Doing Agile In Community

April 5, 2024

This was originally posted on LinkedIn in April of 2024 It has been copied here for ease of reading and preservation.

The Agile practitioner role (Scrum Master, Agile Coach, Agile Lead, Agile SME) is often an isolating space. Typically there is a single Agile Coach, or Scrum Master per team (or one divided amongst several teams) so most of the folks you are interacting with on a daily basis are the folks you are seeking to help. Some organizations have communities of practice where Scrum Masters or Agile Coaches from different spaces can come together and discuss larger Agile topics in the context of the organization. That there are a lot of orgs out there with one Agile Practitioner in the whole organization, and orgs who's teams are too wide and diverse to create community among the Agile practitioners (Community of practice).

I have thoughts about Certifications and the ways they have helped and harmed the Agile Professional. One challenge that applies here is that I don't see the entry level Certification (CSM, PSM) set folks up to do Agile long term, in the wild and without support. So often, the cert is the first step in getting to know the Agile world better- but it is just that, a first step. The Certification doesn't force us to grow long term and continue learning, experimenting, and researching.

The isolation that many of us feel and the lack of preparation for that isolation can cause real problems and burnout for us Agile practitioners. It also limits our exposure to the things we can read or watch, this is not an awful space to be but can be frustrating and overwhelming with so much negative talk about Agile out there.

These elements show me how important it is that I have build community among Agile Professionals. Lets touch briefly on what I mean by "Community" this is a space where we are encouraged to learn and challenged to open our minds up to new ideas. While we have books and podcasts, and blogs and videos where we can expose ourselves to new ideas- there is something more personal and open in me when this happens in a two way street (community) rather than a one way street (consuming media).

I have found value in the communities I take part in:

• Hearing how others are operating
• Learning about how others are tackling similar and different challenging situations
• Understanding that what feels big and ominous for me and my team(s) may be common place for others, or might not even be as big as I thought compared to other's challenges.
• Space to test out my thoughts and ideas and receive feedback from those who have been in the industry longer than I have and/or have different background experience than I do.
• Encouragement, support, and camaraderie among those who "get it" or "get me"

How to find community?

Most of the communities I have found, I did so through Social Media and Google. A few Discord and Slack communities have proven quite helpful and active, and Meetup.com has a variety of in-person and online communities (though less popular now than they were- with a new pricing model for hosts). An honorable mention for the Reddit, LinkedIn, and Facebook communities. I have personally found them to be less welcoming, and I am less involved as a result- but they are a trove of information and vast ideas.

The communities that I am aware of and take part in:

• The Agile Water Cooler Community (Discord)
• Product Owner Community (Discord- link broken, not discoverable)
• The Agile Pit Stop (Discord- link broken, not discoverable)
• The Agile Moose Heard (Slack)

Local to me (Houston):

• Lean Beers (happy hour- disclaimer, a group I started)
• The Houston Product Community (content and conversation)
• Agile Leadership Network Houston (content and conversation)

Questions:

• What communities need to be added to this list?
• Why do YOU attend the community that you do?