Day Three

So I went to work, and tried to contain my excitement. I had sent some e-mails to Evan and Dave because I wanted to get their direction on this. I have a way of storming into something and then just expect everyone else will follow. I think what you get from that is a bunch of people with bewildered looks getting frustrated and confused because its hard to follow, or a bunch of people that just stand back and watch because its over their heads. Either way, its never the result you blindly think would happen.

Evan thought it was good, but didn't want me spreading it around the office. This was to be understood because I do this and it directs attention away from other things that are important. He said he would read the book.

Dave thought it was good and it sounds exciting, but that this should be run past Christine, the VP of Operations. She was out. I was busy anyway. Dave suggested I set up a meeting and present this to the team. I agreed. Looks like I'd have to become an expert in this anyway. I explained to Dave that I wanted to use this for EPM since its how I would handle the project anyway. Kind of like a pilot. He thought that would be fine. Just wanted to make sure it fits and that I'm not reworking something that's already been worked. I assured him that it should all fit together nicely.

So I went home that night with the book (I stole it back from Evan) and began making my outline and powerpoint. I e-mailed Mike Cohn and explained my rags to agile situation. I found some presentations he had done. In the end I decided to make my own and run this through my filtration system. I wanted to show how it could be used and integrated. I wanted to give examples of real life scenarios.

One thing I realized that day was this... at work we do use the agile process, but often at the end of projects that have too short time lines (due to scheduling conflicts) or failing projects (these are typically few). The good thing is that our team already uses them and resorts to it. So why haven't we done this yet?

Day Two

I didn't put the book down the entire weekend. I read it from the time we got home until Monday night. I finished it. This is rare. I never do this. But everything in the book excited me. I screamed "Thank you Jesus" a number of times. Finally I had a book that explained to me in detail what my gut has been saying for years. And now, I wanted to become an expert and share it with others at work. My goal was to finish the book so others could borrow it and learn as I have.

Not much to say other than - but the book! "Agile Estimating and Planning" by Mike Cohn. I mean, I could explain it to you at this point, but I'm a novice. How could I present the material better than he can? http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com I would recommend.

That night before work, my mind teamed with excitement. It thought and processed and digested all this information that I shoveled into it. It was processing like it had done in the past when the pieces fell into place in other endeavors. I discovered how this could integrate with our current process and procedures, how we can predict our pipeline. I didn't sleep well, but the next day I had a vigor that I have not had in a long time.

On my way to work I was listening to a worship album and this quote sprung into my mind "Today I will revolutionize my industry". I want to print that out and hang it as a banner over my desk. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I want projects to succeed, I want to use my creativity to make that happen. I want to be an agile team.

Day One

Jaime and I were shopping and decided to go to the book store. I wanted to pick up a good use case book to use as a reference at the office, especially for Samantha. I tend to get ideas and tools like this stuck in my head quickly and forget that this knowledge is not immediately shared with everyone else, or is necessarily gospel. But I have seen the "beauty" of use cases and have argued there use in our estimating process. That is how my mind interprets project size.

So while crouched down just to the left of my usually fare (Java, C#, and Ajax books that were either soviet-like red and black with foreboding images of geekdom's leaders or colorful etchings of strange animals), I found a book entitled "Agile Estimating and Planning" with a more modest, business-like cover. This caught my eye because that is precisely what we have been trying to figure out at work, or at least some process for the chaos. I figured this is what we do for a living, we should become experts on it, research it, make decisions based on empirical decisions. It's gotta be worth the - flip - stare - gulp - price. Paper is very expensive these days I thought.

So I sat on the floor next to my wife as she was looking at anatomy books. I briefly embarrassed myself to eager book buyers in most other sections by commenting that one author's name in my aisle - "Dr. John Null" - was "how unfortunate!". The other people in the store that looked away from their quests gazed towards me as the volume of the rest of the world was muted and my dorky comment was evidently heard throughout the entire store. I dropped to the floor, and of course laughed and blushed at the cinematic quality of the moment.


As I read I agreed with everything written, begin to find research that backed some of my hunches, and in general just got excited with the simplicity of the process. I realized something then... Paper is cheap - ideas are priceless.

This guy... "Mike Cohn", does not have an unfortunate name. In fact, he has found a way to express what I have had such a hard time communicating at work, and has give credibility to it! Anyone who read the book would understand my mind and my thinking, and add to that details on how it can be seen through completion - well beyond where I would take it.

And so, we left with nearly $100 worth of books. As I left I recalled book purchases that I have made last time. White paper bound in colorful sleeves with faces and diagrams and CDs mounted in the back. They remain, a few chapters read and shelved for reference. But this time I realized something important. That books could give me a way to share and express my
knowledge to others through those skilled at the art of communication. I felt like a professor. I realized my greatest contribution to work may be teaching.