Steve Arntz - agile, technology, education, pizza

This is a great video on applying Agile to the home. There are...

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:23:18 -0400

This is a great video on applying Agile to the home. There are a few things that impress me about this video:

Do what works: When applying Agile software development in the home, Bruce did not try to apply all the practices and principles of any single agile methodology. He did not try to name things according to any particular dogma. Bruce used names and practices that made sense for his circumstances.
Everyone needs to be agile: While listening to the video, my mind was spinning with various other applications of agile principles. Every company, every organization, and even every individual needs more agility. We’re seeing a wave of applications, and we will continue to see more.
Remember what it means to be agile. The pre-software development definition of agile is the ability to act quickly. We sometimes lose sight of that when applying a particular agile methodology. We think that being agile means holding sprint planning meetings and retrospectives. What we really need is to constantly be thinking about ways that we can quickly adapt and change to focus on delivering what the customer actually wants.
Basic principles that can help: Bruce went through three main points: adapt all the time, empower your children, tell your story. These three things apply in the office as well. Being agile is being able to adapt all the time. The best people to determine how this can happen is the team - empower them to make changes and try new ideas. The final principle, tell your story, is just as important in building software as it is in the family. Teams need to remember the vision, and each member of the team should be able to articulate why they are doing what they are doing.

I’m excited to apply these lessons to my teams at work, and I’m excited to find ways to apply these principles in the things that I do outside of work.

This is an extremely lightweight introduction to Kanban. If...

Tue, 14 May 2013 22:41:35 -0400

This is an extremely lightweight introduction to Kanban. If your team is having a hard time getting started with more prescriptive agile frameworks, start where you are using principles of Kanban to visualize your workflow, set WIP limits, and then address bottlenecks just-in-time. You can then start to use Scrum activities if you need more tools and more disciplined planning.

"Alice: Would you please tell me where to go from here? Cat: That depends a good deal on where you..."

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 08:55:44 -0500

“Alice: Would you please tell me where to go from here? Cat: That depends a good deal on...

Article: Printed Books Will Stick Around - Response: Opportunities in eBooks BECAUSE of slowing growth

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:43:25 -0500

A couple of notes/thoughts on this article: In the current model, I prefer to read some books in...

Improving your Retrospective

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:52:44 -0500

The retrospective has the power to be the most important element of a Scrum team. Many learning...

The Fifth Discipline: Must Read

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 08:27:33 -0500

Every once in a while you read a book that literally has the ability to change your life. I can...

"We aspire to be a place where people can have uncluttered, meaningful connections. Communication is..."

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:06:33 -0500

““We aspire to be a place where people can have uncluttered, meaningful connections....

People have been asking more and more what my job description...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:45:00 -0500

People have been asking more and more what my job description is…

DC Scrum Users Group

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:24:00 -0500

I have always wanted to go to a Meetup and tonight I finally did. If you don’t know what a...

Want to know what a #ScrumMaster does? This is a must see video...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:14:06 -0500

Want to know what a #ScrumMaster does? This is a must see video to see #Agile in action (not just for geeks). Get a better understanding of what my new job is and see how it applies to the job you do as well!

I don’t know why I hadn’t seen this video before today, but by the time I had finished, I knew that I made the right move going to Hobsons. Not only will I be getting better at the process he describes in this film, but I’ll be using the principles to solve important challenges in education.

I am certain that we will get better at solving the challenges of the world by using more iterative and incremental approaches that help us to fail more quickly so that we can find the solutions that work.

I’ve recently been thinking quite a bit about the application of Scrum/Agile/Lean to all kinds of challenges outside the world of software development and it’s great to see such a tangible example of that happening. What’s even better is that they didn’t shy away of calling it Scrum and they didn’t really feel the need to drastically change the process to their industry. They took the process with all of its “weird” language and implemented it as loyally as possible. They were so successful that they got bored with building cars and decided to tackle Polio. Amazing!!

Shifting from Documents to Discussions

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:07:05 -0500

I’m currently reading Succeeding with Agile and I read something in that book that really gets...

Farewell Accenture...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:57:45 -0500

Yesterday I started a new chapter in my career. For the last two and a half years I worked on some...

"…the vocabulary of Scrum is a vocabulary of change. The words are often intentionally..."

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:22:00 -0500

““…the vocabulary of Scrum is a vocabulary of change. The words are often...

These are my top 10 favorite pizza places. There is another...

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:41:00 -0400

These are my top 10 favorite pizza places. There is another post that goes into more detail. Enjoy!

Giordano’s Famous Chicago Stuffed Pizza - Chicago
Cavalli Pizza - Dallas
Delia’s - Alexandria, VA
Matchbox Pizza - Chinatown, DC
Pizzeria Paradiso - Georgetown, DC
District of Pi - District of Columbia
Pizzeria 712 - Provo, UT
Church Street Pizzeria - Vienna, VA
Brick Oven Pizza - Provo, UT
Pizza Hut - Pune, India

Click here for more details on these (and other) pizza places.

What is the best pizza you’ve ever had? (Leave me a comment)

Five Years of Pizza Love

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:40:45 -0400

Anybody who knows me knows that I LOVE pizza. One day I’ll tell the story of how it all...

Don't Hoard Knowledge

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:01:19 -0400

I learned a new trick today on a piece of software that EVERYONE in my organization uses. I thought...

Managing the Talented Can Be Harder than Managing the Rest

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:05:52 -0400

Managing the Talented Can Be Harder than Managing the Rest: You might think it would be easier to...

No Pain Go Gain!

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:02:18 -0400

No Pain Go Gain!: I’ve learned a lot these last two years working in a demanding role. While...

The Power of Silence

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:02:48 -0400

The Power of Silence: I try to take some time every day, even working in the city, to find a park or...

ESPECIALLY high performers need feedback

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:44:06 -0400

ESPECIALLY high performers need feedback: One of the management tips for today described how...