Agility and Scrum-Workshop- A report from the field

Project Management

It is our daily “doing” as a trainer and Scrum Master to explain agility to others. To take customers and colleagues into the world of values and principles, where people are valued more than processes and tools. After all, it is the human being who takes up and implements changed requirements. In which customers are consistently involved in order to be able to bring valuable and functioning products to market from the first to the last sprint.

Rethinking through Corona

And yet, many things were different: Different from before the mandatory in-office break during Corona, when we picked up teams and groups mainly with the help of analog techniques and methods on the big topic of agility. Different from the remote phase, when we adapted our concepts in the most creative way possible to play the agile world in an instructive and effective way via various collaboration tools in workrooms and individual offices.

Merging two worlds

We turned everything upside down again to combine the best of both worlds, analog and digital, and to give our completely present audience – new BREDEX employees and just-so trainees – a brilliant start into what I like to call the almost “magical world of agility and SCRUUUUUUM.” At that moment, as a prelude to a two-day workshop, I already had the participants on my side as part of a quality assurance boot camp. My training partner, Susanne Schwarz, who like me, is a great advocate of agile process management and a rarely valuable agile mind, rolled her eyes with a broad smile. Yes, dear Suse, I saw it!

Theory can be fun

So, what have we been up to? What journey did we take our agile newbies on? On an educational trip? An adventure trip? Is it gourmet oriented? Or a wellness treat? “Both,” the guy in the commercial for cheap organic milk would say right now. Mindful of the fact that I’ve just touched on four options.

Theory is necessary , there’s no way around it – but it’s allowed to be fun. It may be interspersed with plenty of practical examples, stimulate reflection and comparison, be critically scrutinized, and be adapted for one’s own approach.

Achieving goals together

We pondered, discussed and wondered. Drew, estimated, wrote, corrected – and finally prepared and dined. Because that was the practical acid test at the end of the two days: a starter and dessert thought up by the colleagues, to be prepared cold, with a vegan alternative, combining five colors and matching the Italian main course we served – yes, it was pizza. These were our acceptance criteria, which participants approached in three iterations and based on their initial user stories.

We were honestly impressed by the openness and commitment of the participants. They were willing to break new ground and change the way they worked to become more agile. It was inspiring to see how they supported, motivated, and most importantly communicated with each other to achieve their goals. Dear ones, it was our pleasure to work with you!

Feedback from colleagues

“The workshop of Suse and Bianca was instructive and has changed my perspective on my work sustainably. Through interactive exercises and intensive exchange, I was able to gain comprehensive knowledge about artifacts, events, procedures, but especially the agile values behind them. The main thing I took away from the workshop was that it is important for my work to focus more on the MVP idea and also to always keep the importance of good communication in mind.” Sören

“5/5 stars. Sympathetic presenters, content was clearly presented, my expectations were exceeded!” Julia

“The workshop was varied, informative and fun. Glad to do it again!” Jenny

“I think the workshop made me realize even more how important communication and clear agreements are in a team.” Jason