Product Design Matters

Luke Wroblewski (Yahoo!, Functioning Form) talks about the strategic importance of product design at SHIFT 2006 (Lisbon).

Read more...

A recent trainee's comments on the Scott Ambler vs. CSM debate

Last week I completed the Scrum Alliance's Certified ScrumMaster training. Coincidentally, Scott Ambler's sidebar "Bringing Ethics to Scrum Certification" had appeared just a couple of weeks earlier (Coming Soon: Agile Certification, 8 Jun 2007). I had opportunity to read Ambler's article between my training days 1 and 2. I find myself thinking that if the 2-day course were called "Scrum Alliance-Certified Training in How to Be a ScrumMaster" the ethics issue - to whatever extent there is one - would shrink dramatically.

First, let me say I agree with Ambler that any professional certification worthy of the name should have some real teeth, with real professional development and demonstrated experience requirements as well as an exam. If a certifying body endorses an individual as competent, that body should have reason to do so. And - to whatever extent it might happen - it's just not OK for trainees or vendors to present attendance at a class as in any way equivalent to the achievement of a professional designation like the PMP.

That said, I found the training useful and I would take it again. I didn't expect to receive a professional designation. I expected only that someone who knows what he is talking about would transmit accurate and useful Scrum knowledge. I also did not expect to become a master of Scrum through taking the 2-day course. Rather, I expected to have the understanding necessary to perform the duties of the ScrumMaster role on a real-world project. At the start of our training that's what our trainer said we could expect, and I believe it's what he delivered. I list the Certified ScrumMaster training in my resume and online profiles along with other professional development and training experiences, where I hope readers will understand it as evidence both of my commitment to ongoing professional development and to Agile - a commitment I've backed with $1200 and 16 hours of vacation time.

Read more...