In an episode of NetObjectives’ Lean-Agile Straight Talk podcast called Going Beyond Scrum, Shalloway lists Steve’s Team Estimation Game as one of “the big three quick improvements” a team can make. He recounts teaching the technique to a team he was coaching and immediately saving them four hours. Have a listen.

If you want to learn the game yourself, you can contact us about getting Steve or Chris in to teach the game in a brown bag session for your team, or as an un-boring, interactive presentation for your user group.

Want to build your coaching skills? Need answers to a tough problem that you or your team is facing? The coaching dojo is for you! We will form small groups where one ‘seeker’ will get five minutes of coaching from multiple coaches. Then the tables turn and the coaches get feedback. Here’s the formula:

• We will break into groups of 6: 1 seeker, 3 coaches, 2 observers
• The first coach works with the seeker for 5 minutes
• The second coach works with the seeker for 5 minutes
• The third coach works with the seeker for 5 minutes
• The seeker and observers give the coaches feedback for 5 minutes
• Form new groups and repeat!

The event is free. You can register on the Agile Managers Support Group Meetup page.

Many thanks to Jeremy Lightsmith & Skip Angel, for introducing us to this activity at Agile Open Northern California 2010

A couple of centuries ago, American independence was a movement. The idea caught on, and people were willing to make real sacrifices, because they believed in the movement. They believed that life would be better if the movement succeeded.

Do you believe that agile practices, such as Scrum, can make life at your company better? You’ll need to start a movement. Here’s a pattern: Attract a ‘first follower’ and treat them as an equal. Now, work together to build support. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about the movement. Good luck!

Thanks to my friend David Chilcott for sending the video link to the BayAPLN email list.

Cheers,

Chris

Writing a dictionary turns out to be a fair piece of work. Who knew? We have had a soft launch this week, with Chris Sims handed out a hundred copies of a "sampler edition" at Agile Roots. And The Agile Dictionary now has a live website, with a handful of definitions, and counting. It is ready for your perusal and commentary at www.agiledictionary.com, where you can even sign up to get the Word of the Week delivered to your inbox. Don't think of it as spam, think of it as an entertaining diversion, something fun to read while you avoid answering all those other supposedly urgent emails.

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I'm just starting to play around with a really cool, freshly launched product called Edistorm, an online app that features draggable stickies and dot voting. It's a bit strangely positioned, as a consumer not a business product–the example in the tutorial is about cake baking–but beneath this surface is what looks like an extremely useful tool for distributed Agile teams who find themselves longing for the chaotic simplicity a sticky wall.

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