I am on my way to close the house in Connecticut and end that chapter of our lives.
The house has been very important to me in many ways - I am sad and excited all at the same time!!! This was the first house I ever purchased and was very proud of it. This was also the first place Bks and I called Home together. Our cats loved the house too; Ben and Ivy chased each other around the house, up and down the stairs. They watched the birds all day while they schemed on different ways to get out the garage door. (Ben also helped Ivy get out of her shell in this house.)
It is now time to move on to new beginnings. We now live close to DC in Alexandria, VA and are beginning to settle down there. However, I will always cherish the memories of life in New Haven.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Yeah, It has been a while...
A few things have happened at work that have made me feel passionate about what I do again - While some have been interesting and challenging, others have been downright weird! However, it has been a learning experience through it all. And, it has made me blog again!
A month ago, my (ThoughtWorks-appointed) Iteration Manager at the client site was requested to leave the project due to issues related to scope management and delivery for our specific module. This module is a very complex part of an extremely large J2EE project. I was asked to take over management of this team and become the new Scrum Master (Iteration Manager).
Initially, I planned to reject the promotion due to several reasons;
Well, I can say that (so far) this has been the right decision - The team seems to have turned around and has really delivered a lot of functionality in the previous sprint. Everyone on the team has found renewed focus and are happy to see all the changes made in the team. My goal for the team is simple - delivery, simplicity and happiness - I think we are on our way. Sprint Review takes place middle of next week. This is when the stakeholders meet with the team (in pure Scrum fashion) and review all the deliverables. Last review, a few days after I was handed the team, I had almost nothing to show. This time around, we have a lot to present and this is only because every member of the team decided to step up to deliver. We just have to make sure this momentum is sustained for the next several months. I guess time will tell...
Of course, it has not been as easy as it may seem. I have had to make a few difficult changes and decisions in the past few weeks. Last week, I was asked to move a technically-respected member off my team - this has been one of the most difficult decisions so far. I feel that it is the right thing to do and in the best interest of the client and this person.
This client is an extremely difficult one and the politics remind me of my last full-time job. However, I really feel passionate about helping my team deliver and the client and I understand that if my team succeeds, it will eventually drive the project to succeed in the long term. I continue to do the best I can within the constraints provided and believe that this team will eventually turn around after making sure all the wheels are churning with ease.
A month ago, my (ThoughtWorks-appointed) Iteration Manager at the client site was requested to leave the project due to issues related to scope management and delivery for our specific module. This module is a very complex part of an extremely large J2EE project. I was asked to take over management of this team and become the new Scrum Master (Iteration Manager).
Initially, I planned to reject the promotion due to several reasons;
- The team was extremely fragile.
- I had never managed a team for ThoughtWorks before.
- There were specific members of the team that made the team extremely disfunctional.
Well, I can say that (so far) this has been the right decision - The team seems to have turned around and has really delivered a lot of functionality in the previous sprint. Everyone on the team has found renewed focus and are happy to see all the changes made in the team. My goal for the team is simple - delivery, simplicity and happiness - I think we are on our way. Sprint Review takes place middle of next week. This is when the stakeholders meet with the team (in pure Scrum fashion) and review all the deliverables. Last review, a few days after I was handed the team, I had almost nothing to show. This time around, we have a lot to present and this is only because every member of the team decided to step up to deliver. We just have to make sure this momentum is sustained for the next several months. I guess time will tell...
Of course, it has not been as easy as it may seem. I have had to make a few difficult changes and decisions in the past few weeks. Last week, I was asked to move a technically-respected member off my team - this has been one of the most difficult decisions so far. I feel that it is the right thing to do and in the best interest of the client and this person.
This client is an extremely difficult one and the politics remind me of my last full-time job. However, I really feel passionate about helping my team deliver and the client and I understand that if my team succeeds, it will eventually drive the project to succeed in the long term. I continue to do the best I can within the constraints provided and believe that this team will eventually turn around after making sure all the wheels are churning with ease.
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