Agile and Scrum Coaching from NewTech

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Agile implementations are easier to execute on when the company is small, under about 500 employees. Organizations of that size usually have a small IT department, and that is not the reason. The reason is that smaller organizations must stay entreprenuerial in culture and execution to survive. This entreprenuerial cultural norm is highly empirical in approach, and therefore conducive to Agile and Scrum implementations.

This is totally true of small under-50 person firms, and definitely true up to about 150 employees. An entrepreneurial culture helps Agile implementations take root. This is because Agile methods and entrepreneurial methods both employ Empiricism to relentlessly focus and refocus on the things that matter.

The empirical Scrum project management approach focuses on iterative and adaptive learning while strongly discouraging the making of predictions. The Scrum approach actually tunes cognition and attention during software projects with this empirical, non-predictive approach.

Scrum is the predominant process management approach for Agile teams. To get it right, implementing Scrum usually requires some adept Scrum coaching. The Scrum ground rules and associated group norms are an essential part of why Scrum works. A good Scrum coach can guide you towards effective execution of these ground rules and team cultural norms. This leads to success with your Agile implementation.

Dan Mezick is the Agile Coach here are New Technology Solutions. Dan is a Certified Scrummaster and a presenter from the Agile2007 conference in Washington DC. His presentation on Agile and Entreprenuerial Thinking Patterns was one of the most highly rated sessions at Agile 2007. You can examine the actual conference attendee feedback by clicking this link to his Agile training grades.

Dan is a skilled Scrum Coach, and delivers Scrum coaching in and around New England. Active in the local Agile community, Dan runs the Connecticut Chapter of the Agile Project Leaders Network, (see below), a user group that meets monthly at Microsoft's offices in Farmington CT. He also maintains a blog on Agile and Scrum topics.

Dan's ideas and writing on the effects of Inattentional Blindness and Group Relations as related to Scrum have caught the attention of Dr. Jeff Sutherland, the co-originator of Scrum. Dr. Sutherland is in agreement with Dan about how Scrum actually manages IB and group-level effects by relentlessly focusing attention through Scrum iterations.

The Scrum method works by relentlessly focusing and RE-focusing attention on the things that matter most. This emphasis on focusing attention is a hallmark of the Scrum project management method and helps to manage the project towards productivity and away from waste. Dan's early writing on the link between the phenomenon of Inattentional Blindness and Scrum advances Scrum by explaining in part how it actually works.

Scrum coaching and Agile coaching from New Technology Solutions is set up to help you focus on what matters most in your Agile implementation. We focus you on empirical process, managing group and team attention, and execution.

These goals are not as easy to accomplish as you may first estimate.

Our approach is to help you to identify and draw attention to the critical success factors that are necessary for a truly successful Scrum implementation.

We have experience in the following domains:

Related links:

Agile training - the grades from Agile2007

Agile Project Leaders Network, Connecticut Chapter - the web site

Agile .NET CT - blog on Scrum and Agile topics as related to .NET software development

Contact us with your detailed questions and to explore Scrum coaching, Agile coaching, Agile training and Scrum project management with us.