Mauricio Robles Agile Coaching

My The Favorite Catalyzers (Part 1)

Análisis del Proceso

During my process of obtaining the Certified Team Coach certification from the Scrum Alliance, the question arose about which three agents of change I use during my interactions, whether at the team or organizational level, in the implementation of agile processes.

Therefore, in this three-part installment, I’m sharing the answer I developed for the application, which eventually evolved into a talk I’ve had the opportunity to share at various events.

The ultimate goal of my interactions with each system is to bring the group to a level of trust that allows them to take ownership of their own improvement and maturation process. With this purpose in mind, I intentionally work on three elements that allow me to create a culture of collaboration: Process analysis, feedback, and continuous improvement.

Process Analysis

By mapping and measuring the process using tools like Value Stream Mapping, it’s possible to reflect to the team the points where cycle time or velocity are affected by identifying various types of waste.

Another outcome of this analysis is discussing the tasks involved in the process and categorizing them into tasks that bring value to the customer, tasks that don’t add value to the customer but are necessary, and tasks that neither add value to the customer nor are necessary to complete the process.

This way, I facilitate a process where the team designs experiments to optimize the process and define metrics that are useful for showcasing the value it brings to the organization and the customer.

Another important outcome is discovering different options the team can use to design a plan to remove impediments and form alliances with other areas of the organization to eliminate dependencies that are consuming time.

After working with various project and operations development teams, some metrics that have proven valuable to them include:

  • Cycle time
  • Throughput
  • Estimated points vs. completed points
  • Velocity
  • Waste reduction per iteration
  • Number of improvement stories in the Sprint backlog
  • Efficiency percentage

To be continued…

In the next entry, I will talk about feedback as an agent of change.

See you…

Mauricio Robles Agile Coaching

How I got started in Agile

During an interview for a book on Internal Agile Coaches, I was asked to describe in 150 words how I started my journey in this profession. This was quite a challenge for me, as I’ve been told that I tend to go into too much detail when telling a story, something I’ve been actively working on improving.

So, it seemed like a good opportunity to kick off this blog, a project I’ve wanted to start for a while. What has held me back is that I almost entirely delegated it to my inner saboteur, and it played its role perfectly.

The path that led me to the constant learning involved in Agile Coaching began with events that set me on the route of Agility…

150 words? Nowhere near…

While working for a company of around 150 people, the company’s CEO brought up the idea of implementing Scrum across all teams. I vividly remember him showing us a 7-minute video summarizing the framework; he took on the role of Scrum Master for all teams and gave the go-ahead… Scrum Away!!

Soon after, he realized he wasn’t the most suitable person to be the Scrum Master and opened the possibility for someone within the company to take on the role. I had been growing within the company and was someone they regularly turned to when there was a problem to solve, which was a great motivator for me.

However, my day-to-day tasks had been taking me away from supporting other teams, and my level of satisfaction with the tasks I had wasn’t the best. My supervisor skillfully pointed this out, and I’ll always be grateful to her for planting that doubt in my mind.

So, as soon as I heard the CEO’s announcement, I did what was needed. I Googled “Scrum Master” and immediately volunteered for the new role. The boss thought it was a good idea and gave me the opportunity to prepare for the role.

From Scrum Master to Agile Coach

As my role evolved, we realized that one person couldn’t be the only Scrum Master for the 10 teams we had at that time, spanning from Software Development to Graphic Design.

Eventually, we managed to have a Scrum Master in each team, which led me to work with multiple teams simultaneously on their Agile implementation. That’s when I realized I needed to acquire additional tools and skills to provide the support the company needed.

While I was figuring out the path I should take, I had the opportunity to work as a volunteer with the Scrum Alliance on the Coaching Advisory Team. This helped me get to know other professional coaches and agilists, giving me a much broader perspective of possibilities that gradually became my path to growing as an Agile Coach.

What I value the most in this entire adventure is all those people around the world who have accompanied me in some way and from whom I’ve learned an incredible amount. With them, I share common goals like creating a Latin American community of Agile Coaching. Others have invited me to share my experiences at their events or challenged me to be bolder and trust my abilities.

Clearly, I wasn’t going to make it in 150 words, but here’s the story. In the upcoming posts, I’ll share the experiences I’ve gained on this journey, hoping to contribute some value to others and, above all, start a conversation that helps us grow together.

See you…