Howard Sublett video

It’s— again, I don’t know how to put words to this; but when you get to meet people like this that are the principal, and a certified scrum master of a high school! Where you have got students running in scrum rhythm, and you get students learning in a team where they’ve increased their graduation rate phenomenally. Hope High School is the school for which is the last resort for many kids. They’re there for a lot of different reasons—many not of their own doing—and to walk in here and see the joy that these kids have, the hope (for lack of a better word) that they have for their future. One of the kids graduated today and so they have graduation the moment the kid hits the accumulation of hours. They stop everything. Every kid stops everything and then come out and celebrate the joy that someone graduated on that day.

I wish everybody can come in and see Krissyn Sumare and see Mark French, and see the people here and get to watch these kids go to a scrum board manage their work and look at their working agreements on the wall. To see it up close and personal. I am getting to go from here to actually a CSM class where a group of the teachers and a group of the students are actually in and learning. So I’m hoping they will give me enough permission maybe to do a follow up with them so I’m heading there now. But if you’re not paying attention to agile education or scrum in education I think you should. It will definitely pull on your heartstrings! These kids did for me. Thanks!

From AgileinEducation.org

From Our Team

“I found our CSM training to be incredibly beneficial both personally and professionally!   I love the Agile philosophy and the implementation of scrum.  I can’t wait to delve into the many applications they will have in my life.”

“My quote to sum up the experience was a “Fun filled experience getting to know my new co-workers in a setting that fostered teamwork to accomplish a goal in an organized manner that was attainable.   I learned a new way to breakdown a large task into smaller ones to promote success one step at a time and to avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed by such a large task. I look forward to becoming proficient in Scrum and Agile by applying this to my everyday tasks.”

“I enjoyed the training overall, as it allowed a lot of the scrum methodology and its rationale to “gel” with me. However, Agile was not covered in enough detail and its intricacies remain nebulous.”

“I loved that fact that it was an actual “in your face” training that was honestly one of the most edifying experiences that I’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of. John’s ability to communicate information superseded my expectations of how such simple aspects of teamwork and having a goal-oriented mindset are so crucial in being apart of a well-oiled machine! Totally would recommend it to anyone that wants to better themselves mentally to be able to be more productive with their time!”

“The CSM training was an awesome experience! I like that the framework empowers all team members to contribute ideas and work together for a common purpose. I also like that it strongly encourages teams to break down projects and tasks into smaller, more meaningful parts. Overall, it opened up my eyes to a more productive and organized way of working.”

“…focus and flexibility returns productivity but multitasking leaves a trail of “Look at all the stuff I still gotta do!”

“I’m so glad I was introduced to the Agile/Scrum process. I liked learning how it can be used for any facet of your life and any profession. I love that it brings coworkers together to work as a team. It was a fun workshop with so many activities and no time to be bored.”

“The CSM training was eye opening for me! Not in just the work and educational aspect but in my personal life as well. It was amazing to learn how to apply the Agile/Scrum techniques to all areas of life. I am now utilizing it outside of the work environment with my relationships, parenting and to do lists!”

It’s been a week now that I’ve been recovering from a friendly but harsh league game that turned my eye from normal in all cases to a fine looking “shiner” that became the first conversation piece of each and every new encounter for the week that followed. I think that most people wanted to know if it involved an altercation of sorts…since that’s always something they can get their energy going on.

I wasn’t as creative when it came to my story as it was told over and over and I thought it better to stick to the truth, although it wasn’t as colorful as some of the other stories that folks wanted to hear. So the league where I received my “shiner” is an adult volleyball league, both women, and coed. That night, I was playing on my women’s team. The basic rules are that the other team serves and you have three plays before the ball has to go over the net. That night, the ball was served to us and we made the first pass. Since I’m the setter, my job is to get to every second ball to set it up for my hitter. This time around though, the first pass ended up going way higher than it should have, and then straight up to the middle of the court (where I would normally try to set it). Unfortunately, my teammate was there and attempted the hit it over with the second shot. She reared back with her hitting arm and clenched fist, and all I remember is seeing that fist come back down and “pop!” Of course none of this intentional at all, just a part of the game. It doesn’t happen often but yes it can happen, even on a fully functioning team.

This is very aligned with our organization because we operate in an Agile way through teams. Each team member knows what it is they are doing as part of the whole and what their responsibilities are to the team. There may be times that you overlap your responsibilities and that’s not a bad thing as long as the end product you create meets your requirements. It is certainly something that can be delved into when you have your retrospective. Sometimes having those moments of “whose is it” clarity helps to build better trust within the team. It can certainly bring a team closer. Other times it may make a team create gaps because neither team member wants to end up in that predicament again, depending on the trust level of your team. Higher functioning teams will clarify their experience, work through the adjustments, and turn full speed ahead on the next project. How do you think your team would handle that situation?

As for my volleyball team, we didn’t miss a beat. Even on the next play. We had enough trust with one another that we weren’t going to let this little setback get in the way of our normal high-performance play. We moved on and eventually won.

~ Marmy

Update the Purpose
Updating the purpose for your change helps others understand why the change is occurring in the first place. They may not necessarily agree with your stated reason but you’ve now given them something with which to work. From here, you can create a space for team members to voice their opinions and recommendations. Many times a new purpose is what is needed to push an old idea ahead.

Revitalize your Rally Cry
It’s a great time to reinvigorate your rally cry. What will motivate your team to get behind your push this time around? How can you boost the momentum or lack thereof among the group? What is it that will change your team’s attitude and want to move the meter on this particular project? Is your rally cry aligned with the team’s interest? Does it speak to them?

Lots of TLC
Just like anything else, more care and attention and focus will brighten your team’s energy and perhaps even shed new light and a new perspective on an old idea. Facilitate ways that you positively influence buy-in and empowerment from your team. Show them just how important or valuable this idea could be with their help.

3 Steps to Successfully Use Scrum At the Office

Committed Team Members…in order for scrum to really have a good foundation from upon which you build, the team will need to fully commit to the process and artifacts. This also means that your team needs to have a good understanding and vulnerability towards one another. If they are good in terms of functioning as a whole and are able to be open and honest during the sprints as well as the retrospective, your team will be well ahead of the curve.

Transparency and Reinforcements…it is just as critical to have very tangible and visible reinforcers related to your scrum sprints. It will raise the level of importance and build new behaviors when it comes to how the team should operate. Sometimes what ends up happening is that some team members become frustrated as issues arise whether that’s someone missing a daily stand up or someone not staying focused on how to better the team in a retrospective. Whatever the case may be, keep in mind that these challenges are supposed to come to light. That’s what the process and artifacts uncover. The more things you witness, the better your team will become at addressing them and improving the process and becoming more efficient together.

Culture Support…In the end, your culture will either align with Agile and Scrum or it will destroy it. This is much more than buy-in, it’s a full-blown dedication to the principles and tenets of Agile and Scrum organization-wide. It’s about making collaboration, team self-organization, vulnerability, reflection and retrospect, honest conversations, and a solid continuous commitment to improvement a priority and meaningful.

As we at Hope High School seek to empower our students in another engaging Agile workshop hosted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, The Scrum Alliance again sends a team to capture the experience in this wonderful video.