutinebasedtasks.Inthiscase,outputwillnotnecessarilybeequalto
inputandtherelationshipbetweenthemwillbeweakandevencoincidental.Inotherwords,a
workercouldworktenhoursandproduceanoutputworthanhoursworkand,viceversa,a
workercouldworkforonehourandproduceanoutputworthtenhourswork.

Asaresult,thecarrotandstickmethodwillnolongerproveeffectiveitworkswonderfullyfor
routinetasksbutfailsoncreativetasks.Ingeneral,accordingtoDrucker,apersonshouldbe
observedholisticallyratherthanonlybyobservingthetimehespendsathisworkplace.
Moreover,hearguedforthemergingofapersonshomeandworkplace.Workerswillconsider
(andevenresolve!)workproblemsathomeandviceversa.Peoplewillconfronthomeissuesat
theirworkplace.ThecarindustrywasthefirsttounderstandthisandToyotawasthefirstto
adoptthisnewattitudewhichwasexpressedthroughinventingacompletelynewworktechnique
calledLeanManagement.IwillnotgointothistheorybutIstronglyrecommendreadingaboutit
andits14methodprinciples.ItservesasaconnectingthreadwithinallAgileimplementations
andLeanManagementisoftenreferredtoastheguidingspiritofAgile.Afterthesuccessof
Toyota,manifestedbyanoutoftheordinaryindexincrease(quality,outcome,creativity,worker
satisfactionetc.),theentireautomotiveindustryfollowedtheirlead.

DonotTormentYourselfbythePast,butRemembertheLessonsLearned
IamfindingithardtograspthefactthatittooktheHiTechindustryanothertwentyyearsto
understandthismindsetchange.Agilewasinventedonlyatthebeginningofthecurrentcentury
whichcreatedanewwaveofreobservanceofprojectconductingeneralandonmanagement
inparticular.Twentyyears!whatcanIsay,betterlatethannever.Whatfrustratesmeiswhat
hasbecomeofusinthesepasttwentyyears.Butonsecondthought,maybeitisbestto
examinewherewestumbledinsteadofcryingoverhowdeepwefell.

Yougotit?NowitsHisTurn...
Thepricefordelayinprojectmanagementprogressionwasapparentbothatthetechnicallevel,
withfailuresbecomingbiggerandmorefrequentaswellasonthemindsetlevel.Tothisday,
workersarestillmostlycalledresources,eitherverballyorusingothermechanisms.Evenafter
therecognitionthatsomeoneatseniormanagementlevelshouldbeappointedtomanagethe
knowledgeworkers,thehumanassetofthecompany,theroleisstillcalledDirectorofHuman
Resources.TothisdayManagerstendtothinkitpossibletofillamissingworkdaylimitfora
projectwithotherpeopleandtheseareonlymathematicalproducts(thislawiscalledBrooks
Law,onwhichIelaboratelater).Andofcourse,thereisthecommonmistakeofwaitingtillthe
endoftheprojectandthenaddingthemissingnumberofpeopleandexpectingtheproblemto
besolved.Toaddinsulttoinjury,managersexpectthatattheendoftheversion,peoplewillstay
toworkmorehours,ascontinuousworktimecreatesmoreoutput.Ifamanagercatchesa
workerreadingthepaperorsurfingtheinternet,itresultsinmixedfeelingsonbothsides(tothis
daytherearecompanieswhichpreventtheirworkersfromsurfingtheinternetatall,orfrom
surfingcertainwebsites!).

Candle,CandleBurningBright,notsoBright
Managersofferbonusestoworkerswhoimplementcreativetasksatthefastestrate,although
forover50years(!)ithasbeenprovenbeyondreasonabledoubtthatofferingfinancialreward
foracreativetaskonlycausesadelay(lookupthetermOverjustificationeffectandtheterm
Thecandleproblem,anexperimentconductedbackin1945,whichprovedthis,).So,formore
than50yearsdifferentexperimentshavebeenconducted,whichprovethatwithno
geographical,educationorI.Qdifference,promisingafinancialrewardonlyslowsdownthepace
oftheteamdealingwithacreativetask,buttheHiTechworldrefusestolisten.
Inmyopinion,shameful.

Backup,TheresPlentyMoreSpace
Onthegroundsoftheabovementionedinsight,Idecidedtointegratethenewmotivational
approachinAgileimplementationswithverygoodresults(agoodbooktostartwithisDriveby
DanielPink).

Thenewmotivationalmethodarguesthatsincemoreandmoretasksarebecomingcreative,
motivationshouldbeIntrinsic(meaning,thepersonshouldrelatetothetask).Asaresult,the
rewardwillbetheimplementationofthetaskitself.Moreover,notifyingwhattherewardwillbefor
thetask,rendersitimmediatelyasaburden(ifyoutakeoutthetrash,IllgiveyouaDollar,If
youlldoyourhomeworkallweek,wellgotothemovies,etc.).Bytheway,thesituationgets
worseiftherewardisgiveninadvanceandtakenawayiftheteamhasnotreachedthe
objectives(herearea100Dollarstosolvetheproblem.Youllgettokeepthese100Dollarsif
youllbefasterthantheotherteam).

Inordertogetsomeonetobeintrinsicallymotivated,threeconditionsmusttakeplace:

Autonomy
Freedomshouldbegivenbutwithclearlimitations.Thisfreedomcanbeexpressedasan
ensembleofwayssuchasphysicalspace,time,abilityofexpression,failuresetc.Theideais
thatthelimitprovidermustclarifyaccuratelywhatthelimitsare,toensurethelimitshavebeen
understood,andtobetoleranttowardsmistakesmadewithintheacceptedlimits,whileensuring
mistakeswithintheprotectedframeworkwillnotbecritical.Moreover,becauseittakestimeto
grasptheissueoflimits,itsbettertostartwithnarrowerlimitsratherthantheredlimits.

Mastery
Theideaistostrivetoperfectlycontrolwhatyouwant.Becauseweknowthatachieving
completecontrolissomethingthatwillneverhappen(perfectionisonlyadirection),wemust
understandthatthisisaneverlastingprocessofconstantimprovement.Inotherwords,though
wemayneverbeperfect,ourwillandworkingtowardsthisconsistently,willmakeusbetter.I
wouldliketoemphasizethattherearethreedifferentpointshere.Thefirstiswantingtobe
perfect.Thesecondistheabilitytoimplement.Thethirdisthepersistenceinreachingthegoal.

Purpose
Themeaningofpurposeistodosomethingthatisbiggerthanyourself.Toimplementatask
whichispartofalargerwhole,wheretheprojectspirithoversaboveeachtask.Theideaisto
implementataskunderstandinghowitservestheprojectcontextasawhole.Itcouldbea
softwareprojectoritcouldbelifeitself.Theprincipleisthesame.Itookthisconceptand
translatedittotheHiTechfieldbydividingthepurposeintofourtypes:

1.TheOrganizationPurposeWhattheorganizationwishestoachieve.Money,bytheway,is
nottherightanswer,evenifitisthefirsttopopup.Someoneoncefoundedthecompanyyouare
workingfor.Whatdidtheyhaveinmind?Whatvaluedoestheuserreceivefromthecompany?
Howdoesthecompanyservetheuser?thesequestionswillprovideabetterchanceofgetting
therealanswer.Moneyisonlyanindicatorforitworking.
2.TheProjectPurposeWhyhasthecompanydecidedtoimplementthisproject?Howdoesit
servetheorganizationpurposementionedabove?Whyisitworthwhiletobeworkingonthis
project?
3.TheTeamPurposeWhatmakesusateam?Whatmakesusunique?Whatpersonalrules
makeusefficientasateam?
4.PersonalPurposeFromtheunderstandingofthefinitenessoflife,howdoIwishtomakethe
mostofit?WhatmeaningfulthingwouldIliketodo?HowdoIwanttoberemembered?HowdoI
notwanttoberemembered?WhatamIdoingaboutitrightnow?
Afteridentifyingallthepurposetypes,whichinitselfisaverychallengingprocess,themanagers
roleistoconnecteachofthefourpurposetypes.
Byachievingthis,theworkerwillbehighlymotivatedandthemanagerwillremainwithnowork
atall.Aperfectworld!
ToconcludethesubjectoftheTeamManagerandtheteam,Iwouldliketoemphasizethatit
takestwototango.Twopeople,boththemanagerandtheteammember,needtocooperateand
persistonanewconduct.HerearetwosetsofdialoguesofthenewtypeManagerandanold
typeteammember,andviceversa.

Anewtypemanagerandanoldtypeteammemberinaction:

WhatshouldIdonow?
Idontknow,ImjustyourManager,whatdidyouthinkofdoing?

Thistaskwilltakethreedays!
Whynotfour?

Beforewebeginthemeetingletsexaminewhatwewanttoachieve.
What,youdonthaveasolution?
No,IhavenoideaandIneedyourhelp.

AreyouangrythatImadeamistake?
OnthecontraryImgladthatyoumadeamistake.Ifyoudontmakemistakesfromtimetotime,
itwouldmeanyourenotdaringtotrynewthingsandthatwouldbewrong.Youneedtotrustme
thatIwillnotletyoumakecriticalmistakes.

Whydoyouwanttoconductaninquiry?
Becausewedontonlyinquireonbadthings.Awonderfulthinghappened:wemanagedto
completethetasksuccessfully,letsunderstandtogetherhowthishappenedsowecanalllearn
fromthis.

Whydoyouwantmetogohome,isntthetaskurgent?
Itisurgent,butitslateandwehaventbeensuccessfuluntilnow.Youalsoneedtorestbecause
thereareothertasksafterthisone.Gohomeandcomebackrefreshedtomorrow.

Listen,Icantdothis.
Ibelieveyou,butweneedtothinkhowitcanbepossiblebecausewehaveanobligation.Lets
tryforinstance,amindexerciseinwhichwewillimagineithashappenedexactlyhowwewanted
itto,whatshouldhavebeendone?

Ifthesedialoguesseemsurreal,firstknowthatthesedialoguesarefromreallifeandnotasetof
examples.Thenextsetofdialogueswillreallyshockyou.Isupposethisshockwillbemixedwith
ironyanddistrust,asthisistheoppositeconductoftheoldtypeManagerandnewtypeteam
member.

Ifyourfamilyshealthdependedonit,youwouldbeabletodoit!
Yeah,butfirst,myfamilyshealthdoesnotdependonitandsecondifeverytaskwastruly
dependentonmyfamilyshealthIwouldhavecollapsedlongago.Workinginongoingstressis
terrible.

Imangryandappalled,weareinatruecrisis!
Firstly,Iaskthatyourelax,itwillgiveusalltheopportunitytofocusonthesolutionratherthan
usconcentratingonyouanddefendingourselvesfromyou.

Thisisunreasonable,youmustdoit!!!
Youryellingdoesntmotivatemetodoit,onthecontrary.Ifeellikedroppingeverythingand
goinghomenow.Dontbemadatme,weareinthesameboat.Letstrysolvingthistogether.

WehavegatheredthismeetingtoexaminethesolutionIproposetotheproblem,maybeinstead
ofpreparingasolutionandthinkingifitissuitableornot,let'sexaminetheproblemandsuggest
differentsolutionsandthenthinkofthem.Maybewecanevensplitintotwosubteamswhere
onetriestopersuadetheotherwhythecurrentproposedsolutionispossibleandtheotherwill
persuadethemwhyitistheworstsolutionintheworld?

Imtellingyouitllneverhappen.
Howareyousosure?Maybeyourewrong.WhatscertainisthatIneedyourhelpinseeingwhat
willhappenandthentomakealterationsifnecessary.Anyway,thatstatementonlymakesme
lessmotivated.Whynotgiveitachanceandmaybeyoullbepositivelysurprised?

Wemustexecutethistask.
Yeah,butIcanonlyworkonfivetaskssimultaneously,sopleasehelpmedecidewhichtaskI
shouldletgo.

Ineedamoreaccuratetimeevaluationthanthreetofivedaysforthistask!
ImsorrybutIcantgiveyousuchanevaluation.Maybewecanthinktogetherandcreateajoint
evaluation?Thatwaywellkilltwobirdswithonestone.Youllhaveamoreaccurateevaluation
andIwillreceivetoolsforanaccurateevaluation.

Youmustdecreaseyourestimate!
Sopleasehelpmedoso,becauseIcantdecreaseitwithoutessentiallyharmingthequalityof
thetaskwhichwillresultusinfuturetechnicaldebt.

DoitbecauseIsaidso!
HaveyounoticedhowoftenyouordermetodothingsandusetheManagercard?

DoIpayyoutothinkortowork?
Tothink,Imaknowledgeworker.ThatshowIworkbest.

Howcouldyoumakethismistake?!?!
BecausethroughmistakesIcanbecreativeandIneedyoutopreventmefrommakingcritical
mistakesbutnotsmallmistakes,betoleranttowardsmymistakes,givememanagerialbackup
andmentalencouragementwhenithappensandmostimportantly,givemetoolsandnot
solutions,yellsoranger.

Iamvetoingthisdecision!
HaveyounoticedyouoftenuseyourManagerveto?maybeyoucanatleastexplaintouswhy
youarevetoingthis?

Idontunderstandwhyyoudontagree,itmakesmeangry!
Haveyounoticedthatwecanthaveadiscussionwithoutyougettingangry.Coulditbethat
sometimesIamwrongandsometimesyouare?Canweendadiscussionwithoutagreeing?

Imfedupwithcorrectingyouallthetime!
Thatsashame,thatsexactlyyourrole,tocorrectmeandtogivemetoolssoIwillmakefewer
mistakes.IfIstillmakemistakesatthesamefrequencyovertime,letsseewherewearewrong.
Ifyourefedup,ImquitetroubledbythisasIneedassistanceandguidancefromsomeonewho
caresandnotfromsomeonewhosfedup.Letsseewhatcanbedonetohelpusbothinthis
situation.

IvebeenwaitingseveralmonthsforthesolutionandIhaventseenanythingfromyouuntilnow!!
Maybeyouhavebeenwaitingwithregardtothisissuebutontheotherhandyouhavestressed
meovermanyotherissueswhichhasnotgivenmetimeforthoughtonthisissue.Secondly,
thisisntmyproblem,thisisourproblem.WaitingforasolutionisonepossibilitybutIdpreferitif
youweremoreproactiveonthematterinsteadofwaiting.Examplesofproactiveconductare
creatingacreativeatmosphere,allocatingtimeforthisissue,persistingonmakinguseofthis
timeetc.ThephrasewaitingmonthsisinsultingandimpliesthatIamnotworking.True,Ihave
notbeenworkingonthisissueor,moreprecisely,ImhavingtroublewithitandIhavebeen
askingyouforhelpthepastmonths.Wherewereyou?

Andonelastpoint,thoughIamprettysurethattherearepeoplewhobelievethesedialogueswill
neverhappenattheirworkplace,thesearerealdialoguesthatIhavewitnessed,andwhichI
expectwillcontinuetohappenmorefrequently.FortunatelyIseethemhappeningmoreand
more.Mutualrespect,assistance,toleranceandcommunicationareonlysomeofthenecessary
conditionsforenjoyableandeffectivework.Thedayswhenthemanagerwouldoppresshis
slavesonlybecauseheisthemanagerandtheyarehisresources,havepassed.Theworker
isjustaworkerandthemanagerisjustamanager.Theroleofboththesefactorsistoreachthe
desiredgoal.

Intruedialogue,bothsidesarewillingtochange.

ThichNhatHanh

TheProject

TheNextStageoftheProjectistoUnderstandWhatitis
NowwegettothestagewherewegathertheteamandtheTaskManagerandspendatleast
halfadayinwhicheveryonediscussestheproject.Thissessionisveryimportantforanumber
ofreasons.Thefirsttechnicalreasonistocreatemutualunderstandingbutthemainreasonsin
myopinionaretopracticedialogueand,moreimportantly,tocreateageneralcommitmentto
theproject.
Thisissometimescalledsprintzero.Thisisinfacttheinitiationstageoftheprojectinwhichthe
wholeprojectisobservedinonepieceanddifficultquestionsareasked.Questionsthatare
moreaboutwhyratherthanhow.Questionsrelatedtothevaluetheprojectproducesrather
thanitspotentialprofitability.
WhileinScrumofficiallythereisnosprintzero,Ifinditunreasonablenottohaveaninitiating
projectstage,whateveritsname.

TheBacklogasaFirstStage
SincetherearenumerousversionstoBacklogatScrum,IwillmentionthattheBacklogIreferto
istheReleaseBacklog,composedofatleastthreecolumns:UserStory,PriorityandEstimate.I
soonunderstoodthatanothercolumnshouldbeadded,DefinitionofDone.Theadditional
columnisnecessarysoasnottofallintoParkinsonsLaw(ParkinsonsLaw:workexpandsso
astofillthetimeavailableforitscompletion).Thenextstageistounderstandthatthereisno
useinprioritizingalloftheusersstoriesforthesimplereasonthatalargepercentageofthem
willsimplyvanishorchange,especiallythosewithlowerprioritization.Ilaterunderstoodthatitis
worthwhileprioritizingthemall,asotherwise,theresachancewemightmissuserstories
requiringpreviouspreparation.IhavearguedwithmanyScrumTrainerswhoclaimedotherwise
butIwasunabletopersuadethem.
Ontheonehand,thatswhatScrumclaimsandontheotherhand,mycommonsensecried
foranexplanationofhowaprojectcanbestartedthisway.
Ifelthelpless...

AndthenIunderstoodthatifthebutcherscontinuesarguingoverwhowillslaughterthecow,
thecowwilleventuallydieonitsown.SoIsimplydecidedtogathercourage,makeadecision
andslaughterthesacredcowswhichnolongermadesensetome.

AllStoriesandNoAction
First,IbeganwiththeUserStory.Ijustdontbuyit.Inthebeginningitseemedlikeanamazing
ideatomebut,overtheyears,Ihaveseenmanypeoplewhojustcouldnotdealwithit.Ifitis
creatingUserStoriesorsimplyunderstandingUserStoriesasScrumrequiresthemtobe
defined(asitisknown,theformatoftheUserStoryisasX,IwouldlikeYtohappenbecauseof
Z).
SoafterafewyearsIsimplyabandonedtheformatandtoldmyself,simplytonotedownwhat
thetaskisintermsoftheuser,aswearetalkingabouttheusersstory.HereIalsosawonlya
fewpeoplewhowereactuallyabletodothis.

Andthen,Iactuallyrememberthemoment,duringarun,whenarevelationcametome:not
everyoneisinterestedinwhattheuserwants!true,weshouldaspireforthistooccur,butI
believethatduringthefirstyearsofimplementation,whenthisatmospheredoesnotyetexist,
thisisadecreethepublicwon'tbeabletohandle.

IttookmeafewweekstogatherthecourageandIsimplycanceledthewholesubjectofthe
UserStory.Todaymyrecommendationissimple:agreethatthevisionisthateverytaskwillbea
UserStory,butuntilthenataskwillsimplyremainataskinalanguagetheteamunderstands,
withouttoomanypretensions,andwithunderstandingonhowitservestheentireproject.This
decisionmademeverypopular,butthisscaredmeasacoachpopularityisanindicationoflack
ofchallenge.ButwhenIrealizedthatthedesiredresultsweresoontocome,Icalmeddowna
bit.Still,Imnottoocalmaboutthisissue,butthesolutionwhereIfirstrecommendjuststarting
withtasksandgraduallyprogressingtowardstheworldoftheUserStory,seemedmorelogical
tomeand,moreover,itworks.

TheBacklogisDead,LongLivetheTargetsBank
AfterIhadfoundthesolutiontothegrainofsandproblem(Itsnottheslopethatllwearyou
out,butthegrainofsandinyourshoe),IsearchedforasolutiontotheBacklogissuethathad
alwaysbotheredme.Theoretically,herewasanamazingsolutionaswell,butpracticallyitwas
simplyimpossible.Moreover,everyprojectIexamined,eitherpersonalorprofessional,was
unabletodealwithBacklogassuggestedbyScrum.IwouldliketoemphasizethatBacklogisa
muchbetterandmorelogicalsolutionthanmanagingaprojectusingGanttcharts(haveyou
everthoughtofgoingtowarwithaGanttchart?),butIstillfelttherewasroomforimprovement
onthisissue.
ThesolutionIfoundtoBacklogcomesfromtheMilitaryfield.Inmyopinion,itisstillnotsufficient
butitisdefinitelythebestsolutionthatworksforme.Today,insteadofBacklog,Iteachhowto
createaTargetsBank.Withoutgoingintothedetailsdifferentiatingthetwo(Ielaboratelater),or
describingatlengthwhataTargetsBankis,IwillsimplymentionthatitsaBacklogcontaining
tasks(yes,asyouremember,therearenomoreUserStories)prioritized,butalsodividedinto
differenttypes(criticalforimplementation,regular,niceandmore)withthesamefour
characterizationsastheBacklog,withanadditionalcharacteristicdefinedaschancesof
achievingthetask.Thischaracteristichasadirecteffectonthetimeinvestedinevaluatingthat
sameUserStory(whichasyourememberhasbecomesimplyatask).Theeffectdoesntof
courseskiptheDefinitionofdoneofthattask.
Inthisway,itisalsopossibletounderstandwhatiscriticalforimplementingtheprojectasa
wholeandwhatshouldbeinvestigatedaccordingwithitschancesofachievement.

TheSprintisDead,LongLivetheIteration
OneofmyfavoritesayingsisIfyouthinkyouretoosmallornegligible,trysleepingwitha
mosquitoinaclosedroom.Somethingthatfromtheoutsideseemsnegligiblemayinfacthave
anegativeeffectontheconductasawholeisthephraseSprint.
ButbeforeIexplainwhyIhatethisnameandwhyithasgivenmesomuchtrouble,letsclarify
onething:Inmyopinion,workingiterativelyisthegreatestideaofthelastcentury.Itmayseem
trivialbutittrulyisnt.Theabilityofagrouptoreachasituationinwhich,inashortperiodofafew
weekstime,theycreatealiveandbreathingversion,isagreatachievement.Manygroupsmake
themistakeofdeceivingthemselvesandthosearoundthemthattheyareabletodeliver
somethinginashortperiodoftime,butinrealitytheyfail.
Therefore,Ihighlyrecommendworkingthisway:First,practicereleasingasmallversion,at
shortperiodsoftime,consistently.Then,allthatisleftistoaddcontenttotheversion.Itmay
seemlikethereisnodifferencebetweenthetwoapproaches,asallwehavedoneischangethe
orderofthingsandarepracticingreleasingtheversionfirstandtheninsertingthecontent,(as
opposedtotheoldapproachinwhichweinsertedcontentandthenworkedonreleasingthe
version),butthisisafundamentallydifferentapproach.

PressureisSomethingyouFeelWhenyouDontKnowWhattheHellyouareDoing
(PeytonManning)
Ontheotherhand,callingthisshortperiodoftimeSprintisabigmistake,aswordshavethe
powerofshapingreality.Takeamomenttothinkwhatconnotationthewordsprintraises.
Pressure!andweaspirefortheexactopposite.Toworkundernonpressureconditionsandto
createasustainablepace.WhatweretheythinkingwhentheycalleditSprint?Theamountof
troublethatwordhasgivenmeisunbelievable!ItsaSprint,soIexpectyoutoworkfast!,We
donthavetimeforcreativityduringtheSprintbecauseeverythingneedstobeimplementedvery
fast,Becausewearerunninglikecrazy,thequalityatScrumgoesdownaseverythingat
Scrumispatchwork.Theresnotime.Theresonlytimetothinkofthehereandnow,its
impossibletothinkofthenextSprints,etc.
Isimplythinkitsabadnameforabrilliantidea.
ThatisthereasonIinsistoncallingthetimeboxedperiodIteration(likeinExtreme
Programming)orWave.AndItrulyrecommendthatyouwavegoodbyetothewordSprint
whichdeceiveseverybodyandcausesproblemsbyitsmerepresence.
IhavegivenmuchthoughttohowIwouldliketoconceptualizetheIterationinthecontextofthe
pressurelevel,asononehandIdonotwantbeundertremendouspressureand,ontheother
hand,Idontwantapacethatistooslow,filledwithsmugnessandselfjustification.The
exampleIfoundmaysoundstrange,provocativeandunrelated,butIthinkitbestdepictsthe
mindsetIwouldliketoreachwithteams.
Iwouldlikethepressureleveloftheteamtobeconceptualizedasapersonwhohasundergone
atraumaticepisodetwoyearsago.

What?!?!?

Iwarnedyou...
Illexplainofcourse.
Iwouldlikeeachteammembersmindsettobeatalevelwhereheisconsciousofhimselfand
ofthevulnerabilityoftheproject,butisnolongerundertremendousstress.
Inotherwords,mostofuslookatlifeingeneralandspecificallyattime,assomethinginfinite
wheninfactitisreallynotso.Whenatraumaticincidentoccurs,wesuddenlyacceptthisfactin
animmediateandbrutalway.So,afterwegivegratitude(toGod,toluck,tophysicsetc.,eachof
ushastheirpersonalchoice),wetrytomakethemostoutoflifeinanexaggeratedway.Of
courseitisimpossibletolivethiswayovertimeandeventually(andthisperiodoftimeisof
courseindividualandrangesfromdaystoyears.Ihaveseenpeoplebecomevegetarianand
otherswhohavesmokedwhilehavingacardiologicdisease)wedevelopalifestyledifferent
fromthepreviousone.

Thislifestyleisbasedontherecognitionthatlifeisfiniteandthatitmustbeutilisedandlivedto
itsfullest,notinanexaggeratedway,butinawaythatcanenableconductovertime.

IDon'tThinkMyWifeLikesMeVeryMuch,WhenIhadaHeartAttackSheWroteforan
Ambulance(FrankCarson)
Intheworldofdevelopment,traumacanbethecompanyyouworkforshuttingdown(especially
Startups,asusuallyinStartups,theemotionalconnectiontothecompanyisverystrong),a
projectthathasbeencanceledorfailed,beingfired,etc.Thereissuddenlyrecognitionthatthe
thingsthatwereplannedforlateronwonthappen.Whathappensinpracticeinthefollowing
projectistheinflictingofenormouspressureontheprojectortheroletoimplementwhatwas
plannedasfastaspossiblesoasnottogetburntagain.Gettinghurtoncewillmakeyouextra
cautiousthenexttime.Frommyprojectbasedexperience,ittakesfromafewmonthstotwo
yearsatmosttodevelopanewconductstyleintegratingchallengeandasenseofurgencyona
dailybasis,whilstmaintainingamentalserenity,whichenablesfunctioninginthiswayovertime.
Everyoneknowsandunderstandsthatitisimpossibletofunctionunderpressureovertime.
Whatmostpeopleforgetisthatthispressureismental.Anyonewhotakesaprofessionalleap
knowsthis.IrememberhowstressedoutIwasateverycombatwhenIfirststartedbattlesin
MartialArts.IlearntmoreandmoremartialtechniquesandfeltIcouldn'tstandthepressureof
onebattle.Ifroze.Ittookmeafewyearstoopenupandunderstandthatabattle,despitewhatit
lookslikefromtheoutside,isactuallyaverysereneeventthatthewarriorneedstocontrol.Let's
notforget,myteacheroncesaid,thattheremightalwaysbeanotheropponentafteryoubeat
thecurrentone.
Mentalpressuredecreasehappenedtomewitheverychildborn.Whoeverhasparentedmore
thanonechildisfamiliarwiththisphenomena.Thefirstchildcreatestotalchaosintime
management.Yousimultaneouslyattempttodomanythingsatonceandmustalsobeat
immediatelyavailable(atleastinthebeginning...)toyourchild.Ontheotherhand,whenthe
secondchildisborn,youdontunderstandhowitisthatyouhadsomuchtimebefore.
Pressureisamentalthing.Learntocontrolit.Ifyouareswampedwiththreekids,imagine
yourselfwithfour.Ifyouthinktheprojectistoopressuringanddoesnotgiveyourest,thinkhow
youwillbehavewhenyoullneedtomanageanotherproject,togetherwithfixingthebugsofthe
currentproject.Ofcoursetheresalimittoeverything.Thebeautyinlifeisbeingawareofour
boundaries,nottoreachtheirthresholdononehandandtochallengeandbreakthemevery
time,ontheother.

ItsNottheLengththatCounts
O.K.,enoughwithlifemetaphors.LetsgobacktotheIterationissue.Iwouldliketospeakofthe
Iterationlength.TheIterationlengthseemstrivialbutittookmetimetounderstandthatitisan
importantsubjectandevenmoretimetofindawaytocalculatetheoptimalIterationlengthfora
project.
Takeadeepbreath,hereitcomes:theIterationlengthishalfthetimetheTaskManagercan
holdhisbreath.
YouareprobablywonderinghowIreachedthismindblowingsentence.Andyes,itsverysimple.
Foryourcomfort,hereistheproofinHiTechlanguage:

Assumptions:
IfX1,1.....Xm,nwhenXrepresentsthemthdayinthenthIteration
AndifistheteamworkingontheIteration
AndifistheTaskManagerworkingwithteam
Andifistheminimaltimethatcanwaitbetweentherequestandfinalizingthetask.
Weneedtofindwhatthemaximalmis.

Proof:
GiventhatX1,i,thefirstdayofIterationi,assumingthatwantstorequestachangeof
Asaresult,willhavetowaitmdays(untilXm,i)toreceivetherequest
Intotalwaited2mdays
Howeveraccordingtothedefinition,weknowthatmustbesmallerorequalto2m
Thenmequalshalfof
Andinwords:theIterationlengthequalshalfofthemaximaltimetheTaskManagercanwaitfor
therequesttobeimplemented.

Q.E.D
Exerciseforadvancedstudents,pleaseprovethatgivenXj,i,theargumentiscorrectforeveryj.

DidImentionalreadythatImageek...?

Itsashamethisbookwasntwritten30yearsfromnowwhentechnologywillprobablyenable
interactionbetweenauthorandreadergivenanemotionalevent.ThenIwouldbehappytosee
whatpictureofyoushowsupwhenyoureadtheproof...

O.K.,soifyouhaventhurledthebooktotheothersideoftheroom,hereistherealexplanation.
GiventhestartedIteration,theteambeginsworkingandthentheTaskManagerencountersa
certaindifficultybyaddingmoretasks(andIwillelaborateonthisinthePlanningMeetingas,
unlikeinScrum,IsuggestadifferentandlessrigidIterationform)and,intheworstcase,he
mustwaitforanotherIterationuntiltheimplementationofthetask.Hence,twoIterationsinthe
worstcase.Ifyouhaventyetunderstood,itiscompletelymyfaultandprobablymybad
explanationormesimplytryingtobetoosmart(andIapologizeofcoursebutImageekand,
yesitsforlife...),andthereforemyadvicetoyouis,forgetthedetail,juststartwithaspecific
timeperiod(Irecommendtwoweeks)andadapt.Themainprobleminmanagementisnot
makingawrongdecision,butrathernotmakingadecisionatall.Especiallyinourcurrentera
wherewearebombardedwithinformationandeverypieceofinformationshedslightonanew
opinion.
TakeafewminutestodecidewhattheIterationlengthisandjustbegin.

NowistheTimeforthePrimalPlanningMeeting
OneofthethingsthatfirstamazedmeinScrumwastheabilitytostartmovingquickly.Isoon
foundthatIwasdeceivingmyself.True,Itooamnotabelieverinlongperiodsofdiscussion,
whichproducekilosonkilosofpaperwork,whenhalfofitiseventuallythrownaway(inprojects
enduringmorethanayear,atleast50%oftherequirementschange),butdoingtheoppositeand
juststarting,seemsincreasinglylessandlesslogical.
SointhebeginningIrejectedtheideaofstartingquicklyandtriedtofindreasonswhyitcanbe
possible(untilthedesignersbeginworking,thedeveloperswillnotknowwhattodo,letscall
thedesignerteam,Scrumteamandmore),butthismademefeelprofessionallyconfidentonly
foraperiodofafewmonths.
TheusersIworkedwithweretheoneswhofinallyhelpedmetounderstandwhatshouldbe
done.AsmuchastheyalllovedScrum,theysimplyrefusedtostartaprojectabruptlyandsprint
untilitsend.Ithenunderstood.Theywereright,bigtime!Becauseprimalplanningisdonein
everyotherproject.IfitsanArmymilitaryplanbeforegoingtobattle,orplanningaroutefora
familytripbeforepackingthefamilyinthecarandhittingtheroad,makingadiveplanbefore
scubadiving,etc.
Therefore,inpastyears,whenIassistinnewprojectinitiation,wedefineashorttimeperiod
(onetotwoIterations),inwhichweinitializetheproject.Iamnotgoingtodescribeindetailwhat
wedoatthistimeperiodas,inmyopinion,itisirrelevanthere(andbesides,letsleave
somethingforthenextbook...).ItstartswithatleastafulldayofManagementandProject
Managementdefiningaprojectvisionandunderstandingthevaluetheuserswillreceiveand
concludeswithcommunicatingtotheteamsthewhyandwhat,whilstencouragingthemto
helpdefinethehow.Attheendofthisperiodwehaveanentityofgoalsthatweneedto
prioritize,price,categorizeanddefine.

TheBestWaytogetStartedistoStopTalkingandStartDoing!(WaltDisney)
Nowweareataveryimportantpoint,thestartingpoint.Forme,thestartingpointisthepointin
timewherewehaveatleastthefollowing:
1.AManagementcommittedtotheprocessanddrivenbythewilltochangetheexistingsituation
inlightofthepainsidentified.
2.Anentityofinitialgoalsdefiningaproject.
3.Managementandeveryoneinvolvedintheprojectclearlyawareoftheproject'swhyand
what.(Howeverthehowmaybemorevague.)
4.TheIterationlength(which,asmentioned,canbezero,thatiswithnoIterations).

HittingtheRoad!
AccordingtotheInternationalScrumUnion,therearefourmeetingsinScrum:DailyMeeting,
Review,RetrospectiveandPlanningMeeting.Ibelieveitspossibletoconsideraddingmeetings
andchangingsomeofthem.Inotherwords,IfoundtherearemeetingsIbelieveshouldbe
added,oratleastIfoundthemmissingand,whenIaddedthem,usersfoundthemvaluable.I
alsofoundthatsomeofthetraditionalmeetings,endupbecoming,sorrytosay,simply
unnecessaryandforced,andthereforetheycanbeskipped.Anyway,Iwilldescribethe
meetingsthatIsuggestcompaniesimplement.Pleaseremember,thisisnoobligatorydoctrine.
ThesemeetingsarelikeLegobrickswhichshouldbeusedwiththerighttiming.Inotherwords,
theresatimeandaplaceforeachmeeting.Havingallthemeetings,aswellasnothavingany
meeting,wouldbeamistake,inmyopinion.Thesmartthingtodoistofindtherightdosageat
therighttiming.
BeforeIbegindescribingthemeetings,Iwouldliketosaysomethingmoregeneralabout
meetings.Oneofthebooksthatmuchinfluencedmyunderstandingofthewholemeetingissue
wasDeathbyMeeting"byPatrickLencioni.Inthebookhemakesametaphoricalcomparison
betweenmeetingsandmoviesandarguesthereshouldbefourtypesofmeetings,justasthere
aredifferenttypesofknowledgetransferontelevision(dailynews,weeklysitcom,moviesand
moviemarathon).Healsoarguesthat,likeinagoodmovie,therecipeforagoodmeeting
containsacertainconflict.TheManagersroleistoencourageconflicts,toseekconsensusand
decisionmakinginhisabsence.IwouldliketoaddthatManagersmustaspireforaperfectworld
wheretheydonotneedtodecide.Inotherwords,givenanissue,theManagermustensurea
conflictexistsinordertohearcontradictingopinionsandthenencouragetheteamtodecide,
whilstgrantingtoolsfordecisionmaking.Intheabsenceofadecisionbytheteam,theManager
mustdecideandexplainhisdecision.Withoutexplanation,thiswouldbepullingtheManager
cardindisguise.Theexplanationisactuallyanothermanagerialtool.
Ihavedividedthemeetingsintotwolevels,theteamlevelandtheprojectlevel.Thereisanother
meetinglevelwhichistheatmospherelevelortheorganizationimplementationlevel,onwhichI
willelaborateseparately.Onelastthingbeforewestart,sometimesthemeetingIdescribe
createsavisibilitychart.Aftergivingthoughttowherewouldbebesttopresentexamples(realor
schematicpictures),Idecidedthat,despitetherebeingaseparatechapteronvisibilitycharts,
thereisnouseinmentioningthesechartstwice,soIwasleftwithachapteronmeetings,spiced
withvisibilitycharts,Iamhopingthatmybetthatitllbemoreeffectivethanconfusingand
jumbled,willbesuccessful.

TeamMeetings

ThePlanningMeeting
Inmyopinion,inScrum,thePlanningMeetingistoolongandcumbersome.Inthefirsttwo
years,Istruggledwiththis.LaterIsimplydecidedthatIwilldecideonareasonabletimelimitas
atargetandaiminthatdirection.Andso,insteadofanentiredayPlanningMeeting,Idecided
thattwohoursisamuchmorereasonabletime.Ittookmeanotherfouryearstofindtheoptimal
waycontainingelevenstages,inordertoreachastateofatwohourPlanningMeetingandthen
anotheryeartoreachastateinwhichthePlanningMeetingbecameaquarterofanhour
meeting.Yes,Yes.Ididntbelieveitmyselfuntilitsimplystartedhappeningonitsown.Iwill
elaborateonthislater.
ButfirstletsconcentrateonthestagesIproposeforimplementingthePlanningMeeting.AgainI
wishtoemphasize,thatthisiswhatIfoundusefulinordertoreachastateofatwohour
effectivePlanningMeeting.Thisdoesnotmeanthatthisistheonlywayandnotnecessarilythe
bestway.Surelythereareotherstagestodothisanditispossibletoeliminatesomestages
overtimebut,forgettingstarted,thisiswhatworksformeandthisiswhatIrecommend.

1.CapacityPlanning
Westartwithwhatseemstomethemostbasicthing,whichisthedayquantity(orhours)that
eachteammembergivestotheIteration.Thus,eachteammembermustcommunicatetothe
wholeteam,theminimumtimeheisgoingtoinvestintheIteration.
IamconstantlysurprisedattheshockedlooksIgetfromteammembersinlightofmyrequest,
bothtofindouthowmuchtimetheyaregoingtoinvest(Ihavenoidea,myManagerknows)
andtohearhowmuchtimetheirteammembersaregoingtoinvest(WhyshouldIcarehow
muchtimehesgoingtoinvest?!).Understandingofthewordteamisfarfromsomeofthe
people,despitetheirdailyuseofthisword.Bytheway,Idontblamethematall.Thisisthe
professionalrealitywewereborninto,foundedondecadesofmisuseofthisconcept.
Unsurprisingly(itissurprisingthatittookmetimetofigureitout,thatswhatissurprising...)I
foundthatifyouarelookingforpeoplewhoarefamiliarwiththeconceptteam,lookforpeople
whoareinvolvedinteamsports(football,basketball,handball,volleyball,etc.).Chancesare
theyllunderstandthisnaturallyandwillalsobeabletobringtherightatmosphereintothe
workplace.

AnexerciseIfoundtobeeffectivewasstartingwiththeIterationdays(letssay10days,inthe
caseofatwoweekIteration)andthenslowlydecreasedaysuntilwereachthenumberofdays
thatateammemberfeelscomfortablecommittingto.Ofcoursethisprocessischallengingfor
theteammembersandtheManager.Foremphasis,challenging,notthreatening(What?!?only
8Iterationdays?!?thisisunacceptable!).
Amoreadvancedexerciseamongmoreunifiedteamsistoletpeopleestimatethenumberof
daysoftheotherteammembers.Thus,youputthenamesofalltheteammembersinaplastic
cupandpassitamongeveryone.Eachteammemberpullsanotewithanameandtriestogive
atimeestimatefortheteammemberhepulled.Thisexerciseispossibleonlyamongadvanced
teams,whounderstandtheimportanceandmeaningofacknowledgingtheabilitiesoftheother
teammembersandwishtopracticethisexerciseasameansforimprovement.Forabeginner
team,thisexercisewillusuallyfailwiththeaccompanyingprofessionalexplanation:Why
shouldIneedtoknowhowmanydaysheisinvestingintheIteration?!?!
Whiletasksarehardtoestimate,anestimateofhowmuchtimeateammembercaninvest,is
relativelyeasy,eventhoughitisconsidereddifficult.
Inthesamecontext,anothergoodexerciseistothinkwhatreasonsmaypreventateam
memberfrominvesting100%ofhistimeintheIteration.Herearesome:vacation,studycourse,
illness,birth,wedding,birthday,exam,membershipinanotherteam,attendingtoanother
project,attendingtobugsinotherIterations,etc.

Later,wedividereasonsintothreecategories:Certain(wearecertainitwillhappenandknow
whenitwillhappen),Known(weknowitwillhappenbutdonotknowwhen)andSurprise(we
havenoideaifitwillhappenandthereforedonotknowwhenitwillhappen)andthensorteach
reasonintotherightcategory.Maybeinthebeginningonlysomeofthereasonswillbe
categorizedasKnownbutovertimeitispossibletolearnhowtotransferalmostallofthemto
thiscategory.Forinstance,everexistingbugscanbeallocatedapreagreedtimeandtime
periodandthentheybecomeKnown.Ateammembersparticipationinanotherteammaybe
preagreedon,whenandhowmuchtime,etc.Tomysurprise,someoftheteamscreated
IterationGantts.Inthebeginning,Ifoughtthisphenomenon.

Gantts?inAgile?butIlatergotholdofmyselfandwasashamedofmyarrogance.WhoamIto
decidewhatisbestfortheteams?Especiallysinceitworkedforthem!ItstruethatGantts
belongtotheoldera,butIbelievethereisanegativecorrelationbetweenthelengthoftimefor
whichtheGanttispreparedanditseffectiveness.Inotherwords,thelongertheproject,theless
effectiveitistouseGantt.Thismeansthattheshorterthetimewearespeakingof,themore
logicincreatingaGanttforit.Withacertainlimitofcourse.Thereisanotherdimensiontothis
equation,ifyoureallyhavemybackagainstthewall,andthatisthetaskcharacter.Themore
creativethetask,themoretheuseofGantt.Andviceversa,ofcourse.Inthebeginning,this
sessiontakesabouttwentyminutesbutfrommyexperience,afteraminimalnumberof
Iterations,thissessiontakesafewseconds,astheteammembersarrive,immediatelywrite
downthecapacityandsitdowntostartthenextsession.
2.VersionGoal
Thenextstageisfocusingonwhatremainstobedoneinordertoreleasetheversion.TheTask
Manageraddressestheteam(andanyonewishingtojoiniswelcome)andgivesabriefreviewof
whatislefttodo.WhenIsaybrief,Imeantenminutes.Inotherwords,nomatterhowmuchtime
islefttilltheendoftheversionintermsofcontent,theTaskManagermustreviewtheentiretyof
thetasksleftinthetenminuteframework.This,ofcourse,obligateshimtogooverthetasksin
lowresolution,withoutgoingintodetail(itusuallysoundslike:IntheeightIterationswehaveleft,
wemustcompletetheGUIcompletely,connectthemalltothedatabaseandensurethe
backupsareworkingatsuchalevelthatthebackupstartswithin5seconds).ThereasonI
suggestdoingitthiswayissynchronizationofthelisteners(andespeciallytheteammembers)
withwhatislefttodointermsofcontent,creatingaclearjointobjective,anextremelyimportant
thingineveryteam,asthisiswhatunifiesitand,mostimportantly,createsacommondialogue
andlanguageforthefuture.

WhenIbeganteachingScrumIdidntfocusonthisatall,butovertheyearsIdiscoveredthisis
oneofthemosteffectivetoolsthatexist.Itderivesfromnaturalhumanbehavior.Tryrunningwith
ablindfoldor,moreprecisely,withglasseswhichbluroutwhatisoccurring5metersfromyou.
Comparethistoaruninwhichyouarewellawareofwhatisoccurringakilometerfromyou.You
willprobablybemoreeffective.Thatisbecauseyoucanseewhereyouareheadingand
thereforehavetheabilitytoplantherun.Physicallyand,notlessimportant,mentally.
Thereisanotherreason,notoflessimportance,whichisthatthemorewediscussfuturetasks,
thelowertheirchancesofbeingcarriedout.Simplybecausethereisachancetheywillchange
orcompletelydisappear.Therefore,theresnouseinplanningthemindetailbutrathertomake
noteofthemandattendtothemthemomentitisrequired.
Thissymptomiscalledthe"studentsymptom"(postponetheproblemtillthelastminute)and
thatsitsgoodside.Itsothersideistopostponedealingwiththeproblem,despitetheneedto
takecareofitsooner,orbecausethereisnootherchoicebuttotakecareofit(fillingthecarwith
gasonlywhenthewarninglightsislit,seawaterdesalinationetc.).Thisisthereasonforstress
(findingtheclosestgasstation,intenserequirementforreducingwateruse,etc.).TheadviceI
giveteamsistofindtherightbalanceandinnocasetoreachasituationwheretheyare
constantlyworkingunderstress.Theysimplydontdeserveit.
Anindicationofasuccessfulsessionisthatthepeopleaccuratelyknowwhattheyhaveleftto
do,theydiscussitandchallengeeachother(includingtheTaskManager)notonlyonhowto
dothisbutonwhy.

3.IterationGoal
EverythingIwroteinthelastVersionGoalstageistruehereandallthemore.Thedifference
betweenthetwosessionsisthat,becausewearespeakingofafewweeksIteration,the
resolutionrateismuchhigher.Itispossibleandnecessarytogointomuchgreaterdetail,as
thesearethethingstheteamwillneedtoactuallyimplementimmediately,sothecertaintylevel
oftheirimplementationishighandtheindicationforasuccessfulsessionisidentical.Notethat
theTaskManagerestimateswhereheisheading,inlightofthecapacityofalltheteam
members.Theaccuracylevelismuchhigherherebutnotcompletelyaccurateyet.

4.PrimalForecast
AftertheTaskManagerconcludes,itistheteamsturn.Theteamisnowatastagewherethey
understandwhatthelongtermandshorttermtasksare.WhatIaskoftheteamistotrusttheir
worstenemy(themselves,ofcourse)andtogiveataskaquantitativeestimatefortheIteration,
trustingtheirgutfeelingandashortconversation(twominutes)amongthem.Aniceexercise
whichencouragesthoughtandcreativityistoaskeachteammembertowritethenumberof
taskshethinkswillgointothisIteration,torevealeveryonesresultsatonce,andthendiscussit
fortwominutes.ThelargemajorityofteamsaresurprisedatmyrequestbutIadmitIhavea
secretmotivewhichIdonotrevealatfirst.Butbeforethemotive,Iwouldliketosharewithyou
wherethiscamefrom.

IfYourManPromisedtoDoit,TheresNoUseRemindingHimEverySixMonths
Theresincreasingbuzzinthepastyearsregardingtherebeingnouseaskingforcommitment
fromtheteam,aswearetalkingaboutcreativetasksinaworldofuncertainty.Itsaniceidea
but,inmyopinion,notrealistic.Afterhavingmanydiscussionsonthesubject,Iwentbacktothe
originsand,duringinterviews,withMilitaryofficialsandEliteUnitOfficers,Irememberedthat
everytrainingsessiontowardsatask,beitrealorpractice,startswithanassessmentofwhat
willhappen,basedonlyonourgutfeeling.Inthebeginning,ithaslittletodowithrealitybutaswe
professionalize,thisestimationbecomesmoreaccurate,untilwereachastagewherethere
wasnouseinhavingameticulousestimation,aswehaveprettymuchnailedit.Ithoughtto
myselfthatthisisexactlywhatIwouldliketodointhePlanningMeeting.Toreachastatewhere
teamswouldlookatthetasksandcouldgiveasufficientlyaccurateestimationofwhichtasks
theycouldcarryoutduringanIteration.
AsStephenCoveysaidinhisbookTheSevenHabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople(ahighly
recommendedbook!),youshouldBeginwiththeendinmind.SoIaddedthispracticewhich
wasreceivedwithdoubtsandpeoplewerelookingatmelikeImcrazy(Howdoyouexpectus
togiveanestimationatthisstagewithoutunderstandingwhatisgoingon?!,Thisisjusta
wasteoftime!andmore)butthisissoonforgottenwhentheteamunderstandsthattheyhave
theabilitytodothis,alltheyneedistotrustthemselves.Thenthisstagebecomesthemainand
almosttheonlystageinthePlanningMeetingandeveryPlanningMeetingtakesaboutaquarter
ofanhour.Moreonthislater,Ipromise,butbeforeIcomplicateyouwithhowtogetreadyfora
triathlon,Isuggestthatwetakeamomentsbreakandgetbacktomydescriptionofhowyou
shouldlearntowalk.Ijustcouldn'thelpmyself...

5.EstimationGame
TheEstimationGameisagameinwhichallteammembersplayanditsgoalistogotaskby
taskandgiveanoveralltimeestimate(frombeginningtoend).Iwontdescribehowthisisdone
asitisidenticaltoScrum.LookforPlanningPokerorTeamEstimationGametounderstand
howthisisdone.

6.SoftandHardCommitmenttotheIteration
ThisisthestageeveryTaskManagerwaitsforandeveryteamtriestoavoid,asitisthestagein
whichacommitmentisnecessary.AsyourememberfromScrum,theteamandonlytheteam
decideswhatitcancommitto.Inaddition,IwouldliketoremindyouofthewonderfulAgile
definitionofcommitment.ContrarytotheolderainwhichcommitmentwasThisshallbedone,
nomatterwhat,intheAgileworldcommitmentisdefinedasAtthemoment,Idonotsee
anythingpreventingmefromcarryingoutthetasks,butifsomethinghappens,Ipromiseto
communicateittoyouimmediately.Trulywonderful.Theprobleminmyopinionisthatthelatter
approachcanquicklymakepeoplestayintheircomfortzone(alright,thisiswhatwecancarry
outinthisIterationor,laterintheIterationwehaveaproblemandthereforewewillnotbeable
tocarryoutallthetasks,beingtheTaskManager,whatdoyousuggestwedo?).Problematic.I
specificallyseethishappeningwithpeoplewhohavenotknownTaylor.

IfYoureLookingforSpace,itistheLargeKeyattheBottomoftheKeyboard
Ihavegivenmuchthoughttothisproblembecauseononehand,itisinfactaproblembut,on
theotherhand,itwouldbeamistaketomeddlewiththesecureteamspace.ThistimeIchosea
solutionfromtheworldofMartialArts.IneveryMartialArtinabattlethereisthatthingthatmust
bedoneandotherthingsthatifyoudowillbenicebutarenotamust.WhenIconnectedthetwo
worlds,Ithoughtthatmaybethesolutionlieshere.Thereforethesolutionisintheteams
commitment,whichisdividedintwo.Onecommitmentisahardcommitmentwhattheteam
thinksitcandoaccordingwithitsestimationsandunderstanding.Thesecondcommitmentisa
softcommitmentwhattheteamwilldo,giventhatallthehardcommitmenttaskswillhavebeen
carriedout.Inthenextstage,Iwillelaborateonwhythisisonlyapartialsolutionandwillgive
whatIsuggestisanoverallsolution.Inotherwords,toconclude,attheendofthisstage,itis
cleartotheTaskManagerandtheteamwhattaskstheteamcommitstoimplementingandwhat
taskswillbecarriedoutifthereistimeleft(yes,thereisachancetheteamwillbewrong).
Dontcatchyourbreathyetasinthenextstagewearegoingtoshufflethecards...

7.BuildinganIterationTargetBank
ForfouryearsImanagedwiththeBacklogasitisdescribedinScrum.Thentheproblems
began.Istartedseeingthatitwasbecomingmoreandmoredifficulttoprioritizetasks.What
comesfirst,theurgentorthemoreimportant?andwhatiftheunimportantmustbehandlednow,
asittakesarelativelylongtime?andwhataboutresearchtasks?anddependanttasks?And,on
thesofterside,whatifIdontfeellikedoingthisspecifictask?
Iwasagainfacedwithadifficultproblem.Aftermanyeffortsandfailurestofindaminimal
solutionthatwouldsatisfymyselfandmyconscience,IreachedtheconclusionthatImust
involvemylogicandexperiencefromotherareas.Parentingandpersonallifebehaviorprovided
mewithfundamentalanswers.
AtfirstIaskedmyselfwhattheanalogyistomypersonallife.Ichosehealth.Ithenasked
myself,Ihavehealthinsurance,howisitthatIdonttakethemostexpensivepackage?The
answerIgavemyselfwasthebeginningofunderstanding.Idontinvestallmymoneyin
insurance,despitehealthbeingthemostimportantthing,becauseIwanttoalsoinvestmy
moneyinlessimportantthings,atthesametime.WhenIunderstoodandgraspedthispoint,the
analogiessimplykeptcoming(thoughchildrenarethedearestthingtomeintheworld,Iamnot
withthemallthetime.ThoughIfinditmostimportanttoinvestmyselfprofessionallyinScrum,I
sometimessimplyfeellikedoingotherthings.ThoughIfinditmostimportanttowatchmy
weight,sometimesIjustfeellikefeastingatarestaurant,andmore).

TargetsBank
Mymilitarybackgroundgavemeboththeconcreteandpracticalsolution.Isimplyremembered
howeachtrainingsessionwentandthesolutionwassimple.InsteadofBacklog,Isuggest
creatingaTargetsBank.OnceIunderstoodthis,IwasstillunsatisfiedbutassumedIwas
beginningtoadvanceinthedirectionthatwasrightforme.TodayIamstillnotsatisfiedwiththe
result,butitisdefinitelyworkable.Iamstillsearchingforamorecomprehensivesolution.
Anyway,IdefinedthisasastageinthePlanningMeetingandbythefeedbackIreceivefrom
teams,aswellasbythetestofresult,thesituationismuchbetter.
ButwhatisaTargetsBankandhowisitrelatedtothisstage?Letsremindourselvesthatinthe
laststagetheteamcommunicatedsoftandhardcommitments.Thehardcommitmentisthe
taskentiretythattheteammembersthinktheycancarryout.Thesoftcommitmentisthegroup
oftasksthatwillbecarriedoutifthereistime.
Let'sputthesetwogroupsasideandcreatethefollowingtasktypes:
1.Tasksthatmustbecarriedoutthesearetaskstheteammustcarryoutnomatterwhat.In
slangtheteamscallthemsuicidetasks.
2.Tasksthatneedtobecarriedoutthesearetaskstheteamneedstocarryoutinthe
frameworkofthecontinuingworkontheprojectandintheframeworkoftheirabilities.
3.Extratasksthesearetasksthatseembeyondthepresentability(intheiterativecontext)of
theteam.
4.BugsthesearebugswhichareunrelatedtotheIterationtasksbutarerelatedtotheproject.
5.Surprisetasksthesearetaskswhich,inthebeginningoftheIteration,areunknownbut
appearduringtheIterationandareexpressedbyrequestfromtheTaskManagerduringthe
Iteration.

6.Researchtaskstaskswhichrequireinvestigatingtheunknown.
7.Creativetaskstasksinwhichthewaytothesolutionisunknowntous.
Themetaphoricalwayoflookingattheseisasiftheywerebasketswhichcouldholdtogether
theentirecapacityoftheteam.
NowtheTaskManagermustdividethetasksasheseesfitamongthebaskets,subjecttothe
capacitylimitation,prioritizeeachtaskwithinitsbasketandprioritizethebaskets.Thoughthisis
notaneasytask,withalittlepersistenceandtechniqueimprovement,itbecomesquiteeasy.A
goodwaytostarttheprioritizationprocessistodividethecapacitypercentagesamongthe
baskets(Igive20%toExtratasks,5%toCreativeetc.).Andthelastthingtheteamneedstodo
istoreflectonwhatisthehardcommitmentandwhatisthesoftcommitment,foreachbasket.

8.TheIterationTarget
Nowthattheteamknowswhatthetasktypesare,itispossibletounitethemintoonetargetthat
willactasthementaladhesiverequiredfortheteam.Definingthetargetisextremelyimportant
fortheteamasthetargetisactuallyapointintherightdirection,givingtheteaman
understandingofthetaskessence.Giventhequestionregardingtheessenceofsometask,
theresagoodchancethatexaminingthetargetwillgiveagooddirectiontowardsasolution,as
therewillneverbeadocumentthatwillansweralltheunexpectedquestions.Definingthetarget
isanothercommonsensetoolforreachingthesolutionthattheTaskManagerwanted.Evenif
hewroteotherwiseinthedocument.AcommonsayingatAgileisdontgivemewhatIwrotein
therequirementdocument,givemewhatIintended.

9.TheMenu
TheMenuisthetasklisttheteamwillpresentattheendoftheIteration.Metaphorically,ateach
Iterationend,theteaminvitestheTaskManagertoseewhatthetasksituationisAndthe
invitationisshapedlikearestaurantmenu.Forexample:FirstCourseanewopeningscreen,
MainCoursetwobusinessscenariosandforDessertalinktotheDatabase.
Inbeginnerteamswealsodeterminebeforehand,atthebeginningoftheIteration,whichteam
memberswillpresent.Inmorematureteams(Idontmeanbythattheaverageageoftheteam
membersbuttotheirabilitytofunctionasateam),conductanonthespotraffleofwhowill
servethenextcourse(simplywritethenamesofalltheteammembersonnotes,placethem
inacupandpullaname).ThisunitesateamduringanIteration,byaprocessofmorefrequent
synchronizationbetweenteammembers.AnexampleofamenucanbefoundintheVisibility
ChartChapter.

10.VisibilityChart
Nowisthetimetocreatetheteamsvisibilitychart.Whatarevisibilitycharts,whatdotheylook
likeandwhofillsthemout?WellIwillelaborateoneachandeveryoneoftheselatersofornow
letsstayatthisresolutionlevelandIapologizeforkeepingyouinsuspense.

11.SchedulingaDailyTimeandPlace
Afterallthehardworktheteamhadinvested,IfoundthatschedulingaDailytimeandplacewas
anexcellentcomicpauseforconcludingthesession.Idonthaveanactualexplanationwhythis
ismorepleasantorwhyitsmoreeffective,Icanonlysaythatfrommyexperience,thatswhat
happens.Inotherwords,iftheteamdealswiththisdecisionatthebeginningoftheIteration,the
decisionprocesswillbemuchlongerandmorecumbersomeandwillleaveabadtaste.AgainI
emphasize,notforeveryone,butforthelargemajorityIhadworkedwith.Thereisachancethat
thiswillnotworkwellforyouandthatsfine.Searchtofindyourownway.

Preplanning
AfteridentifyingthepainofreachingthePlanningMeetingunprepared(bothintheaspectof
meetingcontentandfamiliarizationwiththeimmediatetasksandintheperspectiveofthetime
requiredtospeakaboutthem),itmustbeunderstoodthatsomepricemustbepaid.Theprice,
asalways,isabehavioralchangethatthepersonthataskedforthechangeneedstoundergo.In
ourcase,thepriceofgoingfromafulldayPlanningMeetingasclaimsScrumtoatwohour
meetingisthatinformationregardingthenextIterationmustbeacquiredduringthecurrent
Iteration(inAgilethisconceptiscalledNextGame).

ICallFirsts
ThecommonwaytodothisistodefinetimeforthenextIterationduringeachIteration(usually
nomorethanhalfaday).IcalledthismeetingPreplanning,asitpreparestheteamforthe
PlanningMeeting.Iamawarethatnowadaysthisnameissometimesknownasthemeeting
beforetheentireprojectbut,becauseIthoughtofitfirstsixyearsago,IthinkIdeservetheright.
Ontheotherhand,thenameisreallyunimportant.Ifyouinsistonanothernameforthesame
meeting,goforit.Aslongasyouareawarethatthereareidenticalnamesfordifferentmeetings
andyoudontgetconfused.

GerberSyndrome
Inthismeetingwegooverallthetargetsthatseemtohavethebestchanceofenteringthe
Iterationatfirstencounterlevel.ThegoalistonotbetakenbysurpriseduringthePlanning
Meetingononehandandtonotgointotoomuchdetail(Inamedthissituationoftaskover
dismantlingtheGerberSyndrome,afterthefamousmashedbabyfood)andarriveatthe
PlanningMeetingwithareadyestimation,ontheotherhand.Howdowereachthisbalancein
thefastestway?Bypersistentlycuttinghalfanhouroffthemeetingeachtime.Inthebeginning,
thisisdifficultbutitgraduallybecomespossible.IntheendwereachthepointIdescribedin
whichtheteamimplementsthePlanningMeetingintwohours.

Yougotit?NowitsHisTurn...
Afterthishardwork,IusuallyletteamsrestontheirlaurelswhilstImakesuretheycontinueto
advanceatatwohourmeetingpace.Howeverwhattheyusuallydontknow(ormoreprecisely
dontrememberasImentionthisatthebeginningoftheimplementation)isthatthisisthefirst
andeasiesthurdle.Thereareanothertwohurdlestopass.Oneisharderthantheother.

RapidPlanning
ApreliminaryconditionforimplementingtheRapidPlanningMeeting(orRapidinshort)isthe
teamsabilitytoimplementatwohourPlanningMeeting.OvertheyearsIhaveoftenseenteams
tryingtorunbeforetheylearnedtowalk(thustryingtodoaRapidbeforemasteringatwohour
PlanningMeeting),butonlyfourteamswereabletoimplementthismentalleapimmediately.

IfYouMeettheBuddhaonYourWay,KillHim!
Asmentioned,theassumptionisthatrightnowtheteamsareatthestageofimplementingthe
PlanningMeetingwithintwohours.Nowthattheteamhas"seenthelight,itistimetoopentheir
eyes.Inotherwords,aftertheteamsreachthisbalance,Icontinueinwhatseemstotheteams
asafamiliar,butstrangerequest.Icontinuerequestingtoshortenthemeetingbutthistimein
quarterhours.Thegoal,istoreachastateofahalfhourPlanningMeeting.Exactlythesame
mustbedone,butfaster.Inotherwords,exactlythesame11stagesarecarriedoutbutinhalf
anhour.Thisalsorequiresmuchpracticeand,inaddition,requirestheteamitselftobelievethis
ispossible.

BlitzPlanning
TheteamhasreachedthestagewhereaPlanningMeetingtakeshalfanhour.Inotherwords,
the11stagesdescribedearliertakeabouthalfanhour.Thenextstagealwaysseemsalmost
impossibletomeandIamamazedeverytimeatwhathappens.
WhatdoIdo?IletthemcarryoninthiswayforatleastfiveIterationsandthenoneday,without
priornotice,ItakethereignsfromtheMeetingManagerandsimplyannouncethatthereare10
minutesleftforthePlanningMeeting.
Iwantyoutounderstandthatin10minutesitisimpossibletocarryouttheelevenstagesI
described.Andnevertheless,Iaskthemtodothis.Ialsoplacethecardsonthetableandtell
themsomethinglikeGuys,youhavecomealongwayuntilnowandthisisthefinaleffort,whatI
wantyoutodoistrustyourworstenemy,yourselves.AllIaskisthatthemaintoolforcreating
theoutcomeforthismeetingwillbethepersonalgutfeelingofeachandeveryoneofyou.
AfterIensurethatmyrequesthasbeenunderstood,IusuallyaddsomethinglikeIremindallof
usthat,ifwewanttochangesomething,wemustchangeourselves.ThepriceofthechangeI
askofyoutodayisnotonlytotrustyourselvesbutalsotounderstandandwarmlyembracethe
feelingsoflackingprofessionalismwhichIassumeyoullfeelattheendofthisshortmeeting.I
wantyoutorememberthesefeelings,becausewhenyoustarthittingyourestimates,youwill
smirkatthememoryofhowyoudiscountedthemtoday.
IttakesfewmoreIterationsbutattheend,theteamfindsthewaytodothis.Anyteam.Ireally
dontknowhowthishappens,whatIdoknowisthatithappensandit'samazing!Bytheway,
fromhere,thewaytothePlanningMeetingdisappearingaltogetherisveryshort.Thoughtothe
observerthismayseemliketheteamhasregressed,infactithaspassedthreeverydifficult
mentalhurdles.Frommyexperience,everyonecanpassthefirsttwohurdles,butpassingthe
thirdhurdleisnotalwayspossiblewithoutexternalhelp.

DailyMeeting
ImsureyouarefamiliarwiththeScrumDailyMeetinginwhichyouanswerthreequestions
WhatdidIdoyesterday?,WhatwillIgetdoneuntiltomorrow?andWhatisstoppingme?.
Thismeetingisverysimilar,buttheformatisnotsostrict.Tomeitismoreimportantthatthe
teamtalksandunderstandsattheendofthisbriefmeeting(510minutes)whattheteamis
planningtodoasawhole.Ofcoursethiscanbedoneusingtheclassicformatbuthereare
somemoreformatswhichalsoworkprettywell:

AdvancedFormat:Eachteammemberrafflesanotherteammembersnameandanswersthe
threequestionsforhim.
TaskFormat:Youleavethepersonalaspectasideandfocusonthetaskaspectand,foreach
task,answerthethreeclassicquestions.
PersonificationFormat:AslighttwistoftheTaskFormat,hereyouactasifyouwerethetask.
Whydoesthisworkbetter?becauseitsfunandyoualsospeakaboutsomeoneelse
(remembertheguywhogoestoapsychiatristandtellshimhisfriendhasaproblem?thenthis
probablyworksforthesamepsychologicalreason.Peoplefinditeasiertospeakaboutsomeone
else.Ofcoursethisisjustmypersonalassumption,whatisimportantinmyopinionisthatit
simplyworks.Atleastfrommyexperience).

ClickFormat:ClickisatermfromGraphTheory(finallyIcanmakeuseofsomethingfrommy
Statisticsstudies...)whichdescribestheconnectionofeachvertextotheotherverticesina
closedconsecutivegraph.Inthisformat,eachteammembersimultaneouslyasks(!)every
otherteammemberonequestiononlyWhatcanIdotohelpyouinthecurrenttaskyouare
workingon?.
FreeSpeechFormat:Simplylettheteamspeakfor510minutes.Sometimesandspecifically
inadvancedteams,thisworksbetterthananyothermethodortool.

IAmNotYoungEnoughtoKnowEverything(OscarWilde)
ThemostimportantthingtoemphasizebesidestheotherthingsImentioneduntilnow,in
referencetotheDailyMeeting,isthatitsgoalissimple:synchronizationtowardsthenext24
hours.Thereforetheformatistheleastimportantthing.Moreimportantisthatthe
synchronizationwilltakeplaceinaverylimitedtimeframework(fewminutes).Anotherimportant
thingIdiscoveredwasthatafterayearorso,theteamsnaturallygofrommeetingdailyto
meetingtwiceorthreetimesaweek(meaning,noteveryday).Thisisbecausetheteambegins
tobeverysynchronized,evenwithoutthismeetingandconductingthismeetingeveryday
becomesartificialandnonefficient.Frommyexperience,Ihavetwopiecesofadvicetogive
you.Thefirst,isdontpanic.Thesecond,ischangethismeetingsname.Synchronization
Meetingisacommonnameatthisstage.

Retrospective
IamnotgoingtodescribewhataRetrospectiveMeetingisorwhyitiscriticalfortheteamand
theproject.YoucanfindthisatanyScrumwebsite.Instead,Iwouldliketodescribewhatformat
IfoundforconductingasuperefficientRetrospectiveMeeting.Andagain,Iemphasizethefact
thatitworksforme,doesnotmeanthatitwillworkforyou.Taketheformat,tryitout,changeit
orsimplyignoreit.

InanyCase,itgoeslikethis:
1.AquickreviewofthegeneralissuesraisedintheIteration.
Youtake35minutestowritedownwhateventstheteamremembersfromtheIteration.Not
goodeventsorbadevents.Simplyevents.Thegoalofthisshortsessionistoremindeveryone
ofwhattookplace,butmoreimportantly,togeteveryoneintotherightmindset.
2.PreviousIterationactionitemsreview.
Beforebeginning,itisrecommendedtoopenthislistofactionitemsandexaminewhathasbeen
implementedfromtheitemlistthattheteamhastakenonitselftocarryout.Ifthelisthadbeen
moreorlessimplemented,youcontinue.Ifnot,Irecommendtheteamfocusesonthisissueand
notcontinueanddefinitelynotcreateanadditionallist.
Sessionlength:12minutes(unlessthemajorityhadnotbeenimplementedandthentherestof
thesessionisdedicatedtothisissue).
3.Creatingtwolists:whatwellimproveandwhatwellpreserve.
Onthebasisoftheexistingmindset,youcreatetwolists.Oneiswhattheteamthinksshouldbe
improvedandthesecond,whattheteamthinksshouldbepreserved.Sinceitisusuallynatural
torememberwhatweshouldimprove,inthissessionwearenotonlyencouragingtheteamto
thinkwhatcanbepreservedbutalsotrainittobeginrecordingthegoodthings.Thegoalis
notonlymoralbutalsotounderstandwhatworksfortheteamandhowtopreserveit.
Commonsessionlength:1520minutes.
4.Differentiatingissuesundertheresponsibilityoftheteamandissuesundertheresponsibility
ofthecompany.
Nowyourevieweachoftheissuesandmarkwhetheritisundertheresponsibilityoftheteamor
thecompany.Itisbesttomarkthemindifferentcolors(simplycirclethem).Notethatacertain
itemmaybecircledtwicebutthereshouldnotbeitemsleftuncircled.Thegoalofthissessionis
notonlytoencouragethoughtinitiativeintheteam,howandwhocansolveorpreservethe
issue,buttoalsoreflecttotheteamtheinitiativeandresponsibilityextentithastakenonitself.If
alltheitemsaremarkedasitemsundertheresponsibilityofthecompany,thisshouldraisea
discussion.Themoreresponsibilitytheteamtakes,thebettertheunderstandingthatmoreitems
shouldbeundertheteamsresponsibility.Agoodquestionateamshouldaskitselfeachtimeis
let'snotthinkwhatothersshoulddosothatwecanadvancetheissue,let'saskourselveswhat
weshoulddotoadvancetheissue?
TheTeamMaturityIndex()isthequotientbetweentheitemquantitytheteamdefinedunder
itsresponsibilityandtheitemquantitytheteamdefinedunderthecompanysresponsibility.The
closerthenumberistozero,thelessmaturetheteamis.
Sessionlength:about5minutes.
5.CreatingactionitemsfortheupcomingIteration.
Allthatsleftfortheteamtodo,istotranslatethetwolistsintoanactionitemlistthattheteam
memberscommittoimplementingintheupcomingIteration.Ifthelistformedislargerthanwhat
theteamisabletocarryout,theteammustaddthelisttothegenerallistofimprovements,
prioritizeitandcreatearelevantactionlistregardingcontent,capacityandtheteams
implementationability,fortheupcomingIteration.

Thefollowingschematicdiagrammaybeused:

Hereisarealexample:

IbelievetherearethreehurdlesintheRetrospectiveMeetingandthatitusuallytakesabout5
Iterationstoovercomethefirstone,about3Iterationstoovercomethesecondhurdleandat
least6Iterationstoovercomethethird.
Thehurdlesare:
a.Tospeakwithatruedeclarationofopinion.
b.Totranslateitintoanitemlistforaction.
c.Toimplementthelistcommittedto.
Ifyouthinkthisisalongtime,youareright,buteveryalternativeIknowof,isworseandlonger.

EndRepetition
NowIwouldliketoplaceanotherbombonthetable.Afteryearsofchallenging,demanding,
annoyingandinsistingthataRetrospectiveshouldbedoneforeverydefinedperiod(Iteration),I
remorse.Isimplythinkitiswrongandmoreover,itsquiteartificialanddoesnotwork.
IcanalreadyseeyoususpiciouslydoubtingthatIwasprobablyunabletotransferthiswilltothe
teams,butIwouldliketosuggestanalternative.

HavingFun?howaboutNow?andNow?andNow?
IwouldliketobeginbysayingthatIbelieveconstantimprovementisoneofthemostimportant
thingsinlifeingeneralandnotonlyinprojects.Aspiringforperfectionasawayoflife,withthe
understandingthatitcanneverbereached,isthemainfueldrivingcontinuousimprovementand
intheabilitytowithstandpressure,difficultyandobstaclesalongtheway.ThereforeIbelievethat
theRetrospectiveMeetingisthemostimportantofallthemeetings.But,andherecomesthebig
but,Ibelievethatinthiscasethefrequencyaffectsthequality.
Iwillexplainusingalifeexample.Imaginegettingreadyinthemorningforwork.Imaginehowit
wouldfeelifItimedyououtloudinsecondslikeintheArmy.Thispointcanalsobetackledfrom
adifferentperspective.IsupposeeveryonewillagreethathavingapersonalRetrospective
Meetingwithyourselvesonceaweek,issomethingthatwillimproveyourorganization.Nowlets
assumethatIaskyoutohavethismeetingeveryday,howwouldyoufeel?Itwillprobablybea
paininthebeginningbutyouwilllatergetusedandmayevenbeabletoderivemuchmorefrom
itbecausetheissuesraisedwillbetheclosestchronologically(inotherwords,issueswhich
occurredonthatsameday).Upuntilnow,everythingfeelsfine.ButletsassumethatIaskyouto
haveaveryshortmeetinglikethis,everyfiveminutes.Theoreticallythisismuchmoreefficient,
aseveryfiveminutesyoucanthinkofwhatyoudidinthepreviousfiveminutes,whatcanbe
improvedandimmediatelyimplementthisinthenextfiveminutes.Inpracticeyouwillprobably
getveryannoyedastheworldisfarfrombeing"mathematical"inthissense.Inotherwords,like
inQuantumphysics,theobserveraffectstheexperiment.Thismeaning,frommyexperience,
thattoofrequentRetrospectives(negatively!)affectthegeneralefficiency.AfterIunderstoodthis,
Iaskedmyselfwhereshouldthelinebedrawn?andthebestanswerIcanofferisIdontknow.
Foreveryteamitssimplysomethingelseandofcoursethetimingisnotlessimportant.
EmpiricallyIcantellyouthekeyruleof3Iterationswithit,andonewithoutit,prettymuchworks.
Therefore,todayInolongerurgeteamstoimmediatelyreachaRetrospectiveameetingbut
ratherpersistongradation.EvenwhentheyreachoneRetrospectiveperIteration,iftheyreach
this,decreasingthemeetingfrequencyeverynowandthen,seemscompletelynaturaltome
today.

Bytheway,thisargumentalsoappliesfortheissueofvisibility,soifyouholdonandkeep
reading,youwillreachtheissueofvisibilityandthendontbesurprisedifyoullexperienceadeja
vous.
Whatisright?judgeforyourselves...
Anothersmalltipregardingthemeetingtiming.Ifoundthatteamslikeimplementingthe
RetrospectiveMeetingaccordingtoissuequantity.Insteadofhavingthemeetingperatime
periodthathadpassed(oneIteration,twoIterations,everytwodaysetc.)meetingswillbe
triggeredbythequantityofissuesraised.Inotherwordstheteamsbeginwithablank
RetrospectiveBoard.EachtimeaRetrospectiveMeetingissueisraised,theteamwritesiton
theboard.Whentheissuequantityreachesanumbertheteamhaddecidedon(usually48
issues),theyscheduleaRetrospectiveMeetingonthatday.

KaizenMeeting
AnothervariationisaKaizenMeeting.Ateachshortandgivenperiodoftime,theteamhasa
shortRetrospective(upto10minutes).Issuesareraisedduringthemeetingandtheteamtries
tosolvethem.Foreachissue,eitherasolutionissuggestedoritistransferredtotheKaizen
Meeting.Inthismeeting,whichislonger,wegooveralltheissuesthatwerentresolvedand
discusswhatshouldbedone.Thismeetingismuchlonger(aboutanhour),asthediscussionis
moreindepth.
Again,thisdoesnotsuiteveryone.Thereareteamswherethismightevenbe
counterproductive.

Futurespective
IfyouhaventreadthebookTheSevenHabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople(StephenCovey),I
warmlyrecommendit,asitisareallygoodbookthathashighlyinfluencedmylife.Thesecond
habithedescribesisBeginwiththeendinmind.AccordingtoCovey,theresnoneedtowait
fortheendtocomebutrathertocreatethedesiredendinourimaginationandthenstriveto
reachit(aninterestingandspinetinglingmentalexerciseheoffersistowriteyoureulogyasyou
wouldliketobeeulogized,compareittotheexistingrealityandstriveforwhatiswritteninthe
eulogy).Itookthisideaandtranslatedittoprojectbasedreality.Inmyopinion,itworksreally
well.Teamslikeit,Managerslikeit.Thereisalmostnoresistanceandtheresultsarevery
effective.

AftermanyvariationsItriedonhowtoimplementthismeeting,hereiswhatbestworksforme:

StageOne:RiskIdentification.
Theteamgatherstogetherandanswers(eitherbyturnorthroughbrainstormingetc.)one
question:AssumingwewereonthelastdayoftheIteration,andassumingwehavefailedor
thattheIterationwasacompletewasteoftime,whathadhappened?.True,thatlogicallyasking
whatwillhappen?isexactlythesamebut,sincewearedealingwithpeople,askingaboutthe
past,simplygivesbetterresults.Icanonlyguessthatithastodowiththefactthatthebrainis
notbusywithfearsofwhatwillhappen,butdealswithfactsofwhathadhappenedand
focusesonthetruerisks.
StageTwo:Indicators.
Foreachriskwehadfound,wemustwritetheindicatorbelowit.Forexample:iftheriskis
excessmeetingstheindicatoristhreemeetingsaday.
StageThree:PreventionPlan.

Foreveryriskandindicator,theteamSuggestsapreventionplan.Forinstance,intheexample
ofthemeetingsIdescribed(arealexample,bytheway),apreventionplan,forinstance,is
limitingthenumberoftheDailyMeetings.
Andthatsall.

Whattheteampreparesispinnedonthewallandallthatsleftistofrequentlycheckifthe
indicatorexists.Ifitexists,wealreadyhaveanideaforapreventionplan,sothattheriskis
mitigated.

Andwhyisitcalled"Futurespective"?becauseitsafusionofthetwowordsFutureand
Retrospective.YouwillalsofindthisunderthenamePremortem,whichisaparaphrasefor
theLatinnamepostmortemgiventothedebriefingmeetingattheendofaproject.Iwouldlike
toemphasizetheimportanceofthismeeting.Asimilarmeetingisalsoheldontheprojectlevel
(seeRetrospective).

NAMNonAgendaMeeting
Thisisafunandeffectivemeeting.Whatdoyoudointhismeeting?Nothing!Allthatsneededis
todecidetomeetonceaweek(thatsusuallywhathappens,thoughsomeoftheteamsbegin
withameetingonceanIteration),withnodeclaredagenda.
Andwhatdoyoutalkabout?Ihavenoidea.Andtheteamalsohasnoidea.Icanonlytellyou
whatIhaveseenhappen,timeaftertime(whichinmyopinionisamazingasIhaveseenthe
samehumanbehaviorhappeninalmostallpartsoftheglobe).Inthebeginning,theteamsdont
knowhowto"swallowit.Theresastrangefeelingoftimewasting.LatercomesthestageIcall
thetechnicalstageinwhichtheteammembersspeakoftheburningissuesatwork.Then,
comesthestageinwhichtheybegintalkingofthingsunrelatedtoworkand,eventually,thelast
stageisamixtureofallthestagesprecedingit.Theteammeetsand,afterafewminutesof
awkwardnessandmentalorganizationaboutthemeeting,theteammembersbegintochaton
thingsunrelatedtoworkandthenmoveontoworkrelatedthings.
Thismeetingisimportant,effectiveandfunandinsomecaseshelpssolveproblemsthatthe
teamfoundhardsolvinguntilthen(andthereasonissimple,theteamtakesapausefromdayto
daypressure,tothink).Ithelpsteammembersunitethroughabetteracquaintanceofeachother
and,notlessimportant,trainstheteamincreatinginternaldialogue.
Soundsunimportant?

BeautyisintheEyeoftheBeerHolders
Ifoundthefollowingissuetobeoneofthemostimportantingredientsofasuccessfulproject.It
issynthesizedinasentenceIonceread:Youwantasuccessfulproject?nographsortools,no
strongcomputersandnoassertiveManagers.Theanswerisalways:beer.
Theintentionisclear:getpeopletoknoweachother.Thiswillmakethemnotonlyunderstand
oneanotherbetter,itwillalsomakethemdosomethingmuchmoreimportant,theywillwantto
helpeachother.

NonMeetingZone
OneofthemainproblemsIidentified,especiallyintheHiTechfield,wasthateveryonehates
meetings.Oratleasttheybelievethatmostofthemeetingstheyparticipateinareacomplete
wasteoftime.ThisproblemismoreintenseamongManagers,asmeetingsareoneoftheir
mainduties.ButhereIwanttodiscussnotManagersbutteammembers.Themindsetofmost
teammembersIhavemetisthatthelargemajorityoftheirtimeisspenttakingcareofthecode
(writingcode,checkingit,databasework,GUIetc.)andanyinterruptionisconsideredawasteof
time.
Asanexercise,tryaskingateammemberwhatanidealdaylookslike.Afteraskingthisquestion
manytimes,hereisthemostcommonanswerthatIheardIenjoycomingtowork,Iknowwhat
Imsupposedtodo,Ilikethistask,Isucceedimplementingitinashortperiodoftimeandnoone
interruptsmeduringit.Iaskedmyselfwhyinterruptionsduringtheday,evenforself
improvementorsynchronizationoranythingelse,areannoying.Thereasoninmyopinionisthat
thedeveloperdoesntknowifwhathewasaskedtodowilltrulyservethecustomerandwhether
thecustomerwillbesatisfied,iftheaspiredtargetdateissignificanttothecustomerornot,
whethertheentireproductwillbecanceledattheend,etc.Thiscreatesamindsetwherethe
developerassumesallthenegativeoutcomesmentionedabovewillmaterialize,soallthatsleft
forhimtodoistomakesurethecodeisexcellent,andsincetheaverageteammemberthinks
heisaboveaverageandwillhavenotimeforimprovement(asheisalwayspressurized),all
thatsleftistoperceiveanythingoutsidecodewritingasawasteoftime.
Thisis,ofcourse,nottrueinmyopinionbut,inordertomakethingseasier,Isuggestsetting
clearboundarieswhichisgoodforeveryone.Atimegap(usuallybetween10:00to13:00is
chosenbutthisisflexible)inwhichitisprohibitedtoschedulemeetings.Itistruethatitmight
notalwaysbepossibletocompletelyavoidit,butinmostcasesitispossibletoestablishthis
ruleitandpersistinit.Whathappensinpracticeisthatfromhavingafloodofmeetings
throughoutthedaywereachanalmosthermetic"drought"duringthehoursmentioned.Andhow
comeeveryoneissatisfied?theteammembersaresatisfiedbecausetheyarefinallyunderthe
illusiontheycannowworkandtheManagersaresatisfiedbecausetheyareundertheillusion,
outlinedmorethanahundredyearsagobyTaylorthatoutputequalsinput.(UnfortunatelyIstill
encounterManagerswhoassumethisistrueandmakebasicmanagerialmistakessuchas
gettingangrywhenpeoplegohomeearly(ThisistheendoftheversionandthereforeIexpect
noonetoleavebefore21:00!)orwhenpeoplelazeaboutattheoffice(whyareyousurfing
theinternetwhenthereareotherthingstobedone?!?!)orwhenpeopletalkaboutthings
unrelatedtowork(thereare5peoplehereandfortenminutesnowwehavenotbeen
discussingtheissue,dothemathandyoullseethatanhourofthemeetinghasbeenlost.Who
isgoingtopayforit?!?!?).Bydefiningtimeborders,theManagersaresurethattheteam
membersareworkingwithnointerruptions).

AndwhydoIneedthismultipleillusion?becausethemoreexperienceIgainduringthe
implementations,themoreIunderstandthatcontinuallytakingsmallstepsintherightdirectionis
notalesseffectivetoolthanapplyingdramaticchange.Therefore,thismeetingisavery
importanttoolinthegradualtransformationoftheorganizationalmindsettoamoreenabling
mindsetwhichfacilitatesfreedomandmutualtrust.Fromacertainstage,Irecommend
decreasingthetimelimitsandofcourse,latertocompletelyeliminateit.

Vipassana
Inmyopinion,oneofthemajorproblemsofthe21stcenturyisexcessinformationand
stimulation.Today'skids,whoin20yearswillbetheworkersoftomorrow,willnotneed(aswe
weretaught)toknowhowtofindinformation,butrathertheywillneedtoknowhowtofilter
information.This,inmyopinion,isacrucialdifference.
Oneoftheassumptionsthatexistedattheendofthelastcenturywasthatwewillhavemore
time,asaresultofadvancesintechnology.Inpractice,wehavelesstime.Inmyopinionthe
reasonissimple,wesimplywanttoachievemore.Whetheritsduetoglobalizationorthatmore
peopleareworkingatwhatintereststhem,itdoesntreallymatter,weareculturallyencouraged
togetmoredone.Asaresult,weachievemore,butthereisaheavyprice.Wearemore
stressedandaddictedtotheadrenalineofdoing.Therefore,weeachhavelessandlesstimeto
stopandthinkbeforeweact.Bytheway,forthosewhoareunaware,stressisadiseasethats
becomingaplague.Likeeverydisease,ithassideeffects.Forthisdisease,thesideeffects,
believeitornot,aredangerous.

SilenceistheMotherofTruth.(BenjaminDisraeli)
Andthatisexactlytheobjectiveofthismeeting.WhatIdoistakeaManagerofanyrank(ora
teammemberoreventheCEO)andaskhimtodedicateatleast15minutesadaytoamental
oraphysicaltimeoutfromwork.Therulesaresimple.Heisforbiddentospeaktoanyone,heis
allowedtowritedownwhateverhedesires,butonlytohimself.Inthebeginning,thisisdifficult.
Butasitispracticedmore,thatpersonreachesastagewherehestartsthinkingmoreclearly
abouttheproblemspressurizinghimatthatmomentorofmorestrategicthoughts.Atfirst,asa
coach,Isimplystrollbesidehim(ifwegooutside)orsitwithhimattheoffice,whereweareboth
silentandwritingtoourselvesIfoundthatthisworkswonderfully,afterasfewas23ofthese
sessions.Allthatisneededistopersistandtogiveitachance.Inmyopinion,thereasonforthis
canbeexpressedbythefollowinggreatJapanesesaying:Awarriorisblindtohisownbattle.
Whenweareinadailybattleagainsttheentiretyofourtasks,stressedtoachieveasmuchas
possibleandoftherequiredquality,wearenotawareofourwayofconduct.Ontheotherhand,
whenweenableourselvestostoportoslowdownandlookatourbattlefromadifferent
perspective,wonderfulthingscanunfold.

Gemba
GembaisaJapanesewordwhoseliteralmeaningisthetrueplace.Oneoftheincreasingly
severeproblemsofourtimeisthatfewerpeoplearemeetingoneanother.Simplybecause
technologyenablesthis(emails,telephones,videoconferencecalls,etc.).Asaresult,weare
missingthehumanaspect,theabilitytoidentifypeoplesmoods,intonationsand,most
significantly,humancontactwiththeotherperson(assometimesheissimplyanothernamein
ouremailinbox).Theothersideofthecoinisthatthechildrenoftoday,whowillbecomethe
workersoftomorrow,willneedtofindthewaytoaddressthishumanaspectthroughtechnology.
Imsureitwillhappen.Iamalsosureitwillnothappenimmediately.Therefore,untilithappens,I
suggesttheGembaMeeting.TheGembaisasessioninwhicheveryworker(especially
Managers),wanderaroundtheirorganizationandsensethefeelofwhatishappeningthrough
informaldialogueswithpeople.ThisissoimportantandsoeffectivethatIoftenhearsentences
likeInhalfanhourofwanderingaroundtheorganizationIunderstoodmorethaninalltheStatus
MeetingsIhaveeverattendedorTheGanttsmaybeshowingthatwearegoingtomakethe
deadline,butIcantellyouthatthereisnochancewewillmakethedeadlineorWeareputting
toomuchpressureonthepeople,etc.Itrulyrecommendtaking1530minuteseachday(yes,
yes)and,ifthisistoodifficult,thenatleasttwiceaweek,forwanderingaroundanddoing
Gemba.Thisworksmostefficientlyforme,notonlybecauseofthefeedbacksIreceivefrom
people,butalsoasaconsultantwhoisrequiredtoknowwhatisgoingon,insteadofsimply
gettinganimpressionofthesituationfrommeetingsdiscussingimplementationstatus.


TeamSignature
I'llbeginwithashortstoryaboutmyself.AtacertainpointinmylifeIstartedtracktraining.Aftera
fewyearsIbeganrunningrelativelylongdistances.AtacertainpointIfeltIwasn'timprovingand
Ihiredatrainer.Thefirstthinghedidwasaskmetorunthesametrackrunatleasttentimes,
recordit(atthetime,unliketoday,recordingtrackrunswasnewandstrange.Fortunately,
nowadaysanybeginnerisabletorecordtheirrunswithsupersimpleaccessoriessuchastheir
cellphone)andsendittohim.Ididn'tquiteunderstandthepurpose,butdidasheasked.WhenI
methimagain,wewentoverthereportshehadputtogether,whichanalyzedmyruns.We'llget
backtothesereportslater.

WhenIbeganmyworkatScrum,IwassurroundedbysomanyvisibilitytoolsthatIhadtomake
sureIwasnotblindtothe"fullpicture".IttookafewyearsuntilImadetheconnectionbetween
runningandScrumandunderstoodthatwhatwasrightforrunningisalsorightforScrum.Ithen
suggestedthattheteamsdothesame.Fortunately,eventhoughithasbeenimplementedfor
numerousyearsnow,teamsstillfinditveryeffective.InameditTeamSignature,asthisisthe
typicalanduniquewaytheteambehaves.Itisimplementedinaverysimplemanner.Youtake
thevisibilitytoolsofatleast7Iterationsandanalyzethem.Frommyexperience,thereismuchto
discover.Hereareafewfieldexamples:

InthefirstthreedaysoftheIteration,theteamusuallydoesnotdomuch.
IneachIteration,thereareatleast4daysinwhichtheteamisundertremendouspressure.
TheteamtendstopostponethecomplextasksuntiltheendoftheIteration.
Theteamperformsbetterwhenatleastonetaskiscompletedwithinthefirstthreedays.
WhenthereisaholidayduringtheIterationitruinsthepeople'smomentum.

ThereforeIhighlyrecommendthatonceinafewIterations,theteamholdameetingassuch,I
onlywarntheteamagainstmakinghastydecisions.Thereasonissimple.Rememberthetrack
run?Well,IdiscoveredthatinthefirstfivekilometersIranrelativelyslowerthanintherestofthe
run.ThereforeIstartedworking(bymyself)onimprovingthis.Afterafewweeks,myrunning
becamemuchworse.Muchworse!
Iwentbacktomytrainerandaskedhisadvice.Hesaidonlyonesentencewhichmademe
understandtwothings:thefirstisthatIneedatrainerandthesecondisthatImanidiot.Bythe
way,themoreaccuratequotewasOfcourse!youareoneofthosepeoplewhoneedsamental
andphysicalwarmupinthefirstfivekilometersofeachruninordertoruneffectivelyand
thereforeworkingonimprovingthepaceofthefirstfivekilometers,leavesyouwithnoenergyfor
therestoftherun.O.K.,maybethatsmorethanonesentence...

Therefore,ifyoudiscoverthattheteamisslowinthebeginning,itdoesntmeanthatthesolution
istoimprovethestartingpace.Andviceversaofcourse.TheideaistolookattheIteration
holisticallyandthenchangesomethingintheconducttryingtoimprove.Inotherwords,notevery
localimprovementisaglobalimprovement.
Taketwothingsintoconsideration:thefirstisthatsometimesittakestimeforchangetobear

fruit(andherearesomebanalexamples:O.K.,IpressthethecarA.Cbutton...andImstillhot!,
O.K,Ivestudiedallthesekicks,butImstilllosingbattles!,Myfirstchildwasbornamonth
ago,Idontunderstandthosewhosaymylifehaschanged.Everythingisexactlythesame!)
andthesecond,whichisnotlessimportant,noteverychangewethinkwillworkforthebetter,
actuallydoesso.Hereareafewmoreexamples(Ihavebeeneatingnothingbutproteinsfor
almostayearnow,andinsteadoflosingweightImgainingweight!,EverydayIremindthe
teamstheyneedtoupdatethehourstheyhadworkedonthedifferentprojects,butthemajority
simplyignoremeanditonlybecomesworse!).

SniffingEra
OneofthemorecommonquestionsIamaskedisHowcanaPlanningMeetingbe
implementedinsuchashorttimeandwhendowemanagetogooverthenewtasks?.Well
startwiththesimpleanswersettimeasideforgoingoverthem!Inotherwords,ineach
Iteration,timemustbeallocatedforstudyingthenextIteration.SosimpleIcouldcry.Whycry?
becauseittookme3yearsofanguishtoreachthisinsight.Sometimesthesolutionisright
beforeyoureyes.Ifoundthatonaverage,theruleofthumbisthatanhourandahalfaweek
works.Inotherwords,ifyourIterationlengthisoneweek,Irecommendanhourandahalf.Ifthe
Iterationistwoweekslong,threehoursandiftheIterationisthreeweekslong,4hoursshould
suffice.
IfyourIterationlengthisonemonth,youhaveacompletelydifferentproblem.
Inotherwords,boththeteamandtheManagers,mustunderstandthatpartofthetimefromthe
currentIterationmustbeallocatedtostudyingthenextIteration.EvenifthecurrentIterationis
tightlyscheduled.

PossibleScenariosMeeting(OperationalPlans)
Itookthismeetingfromthemilitary,butasIresearchedmore,Ifoundthatanyorganizationthat
respectsitself,conductsthismeeting.Theprincipleisverysimple,insteadofwaitingfora
possiblescenario,createimaginaryscenariosandconfrontthem.Thismaysoundstrange,but
inmyopinion,itisrightandeffectiveformanyreasons.Thefirst,merelythinkingofpossible
scenarioscausestheorganizationtothinkoftheprojectinacreativeway.
Secondly,aScenariosMeetingassuch,willcauseustolivethescenarioforashortperiodof
timeandconfrontitsothatifandwhenthescenarioisrealized,theorganizationisalready
familiarwithitandknowshowtobehaveand,moreimportantly,hownottobehave.Wewillalso
functioninabetterwayasthesurpriseelementvanishes(becauseweexperienceditalready
throughanimaginaryscenario)andwecanfocusonthesolution.
Thirdlyandnotlessimportantly,practicingascenarioisanotheropportunityfortheorganization
topracticedialoguewithintheteamunderstressfulconditions(eveniftheyarefictitious).
Theprice,expressedmainlybythetimeallocatedforthemeeting,(organizationsconductingthis
meeting,allocateonaverage,onehouraweekforthismeeting)issoinsignificantcompared
withthevaluetheorganizationreceives,thatIdonotunderstandorganizationsknowingly
decidingnottoimplementit.Especiallysincethemainreasonisthatwedonthavetimefor
this.Ofcourseyoudonthavetime,youarebusysolvingproblemswhichcouldhavetakenyou
halfthetimetosolveifyouwerepreparedforthemandperhapscouldhavepreventedthem.

FedexMeeting
OneofthemajorcomplaintsIhavereceivedisthatthereisnotimeforcreativity.Atfirst,with
typicalarrogance,IdismisseditWhy,youtheteamdecidehowmanytaskstoimplementso
youhaveenoughtimetobecreative.Whenthecomplaintsincreased,Iunderstoodthatthere
maytrulybeahiddendifficultyhereand,afterafewfailingtrials,Iunderstoodthat,atleastinthe
beginning,onetaskmustbedefinedasanopentask.Inotherwords,ineachteammembers
timeframe,heshouldbechallengedtotakeacompletelyfreetask,unrelatedtotheproject.I
foundthatthisisgoodpracticeinIterationplanning.
Afewyearsago,acompanycalledAtlassianmadearevolutionarydecision.Onceeveryfew
months,itwillstopitsactivityfor24hours.Duringthese24hours,thecompanywillallowpeople
todowhattheywanted.TheycalledthisFedexDaybecause,forthese24hoursthereisone
rule,eachteamthathasformed,mustshowsomething("deliver")within24hours.Justlikethe
Fedexslogan.

AcompanyknowntomostpeoplewhichusesthistechniqueisGoogleofcourse.Allthatisleft
istotranslatethisamazingidea,whichalreadyhasstrongproofofpracticability,to
implementations.Atfirstthiscanbeperceivedassomethingstrange(Stopeverythingfor24
hours?!?!Wedonthavetimeforthis!)butaftersomepersuasion,moreandmorecompanies
startedimplementingthisand,inmyexperience,after23suchmeetings(ameetingoncea
quarter),thecompaniesIknow,persistincontinuingtoconductthismeetingbecause,notonly
doesitencouragecreativity,butitisalsoveryproductiveonthepracticallevelandgivesthe
organizationideasonwhereitcanhead.Allthatisneededistopasstheinitial23meeting
obstacle,becauseinthebeginning,likeanybeginning,wetendtofail.Inotherwords,thereare
eithernonewideasorthereisnosuccesscreatinganythingwithin24hours.Frommy
experience,allcompanieswhichdonotpersistwiththismeeting,haveeithernottrieditorhave
notconductedmorethanthreemeetings.

ProjectMeetings
Manyofthemeetingsatteamlevelexistalsoatprojectlevel.Therefore,inordertonotrepeat
myselfononehandandtonotforgetameeting,ontheotherhand,Iwillmentioneachmeeting
andforthosemeetingsIhadalreadydescribedatteamlevel,Iwillgiveonlyabriefdescription.

DailyMeeting
ThismeetingissimilartoScrumsDailyMeeting,butisheldatprojectlevel.Todistinguishfrom
Scrumwherethereisaninstructiontoanswerthefamousthreequestions,Ifoundthattheonly
restrictionIrecommendimplementingisa10minutetimelimit.Therearemanywaysof
reachingtheabilityofmeetingthistimelimitbutthesearereallyonlytoolsthatwillnotbedetailed
here.Theessenceofthismeetingisthesynchronizationbetweentheteammembers.

WeeklyTacticalMeeting
TheWeeklyisatacticalmeeting.IftheDailyMeetingisasynchronizationandadailyplan,here
theprojectsteammeetsforhalfanhourtodiscusstacticalissues,atweeklylevel.

MonthlyMeeting
IntheMonthlyMeeting,theprojectsteamdiscussestheprojectstrategically.Thismeetingisnot
limitedintimebutIdiscoveredthatitisworthwhileforittobelimitedinissues.23issuesand
thatsall.
Therealchallengeinmyopinionistodiscoverhowtodifferentiatebetweenmeetingsandnotto
bedrawnintostrategicdiscussionintheWeeklyMeeting,andviceversa.Todiscoverwayshow
nottobedrawnintoatacticalorimmediatediscussionintheStrategicMeeting.Maintainingthe
contextwilldifferentiatebetweenanordinaryand,evenboring,meetingandaneffectiveone.In
companieswhereallthemeetingtypesaremeshedintoone,themeetingwilllookandfeelbad.
Theresasayingthatyouwontgetasecondchancetomakeagoodfirstimpression.Thisis
alsotrueforameeting.Oneofthethingsthatthemeetingscoordinatorneedstoprepareforis
thefirsttenminutesofpresentingtheissue.Thisiswhatwillsetthetoneforthemeeting.

PanoramicReview
Thismeetingisoneofthemostimportantones.ThisisaperIterationmeetingwhereyou
discusswhatisleftoftheproject,whatisnewintheproject,whatarethetasksremovedfrom
theproject,budgetevaluation,necessaryfuturecontent,etc.Itisimportanttoemphasizethat
themeeting,which,inmyopinionshouldbeledbytheTaskManager,shoulddiscussthefuture
oftheproject,whatislefttodoinordertofinishtheprojectandnottodiscusswhathas
happeneduntilnow.
Itisalsoimportanttomentionthat,thoughitmayseemtoofrequent,frommyexperience,
conductingthismeetingeveryIteration,notonlyreflectsthetechnicalsituationoftheprojectbut
alsounitesthepeoplearoundtheprojectvision.Thisisthereason,bytheway,thatIpersistently
urgeManagers,onceIfeelthetimeisright,nottobeafraidtoopenthismeetingtoanyone
wishingtoparticipate.WehavenothingtofearbutfearitselfsaidRoosevelt,andhewasright.

DiscoveryReview
ThismeetingissoimportantthatsomeofmycolleaguesatAgileSparksarguethatthereshould
beadesignatedteamforthisissue.IamnotsosureaboutthisandtimewilltellifIamrightorif
theyarewrong...
Anyway,ofonethingIamsure,theremustbeaclearseparationbetweenthestrategiclevel
(PanoramicReview),thetacticallevel(Discovery)andtheimmediatelevel(theIterationitself).
TheDiscoveryReview,dealswiththenearandnotimmediatefuture.Onthepracticallevel,this
meetingdealswith23Iterationsahead.Inotherwords,inthemeeting,wetakethegathered
tasksasdefinedinthePanoramicReviewandcutdowntheclosesttasksintosmallertasksso
thattheteamcandigestthemmoreeasily.
Frommyexperience,thetaskdivisionisdonebytheteamitself,althoughsinceIhaveheard
fromcolleaguesthatitissometimesbetterthattheteamdealswiththeIteration,whilea
designatedteamdealswithdiscoveringwhatisbeforethem,Ileavethedecisiontothe
managerialteam,and,ofcourse,ifadesignatedteamiscreated,todecideIontherighttime.

Futurespective
SimilartotheIterationFuturespective,thereismuchsignificancetothismeetingatprojectlevel.
SinceitisconductedexactlyinthesamemannerasintheIteration,Iwillspareyou,thesmart
reader,amultipledescriptionandwillreferyoutotheFuturespectiveTeamMeetinginorderto
learnhowitisdone.AllthatyouarerequiredtodoisreplacethewordIterationbytheword
project.
SimilartotheIteration,thisisthefirstmeetingofeveryproject.Itisthemanagerialteams
decisionwhethertoaskwhatcausedtheprojecttosucceed?orwhatcausedtheprojectto
fail?.Inmyopinionthisisexactlythesamequestionwhichwillgivethesameanswers,onlywith
semanticdifferences.
Myrecommendation,basedongutfeelingandexperience,isthatthesecondquestionamong
beginnerteamscausesmotivationdecreaseandtherefore,ifyouwishtostartonthesafeside,
usethefirstquestionwhatcausedtheprojecttosucceed?Onlybewareofcomplacency.Ifyou
identifysuchamindset,thatisthemomenttotrythesecondquestion.


PossibleScenariosMeeting(OperationalPlans)
SimilartotheIterationScenariosMeeting,thismeetingisalsoconductedatprojectlevel.Since
theessenceofthemeetinganditsmannerofconductisidenticaltotheIterationScenarios
Meeting,IwillspareyoumultiplereadingandreferyoutoreadingtheIterationScenariosMeeting.

EndOfficeMeeting
Itisnotasimpletasktoforeseetheendofataskatitsbeginning.Allthemoreso,toseeingthe
endofaprojectortheendoftheroleyouareimplementingrightnow.Icontemplatedhowtohelp
peopleunderstandthefactthateverythingisfinalsotheycouldcarrythemselvesinamore
proactivemannerinthepresentandthenIrememberedhowIonceresignedfrommyworkplace
withmuchangerandfrustrationfromnotachievingwhatIhadwanted.IthoughttomyselfthatifI
couldmakepeople,evenforafewmoments,experiencewhattheywouldfeelinthefuture
(bitterness,frustration,happiness,satisfactionetc.)whentheyterminatetheirworkattheir
workplace,itwouldcausethemtodivertresourcessotheycouldreachthispointintimeina
betterway.ThenIsaidweshouldntwaitforthistohappenanditcanbepracticedinthelab.
Theexerciseissimpleand,fromthefeedbackIget,bearsgreatimpact.Iasktheteamtomeet
meatthephysicalentranceofthecompany.ThenIaskthemtoclosetheireyesandimagineit
istheirlastdayatwork.Theyareabouttowalkthroughthecompanyentrancegateforthelast
time,saygoodbyetoeveryone,returnthecar,signthevariedandstrangepaperworkandreturn
home.
AndthenIbeginchallengingthemwithquestions.Allrhetorical.Inotherwords,Idontexpectan
answerfromanyone,butIdoexpecteachteammembertothinkabouteachofmyquestions
andanswerforthemselves.Hereareafewrepresentativequestions.Whenyouunderstandthe
essenceofthequestions,youcanmakeupdozensonyourown.Iusuallylimitmyselftoten
questionsandbetweeneachquestion,Iwaitaroundthirtyseconds.Remember,whenyoucome
toanswerthequestions,theatmosphereshouldbeasifthisisyourlastdayatthecompany.

Howdoyoufeel?

Doyoufeelyoumaximallyfulfilledyourselfatthecompany?

Whatdoyouregret?

Whatareyouproudofforhavingdone?

Whatthingshaveyoupersonallyinitiated?

Haveyouinitiatedthingsalongthewayorhaveyouletrealitydragyoualong?

Whowillyoukeepintouchwith?why?

Whatareyouprojectsuccesses?

Areyousatisfiedwithyourwayofconduct?

Whatmistakeshaveyoumade?

Haveyoulearntfromthesemistakes?

Bytheway,thissameexercisecanbedoneforaprojectbutyouneedtofindtheright
surroundingthatwilldemonstratetheendoftheprojecttotheparticipators.Itcouldbea
conferenceroomwhereyouinformtheteamofremovingsupportfromtheversion(ifthis
happensinyourcompany),orprojectinganemailonabigscreensentfromacompanytoallthe
customersdescribingDropSupportoranythingelsethatgivesanendofprojectatmosphere.
Andafinalpoint,myvisionisthatthismeetingwilltakeplaceatafixedtime(onceaquarter)and
independently.Frommyexperience,ittakesafewyearstoreachthepointinwhichateamboth
understandsthepowerofthismeetingandisindependentandinitiatesitsimplementationonthe
basisofafixedperiodoftime.
Thegoodnewsisthattimedoesnothingbutgoodtotheteamintheproactivecontext.

Jogging
Despitemyloathingofthewordsprint,itfortunatelymademethinkofwhatoccursinanactual
run.Andsotheconceptjoggingwasborn.Itstruethattheaspirationisthattheteamsreacha
stageofaconstantpaceinwhichtheycouldforevercontinuetheirprojectbasedwork.Butthis
willonlyhappeninaperfectworld.Inamorerealisticworld,Ifoundthistobealong,exhausting
processthatofcourseneverends.Idiscoveredthisthehardway.Itdoesnotreachitsend
becauseitishumannaturetoaspireforwardandtoachievemoreandmore.Specificallyin
taskstheteamlikesdoingand,especiallywhentheteammembersbackupeachother.Asa
result,therewillalwaysbepressure.Dontgetmewrong,pressureisnotnecessarilybad.It
causesustochallengeandimproveourselvesbuteveryathleteknowsthattoomuchpressure
causesustofreezeandharmthetaskquality.

Asmentioned,IlearntthislessonthehardwayasIsetmyselfthegoalofreachingthislevelwith
eachandeveryteamIworkwith.WhenIcontinuouslyfailed,Ithoughttomyself,theremustbe
anotherwaytoreachthisgoal.Ihavenotyetfoundit.Itmayverywellbethattheconcept
joggingisamistake,derivingfrommylackofabilitytogetteamstoworkataconstantpace.
Anyway,untilIfindabettermethod,agoodandpracticalwayIcameupwithwasslowingdown
thepaceartificiallyinordertocreateamuchfasterpacelateron.Inotherwords,aftercominga
longwayfullofIterations,attheendoftheproject,allowtheteamsaperiodoftimeformental
restinordertogatherstrengthforthenextproject.

AVacationisHavingNothingtoDoandaWholeDaytoDoiton(RobertOrben)
Thisdoesnotmeansendingtheteamsonaweeksvacationbutratherallowingthemmental
rest.Practically,mysuggestionisverysimple,defineaweekinwhichtheteamdoesnotwork
onanyproject,butratherdevotesthetimetoselfimprovement.Itcouldbeenrollinginacourse,
updatingsoftwareversions,workingonataskunrelatedtotheprojectoranyotheractivitywithin
theweekslimit,unrelatedtotheirdailywork.Tothoseofyoutowhomthismayseemlikea
wasteoftime,atfirstIthoughtjustlikeyou,butthenIrememberedthatpeoplearenotmachines
andthattheyneedabreak.Actually,whenIthinkaboutit,evenmachinescannotfunction
nonstop...anyway,Ifoundthatthisbreakwasgoodforeveryone,thepeoplegettorest,their
effectivenessincreasesandanincreasedobligationtotheorganizationisformed,asaresultof
thepeopleunderstandingthattheManagersarewillingtoofferthisbreak.Tothosetowhomthis
isstillunclear,IrecommendrereadingaboutFedexDay.

TeamFormation
Thismeetingisoneofthemosteffective,enjoyableanddangerousmeetings.Itsgoalisto
divideagroupintoteams.
Illbeginwithastoryfrommynearpast.AtacertainstageIwasinchargeofagroupofpeople
whowereintendedtoworkonacertainproject(Iapologizeforthevagueness).ForweeksI
struggledwithmyManagersoverwhichteamsthepeopleshouldbedividedinto.Wehad
countlessmeetings,wediscussed,argued,debatedandthenearerthebeginningoftheproject
got,thefartherawaytheteamdivisionplanseemed.Icontemplatedwhattodo.Decideonmy
own?raffleadecisionfromthefouroptions?asktopostponethebeginningoftheproject?Itruly
didntknowwhattodo.Fortunately,IattendedaninternationalScrumConferenceduringthat
time.Betweenlectures,Isharedmyproblemwithoneofthegreatinstructors(HenrikKniberg).
HeansweredmewithonesentenceLettheteamsdecide!

PeaceCannotbeKeptbyForceitCanOnlybeAchievedbyUnderstanding(Albert
Einstein)
Ididntunderstandwhathemeant.Whatisthemeaningoflettingtheteamsdecide?Ittookafew
hoursintheairportandanentireflighttoconsolidatewhatIcalledTeamFormation.Ihave
conductedthisprocessdozensoftimessince,inimplementationsandincoursesinIsraeland
internationally.Theresultshavealwaysbeenfastandamazing(teamsareformedwithintwo
hours!).Thetrickistoreallytrusttheteams.Simplytounderstandandrememberthegroupis
alwayssmarterthantheindividualgroupmember.
Thestagesareasfollows:
1.Youcollectallthepeopleinvolvedintheprojectandexplaintothemthatweareaboutto
conductamaneuverwhoseaimistoproposetoManagementhowtheteamsshouldbedivided.
2.TheTaskManagerbrieflydescribes(uptotenminutes)thewholeprojectandthetasks
composingit.
3.AtthisstageItakethefacilitationwandandsimplytellthegrouptosplitintoteamsastheysee
fit.
Andthatsit!
Believeitornot,afterafewsecondsofsilenceandconfusion,thepeoplebegintounderstand
thattheymustthinkofthebestwaytodivide.Whotheywanttobeintheteamwith.Whatthey
wanttoworkon.IalsopinuplargesheetsofpaperonthewallswhereIasktheteamstofillout:
1.Theteamname.
2.Theteammission.
3.Namesoftheteammembers.
4.TaskstheytakeuponthemselvesforthecurrentIteration.
5.TheirTaskManager.
Teamsareformed,growandsplitup.Aformedteamdiscoversthatateamwithasimilartarget
hasformedontheothersideoftheroom.Theytalkandcreatenewtemporarysubgroups.The
dialoguesformedarealsoamazing.SuddenlytheManagersreceiveafloodofquestionsthey
mustanswerandeverythingattopspeed.
Itissuddenlyeasytoseewhoisthebottleneckinthegroup(heisrequiredinmanyteamsand
whoisunwantedinanyteam(andspecificallybecauseofthisdangerouspoint,Iwarmlyaskto
notdothissessionaloneinthebeginningbutratheraskforthehelpofsomeoneexperienced
whohasconductedsuchasessionandknowshowtodealwiththesecases.Iusuallyinvolve
theManagerofHumanResourcesinthisexerciseforthesamereason)).
Nowisthetimetomentionthatitispossibleandrecommendedtodefineboundaries(for
instance,theteamwillnotbelargerthansevenpeoplenorsmallerthanthree,ateammember
willnotbeinmorethanthreeteamssimultaneously,etc.).Anditsimplyworkswonderfully!The
peopledevelopacommitmenttotheprojectandtowardtheirteammembers,priortothe
Iteration.ImaginewhatanIterationwithsuchpromisingstartingconditionslookslike!

WhenitsClearThereisnoIinTeam
Thissessionmaybeexpandedinnumerousways.Firstly,itmaybeimplementedonanumber
ofprojectssimultaneously.Secondly,andthishappensonlyinmoreadvancedstages,Iaskthe
teamstosuggestaManager(orScrumMasteriftheyinsistontheterm...)fromtherelevant
groupofpeople.Thirdly,whentheteamstartstogetusedtoTeamFormationsyousimply
implementthemoverandoveragainineachIteration.Inthebeginningittakesanhour,thenhalf
anhourandfinallyitsimplyhappensonitsown.Onitsown?yes,yes,onitsown!youtakea
boardandpinupthenamesofallthegroupmembersandthisprocessoccursduringthe
Iteration.TheteamdivisionacceleratesduringthelastweekoftheIterationand,onthelastday,
thedivisionsuggestionisformed.Thisisthetimetoemphasizethatthisisjustasuggestionthat
mustalwaysbeapprovedbythemanagers.Ontheotherhand,withinnotmuchtime,thegroup
reachesthestagewherethelargemajorityofsuggestions,areacceptedastheyaresimply
alignedwiththemanageriallogic.Atthispoint,Iknowthegrouphadagainachievedamental
leaptowardsindependence.Ilovethissession,asitisnotonlyeffective,butalsoenjoyable.
Effectiveinitsabilitytosparemanymeetingsandenjoyablebecauseit'sfullofenergy.

Visibility

Iwouldliketodescribeoneofmyfavoritesubjects,whichisVisibilityCharts.Thereasonitisone
ofmyfavouritesisthatVisibilityChartshavethelargestimpactamongworkers.Theproject
suddenlycomesalive,suddenlythingsseemclearerandthereisaclearandvisibledeclared
goal.

DaddyTellMeWhy?
ButIbelieveitisimportanttobeginwithwhy?.Whatistheincentiveforcreatingand,ofcourse
maintaining,VisibilityChartsonadailybasis?
TheanswersIgetwhenIaskthisquestioninworkshopsandincoachingsessionsarediverse:
sowecanimprove,sowecanfocus,itisclearerthiswayandmore.Thesearealltruebut
whenyoupeelawaythedefensivelayers,yougettheteammembersprimalreason,which
liesinatruepain:ifweupdateandaccustomtheManagerstolookattheVisibilityCharts,they
willstopdisturbingus!.TheStatusMeetingsinfactdisappear,asthereissimplynoneedfor
themanymore.Whatbothersmeevenmoreistheteamspainduringtheoldmanagement
method(itissometimesreferredtoasMicroManagement),whichconstantlyinterfereswith
theteamstasks,insteadofgivingthemoperationalspace,boundariesandtoolsforworking
effectivelyandcreatively.SincethissubjectiswellhandledinthedefinitionoftheTeamManager
role(seeabove),Iwilldescribewhythevisibilitytoolsaresoimportantinmyopinion.
BeforeIdoso,Iwouldliketopresentyouwithtwoimportantrulesinmanagement:Parkinsons
Law(ImentioneditbrieflywhendescribingtheTargetsBank)andtheStudentLaw.

ParkinsonsLaw
ParkinsonsLawstatesthatworkexpandstofillthetimeavailableforitscompletion.Inother
words,foragiventask,apersonwillmanagetofillthetimeavailabletoachievethetask,andthe
timeavailablewillbeincorrelationwiththetaskquality.Ofcoursethecorrelationisnotlinearand
thetimeisbounded.Inlessmathematicalwording,whileeachtaskhasalowerbound(youcant
eatlunchinoneminute),thereisnoupperbound(lunchcanalsobeeateninsixhours...).
Thislawsoutcomeisthatwhenapersonimplementsatask,hewillattimesfindawayto
acceleratethepaceandattimestodeceleratethepace(yes,yes).Inordertoknowwhenhe
hastoaccelerateordecelerate,hemustbeawareofthesituationateachmoment.Without
knowing,hewillprobablycompletethetaskfrustrated,curiousandexhausted.Thisisthe
reason,forinstance,thatascoreboardisalsodirectedtowardstheplayersinabasketballgame
(why,theycouldsimplybetoldtoplaythebestpossible!andattheendofthegamebe
updatediftheyhadwonorlost).

ThePulsesLaw
Thisisalsothereasonwhyyouglanceattheclockwhilegettingreadyinthemorning.Why,
gettingreadyinthemorningisacollectionoftasksandthereforeeachofthemaffirms
ParkinsonsLaw.Thebeautyisthattogethertheyexpandorshrink,oneattheexpenseofthe
other.IcalledthistheLaw.Whilethetaskofgettingyourchildreadytakeslesstimethan
expected,thetaskofreadingthepaperorgettingupdatesfromthemorningnewsbroadcast,
maytakemuchlonger.Inotherwords,thetasksorganizethemselvesaccordingwiththeir
urgency.

TheStudentLaw
TheStudentLaw(a.k.a.theStudentSyndrome)isthelawIliketophraseaspostponethe
problemuntilitdisappears.Wesimplylovepostponingthings.Thatisournature.The
postponementreliesontheassumption(usuallyuntrueofcourse)that,ifwepostponeit,
somethingwillhappeninthefuturethatwillhelpus.Thefunnythingisthat,evenifweknowthis
won'thappen,westillpostpone.Muchlikethelawofmomentumconservationinphysicsan
objectwillcontinuetomoveifitisuninterrupted.Wewanttocontinuewithourtaskbut,unlikea
physicalobject,weconsciouslychoosetoignoretheinterruptions.Thisisthereasonwefillour
gastankatthelastminute,leaveonemeetingatthelastminutebeforeattendinganother
meeting,postponedecidingwhatlifeinsurancepolicytotake,postponedecidingwhetherto
switchbanks,etc..Thislawappliestoorganizationsandcountries,aswell.Hereareafew
examplesyoumaybefamiliarwith:Thedecisiontodesalinatewater,confirmingabudget,
globalwarming,etc.
Theselawscauseustobestressedtowardstheendofthetask(goovertheexamples,
specificallythepersonalones...).Inordertodecreasethestress,oneeffectivetoolistoallocate
timeaccordingtothesituation(leavethemeetingat15:15andnotat15:30,enteragasstation
whenthemeterreachesthelowerquarterandnotwhenthelightgoeson,etc.)Anotherreason
forusingvisibilitytoolsisthatusingthemcorrectlyandefficientlywillcausethevisibilitytoolsto
bethecompassandtargetofthegroup.Forinstance,givenabasketballscoreboard,wecan
knowifwehavereachedourrecordornot,whetherthefoulsnumberistoohighforthetargetwe
setornotetc.Inthesoftwareworldwecanspeakofquality(numberofbugs,thenumberof
customerreturns,etc.)andmore.IwillelaborateonthematterlaterwhenIexplainwhich
measuresIfoundeffectivetouse.

Whatwasoncerightforthesolution,doesnothavetoberightfornow,notonlybecausethings
havechangedbutalsobecauseIhavechangedandaminadifferentmood.Thisiswell
describedinZen:"Youcanneverstepintothesamerivertwicefornewwatersarealways
flowingonyou.Nomaneverstepsintothesamerivertwice,forit'snotthesameriverandheis
notthesameman."

HaveNoFearofPerfectionYoullNeverReachIt(SalvadorDali)
Idividethevisibilitytoolsintothreelevels.IemphasizethatthesearethevisibilitytoolsIfound
thatwork.Ifoundmanymorethatdonotwork.Iencourageeveryonetomakechanges,
combine,splitanddoanythingyoufeellikeinordertocreatethemosteffectivevisibilitytoolsfor
you,yourteamandtheorganizationyouworkfor.Justastherearenoperfectsportshoesfor
running,butthereareperfectsportshoesforaspecificrunner,thesamegoesforvisibilitytools.
Findthevisibilitytoolsperfectforyouandunderstandthatthisisonlythebeginningofanongoing
process.

VisibilityChartsatTeamLevel

TargetsBank
IhavealreadydescribedinthepreviouschapterwhataTargetsBankisandwhatitlookslike.It
isimportanttoemphasizethatatvisibilitylevel,theTargetsBankmustbeexposed,and
availabletoall,especiallytotheteam.Unlikethemilitary,wherethisisnotthecaseforsecurity
reasons,hereitisveryimportantthateveryoneknowswhatisupthepipeinordertoprepare
forthesituationtechnically,professionally,andmentally.

BurnDownChart


TheobjectiveofthisVisibilitychartistoimmediatelyreflecttheIterationprogression(and,forthe
samereason,thisgraphalsoexistsatprojectlevel).
Twoindependentgraphsaredrawnonatimeaxis,reflectingtheIteration.(Usually,everyscale
markrepresentsoneday).

TheDecliningGraph
Thefirstgraphisusuallyadeclininggraph.Thisgraphreflectsthenumberofdaysofworkleftin
ordertofinishtheIterationbacklog.Thegraphbeginswiththegeneralcapacityoftheteamon
theupperleftandissupposedtofinishatthelowerright.Sinceitisdeclining,itiscustomaryto
usethecolorred,butdontgorunningtothestoreifyoudonthavearedmarkerinthecompany.
Anycolorwilldo,aslongasitisdifferentfromthecoloroftheothergraph.

TheIncliningGraph
Thesecondgraphreflectsthenumberoftasksthathavebeencompletedanditbeginsfromthe
lowerleftandissupposedtoinclineuntilitreachesthenumberoftasksthattheteamhas
committedto.Thepowerofthegraphsisintheirsimplicity.Therearemanypossiblebehaviors
ofthesetwographsandIwouldliketofocusbrieflyonthemainthree.
Thefirsttypicalbehavioristhatthetwographsbegintoalignandcontinueinthisdirectionover
time.Whatthisalmostimmediatelyreflectsisthattheteamisstuck.Thenumberofdaysto
completethetasksremainsconstantandthenumberofcompletedtasksalsostaysconstant.

ThesecondbehaviorIhavechosentopresentisalsoextreme,butintheoppositedirection.The
teamsucceedsinovercomingthetaskentiretyinamuchshortertimethantheIterationtimeand
thereforethedeclininggraphreachesthetimeaxisbeforetheendoftheIterationwhilethe
inclininggraphreachesthenumberoftaskstheteamhascommittedtobeforeitstime.This
usuallyindicateshugebuffershavebeentakenduringplanning,whichinitselfdemonstrates
insecurityorfearoftheManagersimpatience(usually)regardingevaluationmistakes.The
beautyisthat,byusingthisgraph,theteamlearnsthatthereisaproblemand,notless
important,beginstoconfrontit.Acommonexampleisthattheteamlearnshowtodecreasethe
buffertomorereasonabledimensions.ThisisthereasonwhyIamnotafraidofbuffersoroftoo
fewcommitments.

PandoraTasks
Athirdbehavioroptionisthat,duringtheIteration,theteamunderstandsthattheycancommitto
additionaltasks.Thenthedeclininggraphchangesdirectionandinclinesinaccordancewiththe
numberoftasks.Thebluegraph,ontheotherhand,continuesincliningbecausethenumberof
tasksincreases.Anotherpossibilityisthattheteamdiscoversacollectionoftasksofatypethat
InamedPandoraTask.BythisImeant,tasks,whichonceopened,revealacompletenewworld
ofthingswehadneverdreamedof.Therefore,thegeneraltimeevaluationchangesduring
implementation.ThenamewasofcoursechosenbasedonPandorasBoxfromtheGreek
Mythology.

AntLine
InoneoftheimplementationsIparticipatedin,theteamwantedtopresentwhattheythoughtthe
IterationwouldlooklikepriortothebeginningoftheIteration.Afteradiscussion,theteam
decidedtoaddadottedlinetorepresenttheirpredictionregardingtheredgraph.Ilikedthisso
muchthatIstartedrecommendingthemethodateveryimplementationanditbecameauseful
tool.Thislinecanalsoindicatewhethertheteamanticipatesproblems(whichwillforinstance
beexpressedbyaflatlinegraphinthemiddleoftheIteration).Theteamwillnotneedtowait
untiltheyreachedthispointandtheycouldstarttospeakaboutitbeforetheyevenbegin(why
willthegraphbeflat?becausetheotherteamwillnotgiveusthedlltheypromised!)..Thename
AntLineisshortforAnticipationLine.Abouttwoyearsanddozensofimplementationslater,I
presentedthistoolagaintoanothercompanyandaskedwhytheythinkitiscalledAntLineand
theyansweredbecauseitsanAntsLinegraphofcourse!.Ilikedthisanswersomuchthat
todaywhenIpresentthistool,Iofferthetwoalternativesforabbreviation.Longlivethewisdomof
themasses!


MeetingPoint
OnefinalpointregardingtheVisibilityChart.Despitewhatitseems,thereisnoconnection
betweenthetwographs,astheunitsofthegraphsaredifferent.However,thereisan
expectationthatsomethingwillhappenwhenthegraphscrossoneanother.Ofcoursenothing
reallytakesplace.Oneteamonceproposedthatthiswillbeatriggerforateamevent(ajoint
lunchforinstance).IlikedthisideaandIpresentitasanoptionandImgladtoseethatteams
likeitalso.Bytheway,thelackofconnectionbetweenthegraphsdoesnotprevent(mainly)the
Managers,uponseeingthegraphsabouttocrosseachother,fromaskingtheteamwhenitwill
happen.Myadviceistoanswerthatitwillhappensoonanditsworththeirwhiletobepresent
becauseitwillbefun...

Andthisiswhatitlookslikeinreality:

TheMenu
Itissometimeseasiertounderstandthroughmetaphors.Thatswhathappenedtome.Oneday
Isatinarestaurantand,asIlookedatthemenu,Irealizedthatnothingonthemenuappealedto
me.IwassorryIeverenteredtherestaurant.Atmomentslikethese,ItrytothinkwhatIcould
havedonedifferently.IwishIhadreceivedthemenuaweekago,whenImadethereservation
(onlyinthepastfewyearshasitbecomestandardforrestaurantstoputtheirmenusonthe
internet)Ithoughttomyself.WhenItoldmyworkplaceaboutthis,theysaiditwasnotsucha
badideatoimplementamenuformat.withtheTaskManager.InthebeginningIdidntfully
understandbutlaterithitme.Andthatswhatwestarteddoing.Itlaterspreadlikewildfire.Atthe
beginningofeveryIteration,theteamsummarizeswiththeTaskManagerwhattheywillpresent
attheendoftheIterationandthesummarylookslikearestaurantmenu(forexample:First
Course:GUI.MainCourse:loginaftertwofailedattempts,choosingauser,updatinguserdetails
andprintingthem.Dessert:matchingsoundswitheveryerrormessage).Idontknowifitis
becauseeveryoneisfamiliarwithrestaurantsandmenus,oriftheyrelatetothismetaphor
specificallybutonethingiscertain,eachtimeIchallengeteamstouseit,therearenolonger
argumentsattheendoftheIterationoverwhattopresent.Moreover,theteamsreportitiseasier
forthemduringtheIteration,asbeforetheireyesliesthecoursetheyplannedtoservetothe
diner,theTaskManager.Icantshowanactualmenu,forsecrecyreasons,soIgiveamade
upexample,todemonstratethegeniusprincipleIbelieveitrepresents.


ChallengeBoard
Sometimessimplicityisthemosteffectivetool.Especiallyforcreativeteams.OnetoolIfound
thatmanyteamslikeissimply...ablankpage!
AteveryIteration,theteampinsupablankpageonthewallandthen,usingtheirfree
imagination,recordeverythingthatisgoingonduringtheIteration.Theresultsareamazing.
ThisisthetimetotakeapeekattheattachedChallengeBoardphoto..
Iwillnotexplainallthatisdrawnapartfromtwothingsthatpopout,asinmyopinionitissimply
amazinginitssimplicityandcreativity.Itgoeslikethis:theghostdidnotincludetheDatabase
andtheBuilddidntwork.IfthisisChinesetoyou,itsfine.Ifyoudidnotunderstandit
immediately,evenaftermyexplanation,thatisalsofine.Ithappenstoeveryone.

ItooaskforexplanationstoChallengeBoards.ThisiswhyInamedthemChallengeBoards.
Theychallengethepersontryingtoreadthem.Whatisimportantisthattheteamunderstands
them.AnotheramazingthingthathappensasaresultofcreatingaChallengeBoardand
updatingitisthattheteamdevelopsitsownlanguageandhumor,whichisextremely
important.

WastesChart
OneofthemostimportantandmostdiscussedissuesintheAgilecommunityispeoplesability
and,notlessimportant,theirwilltoimprove.Itisnoteasytowanttoimproveonaregularbasis
anditsanexhaustingjourney.
Inordertoimprove,weneedtoknowwherewearenotefficientand,todoso,weshould
understandwhattypesofwasteexists.
Withoutgoingintohistoricaldetail,wastetypescamefromLeanproductionlinesandwere
translatedtotheHitechindustry.Therearevariousinterpretationstothelistofwastetypes
andthisismine.TosimplifyitIdividedtheeightwastetypesintothreegroups:

Features
1.Excesscontentsfeaturesthecustomerdoesnotneedareproduced(areyoufamiliarwithall
thefunctionsonExcel/Numbers?).
2.Excessqualitywhentheproducerinsistsonaproductqualitylevelthattothecustomeris
irrelevant(willyouascustomersbewillingtowaitforatablepositionedinfrontofyou,whenyou
arereadytotakeit,onlybecausethecornerswereroundedbyfilinglevel8.5andnot8.6?).
3.Partialproducewhenyouproducetaskspartiallyandthen,infact,youareleftwithnothing
(Howmanyhamburgershaveyoufried?nonebutforthelasthourandahalfIhavemadesure
all200havebeenproperlyseasoned!,Howmanyemailshaveyouansweredtillnow?none,
butIopenedthemall!).

Movement
4.Unnecessaryproductmovementwhentheproductneedstobemoved(Whenareyougoing
tosendmethehandoff?)
5.Unnecessarymovementofthepersonwhentheworkersearchesforinformation,document
orperson(WhereistheTaskManager?IcantfindhimandIdontunderstandwhattodo!,
WhereistheTargetBank?IhavesometimeavailableandcantakeataskbutIcantremember
itsexactlocation!).
6.Lackofmovementwhenthereisnoabilitytowork(Thisishowweworkhere,youfirst
developandonlythencheck.IhavenotyetfinishedwritingthecodesosittightandwaittillI
finish,Idontcareifyoudonthaveanythingtodointhemeantime).

Mindset
7.Handlingbugsallbughandlingisessentiallyawaste(whatabummer,justwhenIstarted
progressing,Ineedtotakecareofabugthatarrivedfromacustomer).
8.Notcountingontheworkerscreativitylettheworkerknowthewhatandthehow(Iwant
youtocreatethisGUIscreen.Itneedstolooklikethis.Hereisthecodewritteninthe
requirementsdocument,allthatslefttodoisenterittotheGuifilestraightafterthebooting
function.Whenyoufinishallthis,callmeandwellcompiletogetherandthenseewhatmoreyou
cando).

HereisaposterIcreatedtosummarizethissubject:

Thisboardisnotupdated,butrathershouldserveasareminder,ofwhattheteamshouldpay
attentionto.

TeamsRuleBoard
OneofthethingsIdiscountedwhenIstartedworkinginHitechwasalltheexcess
psychologicalelementsofteambuilding.Istupidlythoughtvariousthoughtstomyselfwhich
wereexpressedinarrogantsentenceslikeHowisgroupbuildingrelatedtomytasks?,Ifno
onecanhelpme,whyshouldIworkinateam?,Howwilltalkingaboutproblemshelp,thereis
eitherananswerorthereisnt!andmore.Fortunatelyforme,myAgileinstructor,wasnot
satisfiedwithsimplytellingmehowimportantitis,butalsoshowedmewhathappenswhenyou
putemphasisonteamwork.Later,aftersomeyears,IcouldnotbelieveitwhenIunderstoodthat
whatIdidntunderstandatmyworkplace,iswhatIpersistoninmysportshobbies.Iamtrulya
walkingjoke...

Anyway,ifyoudontbelievethatworkingonteambuildingasanessence,isrelatedtoquality,
creativityandfasterproductivityofeveryoneintheteam,atleastgiveitachance.Oraskthe
peoplearoundyoutotellyouofcaseswhereithasworkedandgoseewhattheydidandwhat
hasbeenachievedbyworkingonteambuilding.

Luke:Whatsinthere?
Yoda:Onlywhatyoutakewithyou!
Creatingrulesfortheteamisthebeginningofteambuilding.Thinkofanyteam,forinstancea
state,thatwishestounite.Theysetthemselvesrulesandnormsandactaccordingtothem.The
rulesandnormsprotectthem,andarealsowhatindividualizesthem.Andpeoplelookfor
uniqueness.Inashortonehourmeeting,theteamcanbeginitsjourneyasateam.Simply
gatherthemandthinktogetheraboutwhatindividualizesthemasateam.Itmaybeimmediate
availabilityoftheotherteammembers,qualityorfastproduction,etc.Createalistandpinit
upsothateveryonewillseewhatyouaredeclaringandwhatindividualizesyouasateam.Andif
youthinkthereisnosuchthingbecauseeveryonedoessomethingdifferent,theopening
questionIwouldaskisAreyouateamorsimplyagroupofpeoplereportingtothesame
Manager?.
MoodAttendanceBoard
Icameintomysonskindergartenayearagoandnoticedaboardthatlookedasfollows:
Myson,asusual,tookanotewithhisnameandpinneditontheboard.WhenIaskedhimwhat
hedid,heansweredDad,thekindergartenteacherneedstoknowwhoarrivedtoday.Iarrived
happysoIputmynameabovethedrawingofthehappywoman,andwhydoeseveryoneneed
toknowifyouarrivedhappy,sadorrestless?Iasked,asIbegantoexaminetheboardmore
closely.
Becauseifsomeonearriveshappytheycanhelpsomeonewhoissad.
Andifsomeonearrivesrestless?
Thatseasy,Dad,theneveryoneknowsnottoapproachhim!

Brilliant!
Iimmediatelytranslatedtheideatoteamlevel.HereiswhatIcameupwith.
Everyteammemberupontheirarrival,putstheavatar(theirphoto)ontheboardaccordingto
howtheyfeel.

YoucanputitonaHappinessChartscaleorproduceaboardsimilartotheoneinthe
kindergarten.
Thiswaytheteamknowswhoarrived,howtheyfeel,iftheyneedhelp,whethertoleavethembe
orbeassistedbythem.
Sometimescommentsareaddedbystickingpostitsontheboardorwritingontheboardnextto
theavatar.Thecommentsareusuallyprettyfunnyandcreateateamatmospherewhich
encouragescreativityandeffectivenessevenondifficultandstressfuldays.HereareafewI
gathered:
LeavemealoneforPetessake.
Todayitsonlymeandmybugs,approachatyourownrisk.
Whoeverneedshelp,comebacktomorrow.
Helprate:1bug=1cupofcoffee.
OnlyaHaikuontheversionsituationwillmakemefeelbetter.
WillingtopaytoavoidtodaysDaily.
Willingtodevelopforothersuntil11:00.
Evenathousandbugswontruinmyexcellentmoodtoday.

Toconclude,asyoucanguess,theteamslovethis.

AndtheManagers?well,theydontalwayssupportthiswhatssureisthattheirconnectiontoit
isusuallynotastrongone.Therearesomewhoarguethatitsawasteoftimeandotherswho
loveitbecauseitgivesthemvaluableinformationregardingtheteam.Icantellyouthat,usually
theManagerseventuallyjointheteamandthenIknowthatanothergoodthinghasoccurredin
therelationshipbetweentheteamandtheManager.

Measurements
Becausemeasurementsareanimportantthing,Idesignateawholechaptertothem.Iwouldlike
toemphasizethatmeasuresshouldbepresentedontheVisibilityCharts.ThereforeIam
includingthisparagraphhere,Inmyopinionitisimportantandcriticalforsuccess,asthisisthe
scoreboardofthegameateverymomentandtheplayersneeditliketheyneedair.

MedalBoard
HereissomethinginventedbyoneoftheteamsinEuropethatIadopted.Notethatitisnot
suitableforallteamsandsurelynotforbeginnerteams.TheMedalBoardissuitableforteams
thatarebeginningtoappreciate,inanoncynicalway,themutualhelpandeffortthateachteam
membercontributes.
Howisthisdone?Theteammembersdecidewhichthingstheywouldliketofocuson.For
instance,codereview,mutualassistance,immediateavailability,creativity,etc.Andthenthey
getstarted.Themomentsomeonedecidesthatitistime(thisusuallyhappensduringtheDaily
Meeting),hesuggestssomeonesnameasanomineeforamedal.Heexplainsbrieflywhyhe
thinksthepersondeservesitandtheteamtakesavote.Ifhereceivestheteamsmajority,the
chosenteammember,receivesthetitleandhisname,aswellasthereasonhewaschosen,
iswrittenintheHallofFame.

Let'sCleanUptheMess
Sometimesyoucantseetheforestforthetrees.TranslatedtotheHitechworld,inspiteofall
theStatusMeetings,visibilitytools,measuresandmeetings,thereismisunderstanding
regardingtheprojectstatus.IremembermyselfbothasManagerandasamanagedperson,
findingmyselfconfusedandlackingunderstandingregardingthestatusofprojectsIwasworking
onorresponsiblefor.RegardlessofthenumberofStatusMeetingsorthenumberofbugs
dividedintocategoriesandurgencytypes,IstillfeltasifIwereblind(Iunderstandthereareonly
twocriticalbugsleft,No,thesectionyouaredoingiswrong,thereare44criticalbugsleft!,
Onmyreporttherearenocriticalbugsleftatall,areyousurewearetalkingaboutthesame
version?).

Helpcamefromanunexpectedsource.Atmydaughterskindergarten,therewasaboardwitha
schematicdrawingofthekindergarten.Therewasasadredcircleintheareaofthekindergarten
whereitwasmessyandagreenhappycirclewhereitwastidy.WhenIaskedthekindergarten
teachertoexplainthis,sheanswered:Whenakidfinishestidyinguptheareahewasplayingin,
hechangesthecirclefromredtogreenandthenhecanseeinwhichareasofthekindergarten
therearekidswhostillneedhelptidyingupandthenhegoestohelpthem.Brilliant!

Iadoptedthisatwork.Wedrewoutwhattheprojectshoulddo,wedistributedthedrawing
amongthedifferentteamsandIaskedthemtoupdatethecoloronadailybasis(redweneed
help,yellowweareintrouble,butcanmanage,greeneverythingisalright).Anditsimply
workedwonderfully.TheonlythingIenhancedovertheyearswastoaddtheteamsnameas
wellasthenumberofopencriticalbugs.Idiscoveredthatmanypeoplelovethis.Especiallythe
Managers,whocanataglance,understandwhatisgoingonandwheretofocus.

Herearetwoexamples.Seehoweasyitistounderstandwhattheprojectstatusis(inthefirst
example)orthestatusofaspecificcomponent,inthiscase,theloginpage(inthesecond
example).

JigsawChart
Everytargetisdivisibleintosubtargets.Ihavebeenteachingthisforafewyearsnowandforget
sometimestoimplementitmyself.RememberthemovieMajorLeagueinwhichabaseball
teamhadtowinlotsofgames?Thecoachhadapictureofanaughtygirland,foreverygame
theywon,heremovedanotherclothingarticle(untiltheyreachedabikini.Itisateenflickfrom
theeightiesafterall...).Thesameprinciplecanbeimplementedforanyproject.
TaketheWasteBoardforinstance.Letsassumethattheteamhassetitselfthetargetoffinding
eightwastetypes.Everytimeacertainwasteisidentifiedandagreeduponaswaste,theteam
willcovertherelevantwastewithapicture.

Ofcoursethismayalsobedoneviceversa.Itdoesntreallymatter.
Thisisonlyoneexampleofcourse.Thesky'sthelimitinthiscase.

ControlChart
Illbeginwithashortpersonalstory.InthemorningsIaminchargeofdistributingmykids
betweenthedifferenteducationalinstitutions.Oneday,mysonsaidDad,whydowealways
arriveinthelastfiveminutesbeforethebell?.Iansweredthatweusuallyarriveearlyandits
onlycoincidentalthatinthelasttwodaysthishappened.Heinsisted.Ialsoinsisted.AndthenI
rememberedtheControlChart.Isuggestedthatwemarkonachartatwhattimeweleaveevery
morningandseewhosright.Aftertwoweeks,Iunderstood.


Hewasright.

Bigtime.

Ithoughtitwascoincidental,sowecontinuedmeasuringforanothermonth.

Hewasrightagain.

Whenwe(I)understoodwhattheproblemwas,itwaspossibletostarttakingcareofitbutthats
astoryforanotherbook...

TheControlChartisaneffectivetoolforunderstandingtheroutinebehavior.Allthatneedstobe
doneistomarkdailywhatyouaremeasuring(departuretime,numberofbugs,happiness,etc.).
Thissimplegraphwillnotonlygiveyouanunderstandingofwhatusuallyhappensbutalsowhat
theupperandlowerboundsare,aswellas,anunderstandingofwhetherornotthereisa
problem..
.
TrustChart
OneproblemScrumdealswithpoorlyisGlobalization.Imnotreferringtoeconomy.Iam
referringtothefactthatitisquitecommonforcompaniesthesedaystohavedistributed
developmentcenters.Andso,atbest,therearedifferentteamsinallsortsofgeographicalareas
and,atworst,theteamsthemselvesaredistributedindifferentgeographicalareas.Whileon
paper,itlooksgreatandcanintheorysavealotofmoney,inpractice,thelackof
communicationandinterpersonalencounters,hasapricethatisoftenoverlooked.Thisisvisible
inallaspectsoftheproject(creativity,withstandingschedule,projectcommitment,commitment
tothegroupingeneralandspecificallytotheteam,qualityandmore).Scrumpreaches,
rightfully,forworkingfacetofaceanddoesn'tofferamethodologicalsolutiontoThisproblem.

TheLawofStupidity
IfoundithardtoexplaintoseniorManagerswhyitissodifficulttoworkinageographically
distributedteam,especiallywhenmoneysavingblindslogic.ThereforeIfoundtwocreative
waystodemonstratethedifficulty.
Thefirstwayappliestologic.IsimplypresentthemwiththeknownInformationTheoryequation:

TheIncompetenceleveloftheteam,equalstheUselessnesslevelmultipliedbythesquareof
thedistance(R)betweenthetwopeople.

ManagereusAmnesieus
Inotherwords,iftwoteammembersareinthesamecubicle,thequalityofinformationtransfer
willbealmost100%.Iftheyareinseparatecubicles,theinformationqualitywillbeworse.Ifthey
areinseparatefloors,differentbuildings,separatecities,separatecountries,itgoesfromworse
toworst..Thefartherawayyouarefromtheotherteammember,thelessyouwillunderstand
eachother.Bytheway,anyonewhohaseverplayedchinesewhispersisfamiliarwiththis.

Onahigherlevel,threeparametersexistwhichindicatethelevelofinformationtransferbetween
twoteammembers:timezones(thesubjectwehavejustcovered),languageandculture.
Imaginetwopeoplespeakingtoeachotherinalanguageotherthantheirmothertongue.Iam
sureyouarefamiliarwiththesituationinwhichsomeonestatesthatthetaskisprogressing
prettywell.Hisintentionistodescribeadequateprogressionbutthelistenermayunderstand
thatsituationisreallybadandtheprojectisfallingbehind.Theroadtohellispavedwithgood
intentions...
TheWaytoaMan'sHeartisThroughhisRibcage(StephenColbert)
Thesecondwayappliestotheheart.Ibelievethatapplyingtotheheartisastrongmeansfor
understandingandthereforefiveyearsago,IwrackedmymindonwhatexerciseIcangive
Managerstodemonstratethis.Afteraweekofnosuccess,Iwastrulymiserable.Mywife,who
noticedthatIwasupsetaskedmewhatwaswrongandIexplainedthatIwasunabletothinkofa
creativeexercisetodemonstratetoseniorManagementtheinefficiencyofteamdivision.

Ittookherhalfasecondtohandmeanamazingsolution:Areyoukidding?!youdontneedan
exercise,simplyhavethemgothroughwhattheteamsgothroughinasplitDaily.

Genius!

AndthisistheexerciseIhavebeendoingsince.AsIsometimesparticipateintheManagement
MeetingofthecompanyIconsult,whenitismyturn(incoordinationwiththeCEOofcourse)I
asktheCEOtogotohisroom.Iexplaintotheothersthattheyshoulddothesameandwewill
continuethediscussionfromtheirrooms.Aftersomelooksofdisbeliefatmyrequest,they
becomereconciled(IbelievethattheCEOsencouragementtocarryoutthetaskhelps...)and
theyeachentertheirrooms.Ithenconductaconferencecallamongthemallinalanguage
differentthantheirmothertongue.Itusuallytakesabout10minutesforthewholethingtoblow
upandtheyasktocomebacktotheconferenceroomwheretheybegantheManagement
Meeting.

Whathappened?Iaskthem.

Itsimpossibletoconductasessioninthisway!Wecanbarelyunderstandyou,youcan'tbe
heardproperlyanditsveryhardtocomprehendwhatyouresayingwithoutseeingyou.
Especiallywhenyouaredescribingwhatyouhavedrawn!Wecantgoonthisway!
Butthisiswhatyourequesttheteamstodo....

ThisisusuallythetimeIsignaltotheCEOtotakeoutthecameraandtakeaphotoofeveryone.
Whenhedoesthis,itnotonlybreakstheiceandlessenstheangerbutalso,everytimetheysee
thisphoto,itremindsthem(CEOstendtohangthisphoto...)howproblematicthisissueis.In
otherwords,themembersofManagementnowunderstandtheproblemandsetanewvisionin
thiscontext(forinstance,insteadofdividedteams,oneteamateachsite).

GetitFresh!OneKiloofTrustat100ReputationDollars
AfterIdescribedthemaintoolsIusetodemonstratethecommunicationproblemto
Managementandtoencouragethemtothinkofacreativesolutiontogether,Iusuallyoffera
practicaltool,whichhelpstheteamstooperate.

Weliveinanerainwhichtherateofchangeisincreasing.Inotherwords,notonlyhasthe
numberofchangesinatimeunitincreased,itisalsoexpedited(tothegeeksamongus,thethird
derivative).Oneofthechangesisofcourseeveryonesimmediateavailabilityandtheabilityto
reachanyoneelseandexpressthemselveswithoutmediators.
Thisabilityservesasafoundationtomanynewplatformswhichinthepastcouldnothavebeen
possible.Forinstance,anyonecanwriteablogandanyonecanfollowit.Thereisno
censorship,noeditor,noneedforajournalistcertificate,etc.Thesamegoesfortwitter,new
gamesforsmartphones,andmore.Whoevergainsmorelistenersorbuyersisconsidered
tobethewinnerinallsenses.Financiallyandculturally.

Thisabilitytocommunicateinanimmediatemannerwithpeopleyoudontknow,cantseeand
thatyoumayhavenevermetbefore,causesmanyproblems.TakeeBayforinstance.Youneed
tosendmoneytosomeoneyoudon'tknowandinreturntoreceiveaproductyouhopewillbeof
reasonablequalityjustasthesellerclaims.

IhavegivenmuchthoughttotheissueofdecentralizedteamsandIhavereachedthe
conclusionthatthewaytoenhancetrustamongthepeopleintheproject,especiallyiftheyare
distributedinanumberoflocations(evenmoresoiftheteamsthemselvesaredistributed),is
exactlyasIdescribedearlier,throughtrustbuilding.
Inawidercontext,Ibelievethat,aswestepintothefuture,eachpersonwillhaveapersonal
reputationhistorychart,whichwillbeasignificantreferenceateverycommunication,whetherit
referstopurchaseorsale,startingworkorbeginningarelationship.Inotherwords,inorderto
obtaininformationaboutaperson,theemployer\buyer\datewilllogintohischarttogetan
impressionofthepersonspersonalityandbackgroundandwhetherhewouldliketocontinue
contactwiththisperson.Wealreadydothis(ateveryjobinterview,theemployerchecksthe
candidatespastbydoinganinternetsearch.Thesamegoesfornewdatesandsurelywhenwe
wanttopurchasesomethingfromsomeone).

WhatIclaimisthateverypersonsreputationwillbeformulatedinavirtualpage,withopinions
fromdifferentpeopleindifferentcontexts.Ibelievetherewillbeagradeforeverycontext.

IntheAgilecontext,whatIsuggestthatcompaniesdoisconstructareputationpageforeach
person.Everytimeacertainteammemberwishestowriteanopiniononsomeone,whether
anonymousornot,hewillhavetheopportunitytodoso(commonexamples:Ineededhelp
understandingtheretrievalmechanismandreceivedimmediateassistance,Ireceivedhelpbut
itwasnthelpful,Hereferredmetothebooksanditdidnthelpatall,Icalledhimandhe
dedicatedtenminutesforexplanationwhichsavedmetwodayswork,etc).

Inthebeginning,itisalittledifficult,especiallyiftheprojectsteamissmall,butwiththe
Managersencouragementandpersonalexamples,youarriveatapersonalreputationchart,
whichprovidesmuchhelpnotonlyonaspecificproject,butalsoforeachofthepeopleto
understandwheretheyareatandwhethertheywishtochangesomething.And,whoisworth
approachingforhelpregardingcertainissues.

TaskBoard
TheTaskBoardistheteamsmainboard.ItiscomposedofmanySubVisibilityCharts,whichI
willsoondescribe.Itisusuallyvisibleonlytotheteam,itcontainsthegoalsandtargets,itisthe
teamscompassandguideandtheteamfindsitefficientanduseful.Whatmakesitsoamazing
andeffectiveistheabilitytoupdateiteasily,whilstallowingimmediatecreativity(trydrawinga
funnypicturenexttothenameofateammemberusinganelectronicdevice,orwritingwell
done,orwritinginlargethismustbehandledtoday...).

SpeaktotheWall
Notlessimportantthantheabilitytoupdatetheboardeasilyisitsaccessibilityandavailability.It
issimplythereonthewallandisbig.Literally.Youcantignoreit.Itsnotinsomenamelessfile
onthecomputer.Itsimply,whetheryoulikeitornot,makesinformation"explodeinyourface"
andreflectsfactsinabrutalway.Inmyopinion,combiningthesetwocharacteristicsmakesany
electronicdevicelookpaleandplain.TheonlyelectronicdevicewhichIcanimaginematching
theabilitiesoftheTaskBoard,andevenrisingaboveit,isahugetouchscreenthesizeofa
whiteboard.Thisallowstheteamcreativefreedomandtheinformationstimulusrequired.Ionce
sawsomethingsimilartothisinEurope.Hereisastartupideaforanyonewhoisan
entrepreneuratheart.Bytheway,theideahasalreadybeenpatentedbyaCanadiancompany,I
checked...

Sohowisthisboardconstructed?
InthetoppartthereisgeneralandroutineinformationregardingtheIteration.Itcontainsthe
followinginformation:

CapacityChart.DescribesthetimetheteamdesignatesfortheIteration.Youllfindadetailed
explanationaboutthischartintheVisibilityChartschapter.
Theteamname.Soundsstrangeandunimportant,butteambuildingstartswiththe
uniquenessoftheteam.Anduniquenessisprimarilyexpressedthroughthenameofthegroup
thatapersonbelongsto.InHitechcompanies,whichareusuallynormative,nottosay,grey
environments,Ihavefoundthatthefunnierandmoreuniquethenamesare,themoreeffective
theyare.SomeofthenamesthatIhavecomeacrossovertheyears:Waterfall,Cool
dudes,Wilddudes,Searchersofthecode,Softwarejudges,TheBteam,Spoiltones,
Buffersnatchers,Suckers,The90%O.K.,TheArgentinians,R&DRussian&Done,
TheAccused,andmore.Justrememberthatthenamechosenbyateamisanindicationto
othersofwhattheyaredeclaringorofwhatpaintheyareexperiencing...
Iterationdetail.SomebasicIterationinformation,suchasthetimeframework,Iteration
number,etc.
IterationGoal.ThisisinfacttheIterationcompass.Theunderstandinganddeclarationof
whattheteamhasworkedonatmindsetlevel.Inmyopinion,thisishighlyimportantasitisthe
teamsmaintoolforcreatingmentalcontextsregardingeachtaskwithintheIterationwhenthe
documenthasdoneitsjobandlogictakesover.Itcanalsobecalledconnectingthedots.
Menu.WhichmetaphoricallydescribestheteaminvitingtheTaskManagertoarestaurant.A
detailedexplanationoftheVisibilityChartcanbefoundintheVisibilityChartschapter.This
chartisanewinterpretationofaVisibilityChartcalledArtifactswhichdoesthesamething,
withoutthemetaphor(itdescribesliterallywhattheteamisgoingtopresentattheendofthe
Iteration).Inmyopinion,thischartiscritical,eitherinitsoriginalformoritsvariations.Itisyour
decision,inaccordancewiththeteamcharacter.Thetwoversionsareexcellent.

Thesecond,andmain,partofthechartisdynamicandisupdatedbytheteamonadailybasis.
Itsfoundationisthetaskanditsgeneralcharacteristics.

PostIts
AllthetaskstheteamhastakenfromtheTargetsBankarewrittenonpostits(theirgluewas
consideredafailurewheninventedasitneverreallygluedanything...).Youcandesignatea
differentcolorforeachtasktype.Acommonwayistowritethetasknameinthemiddleofthe
note,onthebottomleftwritewhotakesit(andthishappensonlyduringtheIterationwhenoneof
theteammembersdecidestocarryitout),thetopleftistheplaceforanestimateofthetimefor
completionofthetask(andasyoucanunderstand,thisisalsodynamicandchangesallthe
time,fromthemomentthetaskbegins.Forexample,ifataskhasbeenestimatedthreedays,
afteroneday,thenewestimatemaybewrittenastwodays,onedayorevenfourdays.Weare
dealingwithcreativeandnotroutinetasksandthereforewemustconstantlyreestimatehow
muchtimewehaveleftforthecompletionofthetask).Itiscustomarytoaddanidentification
numberontherighthandsideofthenote.Onthebackofthestickynote(trydoingthis
electronically...)theteamwritestheDefinitionofDone,thusthecriteriaforthecompletionof
thetask.

Columns
Mostoftherestofthechartisdividedintocolumns.Thecolumnsshouldrepresentthework
methodintheorganizationandspecificallywithintheteam.TheminimalcolumndivisionIm
familiarwithisadivisionintothreetypes:Tasksthatmustbecarriedout,Tasksweare
workingonatthemomentandCompletedtasks.ButallIwantistoencouragetheteamsto
discoverwhattheprocesstheyareworkingwithis(whichisalreadythebeginningofan
improvementprocess,becauseyouwillbesurprisedhowmanyversionsIreceivewhenIask
thesimplequestionWhatisyourworkingmethod?)andthenaskthemtoreflectitonthe
chart.

Thecolumnsusuallygofromlefttoright.Fromtasksthatneedtobecarriedouttocompleted
tasks.Bytheway,Ihaverarelyseenthechartwrittenbackwards,fromrighttoleft.The
directionisnottheissueofcourse,itisimportantthatthechartreliablyrepresentstheteam
processandatmosphere.Moreover,achartwherethetasksprogressspirallytowardsthe
centerisalsoexcellentandevenunique.

AFewCommonWaysofImprovingtheChart
1.Placethechartinapublicplace,regularlyaccessibletotheteam.Thehallwayisgreat.The
Managersroomoraconferenceroomarenotsogreat.
2.Listthetasksinaprioritizedway,fromthemostimportant(attheverytop)totheleast
important(attheverybottom).Thiswaytheteamwillknowifithasworkedaccordingtothe
prioritizationoftheIteration(wewillexpectanundulatingmovementinwhichthetasksreaching
thefinishlinewillprimarilycomefromthetop).
3.PlaceStretchingtasksonthechart,aswell,inadifferentcolor(inthephototheyaregreen),
diagonallyandoutsideofthecolumns,sothateveryoneunderstandsthatthesetasksarenot
guaranteedtobedeliveredbutthattheyknowthattheseareonesthattheteammaycarryout.
Toexpectthatthistypeoftaskwillalwaysbecarriedout,ornevercarriedout,isacommon
managerialmistake,whichironicallycausesadecreaseinproduction.Anothercommonmistake
istoassumethat,withtime,moreandmoresuchtaskswillbecarriedout.Doexpectacertain
rangeofimplementationforthistypeoftask.Sometimesmoreandsometimesnothing.To
expectthat,withtime,theteamwillcarryoutmoreandmoretasksislikeaskingasoccerteam
toscoremoreandmoregoalsfromgametogame(orfromseasontoseason).
4.PutaWIP(WorkinProgress)limitoneachcolumninordertostriveforglobalefficiency,and
inordertopreventanqueuingproblems(thisderivesfromKanban).
5.MakesurethatatleastduringtheDaily,thechartwillbeupdated.
6.ItiscustomarytoalsoshowtheBurndownonthechart.

Hereisarealexample:


VisibilityChartsatProjectLevel

ControlChart
IhavealreadyexplainedtheControlChartatteamlevel.
Itisthesameatprojectlevelandyousimplytranslateittoprojectlevel.Commonexamples
include:numberoftimestheresultswere100%,numberoftimesthecustomercomplained,
numberoftimesanalterationwasrequested,numberoftimestheIterationrequiredaltering,
numberoftimestheteamschanged,etc.

TaskBoard
Aboardiscreatedatprojectleveljustliketheboardatteamlevel.

BurnDownChart
YoutakealltheteamsBurnDowngraphsandaggregatethemintoonegraph.Sincethisisalso
aBurnDowngraph,thereisnoneedformetoelaboratehere.Iwillonlyemphasizethatitnow
represents(forbetterandforworse)theprojectconductandnottheIterationconduct(thus,
forecastforprojectcompletion,thegrouppaceandnottheteampace,etc).

ProjectForecastGraph
AnothertechniqueforunderstandinghowtheprojectisgoingisaProjectForecastGraph.
BeforeIdescribeit,Iwouldliketodescribewhattheprojectbasedtriois.Ineveryproject,there
arethreepullfactors:scope,timeandresources.Acommonandclassicmistakeistothinkthat
wecancontrolthethreeasweplease(Iwouldliketheteam(resources)tofinishtheentire
graphicsissue(scope)withinaweek(time)).Andnomatterwhattheconsiderationsare
(becausewepromisedthecustomer,becausethisisaproductionenvironment,because
mybonusisatstake,etc).Thereisalimitedlevelforwecanpressurethesystem(remember
ParkinsonsLaw?).


Sowhatdowedo?comprehend(evenifitishardtodo)thatonlytwofactorsmaybeaffixedand
thethirdfactorisderived:

Scopeandresources:Giventhegraphicsissue,howlongwillittaketheteamtofinishit?
Scopeandtime:Giventhegraphicsissue,howmanyresources(people,computersetc.)are
requiredinordertocompleteitwithinoneweek?
Resourcesandtime:Iftheteamworksonthegraphicsissuethroughouttheweek,howmuch
willtheygetdone?

Sowhatdowedo?taketheTargetsBankandputitonthetimeaxis.Findoutwhattheproject
paceisandseewhatthetimeforecastisforitscompletion.Giventhattheforecastisoverly
delayed,wehavethreeoptionsofplay:

1.Time:informthecustomerofthenewtimeforecastandcheckifthisispossible.
2.Resources:calculatehowmanyresources(notethesearenotonlypeople)areadditionally
requiredinordertoreachthenewtimeforecast.
3.Scope:giveuponthelessimportantcontentsuntilyoureachtherequiredtimeforecast.

Affixingdoesnotmeanthattheteam(thepeople),theavailableresources(computersfor
example)andtheavailabletimeshouldntbechallenged.

(Forinstance,addingworktimes,addingtimeforcertainresourcessuchasdistantcomputers)
orthinkofanychallengingandcreativesolution.Thisdoesmeanthatyoucantsimplypullthe
Managercardandannouncethatyouareaffixingthetrio.Inotherwords,thiscanbedone,but
itwontbesustainableandthepeoplesmotivationwilldrasticallydecrease,qualitymaybe
sacrificedandthis,withoutmentioningthedamagethatwillbecausedtofutureprojects.People
arebornwiththemotivationtodothings.Companiesshouldconcentrateonhownottocause
peopletobeunmotivatedandtonotconcentrateonhowtocausethemtobemotivated(yes,I
knowthesentenceislongandcomplex,butIhopeyouunderstoodwhatImean).

Brooks'Law
Iwouldliketoemphasizeanothersignificantpointregardingaddingresources.Lifeisnot
mathematics.ThisissomethingmanyoldgenerationManagers,fromtheerawhenpeoplewere
treatedlikerobots(resources),tendtoforget.
Iamspecificallyreferringtothenumberofpeopleworkingontheproject.Letmeintroduceyouto
Brooks'law.In1975(Iamsometimesembarrassedtocalltheindustryinwhichwework,
Hitech.ItmaybethemostadvancedtechnologybuttheHitechindustry,intermsof
management,isundoubtedlybehindandhasmuchtoupdate.Hereis(another!)wellknown,
provenlaw,yetunfortunatelyveryfewManagersintheHitechfieldarefamiliarwithit,or
comprehendit).FredBrookswasasoftwareengineerandseniorManageremployedbyIBM,
wholaterreceivedmanyawardsforhiswork,amongthemtheprestigiousTuringAward.Inhis
bookTheMythicalManMonth,heformulatedthefollowinglaw,namedafterhim:"adding
manpowertoalatesoftwareprojectmakesitlater.Forexample,ifwearetowardtheendofa
projectandare100workdaysshort,adding100peoplewillonlymakeitworse.Logicaland
painfullytrue.Therefore,wemustcomprehendthataddingpeopletoaproject,evenifitlooks
greatonpaper,isbadconduct.Acommonexampleofthistypeofconductisthefollowing
sentence:Iknowwearebehindontheprojectandtherefore,wewillreinforceitwith50people
foronemonthandthiswillquicklyclosethegap.Youprobablywouldntevenbeginreadingthis
bookifyouknewhowmanytimesIveheardsentenceslikethis.
Heisalsoresponsibleforthesentencemanyarefamiliarwith"Ninewomencan'tmakeababy
inonemonth".Bytheway,hewillturn81thisyear.Thisdoesnotmeanthatninenineyearold
kidscandowhathedoestoday...

TeamTargetsBank
TheTeamTargetBankisapartialgroupoftheprojectbasedTargetsbank.Allyouneedtodois
readhowtheTeamTargetsBankisconstructed,becausetheprincipleandtheimplementation
areidentical,theonlydifferencebeingthattheTeamTargetsBankconcentratesonthepresent
orimmediatefuture(Iteration)whereastheprojectbasedTargetsBankdetailsanddescribesthe
entireproject.

FredBrooks

Measures
Alltheprojectmeasuresshouldbepresented.Idedicateanentirechaptertotheprojectbased
measuresthatcompaniesusuallyuse(itisthenextchapter).

FutureStockExchange
Ireadanarticleafewyearsago,aboutpredictions,whereitwasmentionedthatPopular
Scienceasksitsreaderstovoteonallsortsoffuturepossibilities(whetherGooglewilldevelop
anoperatingsystemby2020,whethertherewillbealandingonMarsbefore2050,andmore).
WhatIlikedwasthattheyshowedagraphicpresentationofreadersvotesduringpastyears.
Unfortunately,theprojectwasshutdownafewyearsagoduetopeoplesresentment.Ithinkthat
today,whenthesocialnetworkismoremature,thisprojectwouldhavebeenverysuccessful,
butthisisofcourseonlymyopinion.LookforthetermPopularSciencePredictionsExchange
onWikipedia.Ithinkthiswasanamazingidea,aheadofitstime.Anyway,Isuddenlythoughtthat
thisideacouldbetranslatedtoourworld.Theideaisverysimple.Imaginethatatthebeginning
ofaprojecteachprojectworkerisgiven1000unitsofvirtualmoney.Withthismoneyworkers
cantradeastock.Thestockisofcoursetheprojectwillmakethedeadline,whichbegins
withacertainstartingprice.Eachworkersgoalistomaximizetheirvirtualmoney,ifforthesake
ofthegame,orfortruebeneficialgoals,andtheexchangeratioforeveryunitintorealmoneyat
theendoftheproject,isagreedupon.
Whathappensisexactlywhathappensintherealstockmarket.Themoreworkersbelievingina
stock(thusthattheprojectwillmakedeadline),thestockpricewillgoupandthemoreworkers
believingtheprojectwillnotmakedeadline,thepricewillgodown.Thestockpricebecomesan
importantindicationofthepeoplesbeliefintheprojectandthisisvaluableinformation!It
becomesalmostimpossibleforseniorManagerstofoolthemselvesintocontinuingasusual
sayingeverythingisalrightandtheprojectwillbeonschedule.
ThinkoftheissueofGamification,whichworkslikeacharminacompanyandcausespeopleto
enjoythemselvesandtospeakmoreabouttheprojectamongstthemselves.Itwassimply
amazingtoseehowasimpleapplicationconstantlyredevelopedatdifferentcompanies,
resultsinsomuchpositivefeedback.

Afterseeingthisworksowonderfully,Iexpandedtheideaandtodaytradersworkatvarious
stocks,suchastheprojectentiretytheyareworkingon,withstandingbudget,profitability,
customersatisfaction,andmore.Imaginetheappealofhavingstockspostedonanelectric
boardjustlikeinthestockmarket.Amazing,funnyandeffective.

JigsawChart
Itsuseisthesameasonteamlevel.ThereforeIwillnotdescribeitagain.Simplysetalongterm
goalfortheproject(bugs,contents,recruitingpeople,etc.)andusethischartforanindicationof
whathasbeendoneandwhatstillremainstodo.

ArchitecturalStatusBoard
OneofthecomplaintsIreceived,evenbeforeIbeganmyAgilejourney,wasButwedonothave
theabilitytobreakdowntasksintosecondarytasks.Ourcodesaresocomplexthatifwetouch
onething,wemusttouchanothertendifferentplaces!.AgoodexerciseIfoundiscreatinga
chartwhichreflectsthearchitecturaldependencyamongthedifferentcomponents.Suchchart
isnotonlyabasisfordialogueonhowprojectbasedenergyshouldbeinvested,butalsoserves
asanupdateregardingwhichcomponentsareworking(similartotheVisualChart).Italso
revealswhetheryouarecreatingaspaghetticodeornot(andofcourseifyouare,whatshould
bedoneandwhereyoushouldbegin).

Measures
Asmentioned,oneofPeterDruckerssayingswasIfyoucantmeasureit,youcantmanageit.
Iamatruebelieverinthis.But,anditsabigbut,sincewearedealingwithpeople,anyonecan
bedeceivedbymeasures.

Firstwemustrememberthat,similartoQuantumPhysics,youcannotexcludetheobserver
fromtheexperiment.Inotherwords,themeasurementitself,aswellasdeterminingthe
measure,changestherulesofthegame.

ParkinsonsLawforMeasures
AddthistowhatIcallParkinsonsLawforMeasures,whichIphraseasfollowsgivena
measure,apersonwillfulfillit,spiceitwiththepressuregeneratedfromManagement,and
incapabilitytofulfillallthemeasuresandyouwillreceiveafrustratedmoodyworkerfocusingon
thelocalmaximum(Ah,Imbeingmeasuredbyworkhours?soIllstaymorehoursanddothe
samething,Imbeingmeasuredbytaskquantity?Illdoalotatlowquality,Themeasure
determinedisqualityandthereforeIlltakeonetaskonlythistimeinsteadofeight,etc).
True,itdoesntalwayshavetooccurthisway,butinmyexperience,thelargerthecompany,the
morelikelyitistohearsuchwords.Thereisastrongcorrelationbetweencompanysizeandthe
atmosphereIdescribed.AndifweareremindedofwhatDemingwroteabouthumantraits
(eventhemosthonorableman,willbecomedishonorableovertimegiventherightenvironment
tosupporthim),wewillunderstandwhythiscanhappen.Therefore,whenIlookformeasures
today,Iattempttosticktotwosimplekeyrules:

1.Measuresthatdonotrequirehumanintervention.
2.Measuresthatcanbemeasuredeasilyandquickly.

Ofcourseitisnotalwayspossibletofindmeasureswiththesecharacteristics,butthisiswhatI
aspireformeasurestobe,inordertominimizethechanceoffallingforParkinsonsLawfor
Measures.

Afterplayingaroundwithvariousmeasures,Ireachedawaywhichseemspromisingandithas
givenprettygoodresultsthepastyears.

CreatingtheMeasures
Thefirststageiscreatingtherelevantmeasures.Itisimplementedasfollows:
1.OrganizationalmeasuresManagementmustcreatesomesortofframeworkformeasures
andreflectthem.ThisisanorganizationalcallfordirectionderivedfromtheManagements
vision.IfManagementdoesnothaveavision,theproblembecomesmorecomplex,notonlyin
themeasurementaspect.Thisismuchlikeatakingacarridewithoutknowingthedestination.
Youcanmeasuremanythings,effectivelyeven(forinstance,averagegasconsumption,quality
oftheride,etc.)butyouwillmissthemainissue.

2.Projectbasedmeasuresafterreceivingtheorganizationalmeasures,itiseachProject
Manager'sresponsibilitytoderivetheprojectbasedmeasures.Beitapartialgroupora
supportinggroup,itdoesntmatter,whatisimportantinmyopinionistodetermineagroupof
measureswhichservetheorganizationalmeasuresgroup.
3.IterativemeasuresgivenatthebeginningofanIteration(orifwearenotworkingin
Iterationsthenacertaintimeperiod),theTaskManagerchoosesasmallsetofmeasuresforthe
Iteration.ThissetreflectstheProjectManagersperspectiveregardingwhattheprojectshould
focusonatagivenpointoftime.ChangingmeasuresineachIterationwasamentalleapforme,
because,foryears,Ihadbeeneducatedonconstantmeasuresthroughouttheentireproject.
WhenIunderstoodthatiterativeplanningalsogoesformeasures,Ionceagainsawthebeauty
ofAgileconductandonceagainwasappalledbymyarroganceexpressedasmyknowledgeof
whatthemeasuresoftheprojectshouldbethroughoutit.Measuresshouldbereplacednotonly
becauseweunderstandthatwewanttomeasuredifferentthingsthroughouttheproject,butalso
becausethemeasuresthemselvessetthetoneandreflecttopeoplewheretoputtheir
emphasis.Imagineabasketballteamnotmeasuringandrecordinghowmanypointseachplayer
scoredorhowmanyteamfoulshavebeenmadeatanygivenmoment...
4.Teammeasuresinadditiontoiterativemeasures,eachteamaddsmoremeasuresthatit
believesitshouldfocuson.Thesemeasuresshouldofcoursebesynchronizedwith,and
supporteachmeasuresgroupthatIdescribedabove.Teammeasuresareuniquetotheteam
andtheyareimportantastheyencouragetheteamtoplaceemphasisonpointsofweakness
andstrengthbroughtupinteamdiscussions.Mutualassistance,availability,bugrecording,and
more,areexamplesofthistypeofmeasuresgroup.

Nowcomesthetrick...

ContradictingMeasures
TheteamsmeasuresgroupfortheIteration(yes,yes,ateveryIterationwemustexamine
whetherthemeasuresgroupisrelevantandwhetheritshouldbechanged,andeachteamhasa
differentgroup)mustcontaincontradictingmeasures.Thus,foreachmeasure,theremustbeat
leastonemeasurecontradictingit.
Forinstance,ifthereisataskquantitymeasure,acontradictingmeasurecouldbeasmall
quantityofworkhours.

RandomChoice
Andnowforanothertrick,wesetoutatthebeginningoftheIterationfromtheteamsmeasures
groupforacertainIterationandatitsendweraffle(yes,yes)asubgroupfromthemeasures
group.Thismaysoundcomplicated,butittrulyisnt.Illdescribethisconciselyinanotherway.
ForeveryIteration,theProjectManagerchoosesasetofmeasuresforeachteam.Additional
measurestheteamdecidesuponareaddedtothisset.Wemustmakesurethateverymeasure
chosen,hasacontradictingmeasure.WebegintheIterationandatitsend,rafflewhichwillbe
thedeterminingmeasures.

Thisresultsinfocusedconductonprojectneeds(andeffectivenessatteamlevel)atanygiven
moment,allowstheabilitytoeasilychangethemeasuresineveryIteration,aswellas,suiting
themeasurestotheteam,andallthisinaccordancewiththeprojectneeds.Iwontdenythe
thingIlikemostisthatthisconductgivesadropshottoParkinsonsLawforMeasuresas,up
tothelastminute,nooneknowswhichmeasuresgroupwillactuallybechosen.

Sofar,regardingthewayinwhichIrecommendhandlingtheissuenowadays.Thereisnodoubt
thatthissubjectisstillinanearlyprocess,atleastforme.Ittookmeafewyearstoreachaway
which,inmyopinion,isreasonableandgivesprettygoodresults(incomparisonwithwhatIwas
familiarwithbeforeAgile).ItisfarfromperfectandIamstillsearchingforsomethingthatwillbe
betterthanreasonable.

Hereisalistofmeasuresthatcompaniesuse,whichmaygiveyoucontentrelatedideastohelp
youifyoufeelyoudontknowwheretobegin.Iwillagainemphasizethat,inmyopinion,setting
measureswithoutavisionwillmisstheissueentirely.Inanycase,Ihavedividedthemeasures
intosoftandhardmeasures,buttheymayalsobedivideddifferently(forinstance,teamand
projectbased).

SoftMeasures
Peoplessatisfactionlevel
Difficultyexperienceworkingonthetask
Happinessscore
Feelingchart
Pressurechart
Basketballscore(howmanypointstheteamscoredwhenacertainplayerplayed)
Externalinterruptionquantity
Managerinterruptionquantity
Maintainingthesecurespaceoftheteam.PullingtheManagercardquantity
Team\interteamcooperation
Surprisequantitypertimeunit
Taskcomplexity
Production
(Effective)Emailquantity
Organizationalreputation
Commitmenttotheproject
Involvementintheproject
Improvement(self\team\projectbased\social)
Effectivequantityofsimultaneoustasks
Withstandinggoals
Workingconduct
Effectivemeetingquantity
Teamavailability
Quality
Creativity
Understandingandcommitmenttotheorganization\project\teamvision

HardMeasures
Bugquantity
TimetoMarket
Contents
Criticalbugquantity
Missedbugsquantity
Changefrequency
Q&Atimedividedbythetotaltime
Increasingmarketsegment
Projectcost
Meetingquantity
Environmentchangequantity
Versionpreparationtime
Workhours(foremphasis,thelessyouworkthebiggerthesuccess)
Activesimultaneousprojectquantity
Numberofteamsaworkerbelongsto
Withstandingschedule

Inmyopinion,thesoftmeasuresaremoreimportant.Successinachievingthehardmeasures
dependsonsucceedinginthesoftones.Afinalpointtoemphasise:ameasureshouldbe
treatedasanindicationofsomethingandnotassomethingcertain.Ifthereare20criticalbugsin
aversion,itdoesnotmeanthattheversionqualityispoor,butthatyouhavefound20scenarios
inwhichtheproduct,accordingtothewayyouunderstooditshouldwork,isflawed.Itdoesnot
meanthatthecustomerswillnotbesatisfied.Soundsstrange?Hereisapartiallistofpoor
qualityproducts,withcriticalbugs:

Viagradidnotreallydecreasebloodpressure,ashopedforatfirst.
Inthefirstiphone,thecamerawaslowqualityandthesoftwareoftencrashed.
Theglueon3Mstickerswasfarfromgluinganythingeffectively.Theyswitchedtostickynotes
andthePostitwasborn.
In1904,inSaintLouis,anicecreamboothdidnotestimatecorrectlythenumberofcustomers
andtheicecreamcupsranout.Leftwithnootherchoice,theyrolledupawaffleandputtheice
creamscoopinit,whilstapologizingtothecustomers.Andsotheicecreamconewasborn.
In1942,Dr.HarryCoovercursedthesubstancehediscoveredforpistolsightsasitstuckto
everythingandcouldnotbehandled.Sixyearslater,afterswitchingworkplacesheremembered
thesubstanceand,sincethen,wehaveSuperglue.

Toconclude,myadviceis,dontloseconfidenceandkilladisgracefulprojectorpostponethe
versionrelease.Usethemeasures.tohelpyouunderstandthetruesituation.Moreimportantly,
interactwiththecustomer,whomaysensethatmaybewhatyouhaveisanideaforafuture
leadingproject.Everysuccessisanendtoaseriesoffailures.MyMartialArtstrainerdescribed
itasAllbeginningsaredifficult,butthejourneyisfarmoreexhaustingandtheendseems,at
times,impossible.Itwouldbeashameifyoudstoptryingandletyourcompetitordiscoverthe
nextamazingproduct...


TheSensei\Champion\Guru

CreatingtheGuruandhisRoles
ThetrendofadoptingAgilecontinueswithinorganizationsandIamincreasinglyfindingno
resistancetoit.Moreover,companiesareestablishinganewrolewhoseessenceistoensure
thatAgilewillbelearntandthatitwillstick.Therearemanynamesforthisrole(theAgileGuru,
theSensei,theChampion,CertifiedAgileMasterandmore).
Theincentiveforcreatingthisroleisthepain,thattheimplementationofAgileoftendoesnotlast
overtimeortheimplementationdoesnotstick.Inotherwords,thecompanyisunableto
maintaintheprocessandispulledbackintoitscomfortzone.Whatdoesthisresemble?
Someonewhowantstogoonadiet.Ittakestimetofindtherightgymandtrainer.Eventhen,it
isstillnecessarytofindwhatissuitableforthatpersonandwhatarehisbuttonsofmotivation.
Onlythen,doesthedietbegintobeeffectiveandresultsbecomevisible.Butthemomentthe
trainerdisappears,insomecasesittakesthepersonafewmonthstimetogetbackontrack.
ThisishowtheChampionrolewasformed.Hisroleistoguideandtraintheorganization
regularlyonAgiletechniques,toolsandatmosphere.TheAgileCompanyTrainer,ifyouwill.

TheGurusMainRole
Butinmyopinion,themaintaskofthisroleistopassresponsibilitytotheManagers.Inother
words,hisroleistomakehimselfunnecessary.Dontgetmewrong,therewillalwaysbework
forhim,butthecontentoftherolewillincreasinglybepassedontotheManagers,andhewill
focusonnewteamsoronnewissues.Inthebeginning,thisrolemaybefilledbyoneofthe
Managersintheorganizationwhowillsetgoalsandwillhavethemandateoftrainingtheother
Managerstoperformthesamefunction.Eventually,theyallcanbedefinedasgurusornot
really,asthiswillbecomeapartoftheManagersrole.

YouWillAlwaysBeWithUsinSpirit
Tosummarize,IbelieveanorganizationthatbeginsworkinginAgile,needstohavesomeone
designatedtotakeontheroleofaGuru.AstheorganizationcontinuestoimplementAgile,I
wouldexpecttheroletobedividedamongtheManagersandtoultimatelyevaporate(eventually,
apersoncanmaintainaconstantdietonhisownandhebecomeshisowntrainer).Ofcourse
(asgoesfordiets),givenathatmentalstatemaynotbepersistent,thisrolemayneedtobe
revived,foracertainperiodoftime.

OrganizationalVisibilityCharts

SocialNetworkingChart
Itmaysoundstrangebut,eventoday,Managersoftendonotknowtheirpeople.Thismeans,
theydonotknowthestorybehindtheperson.Dontgetmewrong,theyarequitefamiliarwithhis
qualitiesasadeveloper(coder,tester,DBA,etc.),butwhenishemosteffective,inthemorning
orevening?whatdoesheenjoydoinginhissparetime?whatisheunwillingtodo,nomatter
what?whatmotivateshim?whatrepresseshim?whatishisangerbutton?andtherearemore
interestingquestionsaboutthepersonbehindthedeveloper.
TherearemanyreasonsforaManager,oracoworkertowanttoknowthis"softinformation".
Firstly,heisapersonwithwhomheworksanditisonlynaturalandintriguingtoknowtheothers
story.Secondly,knowingwhathismotivationbuttonsare,aswellashisrepressionbuttons,is
acrucialconditionfornotbeingfrustratedbythepersonsmisunderstoodbehavior.Therefore,
muchliketheSkillsMatrix,whicheveryrespectedorganizationcreates,unrelatedtoAgile,I
encourageyoutocreateandmaintainaSocialNetworkingChart.Theinformationyoutakefrom
thisgraphwillallowyoutodealwiththefutureinabetterway,bothforteambuildingandfor
understandingwhenamanagerialdecisionshouldbemade.

BattlefieldMap
AnotherversionoftheSocialNetworkingChartistheBattlefieldMap.Youtakeagroup(a
ollectionofteams)whoaretransformingtoAgileandcreateaBattlefieldMap:

(Justlikeamilitarymap,greenforourforcesredforenemyforces,etc.).Youupdatethemap
ateveryIterationonthebasisofinformationyoureceivefromintelligenceforces.Thenyoucan
discoverwhetheranairraidora"fieldinvasionisnecessary.ShouldwesendanEliteforce
orisanInfantrySquadsufficient.Ileaveittoyoutotranslatethemetaphors...
Itisalwaysachallengetoseeyourownbattle,butnoteveryoneissuccessfulindoingso.

TaskBoard
SimilartotheprojectbasedandteamTaskBoards,Ialsorecommendcreatingavisibilitychart
wherethecontentisnotrelatedtoaspecificcontentrelatedprojectbutrathertoaprojectcalled
TheAgileImplementation.
AnotheroptionistousetheManagementChart,wherethecontentbecomestheimplementation
process.

YYYHebrew!YYY


Frommyexperience,theimportantthingistochoosethechartwhichfeelsrightforyou.Anditis
mostimportantnottofallforthemistakeofmaintainingthetwochartsasthiswillcause
confusion,whichusuallyresultsinnomotivationtoupdatethechartsandamisunderstanding
regardingtheimplementationstatus.

Whenyouhaveonewatch,youknowwhatthetimeis,whenyouhavetwowatches,youare
neversureLeeSiegel.

Meetings

ManagersForum
OneofthemostimportantmeetingsistheManagersForum.InthebeginningIformedtwo
differentforums,oneforScrumMastersandoneforManagers,butovertime,theseforums
united.
Theobjectiveofthissessionistotalkabouttheimplementation.Thisis,infact,thesession
leadingtheimplementation.Inthismeeting,youupdateandgetupdated,ensurethatthevisibility
chartsareupdatedandreflectreality,examinethedifferentmeasuresdefinedanddefinewhatis
goingtohappenuntilthenextmeeting.
ThissessionconstitutesanexcellentplatformforcreatingdialoguebetweenManagersandfor
teamsharingregardingsuccesses,failuresandimplementationchallenges.

TaskManagerForum
ThisforumisidenticaltotheManagersForum,withoneexception,themeetingcontent.Herewe
discusstheprojectentirety,moresuccessful(brightspots)andlesssuccessfulprojects,
connectionsbetweenprojects,iftheyexist,prioritizationtechniquesaswellasacquiredskills
regardingreceivingrequestsfromanentiretyoffactors.Management,whichisthemain
customer,mustapproveit.(HenryFordbestdefineditinonesentenceIfIhadaskedmy
customerswhattheywantedtheywouldhavesaidafasterhorse),thetechniqueofworking
withteamsandManagers,choosingwhichprojectsareattopfocusatthemomentandmore.

ForumTipsandTipsforEffectiveMeetingsinGeneral
Afterattendingmanymeetings,bothasaparticipantandasaninitiator,bothasacompany
workerandasaconsultant,Icanclearlysaythatmeetingsareoneofthethingspeoplemost
despise.Inmostcases,thereasonisawasteoftime.
Iamnotgoingtodescribetheentiretyofsolutionsforrunningeffectiveandenjoyable
meetings(andtherearemany)butratherasmallclusterofsolutionsthatwererevolutionaryfor
me.

SpecificTechniquesforManagingAgileForums
Aproposedtechniqueforforumswhichsuccessfullyworksinmanyplacesisbasedondividing
eachsessionintofourparts:
1.Alightchattowarmupthemindset
2.ReviewingtheActionItemsfromlasttime
3.Decidingupononeortwoissuesfordiscussionandthendiscussingthem
4.CreatingActionItemsforthenextmeeting

Conflicts,Conflicts,Conflicts
Ihavementionedthisearlierinasimilarcontext.InPatrickLencionisexcellentbookDeathby
Meeting,hearguesthatanecessaryconditionforaneffectivemeetingiscreatingconflict.I
completelyagreewithhim.Intheabsenceofconflict,themeetingwillbecomeacollectionof
noddersandbitter,frustratedpeoplewhoareafraid,ornotallowed,toexpresstheiropinion.
Creatingconflictisarecipeforaninterestingmeeting.Everysalespersonisfamiliarwiththe
sentencenoconflict,nosale.Thisisalsotrueformeetings.Weneedthispressure.Weare
lookingforabattle,evenifonlyamentalbattle.Ifeveryonesaysyes,nooneisreallylistening.
TheMeetingManagersroleaswellastheManagerhimselfandtherestofthepeople
participatinginthemeeting,istolookfortheconflictanddealwithit,orgivenacontroversy,to
representthedifferentsidesandreachadecision.Incasetheteamisunabletoreacha
decisionintheperiodoftimeallocated,theManageristheonetodecide.AsIpreviously
mentionedinthechapterontheManager,theManagershouldaspiretoneverneedtomakea
decision.

DeBonosHats
In1985,EdwarddeBonopublishedhisbookSixThinkingHats.Thebookdealswithteam
decisionmaking.Inhismethod,theteamconductsroleplaybywearingimaginarycoloredhats
(asmentioned,therearesixhats).
Thesearethehats:
Whitehat:thishatrepresentsfacts,firminformation,harddata,objectivity,etc.
Redhat:thishatrepresentsfeelings,intuition,sixthsense,bitterness,disagreement,sympathy,
hate,apathy,etc.
Blackhat:thishatrepresentsopposition,devilsadvocate,negativecritique,focusondismissal
ofthingsandtheirexpansion,etc.
Yellowhat:theoppositeoftheblackhat(yesIknow,ifitwereme,theyellowandwhitehats
wouldswitchcolorofcourse...).Thishatrepresentsanoptimisticandpositiveapproach,looking
fortheadvantagesintheexistingsituation,lookingforopportunities,etc.
Greenhat:ahatrepresentingcreativity,findingsolutionsoutsidethebox,creatingnew
boxes,etc.
Bluehat:thehatofallhats,thishatrepresentsthinkingaboutthethinkingprocessitself.Thisis
usuallythepersonmanagingthediscussion,whoensuresthatthediscussionisheldproperly,
whilstreasonablyhearingalltheparticipantsandleadingthediscussiontoeffectiveplaces,
askingSocratic(open)questions,enforcingdisciplineddiscussion,etc.

Thehatgamecanbeplayedinnumerousways.HereareafewIcameupwithandfoundtobe
successful:
1.Fixedcolordecidearbitrarily,orbychoice,whichhatcoloreachparticipanttakesand
conductadiscussion.
2.ChangingcoloreachparticipantstartswiththeirowncolorandontheTaskManagerscue
(foremphasis,ImeantheFacilitatorandnottheManagerwhomightbepresentinthemeeting),
thecolorschange(eitherrandomlyorbypassingthehattoanotherparticipant,etc).
3.Uniformcolordecidearbitrarily,orbychoice,onauniformhatcolorforeveryoneand
conductadiscussion(imagineameetingwherethemajorityisinfavorbutthebluehatdecides
noweveryoneiswearingablackhat,letsbeginagain!whataneffective,funnyandamazing
meetingitcouldbe!).
4.Changinguniformcoloreveryonebeginswiththesamehatcolorandatthebluehatscue
(theMeetingFacilitator),everyonechangestheirhattoadifferentcolor.

Itissimplyunbelievablewhatthismethodhasdoneforteamswhoselevelofcivilizeddiscussion
andconductqualitywerebad.Iwarmlyrecommendusingthehatmethod!

DankosDucks
Aneffectiveandfunnymethodthatsometeamsuseforconductingacivilizeddiscussionisthe
DuckMethod.
Oncewhenmydaughterwasayearandahalfold,shebegansqueakingoneofherrubber
ducks(thoseyellowoneswhichwerelaterdiscoveredtocausecancerwithtimeandexposure
towater.Yes,nowisthetimetothrowthemoutifyouhaventdonesoyet).Itwassohorrendous
initsintensitythatItoldhertostopbecauseIcantspeaktoherlikethis(originallyquitit!I
canthearmyself).Afewhourslater,thepennydropped,thisissomethingthatIneedtobring
towork.
ThenextdayIbought20ducks,broughtthemtoworkandsetthefollowingtworules:

1.Everyoneholdsoneoftheseducksatthebeginningofthemeeting,ifsomeoneisinterrupted,
hesqueakstheduckoncetomakeaquacksound.
2.Ifsomeonehearsaquack(evenifhecreatedthequackhimself),hemustsqueakanother
threequacks.

Thatsall.

Withintwodays,webeganconductingmeetingsmuchmoreeffectively.

Wesimplystoppedinvestingenergyinfightingoverpermissiontospeakandshiftedthisenergy
toactivelisteningandcreativity.

Atfirst,themeetingsbeganwithloudducksoundsbutsoonenough,peopleunderstoodthat
theyhavenochoicebuttowaitforpermissiontospeak,becauseotherwisethediscussion
wouldbestopped.

Bytheway,toallthosewhoarelookingattheserulesandsayingtothemselveshey,thisisa
neverendingloop,Isuggeststeppingoutofthemathematicalmindset.True,ifwewere
machines,thatswhatwouldhavehappened,butbecausewearehumans,itwilleventuallystop.
Promise.
Andinthesamecontext,Illconcludewithanolddeveloperjokeanditsnewinterpretation.
Adeveloperisfounddeadintheshowerwithashampoobottleinhishand.Aftertheautopsy,the
causeofdeathwasdetermined.Hefollowedtheinstructionsonthebottle:
1.Lather.
2.Repeattheprocess.
Thisoldjokeisbecominglessfunnyovertime,butayearagoIheardthesamejokeinanew
interpretation.Ittrulymademelaugh(ittookme5secondstogetit...):

Adeveloperswifesendsherhusbandtothestorewithinstructions:
Buy2litresofmilkandifthereareeggsbuy12!.
Aftertwentyminutes,hecamebackwith12litresofmilk...
Strangearethedevelopersways.Iknow,Imoneofthem.

Contexts
Oneofthemainproblemswithmeetingsisafrequentcontextswitch.Imagineputtingallthatyou
aregoingtoeatinafoodprocessorandeatingtheresultthroughouttheday.Thisis
inconceivableandyet,thisishowweoftenconductmeetings.Weassembleandtalkaboutthe
issuesthattheparticipantspresent.Whatsmissingisacontext.Whenpeopleassemble,there
isareasonforit.Ifitssomethingstrategic,dontbringinimmediateissues,eveniftheyare
urgent.Andviceversa,ifyouassembledforanurgentissue,dontconfuseitwithstrategic
issues.Theresaheavycosttofrequentcontextswitching,apparentnotonlyinthe
implementationofthetask,butalsointhemeetingsthemselves.

ABriefSummary
ThefoundationisScrum,withsomemodificationswhichIfoundtohaveworkedinthemajority
ofcases.
ThechangesweretakenfromfamiliarplaceslikeKanbanandLean,aswellas,fromplaces
thatseemunrelated,liketheMilitary,MartialArts,sports,parentingand,ofcourse,field
experienceinover150implementations.
Youshouldfocusonthreemainthings:thepeople,thetaskandtheatmosphere.
Iwouldavoidusingthewordsprintitsalousynameforagreatinvention.Thisnameimplies
pressurewhereasthemeaningistheoppositecreatingasustainablepace.
TheScrumMasterwasalwaysthemeansforintroducingmodernmanagerialthinking,
thereforetheScrumMasterbecomestheroleormoodoftheManager\teamleaderandtherole
itselfiscanceled.
TheManageristhecoachandleaderoftheteamandmanagestheteamaccordingtothenew
format.Thismeans...
Thereisateamleader.Thesuccessoftheteamleaderliesintheteamslevelofeffectiveness
andautonomyandinnotneedingtheleaderfordaytodaydecisionmaking.
TheManager\leaderisapartoftheteam.
NotBacklogbutTargetsBank,whichisBacklogwithgoaltypes,thosewhichyoumustdo,
thosewhichyoushoulddoandthosethatyoudliketogetdone.
TheP.O.roleisdividedintotwo,theTaskManagerandtheP.O.asdefinedbyScrum.
Retrospectivedoesnthavetobeheldeverytime,toallowthemindtorestsometimes.
Nonconstantvisibility.Inordertocreatenaturalhumanpressure.
Betweenprojectsor,afterareasonableperiodoftime,aweeksvacationshouldbetakenfor
regainingmentalstrengths.
Allthemeetingsandvisibilitytoolsarenonobligatory,aslongasyousucceedinproducing
PSP(PotentiallyShippableProduct).

Thisisallfornow,Icouldcontinueandaddcontent,butIdecidedthatImuststopsomewhere.
Iwishtothankyouagainforreadingthebook.Iencourageyoutosendmefeedback.Illbe
gratefultoreceiveit.Really.
BeforeIfinallyconclude,Iwouldliketogiveyouatruesummaryofthebook.Ifyouwishto
achievesomething,relatedorunrelatedtoprojectbasedconduct,adopttwofriends:discipline
andpersistence.Thesetwofriendswillprovidemuchchallengeforyoualongtheway,tothe
extentthatitwillbehardforyoutomaintainthemasfriends,butlearntolovethembecausethey
willteachyoualotaboutyourselvesandassistyouinreachinganyplaceyoudesire,physically
andmentally.
AndIwillnowconcludewiththemostimportanttipofthisbook.

EverythingWrittenInThisBook
IsQuestionable

AppendixAAgileGlossary
Inorderforustounderstandoneanother,wemustatleastagreeonthemeaningofthewords.
HereistheglossarythatIdistributeinworkshopsandimplementations.Theglossary
summarizestheAgileconceptsthatIamfamiliarwith.Italsoconstitutesakindofindicationof
howfluentyouareonthematerialbut,mostimportantly,itconstitutesafoundationfor
discussion.

Shortdescription/
English Abbribiation Description

Asetofdevelopmentmethodologiescharacterizedby
beingiterative,adaptivetochangesandlearning,
valuedriven,lowceremonyandencouraging
Agile Amanagementframework empoweredteams
Agilesparks AterminSpanish TheparkinglotofAchilles
Thedocumentthatyouarereadingthatcoverssome
AgileDictionary Adocument oftheAgiletermsbutinafunnyway
Amanifestthatdefinesthe8valuesand12principles
AgileManifesto ThefirstmanifestofAgile ofAgile(www.Agilemanifesto.org)
Ajimeh! Ajapaneseterm Start!
AMP AutonomyMasteryPurpose Thenewraisingmotivationtool
Themainandalmostonlytoolforguaranteeingthata
Beer Mainmanagementtool projectwillsucceed
Achartusedtoshowtheprogressivereductionin
BDC BurnDownChart featuresorestimatedworkremainingontheproject
addingmanpowertoalatesoftwareprojectmakesit
BrooksLaw AManagementlaw later
Thewishlistofthings Prioritizedlistofitemsdescribingwhatonewould
Backlog someonewantstodo idealydoifhehadnoresourceconstraints.
Carrot&Stick OldManagementtool Theoldraisingmotivationtool
 Achartthatdescribesthecapacityofeachteam
Capacitychart AnAgilevisualchart memberinasprint
CardConversation
CCC Confirmation Indicatorsforagooduserstory
Aperformancemeasurementtypicallyusedin
Ameasurementforthetime Kanbantoimproveflow.Itistheaveragetimefrom
CycleTime tocompleteanissue touchinganissueuntilitiscompleted.
Aprojectreportingareagraphthatshowsworktodo,
workinprogressanddone.BurngraphsandCFDs
canreplaceGanttchartstotrackprogress.Also
knowninPhysicsasComputationalFlowed
CFD CumulativeFlowDiagram dynamic
Conversation NewDevice SeeLaptop
CoS ClassofService Atypeofgroupofuserstories
Ashort(15minutesorless)dailymeetingduring
whichteammembersreportonwhattheyhave
accomplishedsincethelastmeeting,whattheyplan
toaccomplishtodayandreportanyimpedimentsor
Daily CeremonyinScrum blockerstomakingprogress
AterminAgilethatrepresentstheabilitytoknow
DoD DefinitionOfDone whentheuserstoryisfinished
Elephant Atypeoffoodservedfor Awayofsplittingfeaturesintoaveryshorttime
carpaccio HepEpeople (hours)
Epic ArtifactofScrum GroupofTheme
Absenceoftrust,Fearofconflicts,Lackof
Fivedysfunctions commitment,avoidanceofaccountability,inattention
ofateam Thereasonforteamstofail toresults
FourMaturity
levelsofateam Fourlevelsofateam Forming,Storming,Norming,Performing
Four Noplanning,NoDocuments,Nomanagers,Alotof
misconceptions FourAgilemistakes pressure
Fourphasesofa
change Fourphases Status,Pain,Vision,Price
Theanimalthatifyouhititgraduallyitwilldiebutif
youputitinhightemperature,itwilljumpoutsideof
Frog AnAnimal thepot.
Riskassessmentmeetingbasedontheassumption
thattalkingaboutthepastiseasierthantalking
Futurespective CeremonyinScrum aboutthefuture.
Thebehaviorinwhichthefeatureissplitinsuchway
Gerber thatwhenitishandedtotheteam,theteamhas
Syndrome Overdigestionofafeature nothingtodo
Theactoftakingthefeaturesanddefineeachand
everyoneoftheminabetterway(DoD,Valuetothe
Grooming Makingthebacklogbetter customer)
 Theperiodoftimeattheendoftheprojectdedicated
forstabilizedtheproject.ExistsatScrumlevel0and
Hardening Aperiodoftime 1.
AnassumptiontakenbyeithertheteamorthePO
Hidden Awrongassumption butisnotexplicitlyspoken,andofcourseisnot
assumption regardingarequirement necessarilyright
Anicknameforateammemberthatisnotengaged
Horse Ananimal totheactivityofthewholeteam.
AsophisticatedwordforthesimplewordObstacle.
Impediment Obstacle SeeObstacle
Increment See"PSP" See"PSP"
IndependableNegotiableVal
uableEstimatableSizableT
INVEST estable Characteristicofauserstory
InfiniteLoop Atypeofaloop SeeInfiniteLoop
See"Sprint`onlywithout
Iteration running See"Sprint"
Thetimebetweenoneprojecttoanotherwherethere
arenosprintsandtheteam(s)cantakea"rest"from
thedaytodayscrumandfocusonwhateverthey
Jogging Inbetweenprojectsera wantinordertogainstrengthtotheincomingproject.
Kaizen AJapaneseterm ContinuousImprovement
AsubsetofScrumwheretherearenosprints.
Naaaa,justkidding.anotherAgileframeworkthathas
theevolutionmindsetasopposedtoScrumhasthe
Kanban Managementframework revolutionmindset.
Awaytocommunicateattheoldage.Wasreplaced
Laptop Device intheAgileworldbyConversation
Aperformancemeasurementtypicallyusedin
Kanbantoimproveflow.Itistheaveragetimefrom
Responsetimeperformance themomentanissueisenteringthequeuuntilitis
Leadtime measurement delivered.
Nottobeconfusedwiththesite
Lean Managementframework www.leanhaerev.co.il
Afeaturethatisminimalbecauseifitwasany
MMF MinimalMarketableFeature smaller,itwouldnotbemarketable
Waster.Anyinefficientorineffectiveactivity.There
Muda AJapaneseterm are8typesofwastes.
Murcs Karlslastname TheoppositeofScrum
Theminimalthingonecanputonthemarketplace
MVP MinimalViableProduct andstillhopeforsuccess...
Somethingthatpreventsfromtheteamtocarryon
Obstacle Agileterm withthetask
Ataskthatwesuddenlyrealizedwhenstartingwithit
Pandoratask biggersurprisedtask thattheestimategiventoitwerewrong
 Workexpandssoastofillthetimeavailableforits
Parkinsonlaw Managementlaw completion
therolenamesgiventocoreteammembers(pigs)
andperipheralstakeholders(chickens)atdaily
standup(Scrum)meetings.Pigsarecommittedto
theprojectandgettospeak,chickensmayonlyhave
Pigs&Chicken Twoanimals asecondaryroleandareaskedtoobservesilently
Plancks Thesmallestunitinthe Thelastnumberthatateamcanbeforcedtocommit
constant universe onaspecifictask
Afacilitatedworkshopduringwhichdevelopersand
businessrepresentativesestimateworktasksand
Planning CeremonyinScrum planupcomingiterations
Awayinameetingofgivinganestimatebeingdone
Planningpoker TeamEstimationGame bytheentirescrumteam
Theprioritizedlistofstories,featuresorrequirements
thattheprojectworksitswaythrough.Theclosest
ProductBacklog ArtifactinScrum thingtoalistofrequirementsatraditionalPMwillfind
TherepresentativeofthecustomertotheScrum
ProductOwner RoleinScrum team
PotentiallyShippable
PSP Product Thecurrentstatusoftheproduct
Theprioritizedlistofstories,featuresorrequirements
thattherelease(whichisasubsetoftheproduct
backlog)worksitswaythrough.Theclosestthingto
ReleaseBacklog artifactinScrum alistofrequirementsatraditionalPMwillfind
afacilitatedworkshopexerciseheldattheendof
iterationsandreleasesinwhichprojectstakeholders
areaskedtoreflectontheworktodateandrecall:
whathasworked,areasforimprovementand
suggestionsforthefuture.SimilartoLessons
Learnedsessionsbutperformedthroughoutthe
Retrospective CeremonyinScrum project
Afacilitatedmeetinginwhichthescrumteam
Review CeremonyinScrum projectsthePSPtotheProductOwner
Amanagementframeworkthatwithinyearswillbe
Scrum Managementframework vanishedbutcurrentlyisthebestoneweknow.
Scrummaster RoleinScrum TheguardianofScrumintheorganization
Scrumslaves RoleinScrum SeeScrumteam
Anheterogeniccrossfunctionalselfmanagedand
selforganizedgroupofpeoplewithasharedagreed
Scrumteam RoleinScrum vision
AinbetweenbehaviorofnotWaterfallanymorebut
Scrumfall AnAgileterm notyetScrum
ShuHaRi AJapaneseterm LearnShakeCreate
ShuHada AnArabicterm Whatisit?
 Empiricallythebestamountofteammembersper
Six Anumberbetween5and7 oneteam
Smile Amovementofthemouth Theprojectofyourlife
Anegotiatinggambitinwhichyoumetaphoricallygive
Snake AnAnimal thesnakeitstail
Asuddenstopoftheiterationbeingdonebythe
Spike Stoptheiteration ProductOwner
Ashort,fixedtimeperiod(typicallybetween1and4
weeks)duringwhichtheteamproducesapotentially
Sprint ArtifactinScrum deployablereleaseofsoftwareforevaluation
AsubsetofaReleasebacklogbeingdecidedbythe
SprintBacklog ArtifactinScrum Scrumteam
Anyoneexternaltotheteamwithaninterestinthe
productbeingdevelopedandtheabilitytohavean
Stakeholder Importantpeople influenceonit.
Standup See"Daily" See"Daily"
Apersonthatholdsapieceofmeat.Usuallyasouth
Steakholder Ahungryperson Americanperson.
Storypoint Unitofauserstory Unitofestimationmeasuringcomplexityandsize.
Student
syndrome Amanagementlaw Postponethetasktillitdisappears
Task PartofaUserStory ApartofaUserstorybeingdonebyoneperson
TaskBoard ArtifactinScrum Avisualboardthatreflectsthecurrentstatus
Theme ArtifactofScrum Groupofuserstories
TLA Anacronym TheshortcutforThreeLettersacronym
Thetimeittakesforanorganizationtodeliver
something:fromthemomentproductindicateditis
TTM Timetomarket desireduntilitwasfinallydeliveredtothecustomer.
Adescriptionofabusinessunderstandableand
businessvaluedpieceoffunctionality.Theunitfor
UserStory ArtifactinScrum prioritization,planning,estimationandreporting
Waste ALeanterm SeeMuda
Amanagement Acookbookwayofmanagingaprojectdefinedbythe
Waterfall methodology PMBOK
WIP WorkInProgress Thecurrentwork
Alimitofworkinprocessthatone(person,team)can
WIPlimit AtermfromKanban doinanagreedunitoftime
WII.FM WhatsInItForMe Themainincentivetoact
Yameh! AJapaneseterm Stop!

AppendixBAdvanscrum
OutsidetheHiTechWorld
Agile,andspecificallyScrum,werecreatedasananswertotheprojectbasedapproachinthe
softwarefield,whichwasinacatastrophicstate,withnosolution,onlyalittlemorethan10years
ago.Undoubtedly,boththeAgilemanifestoandScrum,whichwasdeclaredin1994(butwas
formallyrevivedwithitsfirstauthorizationcoursein2003),reliedontechnicalandmental
conductthatprecededthem,whichwerebasedontheoveronehundredyearoldfoundations,
TaylorismandFordism.

Aboutfouryearsago,IaskedmyselfwhatwouldhappenifweappliedtheSubtractionPrinciple
toScrum.TheSubtractionPrinciple(ortactic)isapartoftheCreativeThinkingmethodology,
definedbyWikipediaastherenunciationofacomponentorsubcomponentoftheproblem
system,conceivedasessentialandcrucialforitsfunction.Theothercomponents
complementingthismethodology,developedinthe40softhelastcentury,aretheUnification
Tactic,theMultiplicationTactic,theDivisionTacticandtheUnificationBreakTactic.Theyareall
extremelyeffectiveandIwarmlyrecommendthatyouatleastfamiliarizeyourselveswiththis
methodology,whichhasassistedmebothpersonallyandprofessionallyforatleastadecade.

Anyway,ifwegobacktotheSubtractionTactic,thisisanexcellentwaytothinkoutsidethe
box,andawayofbreakingthroughtowardnewhorizons.IwonderedifIwouldbeableto
implementScrumwithoutthebasicenvironmentofsoftwaredevelopment,meaningnotinthe
HiTechenvironment.True,theAgilemanifestospeaksexplicitlyoffunctioningsoftware,butI
wantedtoremovethiscomponentout,asamentalexercise,andseewhathappens.

WhathappenedsimplyamazedmeandIhadtodosomethoroughthinkingandcheckmyself
seventimes,beforeIdaredtosharemythoughtswiththeworld.MythoughtswerethatAgile
and,specifically,Scrumcouldbeappliedtoanycollectionoftasksateamisworkingon.Inother
words,givemeateam,nomatterfromwhichfieldorproject(collectionoftasks)andIwillbe
abletoshowyouhowScrumcanbeapplied.ThisthoughtamazedmeandIfeltcompelledto
giveitatry.Atfirsttheoretically,buttodayIamalreadyimplementingitinpractice.ThisfactthatI
useAdvanScrumsuccessfullyinareasotherthansoftwaredoesnotpreventmebeingmocked
sometimeswhenIdescribetheissue.Tothisday,evenatAgileSparks,thecompanyIworkat,
thereisstillnoconsensusaroundthisissue.

Todemonstratethis,Ichoseafewexamplesfromvariousunrelatedfields,wheretheonly
connectionbetweenthemisthattheyallimplementAdvanScrum,eveniftheydontcallitthat,or
eveniftheydontknowit.Ihopethatthroughtheseexamplesyouwillbeabletorefinethe
essenceoftheAgilewayandfindnewplacesforimplementationthatyoudidntthinkwere
relatedtoAgile.

Dieting
Letsassumeyouwanttogoonadiet(tosimplify,Iwillrefertoadietasthewilltoloseweight,
thoughthewilltogoonadietcanalsoderivefromthewilltogainweightortomaintainthe
currentweight).
Firstwemustunderstandthattheteamhereisusuallyonlyoneperson.True,youcancreatea
supportgroup,butthisisnotalwayspossible.

Whenagroupofpeopledecidedtheyeachwantedtostartadiet,Igatheredthemintoateam.
Sowhatdidwedo?
EverydaytheteamassembledandconductedaDailyMeeting(Whatdidyoueatyesterday?,
whatamIgoingtoeattomorrow?,whatispreventingmefromeatingonlywhatIcommitted
to?).Eachday,eachteammemberrecordedonachartwhatheateandwhen.Thiswayweall
couldclearlyseetheteammemberssignature(forinstance,thatheisnotamorningfood
person,ortheopposite,thatheeatsalotinthemorningandthenfasts,therestoftheday).
WhentheIterationendedattheendoftheweek,theteammembers,byturn,presentedwhat
theyhadcommittedtothepreviousweek.Thecommitmentwas,ofcourse,howmuchthey
wouldweigh(thetestofresult).Ilateraddedateamelementcomprisingthegeneralteam
weightandteamcommitment(inadditiontothepersonalcommitment)ofreachingacertain
targetweighteachweek.
Wewoulddoasessiondevotedtoselfimprovementandseewhatshouldbechangedandto
howweshouldbehaveindifferentorproblematicsituations(forinstancebeforeattendinga
party,itsbettertodrinkatleastalitreofwaterrightbeforeleavingthehouse).Thenwewould
committoanewweightforthenextIteration.
Asapositiveincentive,eachteammemberusuallycommittedtoadonationperkilototheir
preferredcharity(animalshelters,oncologichospitaldepartments,drugabuserehabilitation
organizations,etc).Thus,ateammemberdonatesacertainamountofmoneyforeachkilohe
loses.
Everyweek,eachteammembermaintainedapersonalBurnDownchartwhichshowedhis
progression.

Anditworkedfantastically!

HowdoIknow?peoplegotthinner!
Moreover,theystayedthinovertime,andthatisthemostimportantthing.

Fitness
Forfitness,thesituationissimilar,evenidentical.Hereaswell,allIdoisaskthetraineetodefine
atarget(forinstanceTheNewYorkMarathon)andthentopresenteveryweek,howmuchhe
ran,byanactualrun.HerealsothevisibilitychartsfromAdvanScrumareusedthereistheDaily
Meeting(HowmuchdidIrun?,HowmuchamIgoingtorun?andWhatisstoppingme?).
Similartodieting,heretheconductisalsopersonal,butitcanbeconvertedintoteamconductif
wegatherenoughpeoplewiththesamegoal.Here,Ialsosawamazingresults.People,whofor
yearscouldnotrunmorethantwokilometers,weresuddenlyrunningin10kilometercontests,
halfmarathonsandevenafullmarathon(26.2miles!).

Kids
InoneoftheimplementationsIfacilitatedafewyearsago,ImetShirleyHarelRonen.Sinceshe
hadthepositionofaScrumguruinacompanyIworkedwith,thediscussionsweconducted
(whichwerefascinating)wereimplementationsatcompanylevel.Atacertainstage,sheleftthe
company,buttheScrumconnectioncontinuedandwegraduallyfoundourselvesdeveloping
Scrumforkidsinthefamily,inotherwords,athome.
Theprinciplesarethesame,buttherearesomesmallnuances,wedecidedtowriteabook.It
waspublishedwiththetitleAgileKidsandtobothoursatisfactions,itisgainingresonanceand
successthroughouttheworld.

Construction
Inconstruction(renovation)youcanalsoconductwithAdvanScrum.Allthatisneededisa
TargetsBank(meaning,whatyouwishtorenovateintermsofdivisionofspace,pricingand
prioritization),andacontractorwhoiswillingtomeetwithyoueachweek(duringtherenovation
ofmyhouse,itwaseveryFriday)andletyouknowwhathecarriedoutintheweekthathad
passed,whatheisgoingtocarryoutinthecomingweekandwhetherthereisanythinghindering
him(Iassumeyouarefamiliarwiththesequestions...).

Thebeautyisthatthiswayofconductexposedmanythingsandassistedmeduringthe
implementation.HereareafewrealdialoguesthatIconductedwithcontractorswhooffered
theirservices.

Contractor:SowearegoingtohavetomeeteveryFridayandIwillshowyouwhatIdidandwhat
Imgoingtodo?
Me:Yes.
Contractor:AndIdecidehowmuchIcangetdonefromwhatyouwantmetogetdone?
Me:Yes.
Contractor:AndIgetpaideachweekforwhatIgotdone?
Me:Yes.
Contractor:SoIcancommittofinishingeverythingandyouwillpaymeforeverything?.
Me:Ofcourse.

Contractor:So,wearegoingtomeeteveryweekandIwillhavetotellyouwhatIamcommitting
toforthecomingweek?
Me:Yes.
Contractor:Stressfulproject,huh?

Contractor:IfyouwanttomeeteveryweekandthatIwilltellyouwhatIwilldointheweekafter,
thentheprojectwillbe50%longer!.

Andtheseareonlythefunnyexamples.ThecontractorIchose,ofcourse,wastheonewho
seemedmostadequatetomeintermsofmindsetandhedidinfactsavemefrommaking
mistakesmorethanonce.Themostsignificanttimewaswhenhepreventedmefromplacinga
taskintheTargetsBankwhichcouldhavelaterresultedinwaterflowingfromtheyardintothe
livingroom.Iwasliterallysaved.

Smoking
IrecentlystartedcoachingsmokerswithAdvanScrum.Thepracticeissimilartothatfordieting
andfitness.YouconductaDailyMeeting,committothenumberofcigarettesthepersonwill
smoke,rememberthenumberhesmokedyesterdayandwhatisstoppinghimfromsmokingthe
numberthathecommittedto.
Hereavisionisalsodefinedofcourse(usually:Iwanttoquitsmoking!)andanIterationvision
isalsodefinedregardingthenumberofcigaretteshethinkshewillsmoke.
Sinceitissimilartodietingandfitness,Iwillnotdwellontheobviousandwillonlymentionafew
practicalthingsthatIusuallydointhiscontext.

Witheachsmoke,thesmokertextsothers(orme,ifitsjustthetwoofus)thathesmoked.Yes,
atthatverymoment.
Everysmokeissymbolizedbyaconstantremainingarticle.Iusuallychoosescrunchedup
paper.Thisissomethingwhichiseasytodointheofficeandathome,isavailableinevery
office.Mostimportantly,whenyouseethepaperspilinguponyourdesk,yourbrainbeginsto
internalizewhatishappeningtoyourlungs.
Fourpeoplehavealmostcompletelystoppedsmokingandinmyopinionthisisamazingasit
takesalottogetintotheAgilestateofmindandtheysucceeded!Iamgratefultothemfor
showingmenotonlywhatwillpoweris,butalsothatthisisanotherissueAdvanScrumcanbe
appliedto.

Education
Last,butnotleast,isapplicationtoeducation.Ifyouthinkaboutit,thesamecriteriafunctionin
thiscaseandthereforethesameprinciplesfitlikeaglove.
Thekids,aretheteams,formingnewteamseachweek.Theteachermanageseveryteam,the
headteacherbecomestheTaskManager.ThekidsmaintainVisibilityChartsandpresentthe
taskstheycompletedeveryFriday.
Toconclude,asyoucansee,theskysthelimit.Iencourageyouandchallengeyouto
implementyournextpersonalandnonsoftwareprojectwithAdvanScrum...