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Ron Quartel (@AgileAgitator) is an agile coach, blogger (blog.agileagitator.com) and the creator of the FAST Agile framework.
The FAST Agile (www.fast-agile.com) is a combination of Open Space Technology, Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), and Story Mapping. After watching hundreds of participants use open space technology to organize and hold a conference, Ron decided that such self-organization practices could also be applied to software development.
Rather than relying control mechanisms like SAFe and LeSS, FAST Agile is a scalable agile framework that relies and individuals and interactions along with pulling work in to teams. Utilizing a 2 day sprint, FAST Agile implicitly requires teams to break their work down in to small chunks and to swarm the work in a #MobProgramming fashion.
Documentation on the FAST Agile framework can be found at (www.fast-agile.com).
We then moved on to the pain points of agile coaching, including:
- Fixing bad scrum implementations over and over again
- Lack of XP usage on scrum teams
- Mis-understanding of what makes scrum work
Especially surprising is the low adoption rates of XP on scrum teams. According to the Scrum Alliance State of Scrum Survey 2015, only 16% of scrum teams also practice XP. The Version One survey had the usage rate even lower. Ron is giving a talk at Agile 2015 about using Scrum and XP for Hyper-productivity. If you’re going to be in DC for the “big conference” this is a must see session.
Finally, we wrapped up with a conversation about agile certifications. While the classes are good, Ron questions the value of “certifying” CSM’s after a 2-day course. He started the #SayNoToAgileCertifications and hopes to see improvements in this area.
And then…we called it a night.
Resources, Plugs, and More
Ryan – http://agileanswerman.com
- Extreme Programming Explained – Kent Beck
- Scrum – Jeff Sutherland
Ron – http://blog.agileagitator.com
- FAST Agile
- Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki
- The People’s Scrum by Tobias Mayer
- Agile 2015 Talk – Scrum and XP for Hyper-productivity
- The Land That Scrum Forgot – Bob Martin
