Musab barakati

It is often heard in organizations phrases like “we lack resources on this project, give us two more people to handle the workload” or “resources require training to improve their performance”, but my favorite (obvious sarcasm) is “make resources work overtime to meet the deadline” For me, resources sounds like a USB device, you plug into a project or take out based on need. However, people are not USB devices, you cannot expect a person to join a project team and start giving at “expected” level of performance, and you cannot expect that moving them around will not affect their moral. Scrum is one of the solutions that I saw in practice address this dehumanization of people at the work place, and gets fantastic results as well. USBs require specific programs to integrate together, if that is ready in advance, and all USBs behavior are similar, it works. However, a USB will not have the time to install its software and is asked to immediately do it task. This,  at best , wi...

Are you nervous about your next career step? Maybe you have been at an office that didn’t suite you well that you never really “fit in.” Maybe you are not sure what to look for when going to a new company. Maybe the final interview question “Now, do you have any questions for us?” is confusing and you do not know what you should ask. Well, read on, and hopefully this article will give you some insight. I am simply providing a generic approach that can help everyone evaluating a workplace. It focuses on job seekers, however, if you are hiring people, think about it as an insight of what kind of culture do you  currently  have and what kind of culture do  want  to have, which will attract the people you seek. First, know thy self In anything you wish to see if it would be suitable for you, you are the other half of the equation that you can rigorously investigate. When it comes to workplace, think of your habits and ask yourself and friends some questions, Fo...

I went to a family friend once for advice about work, and he told me I should focus and become a specialist at something. His words made a lot of sense because when you are a specialists your skills and knowledge will be unique that can contribute greatly in that field of work and you will benefit personally as well. However, I hesitated to accept the advice. Specializing feels like limiting options, which for someone who was in my late 20’s still wanted to explore more of my ability. The ability to adapt deteriorates with age, and responsibilities increase allowing less space for exploration. If someone loves doing something specific, specializing is fantastic and fulfilling. However, that is a big if. Enjoying doing something over a long period of time can also lead to obsolescence, where the skill and knowledge becomes outdated with technology and innovation. Specialists are indispensable. They can command a premium for their service because only similar specialists can un...

A while ago a friend hosted a meetup about daydreaming and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am reflecting and sharing my thoughts: Daydreaming as a window to understand oneself: Daydream tells the person about his desires and what he wishes for. An experiment we did was to try and imagine what the cashier was daydreaming about, with different perspectives the general feeling was that people imagined how they would feel if they were in his place. They projected their values and preferences on the cashier as they thought. Daydreaming as tool for empathy: Another experiment that revolved around try to imagine other people’s daydream in the meetup. We knew little about each other but not absolutely nothing (what differentiated it from the previous experiment). This engaged us in trying to analyze and understand the other person’s priorities and what makes them who they are. Influencing and inspiring others through daydreaming: I remembered what Steve Jobs told the CEO...

I am all about getting people learn something new, especially about themselves and what they took for granted but never knew. Talking with a friend, he contemplated how trivial life seems some times. We had an interesting discussion and a few questions came into play. When is life enjoyable? When do you feel valuable or adding value? What are you about (your mission in life)? The last question is extremely important. It is a journey of discovery and reflection. I don’t think our mission fundamentally changes in life, but I do not know yet. And I do not know when and how it’s nurtured. What I do know is a approach to bring it to the forefront of your life to engage in more conscious decisions. I have been dwelling in Agile and posted an article about  Agile and personal goals , and I believe agility is the right approach to discovering your mission in life. How can you start? I would recommend getting feedback from others, here is an exercise by Simon Senik to  discov...

We usually focus on the mechanics of achieving our goals. I thought of shifting the paradigm with agility and focusing instead on how we should approach goals differently. I broke it down with the four values in the agile manifesto. I also summarized a number of relevant ted talks where that inspired me. General notes before you start reading in regards of goals: “You act based on what you expect, not what you want.”  Dr. Jennice Vilhauer. This is the reason you don’t get what you want. “No one will invest in you but you.”  Tasha Eurich Do not rush because we over estimate what we can do in a day, we under estimate what we can do in a year. Small steps, iterative and incremental, and consistent. Less is more, focus on less to achieve more. 1.    Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Individuals:  “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  Jim Rohn Remember who are the closest to you. W...

If you are thinking of transforming your organization to adopt more agility at work when there is little to no leadership support, you have to ask yourself some serious questions first. Is it the right place and time for the agility transformation? Agility is not for everyone in every situation. I would recommend thinking with the  Cynefin framework . If most of your work is complex and requires a lot of human collaboration, then go for it. Is it worth the time and effort? This is your question to answer. The amount of time and effort you will put on top of your current work will be like having another job. How far is the organization from agility? This is the gap analysis. How far is the current mindset / culture? Do they have some mindset and you need to introduce a few practices? Or there is no mindset and the change needed is significant. What do you have on the line? Your reputation, promotion, status, even your job. You need the courage and belief in agility that it ...

Absolutely, a great one, but under some conditions. First we need to answer what is a BA and what do they do? What are their skill set that is important to transition to a scrum master role, and finally, what is it they usually need to work on to become great scrum masters. According to PMI a BA is: is some who does business analysis through  “Identifying business needs. Recommending relevant solutions. Working with stakeholders to elicit requirements. Analyzing, defining, documenting and managing requirements. BAs help to shape the outcome of projects to ensure they deliver business benefits.” For even more simplification:  “As stated in the International Institute of Business Analysis’ (IIBA) A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide) 2.0, Section 1.2, the BA’s role is to help organizations reach their goals.” In short, they are an understanding and learning experts, they need to know what is needed, what is happening, and how to bridge the...