Agile and Course Development and Co-Facilitation, oh my!

LYSSA ADKINSMAY 26, 2008

I am so excited about the direction my career has taken lately.   Who knew that all those years I spent training the software and processes built by my teams would pay off so nicely?  So, here I am with Agile – something I love and am passionate about – and curriculum design and training experience – something so essential to getting the message out.  What is that message?  <Soapbox on>

We have used Agile “in the small” so far, as an alternate project management methodology.  In its fullest expression, it is far more powerful than that.  Deepening Agile, which is key to fully achieving the benefits promised, means deepening the roles in Agile. 

Roles are people.  And people are what makes anything work, especially Agile, where the focus has always been on the human factor.

<Soapbox off>

So, I have undertaken collaborations with brilliant people in our world to do just that – go the next level deeper in the roles that make Agile work.   These roles aren’t just two-dimensional lists of what one should or should not do.  They are thoughtful and meaningful explorations into what you – the student – will do to enable teams to achieve the promise of Agile.  

Here are two of my most recent collaborations:

The Compleat Agile Manager, with Michael K. Spayd.  This is a course I co-created with Michael and it is one piece of a compelling interlocking set of courses he has designed.  The reactions to this course have been so positive, telling us that managers are hungry for the type of training and exploration and call to action it provides.

Certified Product Owner course co-facilitation, with Tobias Mayer.  Tobias is well-known and loved for his passion and excellence in the Agile community.  I am honored to co-facilitate with him on this course.  We will be covering the “oldies but goodies” of the Product Owner role, but also going that one level deeper into the importance of the Product Owner.  Specifically, their role as agents for powerful collaboration and extraordinary business-value-driven results.  

I’m having a ball.  What a wonderful, wonderful world.