Hi Subscriber:

There's been a lot of talk about which is better, Scrum or Kanban.  Actually, at Net Objectives, we provide training and coaching in both (not to mention Lean and XP!).  Of course, our own view is that one needs to use Lean principles to guide one's transition to better software methods.  Because of this, our version of Scrum may not be regarded as classic Scrum by many.  But, of course, I think that's a good thing!  We believe Scrum must be extended via Lean principles and Kanban practices to be more effective. 

I wrote a few things over the last month that discuss this:

• There is no silver bullet
• Setting the Record Straight on Scrum and Agile
• The Net Objectives' Approach to Extending Scrum to Create an Agile Enterprise

Essentially, there is good in all methods.  Even though we almost always see the need to extend Scrum with Kanban and Lean, our deep understanding of Scrum has helped our Kanban methods as well. If you agree that understanding multiple methods is a good thing, I invite you again to take our Lean-Agile Project Management course.  It's the only course that teaches Kanban, Scrum, Enterprise Scrum and hybrid methods. We're offering quite a few of these around the country at what is basically half off our normal pricing ($795 early bird pricing).  This is an event we are unlikely to repeat.

An excerpt from the course was the basis for a seminar I just gave, Scaling Agile with Multiple Teams: Using Lean to drive business value and coordinate Scrum teams. It presented four case studies illustrating how Lean principles and Kanban helped in scaling Scrum.  I wasn't surprised by how well received it was since it discussed many of the scaling problems that we frequently run across. What surprised me, however, was that most attendees seemed to relate to virtually all of the challenges.  While it may always be difficult to change people's attitudes about Agile at scale, it is clear the techncial solutions to doing so have been figured out.  It is one thing to struggle with changing people's attitudes and habits - something that may always be a challenge; but it is silly to struggle because one just doesn't know what to do. 

I'm hoping to have the recording of the seminar up soon as it describes:

• coordinating multiple teams
• the correct team structure
• how to handle key folks that need to be split up across teams
• how to handle multiple stakeholders that require multiple teams to get their features built
• integration across teams

In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with me for a free consult on how to solve your own challenges.  The Net Objectives' Approach to Extending Scrum to Create an Agile Enterprise mentioned above describes some of these solutions - albeit briefly.   

Next Webinar. I'll be providing an abbreviated version of this seminar in our next webinar - Why Scrum is a Great Team Process and Why You Need Lean to Scale on February 13th.  Our next technical webinar is Software Design in the Agile Age.  We'll be extending our Business, Management and Team Process Webinar Series before long.  Feel free to request topics.

Denver Lean-Agile Conference.If you're in Denver, check out our Lean-Kanban Conference, Denver, March 16. We have specifically designed this one day conference for those wanting to learn how to do Agile beyond a team.  The conference has tracks for executives, Kanban, product owners, and developers.  Many of the talks have been presented at top-ranked Lean and Agile conferences around the world.  If you are new to Lean, Agile or Kanban or want to take it to the next level, this conference is for you.

Free Consultations in Select Cities. Continuing our tradition of wanting to give back to the industry, combined with our commitment to let people know about the many alternatives to solving the Agile transition challenge, for the next 30 days, we’re offering free 2 hour, in person, consults in Seattle, Denver, Philadelphia, Tampa, and Durham (and by phone elsewhere). The only requirement is that your firm have a development organization of at least 50 folks or are seriously looking at taking a 2-day course on Scrum or Kanban.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Alan Shalloway
CEO, Net Objectives