PMO Notebook is a site for Scrum practitioners, PMO Leaders, Program Managers and Project Managers - I've created this site to share information based on my experiences in those areas.

Scrum in 20 Minutes - A Short Introductory Presentation
Bill Hoberecht - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Scrum is more than a buzzword.  It isn't quite a methodology or collection of processes.  Rather, it is a Framework that outlines a specific method for addressing complex problems that have significant unknowns.  This 20 minute presentation walks through the key aspects for each accountability, artifact and event described in the November 2020 update to the office Scrum Guide.

Not just a new name for a project status meeting!
Bill Hoberecht - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.         

The transition to becoming a self-organized team involves a fundamental change in how individuals, teams, and management approach their respective responsibilities.  Traditionally managed teams depend upon anointed leaders who give direction, track progress and push the project to completion.  Self-organized teams operate quite differently, and in such a team there is no explicit or implicit role of “project leader” or “project manager.”  In the context of a self-organized team, this article describes how to implement the daily stand-up meeting.

A Straightforward Outline of Activities and Approaches for a Successful Retrospective
Bill Hoberecht - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

While the concept of a project retrospective is easy to grasp, it is all too easy to fail when trying to implement the concept.  Esther Derby and Diana Larsen have literally written the book on retrospectives - here is their five-step approach with some specific tips to get your project teams effectively conducting project retrospectives.

Five Essential Skills for Managers Transitioning to Scrum
Bill Hoberecht - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you are a manager and your team is adopting Scrum, then you can anticipate some confusion and ambiguity about your role in the transition to Agile methods. It isn't clear how your management background, skills, expertise and routines will fit into this new world of Scrum. With no definition of a manager role in the Scrum Guide, what are you to do? What skills will you need? How will you know if you are successful?  Here's a starter set of five areas in which every "agile" manager will need to be skilled.

Adopting Scrum Requires Much More Than Just Knowing About Scrum
Bill Hoberecht - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A Scrum implementation is a difficult endeavor that can fracture relationships, diminish team performance, and impact business outcomes.  Or, it can drive teams to higher levels of performance in delivering increased value.  Here are a few tips for a team that can help your Scrum Implementation be successful.

Too Many Teams Have Forgotten How to Celebrate.  Here's a Reminder That Recognition is Important.
Bill Hoberecht - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.         

Some project teams celebrate the completion of a project, while many others let this milestone pass without any special recognition for the team of the accomplishment.  I've been in both environments, and greatly prefer a company, organization and team culture that acknowledges efforts and accomplishments - these places are just more enjoyable.  A little appreciation expressed by co-workers, a project manager or upper management can be an important positive factor for project teams.  As project manager, it is incumbent upon you to encourage a project culture that incorporates an appropriate amount of recognition for individual and team accomplishments.  

Skill Needed by Every Agile Transformation Leader
Bill Hoberecht - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Introducing Agile methods to a team is frequently approached as a sequence of training events for the team, perhaps a tool purchase, and a period of coaching. Organizational Agile Transformation is a less developed field of practice, and I think much more complex because it has impacts far beyond the Agile Team, touching product managers, executives, financial planning and much more. The inherent risks of such a complex transformation create a need for a few essential leadership skills - I've identified three skills areas that I see as crucial for any Agile Transformation Leader.

Building a Toolkit for your Change Initiatives

Bill Hoberecht - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Project Managers, PMOs and Executives are all in the business of introducing changes that provide benefit to customers, the organization and employees.  It is the rare team that listens to your outstanding transformation idea and immediately proceeds with implementation.  This journey of change is almost always faced with resistance, challenges and detours.  Familiarity with Organizational Change Management methods is a key enabler for success.  I gravitate to Kotter's Leading Change framework, but there are other methods and techniques that might be better suited for your transformation initiative.