Essential Scrum by Ken Rubin 

You must be logged in to download this PPTX file.On Sept 25, I gave the below talk to the Houston Agile Leadership Network. Please feel free to download it and use it according the Creative Commons license it is released under.

All major agile implementations require guidance and leadership to establish new processes and practices. This talk discusses a highly effective strategy for ​​managing​​ that change by using something familiar, but in a slightly new way.Slideshow for a presentation given on Aug 2, 2019 to the Austin Agile Leadership SIG.  (File will...

In all organizations of any size there is a need to manage the work of the organization and guide the efforts of the people involved in the work. Traditionally, in larger organizations, this guidance was organized under the title of Project Management Office, or PMO. The PMO usually consisted of senior project managers, along with some represe...

At Allison Agile, our motto is "Values. Driven." A few years back, when we came up with that little line, I was rather proud of it. It is succinct, pointed, and conveys the item that, to me, is the most important part of agile... it's values. So I was understandably taken aback recently when someone challenged me with, "Which values?" And...

DisclaimerI am a lot of things, but an introvert is NOT one of them. In fact, I am full-blown extrovert. In the movie Shrek, when Princess Fiona finds out that Donkey can talk, Shrek sarcastically responds, "Yeah, but it's getting him to shut up that's the trick." Yeah, that's me sometimes.So, why am I, an admitted extro, writing an ...

Almost all major agile frameworks use the phrase 'systems thinking' in their principles or guidance documentation. But what is systems thinking? Lee Allison believes that the full body of knowledge should be applied to how we approach and tackle the problems we face as agilists.​As part of the Systems Thinking for the Field Agilist body of work, th...

Introduction Thanks for sticking with us through this three part series on SAFe backlogs! We've finally arrived at the final portion, where we'll be talking about the actual work items themselves. To date we've gotten a good look at the "lay of the land" and seen where all of the SAFe backlogs exist, as well as taken a deeper look at how they ...

The Hierarchy This section may seem like its coming out of order; shouldn't we cover the specifics of each work item before we talk about their organizational structure? Maybe, but I'm coming at the topic in this sequence because I believe that where these work items sit in the Big Picture is such a huge part of understanding what they are. Wi...

​When I am working with a client who is new to the Scaled Agile framework, or I'm delivering a training course for soon-to-be agilists, there's always a large number of questions about how the SAFe backlogs and work items relate to each other. These questions are understandable when you look over the Big Picture and see all of the different element...

Would you be willing to take a $10 million dollar F1 car off-roading in the mountains?

Agile lessons from the good Dr? Sure, why not? He wasn’t specifically writing for agile folks but there are lessons there… if you know where to look.

And why this is THE reason for feature teams…

Creative teams can learn best from the new things, not from repetition. Because of this you need to create an environment where creative failure is NOT failure, but a learning opportunity…

Boson: A force-carrying particle of elementary physics.

What is the part of Scrum that holds the whole shebang together?

I believe that the “Builder’s View” is the single most important concept you’ll come across this year. Bold statement? Sure, but I’ll stand by it.

What is the differences between product and process?

How a major, high-risk blocker put a huge grin on my face.

Agile is about speed, right? Then why do we waste so much time estimating?

Fail fast, sure, but proactively shooting my products in the head!?!

A closed backlog? What? I mean we all know that agile changes.

Betas have a subtle, beautiful effect on your team. Read on...

Lately the Agile Community has been so headstrong on fitting Agile methodologies into any and every situation that I think that many times we miss asking the question, “SHOULD Agile go in there?”

Scaled Agile, Inc has a new certification course called SAFe DevOps. Is this course right for you, your career or your organization? Find out more below!

Allison Agile, LLC announced today that it has joined the Scaled Agile Partner Network as a Bronze Transformation Partner. This worldwide network includes transformation and platform providers who help enterprises facilitate and accelerate business results through adoption of the Scaled Agile Framework ^® (SAFe^® ).

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Allison Agile's cancellation policy is as follows:

1. Greater than 30 days prior to class: You may cancel with a $200 processing charge and refund of the remaining cost of the course.

It's that simple. A few notes...

• Any class is subject to cancellation due to lack of enrollment or other unforseen events at our sole discretion.
• In the event of a cancellation, Allison Agile will make every reasonable attempt to work you into an upcoming class, but are we not responsible for any kind of reimbursment due to the cancellation, beyond refunding the cost of the course itself.
• We recommend that you contact us before booking any travel arrangements.
• Cancellation payouts will take place within 30 days after the class is complete.
• Regardless of the verbiage on Eventbrite, the above is our policy. Please contact us directly with any questions about this policy.

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Taking a certification course is a huge investment, especially if that class is coming out of your own pocket. We know, we've been there ourselves! So our goal is to make sure you get as much value out of that investment as you can. With that in mind, we would like to introduce a revolutionary new set of benefits that you automatically acquire when you complete one of our courses. It's a thing we like to call our "After-Class Support Benefits". Catchy title, eh?

These benefits consist of four major areas:

• Dedicated 24X7 Support Line: So you've sat the course, taken the test and you have a shiney new set of letters to add after your name. Good on you! But now what? The support line is a place where you can submit questions about what to do with your new skills and knowledge. Shoot us questions about the actual situation you are facing, and Allison Agile staff will provide our best guidance. Our responses will be based on real-world experiences that we have acrrued over decades of project management in dozens of industries. The support line operates on a 24-hour response SLA, with 48 hours for any question posted during the weekend.
• Access to Professional Career Coaching: Sometimes growing your career after levelling up can be daunting. Having someone to listen, offer advice and counseling, or give you encouragement can be immeasurably helpful. All class alumni have the option to schedule a 30-minute coaching 1:1 with one of our experienced staff. As an alumni, you'll have 90 days after the course completion to put something on our calendar at a mutually agreeable time and date. All sessions will be held either via phone or Skype conversation. Use this time to consider any topic relating to your agile career!
• Invitation to Exclusive Mentoring Community: We moderate and manage a peer community of course alumni. This community is a great place to learn, share and grow after the class is over. You'll have the chance to rub shoulders with other folks with similar interests, ask questions and provide answers, make new connections and expand your professional network. Want to get invited? Sign up for one of our courses or webinars and we'll get you in!
• Premium Access to Upcoming Courses and Webinars: At Allison Agile we truly believe in the power of education, after all, we're all considered 'knowledge workers', right? All class alumni get first access and discounts to all of our upcoming courses, webinars and other learning sessions. You've already experienced our course delivery, here's your chance to get more of it!

This list, and how we implement it, are both under the principle of "relentless improvement". We're focused on delivering the best after-class support in the industry. If you think that our approach to certification delivery is of value to you, then we look forward to seeing you in one of our classes!

 

Respect: Team members respect each other to be capable, independent people. - Scrumguides.org