Linda CarvelliPM Specialist| Self-employedWarren, Ri, United States
I've worked in IT for over 30 years, been a PM for almost 20 of those years, and held a PMP for 7. I'm well versed and experienced in Lean Six Sigma and PMBOK and have a general understanding of Agile. I've taken some "scratch the surface" webinars and not sure best course of action to start more formal education --- enough to land a position as Agile PM and start accumulating some Agile hours leading up to certification. I'd love to hear opinions/experiences from fellow PMs about how to enhance my career with Agile knowledge.
Hi Linda, I would suggest taking the CSM course which can also be applied to your PMI-ACP exam requirements if you choose this certification. Reading about it is good; but application is probably better. Maybe seek out some Meet Ups targeting Agile in your area; as well as; volunteer opportunities.
Hi Linda, yes I meant Certified Scum Master (CSM). The difference between the two certifications CSM and PMI-ACP is one is a specific type of Agile (CSM - Scrum) and PMI-ACP is more general. The PMI-ACP material goes over all the different types (Scrum, XP, and more) to give you and overview of the them all. I am not familiar with the course you have described - Agile for IT PM course. It sounds very extensive and much more PDUs than you will need to sit for the PMI-ACP exam. But the information you will obtain will probably be beneficial. Please keep us informed on whichever way you decide. Saving Changes...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
Mar 10, 2017 11:07 PM
Replying to Demetrius Williams
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Hi Linda, I would suggest taking the CSM course which can also be applied to your PMI-ACP exam requirements if you choose this certification. Reading about it is good; but application is probably better. Maybe seek out some Meet Ups targeting Agile in your area; as well as; volunteer opportunities.
Linda, I think Demetrius nailed it. With your experience, a CSM or CSPO certification will open a lot of doors. It's a lot of money up front, but worth it if you're looking for opportunities. I haven't seen demand for the ACP in my area, yet, but good CSMs are in short supply.
Out of curiosity, why are you looking for an Agile position? With your background, it seems like you could be taking a step backwards in your career. Scrum has no project manager position. Is it just the desire to try something new, or are you drawn to Agile work environments?
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1 reply by Linda Carvelli
Mar 14, 2017 4:33 PM
Linda Carvelli
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Hi Wade, after 20 years in tech PM, I took some time off to write/publish my book (memoir) and during that process I discovered I wanted to share my personal experiences and help others navigate through some of life's personal pitfalls. I pursued a certificate in life coaching AND DURING THAT PROCESS I truly honed into my passion and that is facilitating change (for individuals, teams, organizations, etc.) and I still have a strong interest in IT projects. One webinar I watched explained the difference between traditional PM and Agile PM is Agile PM is more of a coach and many of the behaviors, actions, techniques she introduced were the same as those I learned in coaching school. As I look back (and now having coaching certification) I realize my traditional PM style was more of coach than dictator. My key strengths are collaboration and facilitation and I'm now really passionate about helping individuals think for themselves through self-awareness and discovery. The Agile webinar presenter referred to a Scrum Master as a Coach and that the main message for teams is "allow failings because that is where the real improvements happen...during the retrospective." I am a firm believer in this message in all aspects of life so I think I can make a smooth transition to SM and be of great value to Agile teams.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Linda, certifications will not help you if you really do not understand what Agile really is (as you see I have two Agile certifications: PMI`s PMI-ACP and DSDM`s DSDM AP&Coach). Saving Changes...
S RajasekarSenior Project Manager| AllscriptsBangalore, Karnataka, India
What is the job market for CSMs like, in your area? I became a CSM almost 10 years before getting an agile project. Training/certification help the most when there is a high demand and not a lot of competition. Saving Changes...
Linda CarvelliPM Specialist| Self-employedWarren, Ri, United States
Mar 10, 2017 4:11 PM
Replying to Naomi Caietti
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Linda:
Here is a nice table that gives you an idea of the application of Agile approaches in different type of projects. This may help guide you in with some of the comment here by Lisa, Sergio and Vincent.
Thank you again. I'm grateful for all the thoughtful responses to aid in my research! Saving Changes...
Linda CarvelliPM Specialist| Self-employedWarren, Ri, United States
Mar 10, 2017 11:07 PM
Replying to Demetrius Williams
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Hi Linda, I would suggest taking the CSM course which can also be applied to your PMI-ACP exam requirements if you choose this certification. Reading about it is good; but application is probably better. Maybe seek out some Meet Ups targeting Agile in your area; as well as; volunteer opportunities.
Hi Wade, after 20 years in tech PM, I took some time off to write/publish my book (memoir) and during that process I discovered I wanted to share my personal experiences and help others navigate through some of life's personal pitfalls. I pursued a certificate in life coaching AND DURING THAT PROCESS I truly honed into my passion and that is facilitating change (for individuals, teams, organizations, etc.) and I still have a strong interest in IT projects. One webinar I watched explained the difference between traditional PM and Agile PM is Agile PM is more of a coach and many of the behaviors, actions, techniques she introduced were the same as those I learned in coaching school. As I look back (and now having coaching certification) I realize my traditional PM style was more of coach than dictator. My key strengths are collaboration and facilitation and I'm now really passionate about helping individuals think for themselves through self-awareness and discovery. The Agile webinar presenter referred to a Scrum Master as a Coach and that the main message for teams is "allow failings because that is where the real improvements happen...during the retrospective." I am a firm believer in this message in all aspects of life so I think I can make a smooth transition to SM and be of great value to Agile teams.
Note: Demetrius, I apologize; I now see this response attached to your message when I intended it to be for Wade. Saving Changes...
Linda CarvelliPM Specialist| Self-employedWarren, Ri, United States
Mar 14, 2017 7:53 AM
Replying to Wade Harshman
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Linda, I think Demetrius nailed it. With your experience, a CSM or CSPO certification will open a lot of doors. It's a lot of money up front, but worth it if you're looking for opportunities. I haven't seen demand for the ACP in my area, yet, but good CSMs are in short supply.
Out of curiosity, why are you looking for an Agile position? With your background, it seems like you could be taking a step backwards in your career. Scrum has no project manager position. Is it just the desire to try something new, or are you drawn to Agile work environments?
Hi Wade, after 20 years in tech PM, I took some time off to write/publish my book (memoir) and during that process I discovered I wanted to share my personal experiences and help others navigate through some of life's personal pitfalls. I pursued a certificate in life coaching AND DURING THAT PROCESS I truly honed into my passion and that is facilitating change (for individuals, teams, organizations, etc.) and I still have a strong interest in IT projects. One webinar I watched explained the difference between traditional PM and Agile PM is Agile PM is more of a coach and many of the behaviors, actions, techniques she introduced were the same as those I learned in coaching school. As I look back (and now having coaching certification) I realize my traditional PM style was more of coach than dictator. My key strengths are collaboration and facilitation and I'm now really passionate about helping individuals think for themselves through self-awareness and discovery. The Agile webinar presenter referred to a Scrum Master as a Coach and that the main message for teams is "allow failings because that is where the real improvements happen...during the retrospective." I am a firm believer in this message in all aspects of life so I think I can make a smooth transition to SM and be of great value to Agile teams.
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1 reply by Wade Harshman
Mar 15, 2017 12:37 PM
Wade Harshman
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Thanks for sharing your story, Linda.
You're right, a scrum master is a coach, and (ideally) someone who works her way out of a job as the development team and the organization get more familiar with the scrum framework. A scrum master is NOT a project manager, though, and that's a key distinction that a lot of project managers miss.
Best of luck to you.
Saving Changes...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
Mar 14, 2017 4:33 PM
Replying to Linda Carvelli
...
Hi Wade, after 20 years in tech PM, I took some time off to write/publish my book (memoir) and during that process I discovered I wanted to share my personal experiences and help others navigate through some of life's personal pitfalls. I pursued a certificate in life coaching AND DURING THAT PROCESS I truly honed into my passion and that is facilitating change (for individuals, teams, organizations, etc.) and I still have a strong interest in IT projects. One webinar I watched explained the difference between traditional PM and Agile PM is Agile PM is more of a coach and many of the behaviors, actions, techniques she introduced were the same as those I learned in coaching school. As I look back (and now having coaching certification) I realize my traditional PM style was more of coach than dictator. My key strengths are collaboration and facilitation and I'm now really passionate about helping individuals think for themselves through self-awareness and discovery. The Agile webinar presenter referred to a Scrum Master as a Coach and that the main message for teams is "allow failings because that is where the real improvements happen...during the retrospective." I am a firm believer in this message in all aspects of life so I think I can make a smooth transition to SM and be of great value to Agile teams.
Thanks for sharing your story, Linda.
You're right, a scrum master is a coach, and (ideally) someone who works her way out of a job as the development team and the organization get more familiar with the scrum framework. A scrum master is NOT a project manager, though, and that's a key distinction that a lot of project managers miss.
Best of luck to you. Saving Changes...
Linda CarvelliPM Specialist| Self-employedWarren, Ri, United States
Mar 10, 2017 4:02 PM
Replying to Sergio Luis Conte
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The first thing to do is to understand what Agile really is. And first of all to understand that Agile something does not exists. What exists is project management performed inside an environment using some approach (Agile for example). Agile is not a method, Agile is not softwre or IT related only, Agile is not a process, Agile did not start with the Manifesto. Take a look to this great post by Heidi Araya to understand about the history: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-agile-...e-title-publish I was part of the forum where Agile "formaly" was born in 1990: USA DoD NSF/Agility Forum.
I have the opportunity to write a short article for PM Network that perhaps it helps: ""Perfectly Positioned"; http://www.pmnetwork-digital.com/pmnetwork/april_2016?pg=73#pg73 I was part of the group of authors of an Agile Software Development Method: DSDM.
Very informative. Thank you so much for sharing. Saving Changes...
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