What’s REALLY Going On? An Observational Skills Workshop

Imagine you are asked to sit in on a team’s sprint review and retrospective. The team has been having difficulty forming and the Scrum Master has asked you to observe the team dynamics during these two sessions. Are you simply going to watch what’s going on or is there more you can do? Perhaps you are seeing interactions and team dynamics at play without truly realizing what you are observing. And when you do observe, are you injecting your own biases into those observations? Observation is a powerful tool, but one which we may not take advantage to its true potential. After all, what exactly should we be observing, anyway?

By learning how to expand our observational skills in a non-biased and non-judgmental manner, we can gain a deeper understanding of team dynamics and interactions allowing us to offer more meaningful and impactful support, coaching, and empathy. Because there are many observational aspects that pass us by, the best way to become more observant is through deliberate practice. So, let’s practice together through a series of group exercises in a fun and safe setting!

In this highly interactive workshop session, we’ll first review some tools and tips for you to consider to make you a better observer. Then we break the room into multiple groups of observers and builders. Builders will be assigned a challenging but fun task as the observers practice the new tools and ideas discussed earlier. When the task is complete, we allow plenty of time for debrief and discussion as the observers share their observations. We then switch roles (observers to become builders and vice-versa) as the builders attempt a new task for the new observers to witness.

If you are looking for new ways to connect with your project team, build new skills to enhance your agilist toolkit, or simply participate in an informative and interactive workshop, this session is for you!

ABOUT THE SPEAKER(S)

Julie Wyman is an Agile Coach with Excella. She is a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) and IC-Agile Certified Professional in Agile Coaching (ICP-ACC) with over nine years of experience in areas including Agile software delivery, traditional project management, and client training. Julie has coached multiple globally distributed teams to deliver, while leveraging Scrum, Kanban, and other Agile frameworks, to drive continuous improvement. She has coached development and business teams in commercial, federal, and non-profit environments. Julie is especially interested in finding new ways to make training courses, workshops, and retrospectives more engaging, by using interactive games and activities.

Mark Grove is an agile coach and Management Consultant with Excella Consulting in Arlington, VA. He has over 20 years in the IT profession with the last ten years focusing on coaching individuals and teams while leveraging practices from both the Scrum framework and the Kanban method. His coaching and mentoring focuses on system optimization, value delivery, team dynamics, servant leadership, and the agile mindset to welcome and embrace change even late in the development stage. Mark is a Certified Scrum Professional, LeanKanban University Accredited Kanban Trainer (AKT), and an ICAgile Certified Trainer.

AGENDA

6:00 – 6:30 Arrive, mingle, pizza, network
6:30 – 8:00 Presentation/Discussion/Game/Workshop
8:00 – 8:30 Q&A & Agile book raffle

SPONSOR & COSTS

DCSUG is free, thanks to our sponsor, Excella Consulting. Excella (http://www.excella.com) is hiring! Check out the open job opportunities page ( https://www.excella.com/careers ). Excella offers DCSUG members a discount for upcoming Agile training classes ( https://www.excella.com/training ). Please contact us for the code.

CAN'T MAKE IT?

We meet monthly. So if you can't make it this month, hopefully we'll see you at the next meetup. Also, if you have an idea, game, workshop, or story to share with the group, then please contact the organizer to setup a presentation for a future meeting.