Perhaps there’s a better term to use, but for this effort, I’ve wrapped up this learning experience as an “Academy.” In doing so, I’m attempting to provide a piece in a larger puzzle – one that includes other experiences. Before digging deeper, the context in which I’m proposing this learning experience is as follows:
- Professional organization.
- Students typically have at least a bachelor’s degree and years of experience
- Students are working in a team environment
- The working environment is very challenging as highlighted by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) and the transition to Digital operating models (Bennett & Lemoine, 2014).
- While students may have some appreciation for grades or certifications – such aspects are poor motivators and not highly valued. The underlying motivation for participating is to succeed in their jobs, grow their career and enjoy their work (and in turn help their organization succeed).
- The organizations that the students belong to strive to be learning organizations with highly motivated individuals driven by autonomy, mastery and purpose (Pink, 2009).
As discussed in the description of the Syllabus, this learning experience is focused on the individual that has been tasked to take on the Product Owner role within a Scrum Team within an organization adopting Agile (Schwaber & Sutherland, 2017). Typically, there are many efforts happening with the introduction of Agile into an organization and as a Scrum Team is launched:
- Agile Boot Camps: The boot camp introduces the entire team to Agile (typically Scrum) and serves as the beginning of Sprint 0 (first time-boxed iteration). The team is learning about new roles, practices, and most importantly are taking the first step in learning a new culture and mindset.
- Coaching: A coach plays the role of teacher, facilitator, mentor and counsellor. They are embedded with the team and helping them get through their first few Sprints.
- Learning while doing: In Sprint 0 we’re setting the foundation for future Sprints and the team is starting to apply what they’re learning. The team works through Sprints delivering valuable product increments – and learning and improving as they go.
- Additional Training: The boot camp is just the start of training. Further training occurs focused on processes, techniques, roles or technologies.
This configuration of activities, focus on team learning and change within the organization are in response to the challenge at hand. As Sawyer highlights: “Most of today‟s important creative products are too large and complex to be generated by a single individual; they require a team or an entire company, with a division of labor and a careful integration of many specialized creative workers” (Sawyer, 2008, p. 6).
The Academy is focused on the Product Owner role and is occurring as other activities (as just listed) are ongoing. A 100% front-loaded, segregated learning experience is likely to fail – serving only to overload and lack context. In contrast, the Product Owner Academy is distributed/stretched across an eight-week timeframe – while not requiring full-time participation. This allows the students to engage with their Scrum Teams, receive coaching and participate in other learning events. And by stretching out the timeline (without requiring full-time dedication), the students get the chance to try out new ideas and approaches within the real-world. Over the eight-weeks, students would be expected to engage in the Academy for 3-6 hours per week. Target has had some great success with their Dojo model, and this Academy could also be realized within such a model.
The Academy attempts to model practices that should be present in a learning organization including sharing, peer-based learning, mastery, and experimentation (including failing forward). And the interactions and assessments included try to highlight that learning includes sharing and peer-based learning. Many types of interactions, modalities and assessments are listed in the course outline (as described in the Syllabus), including:
- Reading and writing
- Videos
- Discussions
- Video Chats
- Text-based chats
- Quizzes
- Creation of Learning Portfolios
- Continuous Improvement Opportunities via Retrospectives
- Maturity Assessment
In addition, these selections support a mix of both synchronous and asynchronous interaction modes. Such exposure is intended to inspire future sharing and promote a focus on learning together.
The final assessment for the Academy is a quiz that serves as practice to support the student as they pursue their Professional Scrum Product Owner. certification. Like the other quizzes that occur within each Sprint, the student must get a score of 100% on this assessment. The goal is mastery – and the students are able (and encouraged) to take the assessment as many times as they like. They are also encouraged to consult any and all resources if they don’t know an answer. Currently, this assessment has 20 questions that have a mix of question types. The quiz is timed and upon completion the student is able to see the questions and information about the correct answers. Other forms of assessment within the course include Discussions, Peer-based written scenario responses, the Learning Portfolio, self-assessment and participation.
The introductory activity is called “Starting with Why?” and focuses on the drivers behind learning Agile (and all that comes with it) and how this change connects to the learner and their organization. After a brief written introduction, the students are asked to watch a small set of short videos that introduce them to VUCA and Digital Transformation. After watching the videos, the students are directed to participate in a group discussion.
The course, purposefully, does not include a rubric. A learning organization doesn’t focus on grades – the focus is on learning. Adding in a hard scoring mechanism is inconsistent with those goals. Instead, significant effort has been put into providing the student with opportunities to practice (the Academy occurs concurrently with applying skills day-to-day), is supported by coaching, and also is supported by peer sharing and feedback. Further, the student is challenged to consider how to forward the effort by creating a learning portfolio that could be used to teach others. The quizzes throughout the course support mastery – further reinforcing the pursuit of learning over a grade.
As the Academy wraps up, the student is introduced to a Product Owner maturity assessment via the Agile Journey Index and the related extensions for the Product Owner role (Krebs, Morgan, & Ashton, 2012). The assessment should be used as an ongoing tool in gauging their current maturity in the role and planning for future growth and learning. Multiple perspectives including interviews (internal to the team, external to the team) and coaching observations are used to assess maturity.
References
Beck, K., Beedle, M., Van Bennekum, A., Cockburn, A., Cunningham, W., Fowler, M., … & Kern, J. (2001). Agile manifesto. Retrieved from: http://www.agilemanifesto.org.
Bennett, N., & Lemoine, G. J. (2014). What a difference a word makes: Understanding threats to performance in a VUCA world. AMSTERDAM: Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2014.01.001
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42. doi:10.3102/0013189X018001032
Galen, Robert. (2015, March 5). Agile Journey Index – A “Balanced” Guide for Continuous Improvement. Retrieved from http://rgalen.com/agile-training-news/2015/1/2/agile-journey-index-a-balanced-guide-for-continuous-improvement
Galen, Robert. (2015, August 5). Measuring Product Ownership – What does “Good” Look Like? Retrieved from http://rgalen.com/agile-training-news/2015/3/29/measuring-product-ownership-what-does-good-look-like
Krebs, W., Morgan P., & Ashton R. (2012). The Agile Journey Index. Retrieved from http://www.agiledimensions.com
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Sawyer, K. (2008). The future of learning in the age of innovation. Report prepared for FutureLab and the UK Department for Children, Schools and Families. Retrieved from http://www.beyondcurrenthorizons.org.
Schwaber, K., & Sutherland, J. (2017). The Scrum Guide. Retrieved from: https://www.scrum.org/resources/scrum-guide
Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization (Rev. and updated.). New York: Doubleday/Currency.
The Target Dojo. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://dojo.target.com/