Tana and I just finished our second Indiana University Scrum training class.  We partnered with  Center of Excellence for Women In Technology (CEWiT) to offer a two day course over a weekend.  If you don’t know about CEWiT, you should check them out here.  Tana and I feel it is important that we “pay it forward” to the next generation of women leaders.

I am always amazed that students willingly gave up their weekend to attend a class that has no effect on their grades or course load.  They were motivated and enthusiastic and took the opportunity to learn something new, and that positive energy carried over to Tana and I.  I believe we get more out of these classes than our attendees do.

Our goal with our Scrum class is to provide students with a foundation upon which students can start on their Agile journey.  The mix of students was great.   Their level in school ranged from undergrads to Ph.D. candidates, with a variety of backgrounds including informatics, computer science, design, and education.  There was also a mix of professional experience levels, we had a few people involved in start-ups, a few experienced developers, an experienced IU employee or two, and a few folks with only internships under their belts.  It was apparent that the attendees were engaged by the questions that seemed to be coming at us continuously.  It seemed we could spend the entire two days just providing answers to their specific questions on how to apply the agile principles to their specific experiences.  It made for an interesting weekend.  We utilized several exercises to reinforce the Scrum process, including a Scrum simulation using Legos.  This was our first time simulating Scrum through building a Lego City , and we liked the results.

We would like to thank the leadership of CEWIT and our attendees for the opportunity to share Scrum with them.  We would also like to thank Jenny Hertel for making sure we were taken care of with drinks and food.  I am looking forward to our next CEWIT event.

Thanks for coming in today.

Chris