Chris recently co-taught Agile Learning Labs' Certified ScrumMaster training course under the visionary tutelage of Jeff McKenna. Jeff, as you no doubt know, was a member of the first Scrum team, and he knows a thing or two on the subject. He and Chris worked well together. One student quipped, "It's like Chris is the Mom and Jeff is the dad." If your mom is a former lounge lizard with a beard…. No, it makes sense. Chris is the nurturer who wants to provide you with a safe place to learn to crawl, then walk, then run; Jeff, on the other hand, is the wise and wisecracking veteran of the front lines, with a satchel full of war stories–and riveting delivery. Having both in the classroom made for a fun, dynamic learning environment.

The students also generated their fair share of insights. We've taken to asking them to record their "Aha!" and "Eureka!" moments on Post-It notes, where they can be shared by all. This class of 27 people generated hundreds. Here are some highlights:

"Prototype your process, not just your product!"

"Dividing work into sprints actually relieves anxiety!"

"Agile may not be faster, but you'll know why things go wrong (or right)  sooner."

"Scrum is about creating a repeatable process."

"The daily stand-up is a communication meeting,  not a status meeting."

And my personal favorite:

"Time constraints force action."

We're looking forward to scheduling the next CSM class with Jeff, which will likely be held in early December. If you'd like to know when that happens, you can sign up for our mailing list. Like this one, it will be a collaboration with the SF Bay Area chapter of the Project Management Institute. If Chris and Jeff are mom and pop, then PMI's Community Relations guru Bill Dominguez is definitely the cool uncle.