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How to stand up new Scrum teams

Use this toolbox and put your teams on path to Success

Recently, I was training an entire division of a client in OH area. To begin their Agile Transformation journey, we wanted to stand up several Scrum teams. The first logical step was to take them into a formal training on Agile concepts. We also wanted to come out of the workshop so that teams can start their first sprint the very next week.

Gamify to help Scrum Teams

The challenge was to introduce them to agile concepts quickly while involving as well as challenging them. We also wanted them to ‘discover’ and validate the concepts through a series of activities. To achieve these objectives,  we used several worksheets, templates, and tools to help them. We wanted to make these activities fun and interesting.

Keeping game theory in mind,  we came up with an ‘Agile Bingo‘ – a set of activities that each team has to do, and the first one to finish the sheet wins the ‘Bingo’.

We also came up with Event Canvas to make bring everyone on the same page, regarding their understanding of various events in Scrum, and do this while keeping it fun, interesting, and engaging. As we say, in an Agile team, everyone should be rowing in the same direction. In other words, everyone should be driving towards the common goals. This simple worksheet helped eliminate the myths and bring everyone’s understanding on the same page!

Another wildly popular ideas was that of Scrum Calendar; to help them get to a consensus on a calendar with events, time, and location. This is especially useful when you have geographically dispersed teams involving multiple time zones.

Complete this bingo to jump start your Agile Journey

Complete this bingo to jump start your Agile Journey

The toolbox for the workshop

As a trainer and facilitator, I also used several of my ‘home grown’ worksheets and templates; such as:

These workshops were a huge success! Everyone loved these activities and felt they got a lot of useful information out of these activities. Here are some pictures from these workshops.

Your team will thank you!

Help your Scrum Team help you! Check out Improve Your Scrum Ceremonies as a first step towards uncovering these hidden gems. Your Scrum Team will thank you for finding these gems!

Scrum Teams - Tool box for improving your scrum ceremonies

Scrum Teams – Tool box for improving your scrum ceremonies

[bctt tweet=”We got a Bingo! Shouted one Team http://bit.ly/agileBingo”]

Want to increase your chances of Success? Support your User Stories with these two book-ends!

[bctt tweet=”Support your User Stories with these two book-ends pic.twitter.com/NzQRslqz6j  #Agile #Transformation”]

Focus on Minimum Viable Progress

What is an MVP?

@GregoryMcKeown uses this term Minimum Viable Progress (MVP) in his book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less to make a point that we should focus on making smaller progress. While using this term, he does mention Silicon Valley and the use of MVP as Minimum Viable Product by the technology firms.

While talking about Progress, he refers to this term MVP as Minimum Viable Progress, as well as Minimum Viable Preparation. He also talks about Visually rewarding progress, no matter how small the progress is.

I think, we Agilists could use all three definitions. What do you think?

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Post It for creating highly effective and fun workshops

We talked about Post It note as my Swiss Knife tool, and I introduced you to several interesting uses. It can be used as a Doodling canvas as well as Yellow Card to short circuit an unnecessary, unwanted discussion. And THE most important use is as Note taking tool. Let’s look at Post It as a tool that can help you create effective and fun presentations and workshops.

Last year, I was engaged by a client in Ohio area, to jump start their Agile journey. As a first step towards that, we wanted to train the staff of 300+ people. Not only we wanted to give them basics of Agile but we also wanted them to experience those events and artifacts while in the workshop. So, we decided to do one week long workshops: Two days of classroom training and three days of ‘experience’ where they go through Release planning and be ready to start their first sprint from the following week.

To create the presentation deck for this workshop. We started with a brainstorming session: four coaches in a room with long wall, several multi color post it notes, and thinking hats on.

Starting with just a Straw man structure of the workshop; listing the days as columns and breaking each day in four sessions; each session having a main topic.

We iterated through this a few times. With each iteration adding additional post-it notes with a different color, focused on different aspect of the workshop. We added topic details (sub topics) on a different color Post Its, and then in the next iteration, added Games and fun activities using yet another color.  Here is what our Whiteboard looked like after end of this ‘ideation’ session.post it
We used this outline as a starting point for creating presentation deck in electronic form. Post Its enabled us, the four coaches, to bring together their expertise and experience, working collaboratively to create a fun and engaging workshop.

Oh! by the way, this workshop was hugely successful!

What are the ways you have used Post Its? What are the other techniques you have used to create fun and engaging workshops? Share your thoughts in the comment below.