On July 1-3, 2018, 75 Agile coaches from the United Kingdom and around the world came together in London for the 21
st iteration of Scrum Coaching Retreat. We connected, took a deep dive into Agile topics, survived an English heat wave – and had fun in the process.
The Retreat structure made it possible for participants to learn, create, and ultimately share knowledge with the rest of the Agile community. It encompassed
a unique set of principles that allowed for this combination:
- Retreat
- Scrum
- Deep
- Long
- Two Sleeps
- Shared Learning
- Slack
Day One
The Retreat kicked off in late afternoon with a world map puzzle game to help figure out where everyone was from. It turns out we had a very international crowd. We met Scrum coaches from the UK of course, but also Germany, Spain, Brazil, Italy, Granada, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United States, and even Indonesia. Suffice it to say that those with jet lag were in good company. More importantly, the true cultural diversity meant we were able to share new perspectives on Agile coaching.
Once geography was established, we started to work. In Open Space style, people introduced Agile topics they wanted to explore in the coming days. We self-organized into Scrum Teams to work on these topics. Every team picked a ScrumMaster and a Product Owner. We each created a team name and a product vision statement, which were presented to the rest of the teams.
The teams we formed explored the following:
Then we broke for dinner, games, and hopes of beating jet lag with the first of our two sleeps.
Day Two
The second day began with a raucous, fast role-switching game involving werewolves, princesses and trees. Let your imagination run wild. Rawr!
After this quick morning energizer, it was time for the teams to start their sprints. Interesting conversations from the previous night were about to transform into valuable, usable outcomes, open to the rest of the world. Each team had a mission to create a section on
ScrumCoachingRetreats.org and post our initial findings by the end of the day.
We worked in two sprints, with lunch in between. As we worked, we noticed something. Scrum, when practiced intensely, in-person, and with experience, has real impact. Two weeks or two hours, using Scrum gets things done. We presented our second Sprint Review with the group as a whole.
Another night with dinner, games, and some added slack time, and we headed for a well-deserved second sleep.
Day Three
The last day started with another energizer; this time involving balloon popping. Latecomers wandered into the main room puzzled by ribbon and rubber detritus everywhere.
Then we completed our third and final sprint. We finished up our web pages (see links above) and prepared for our review. Each team demonstrated its results in a ‘science fair’ setup. We had a two-minute introduction, after which Retreat attendees visited different tables and rooms to see each team’s final product, and had the opportunity for questions and answers. The fair included a bonus area: Scrum Alliance took feedback on the Certified Enterprise Coach and Certified Team Coach journeys.
Before we knew it, we were in the final networking session, then the event retrospective, and we started saying our good-byes. We spent three close days together, refining ideas and improving our coaching craft. We reflected on why we coach and how we coach. In the final closing circle, each person had a chance to appreciate and complete the experience.
Scrum Alliance and the CAT will be bringing a Scrum Coaching Retreat back to North America in 2019
. Visit the Scrum Alliance website for more information and dates of confirmed SCRs coming soon.