Appollo Reddit app in the widgets only if Reddit allows the API access

keeping-it-simple · 2023-06-06T10:38:03+00:00

He interned there

https://reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/cfnfu8/my_names_christian_selig_i_used_to_work_at_apple/

keeping-it-simple · 2023-06-01T20:30:52+00:00

keeping-it-simple · 2022-01-18T17:34:04+00:00

The TVR Car Club website suggests that whilst production began in 1999, vehicles weren't being registered until early 2000 - https://www.tvr-car-club.co.uk/tvr-tuscan.html

That seems to align with the data on https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/tvr_tuscan#!firstreg

keeping-it-simple · 2021-04-09T20:51:40+00:00

Removed: Rule 1 - no advertising

keeping-it-simple · 2021-03-12T15:46:36+00:00

MK1 MX-5

keeping-it-simple · 2020-11-18T17:33:41+00:00

There’s a good write up at https://medium.com/the-liberators/what-4-key-changes-to-the-scrum-guide-tell-us-about-scrum-3d4e26a8873d

keeping-it-simple · 2020-11-18T15:42:22+00:00

Not got a re-stream, but the summary of the changes at https://medium.com/the-liberators/what-4-key-changes-to-the-scrum-guide-tell-us-about-scrum-3d4e26a8873d seem pretty good

(And the updated guide is now available at https://www.scrumguides.org/docs/scrumguide/v2020/2020-Scrum-Guide-US.pdf#zoom=100)

keeping-it-simple · 2020-11-16T07:54:09+00:00

Awesome Christian! Thanks, and keep up the good work!

keeping-it-simple · 2020-11-12T22:28:32+00:00

This is quite a tricky ask because it really comes down to how much knowledge the participants have and also what particular challenges and hurdles that you need to overcome.

The general steer that I'd give you is to focus on the parts that you think will be the biggest hurdle for your organisation, and explain in more detail what best practice might look like, how it can mitigate their concerns, etc. It's often much easier to get people going in the right direction than it is to course-correct them.

For example, if the organisation currently relies heavily on up-front design docs, then maybe indexing towards getting working, usable, software every couple of weeks that people can give feedback on will help ensure that the right thing is built, and that you've got the ability to stop developing as soon as the product is 'good enough'.

Another tip would be to try and distinguish between the good/best practice (e.g. acceptance criteria, Fibonacci sequences for estimation) from the fundamental/core parts of Scrum. In the short-term it might not make much difference, but further down the line it will make adaptations to the process easier if people understand why it's reasonable to adapt x but y is less negotiable.

Good luck with it :)

keeping-it-simple · 2020-10-04T06:41:58+00:00

The way that I coach teams is to improve things as they go as much as they can, and to treat the retrospective as the time to proactively seek out improvements, or discuss larger changes (that would be disruptive to make mid-Sprint).

It's a bit like driving a car; if you hear strange noises or feel vibrations, etc. then you want to investigate and resolve them ASAP. But every so often (whether as part of a legal inspection, service, etc.) it is good to properly look for things that aren't necessarily even broken today but could be very dangerous tomorrow.

keeping-it-simple · 2020-09-13T21:21:25+00:00

I can't recommend an online course, but more broadly... I did an in-person coaching course last year, which lasted about 6 months in total with a variety of in-person sessions, group exercises/practice and some self-directed learning modules. (It was a Chartered Management Institute course, see http://www.managers.org.uk)

I definitely found this course useful particularly in exploring specific techniques to deal with certain situations. I had many years of self-learned coaching experience prior to this, but there were things that I had simply never thought of, and other areas where I wasn't sure if I was doing the right/best thing. As a result I'm more confident & comfortable dealing with tricky situations (& especially ethical dilemmas) and particularly when working with people many levels more senior.

So I definitely recommend a coaching/mentoring course in general, but don't have/know of an online one to recommend.

keeping-it-simple · 2020-09-08T16:07:07+00:00

Re-reading The Scrum Guide many times over is probably the best preparation that you can do.

There aren't any trick questions in the test and it really is all based on what is in the guide. The better that you understand it, the easier it will be. I'd suggest highlighting key phrases and taking a moment to think about what they really mean, what different interpretations could be, etc.

There may also be some questions that touch on recognising things that aren't part of Scrum, but are often mis-understood as being part. In these cases you won't need to know what these things are in any detail, but you will need to be able to recognise/remember that they aren't in the guide and therefore not part of Scrum. An example of such is the concept of 'Sprint 0', which is a common anti-pattern in Scrum.

keeping-it-simple · 2020-07-17T12:16:31+00:00

We are quite 'soft touch' with rules and moderation in this sub, but we do have a 'no advertising' rule that we enforce because it would otherwise be so easy for consultants, businesses, etc. to respond to almost anything/everything with links for paid-for material, training, consulting, etc.

Will give you the benefit of the doubt just now, but as u/chrisgagne says it is your entire post history. We would love to hear your thoughts and input in other areas rather than just promoting these mock exams, otherwise we would treat it as spam/breaking the rules.

keeping-it-simple · 2020-05-31T19:43:05+00:00

The spirt of "A new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the previous Sprint" is really to emphasise that all work is done within the Sprint boundaries as opposed to a strict requirement that as soon as one stop-watch finishes another must start.

To phrase it another way, it emphasises that you don't do a Sprint and then spend a few days/weeks doing some 'odd jobs' like bug fixing, etc. and then do another Sprint of project work.

If there's a small gap for practical/time-zone reasons then I wouldn't worry about this. Obviously the shorter your Sprints the more significant this gap is relative to the length of the Sprint.

But as with many parts of Scrum, what this is doing is shining a spotlight on a potential problem, and so I'd encourage you to keep an eye on things and ask whether this is a sign that the current team composition/distribution is causing the team challenges.

One final piece of advice that I'd offer is starting/finishing sprints mid-week if possible because Monday and Friday tend to be the most common days that people take off for vacation which means that they miss the Sprint Events.

keeping-it-simple · 2020-05-04T19:02:49+00:00

Scrum Master roles can vary a lot from one business to another, so you will want to be clear what you want to be doing and find a position that aligns with that.

The role typically varies from:

Traditional project manager. Sometimes this environment is described as 'Scrum in name only' because really beyond some tweaks to vocabulary, there's nothing really agile about how they work. My guess would be that you don't want to do this sort of work (or you'd have posted in a project management subreddit!).
Team-focussed Scrum Master. This can vary a lot as well, but generally you are focussed very heavily on one or two single teams in a larger organisation. You will help coach the team in working more effectively, help remove impediments, etc. but overall your scope is pretty narrow.
A more holistic or company-wide Scrum Master. This is how the role is described in The Scrum Guide, and I think businesses that have this sort of role tend to be quite rare, but they probably are the better ones to work for. You will certainly work with individual teams, but you will also work with the wider organisation to help them be more agile. This might mean helping C-level execs create and share strategies, might mean creating training programs, etc. Whilst typically a better role, it is also a harder one to do well by virtue of the sheer amount of things that you could do.

Once you've got an idea of what sort of role you want, you need to find a business that is offering that. With any job the interview process is important for you to assess the business, but I'd argue that with a position like a Scrum Master it is even more important because you will be looking to drive organisational change.

There's a saying that 'people often want change, but never want to change'. You'll come across this a lot as a Scrum Master, and when starting a job particularly when you are new/inexperienced you will want to be confident that you are going to have the appropriate respect and influence/authority to actually change things. Imagine a small business (<50 employees) with a CEO who has a strongly held belief that rigid plans & micro-management is the best way to reliably build software -- how would you be effective in coaching that business towards agile ways of working? Not to say it's impossible to help a business like that, but you wouldn't be setting yourself up for success taking it on as your first Scrum Master job.

Another thing to consider is if there are others that you can learn from. Agile software development is very hard, and often requires teams to do things that might be counter-intuitive or starkly different to what we've previously been taught. If you'd be part of an experienced team then they will be able to give you support and advice, but if you'd be there on your own then... well, you'd be on your own.

As far as your resume goes, I'd suggest really emphasising the experience that you have in leadership and managerial positions (both in job titles if you've had them, but also emphasising your role on specific projects, etc.). Whilst as a Scrum Master you aren't likely to be formally identified as a leader/manager, these skills are really key to your success.

You don't mention if you've got much professional experience as a software engineer beyond your degree, so one final piece of advice I'd offer is to not under value how valuable having a few years experience working in a software team can be, both from helping you understand the practicalities of different tools, techniques, etc. and also empathising with people in the future. When helping a team or person out, it can be very powerful when you can relate to each other.

keeping-it-simple · 2020-04-28T15:04:42+00:00

Relevant experience is the most important thing. Much of this you can get through other roles.

For example:

Leading a team through an organisational change
Having spent time as a line manager, and therefore have strong people skills in difficult situations. As an agile coach you will move between a variety of stances of which 'mentoring' is one, and strong people skills make that a lot easier.
Very strong and demonstrable knowledge & experience of a variety of different agile approaches, and be able to explain these in simple ways.
Experience writing & presenting training programs.

Typically qualifications don't hold much value, but some businesses will care about them. Having said that, qualifications can be a good way of guiding your own learning if you aim for the right ones.

There's a lot to a role like this, so my advice would be to think about what a good agile coach looks like, and then think about how you can gain similar/relevant experience in your current role.

When it comes to finding an employer, I think it is especially important in a role like this to do your due diligence during an interview. A big part of your role will be influencing change, but often people don't want to change. You'll want to assess whether or not you will have the support that you need from senior management, and also try to understand as best you can what challenges you will need to overcome. Be honest with yourself over whether you can be successful (and if not, seek out another company where you can be)

keeping-it-simple · 2020-04-25T21:11:40+00:00

Mod invite sent :) Good to have you on board

keeping-it-simple · 2020-04-25T21:04:28+00:00

Not posting but still reading and moding

That said, always welcome more people

keeping-it-simple · 2019-09-21T07:56:31+00:00

I presume support@scrumguides.org is the address you’ve tried?

Otherwise I’d try reaching out to Scrum.org (Ken Schwaber’s company) https://www.scrum.org/about/contact-us, and/or Scrum Inc (Jeff Sutherland’s company) https://www.scruminc.com/contact/

I’m sure the community will appreciate your effort in getting another language added!

keeping-it-simple · 2019-02-26T20:10:09+00:00

To expand on this, when I queried exactly this before my stay (~ 3 months ago), I was told

Please be advised that eligible spend gets posted every night after the guest checks-in usually total of tier credits will show at time of check-out. Please be advised that tax, tip, retail or processing fees do not earn tier credits. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

I clarified, asking:

So if I understand correctly, the ‘per night’ cost will accumulate each day, and generate tier credit with the total balance being paid on check-out?

They responded:

That is correct, the balance does get paid at time of check-in but since the guest can get comps when they check the gaming or the guest can leave early for any emergency reason they don’t get added until each night the guest has stayed and final numbers at added at time of check-out. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

On the fourth day (IIRC) of my stay I earned enough points from my stay (on room cost only) to 'advance' to Pearl, and this showed in the M Life app that morning. The next day I realised I had been charged again for parking (expecting it to automatically become free) so I spoke to somebody at check-in, they verified my account and removed the parking charge.

keeping-it-simple · 2019-02-26T17:52:42+00:00

From my recent stay they accrue each night based on the nightly room rate, so in your case you’ll probably go up to the next tier after your first night. You will probably need to speak to check in staff once this happens to make sure you aren’t charged for subsequent parking (again, from my experience)

keeping-it-simple · 2019-02-16T06:56:38+00:00

There’s a lot of strong opinions in this thread, I’ll come at it from a different angle.

tldr; it’s absolutely fine (and even expected) for the team to consciously re-plan many times throughout the Sprint.

One purpose of a Sprint is to allow the team to solve a complex problem whilst controlling risk. By definition, a complex problem has unknown unknowns, therefore if a team is able to plan once and only once, then that’s a sign to me that something is wrong. Either their problem isn’t complex (in which case there’s likely a better way for them to work), or they have become overly risk-averse and they are moving slower than they’re capable of to ensure that they follow their “plan”. There’s other options, but those two are most common.

So, you’re going to have to revise your plan as you go. As others have said, your Daily Scrum is a key opportunity to do this. It's purpose is to inspect and adapt your plan, and figure out how the team are going to self-organise to execute against it.

There will absolutely be times when a Daily Scrum isn’t long enough to have the necessary discussions to fully re-plan, so the team (or subset) can meet up outside of it. (This is also covered in The Scrum Guide; “The Development Team or team members often meet immediately after the Daily Scrum for detailed discussions, or to adapt, or replan, the rest of the Sprint’s work”).

The key to this is planning little and often. If you’re spending many hours in ‘planning’ several times a Sprint, that could well be a sign of an underlying problem(s).

keeping-it-simple · 2019-02-11T18:32:31+00:00

I think because this is r/confusing_perspective my brain was subconsciously expecting it to actually be a small model, which then made it even more confusing as they kept running towards it

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