Self-Organizing Orchestra

The traditional roles on a scrum team are: Product Owner, Developer, and Scrum Master. Noticeably absent is the role of Team Leader; the team is expected to self-organize. Similarly, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has dispensed entirely with the role of conductor in favor of a process where leadership is shared and decisions are made by the team. The result has been to create one of the world’s most renowned chamber orchestras. Along the way, they have learned lessons and ways of working together that any Scrum team can benefit from.

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Cheers,

Chris

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The Power of Self-Organizing Teams

Greetings,

A lot of attention has been focused on the power of self-organizing agile teams. This power is the foundation upon which Scrum, the most widely adopted agile methodology, is built. Is it hype or is there something there? This month, the Bay Area Engineering Managers Suport Group will experience how a group can self-organize into a team, and how such a team can evolve ever-better ways of working together. Come out and join the fun, now in Santa Clara.

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Intro to Extreme Programming

This past Wednesday, I presented a 45-minute introduction to Extreme Programming (XP) to the Project Management and Program Management Special Interest Group, who meet every week Cupertino. The group was lively and full of questions. I especially enjoyed the chance to discuss XP, as that is where I got my start doing agile software development, back around the turn of the century.

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Makings of a Great Manager – at EUSF

Greetings,

Today I had the pleasure of facillitating The Makings of a Great Manager for a group of ambitious job seekers at Experience Unlimited, a program of the San Francisco Chapter Employment Development Division.

Each member of the group considered what attributes, practices, or skills set the best managers that they had worked for, apart from the rest. The group had diverse experience, and the discussions were interesting. We chose a label for each idea, and then we ranked them, based on the collective experience of the group.

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XP for Project and Program Management SIG

Greetings,

Tomorrow morning I’ll be giving an ‘Intro to Extreme Programming’ talk for the Project Management and Program Management Special Interest Group in Cupertino. The event is open to the public, and group asks for a $2 donation from each participant. We will be giving away a copy of “Planning Extreme Programming” by Kent Beck and Martin Fowler.

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The 2008 Scrum Gathering Made Me Famous!

Well, maybe not famous, but at least I made it to YouTube, and with all of my clothes on! This video of the Chicago Scrum Gathering includes some footage of my workshop What Makes Agile Projects Succeed (or Fail)?. It starts 50 seconds in, with the title “The Essence of Scrum Session.” If you’re really bored, feel free to play ‘Find Chris’; somehow my mug and pony tail managed to make several other appearances.

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