You have got mail :)

Feb 9, 2021 | 1 comments |

 Hi You,

Just popping by to say hello. 

I know I haven't written in a while and I am guilty in a way to keep you waiting.

I have been writing here for so long that it should come naturally to me. Some days I am not sure what to write, I have more ideas than I can count swimming in my little head. Yet, I write in my head every night :)

I am like you (or not), I tend to procrastinate. I wait and wait a bit more to clarify my ideas and then its just too late to write.

When I started this blog in 2008, I didnt think about anything at all. I just wrote. I didn't think anyone would read this blog, I didn't know if I should even let anyone know. So, in a way I was free. I wrote because it was for me. My learnings, my mistakes, my way of just keeping a simple journal.

So, when I suddenly freeze and stop writing, I am reminding myself I should remember the why. Why I started this blog, this community. I may not be a newbie by definition anymore, yet we are all learning everyday (at least I hope to). 

I hope you have been doing well this year  and getting to do things at your pace. 

Sending you good vibes and warm wishes,

Soma.


Happy New Year 2021

Jan 3, 2021 | 0 comments |

Wishing a very Happy New Year to the SIPM community. 
Stay safe and best wishes



 

(Pic courtesy: Pexel)

One Thing to Do Before Ending This Year 2020

Dec 30, 2020 | | 0 comments |

 Ending one year is always continuing on the hope for the next one. 

I hope you are  as ready and wrapping up this year already. The last few days has been about retrospecting this year and getting ready for the next. In trying to do so, theres one thing that I thought had to be done to ensure a good end to this year. 

Get your fav drink and snacks and let me know if you agree to this.



Thank you for all the support and being here. I will see you in 2021. Till then stay safe and take care....



Hello

Nov 24, 2020 | | 0 comments |

 Its been a while since I posted here. 

November has been a month of celebrations. Dussehra, Diwali and wrapping up the month with Thanksgiving coming up soon. 

Even amid the chaos and not being able to be with friends and family, festivals still have been a highlight. A little glimpse of hope and rest with a day off. I hope you had the same. 

Working from home and then managing work and family, balancing it out with blogs and Youtube hasn't been easy. However this year I plan to not take me for the guilt ride which I usually do. 

I did take a few days off randomly in November just to take it slow, organize my life and do a digital detox.  I posted a video on it and you can watch it below. If you are more of a reader, link is here.



Stay safe and see you soon. 

Agile| 6 Ways to Keep Agile Teams on Track

Aug 25, 2020 | | 0 comments |

This was first published on projectmanagement.com

Agile teams are being tested. The world has changed, and many teams—no matter what their structure was prior to the pandemic—are working from home, on top of dealing with increased COVID-19 challenges. While the demand for deliverables and work continues, the roles, responsibilities and efficiency of agile teams come into question. 

An agile team can, in most cases, work around the uncertainty and still get things done. To keep your agile teams moving forward, implement these six strategies:

1. Focus on the planning.

Yes, everything is subject to change, but planning is essential. This exercise (release planning, grooming or sprint planning) allows team members to understand the upcoming work and ask the right questions on time. Additionally, it’s a great way to train team members to provide estimates after going through the requirements in detail. This allows for better planning, wonderful execution and timely delivery instead of spillovers. Teams can use a variety of platforms available online to get the training done. Tools aren’t as important as the interaction itself. 

2. Track team health.

Working from Home




I always think the organic way to look at team health is through the consumption of buffer percentage. It is simple because during planning, your team assigns hours to tasks and you get the total hours you will need to complete the user stories. You also know the team’s total capacity (availability of the team during the sprint). Create a team buffer of about 10 percent and then plan for the sprint.

If during the course of the sprint your team consumes the buffer and still has spillover, you can increase the buffer. Track the consumption of the buffer percentage and determine if the team is estimating correctly, and if they are clear about the user stories. Buffers can let you know the team’s performance and, with it, the trend of the team’s deliverables. 

3. Prioritize retrospectives.

Teams must have a growth mindset, and nothing is better for fostering one than the ingrained cultural habit of retrospectives in agile teams. There are creative ways of conducting retrospectives during these times, even if they require workarounds. For example, perhaps instead of just focusing on the work and aligned data, retrospectives can include personal challenges as well. This not only allows the team to gather and feel seen and heard, it also allows teams to evolve and see if there are ways to reduce personal challenges. 

4. Encourage leadership.

Leadership shouldn’t be limited to just a coach or the leadership team. In fact, team members should be trained to make decisions when it comes to work or conflict management. I have always found that when the team lead or management encourages an open mindset for teams, teams take up challenges or new learnings because of the support they receive. These teams always perform better in the long run. 

5. Determine the happiness index.

Apart from other team data, there should be an insight that allows you to understand how a team is doing emotionally. In a 2013 Harvard Business Review article, Rosabeth Moss Kanter explains that a happy team can better handle complex problems. Finding the happiness index is one of the most revelatory exercises you can do with a team. Simply ask everyone to rate their happiness working with the team on a scale of 1 to 5 and why. Keep it anonymous so people share honestly, and you will be surprised what comes out. These are all hints that can lead you to identify unresolved conflicts, build retention and discover serious issues. 

6. Take action.

Many of us have good intentions. But unless there are actions that follow, trust falls apart. Be careful in committing too much and always follow up, whether it involves actions required from the last retrospective or something that has come to your attention.

What are some ways you keep your agile team on track? 

(Pic courtesy: Pexel.com)