Agile MeetUps: Be Curious

Scope:

This article presents some examples of an approach to attending Agile Meet Ups.

Problem:

I have attended many Agile meet-ups. In fact I prefer them to conferences as I feel a sense of community. Where as conferences people can come and go.

However I have noticed that at these events people seem to never stretch the topic with the presenter. Most are passive and the ones who do ask questions are few and far between. There is not enough curiosity.

For me this misses a great opportunity to obtain knowledge value from industry veterans. Which seems to be the point of these meet ups, to share knowledge and gain discoveries no?

An opportunity lost.

Solution:

I am suspecting the reason for this is not that people do not know what questions to ask, but rather they do not research the topic beforehand. I often research the presenter before the meet up so, my questions are ready once the Q&A section arrives. One must always remain respectful of course.

Here below are some examples of the questions I have asked:

1. Fabiola Eyholzer - How can HR adopt an Agile mindset at Adventures with Agile
   Here I asked Fabiola an expert on Agile HR, on an internal mobility conundrum [1].
2. Craig Larman Q & A - Evening Session
   Here I asked Craig about the Frozen Middle and Dependency Management in relation to LeSS [2].
3. Lyssa Adkins & Michael Spayd - Want a sustainable agile transformation?
   Here I asked the both of them about a Journey of Coaching [3].

As you can see I ask challenging questions whereby even Lyssa admitted she had been put on the spot. Craig had to eek out, that the answer behind my question was only detailed in his course.

Agile Link:

These questions revealed answers that shared more knowledge with attendees than the mere presentations alone. Without them I believe discoveries for the attendees would have been lost. They have helped progress the local Agile Community.

References:

[1] Fabiola Eyholzer: https://youtu.be/yymmgKYQvbo?t=3764

[2] Craig Larman Q & A - Evening Session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHLP1qB1qyk&feature=youtu.be&t=3970

[3] Lyssa Adkins & Michael Spayd - Want a sustainable agile transformation?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=953rtZ9DEYQ&feature=youtu.be&t=4334