Scrum Journal : Day 5

Thursday, March 24, 2016, I awoke at 6am because I had the routine down pat. I nearly forgot my laptop so I had to return after getting to the basement level. At least I wasn’t on the metro. I still managed to board the earlier orange line train to Vienna station. Creating a buffer was essential since this was the metro. I transferred to the 2B and this time remembered to pull the bell in the right spot to avoid walking over the bridge. I was the fourth person there. I just prayed that there was over with so that I could take the test and pass it.

                The instructor started discussing technical debt which was because of my questions. I was validated because I did not think that I was learning a whole lot the day before. However, I did admit that doing the user stories, spring and product backlog activities taught me something. I would give the training that. During the morning break, I crossed the bridge to the PNC to get Uber driver tip money. During lunch, I dined on Uncle Julio’s patio (I fell for the trip of eating all of the chips and salsa. I filled up so much that I couldn’t finish the fajitas. Hey, I was starving. That chocolate bar wasn’t enough.).

                I returned to training still nursing a headache with no Aleve. I managed to survive more tangents and rumblings. I went to use the bathroom and boom I was shut out of the ScrumAlliance CSM exam page. That poor website said that it was busy. I packed my stuff, ordered an Uber and went on my way. Or so I thought…The Uber driver missed the Vienna exit. He asked me. I told her that I lived in DC. I did not know anything about Virginia. We managed to get to Dunn Loring metro. I did not recognize this Dunn Loring. I stopped going there ever since the silver line opened because it had Tysons Corner stops. A Smashburger franchise was built where the old parking lot was. It looked like all of those other planning communities for middle-middle class people (You would not find a Smashburger or other franchises in DuPont so that was a couple rungs below but still). I boarded the orange line returning home. I dropped my bags, reconfigured my laptop and took the test.

                My test was harder than the questions that my classmates received. Immediately I started surfing the Internet for scrum help. I found two sites which helped. Also I grabbed the Scrum Guide. It was written by scrum’s cofounders so I knew that I was good. I scored 94.3% (33/35) passing the exam. Immediately I photographed my certificate posting it on Instagram. I tried uploading it to LinkedIn, but the photo was upside down. Therefore, I found my digital camera in my black oversized Kate Spade purse and re-photographed it. LinkedIn liked that one. Afterward, I typed my CSM announcement posting it on my site. I then copied that to Medium.

                I thought that passing the CSM would be different, at least dinner. In my mind, I thought I would be dining at Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons. I dined at Morton’s steakhouse right after passing the PMP. Nope! Combined the headache, the misfit Uber driver and the ScrumAlliance’s crashed website, I settled for a frozen macaroni and cheese dinner from CVS. Hey, at least I was certified! No one can take CSM away from me! My biggest epiphany was my emotional intelligence. I did not flip out against the Uber driver. I just got home and carried on. I did not let that affect my certification exam performance. Now that was maturity!

I fulfilled this week’s goal of earning my CSM because I was sick and tired of being sick and tired in my job search. Immediately after passing, I created a scrum job alert. There were no less than 20-25 jobs. Also I emailed the three LinkedIn connections who helped me privately and highlighted their names publicly on my LinkedIn status. Giving credit and being gracious were essential. I changed my LinkedIn profile uploading my certificate and adding it to my certifications list. It was like Christmas and I was opening up a present. After 5 days, I was finally certified! Next I told my career coach because we had to start working on integrating this new certification into my personal brand. We had work to do. I had to write a new story.

Finally, I email someone who had impacted me. I was telling him that dipping into a specific fund felt like lack. He said to view this as a business investment since I filed my LLC. That CC Pace training cost $1295. I viewed it as an investment instead of a cost. I started this Sunday sick and tired of being sick and tired. Five days later, I was now a certified Scrum Master. That was an investment indeed!

Scrum Journal : Day 4

Today I awake at 5:45am to leave the house at 6:50am and board the early orange line to Vienna. I am up early because becoming scrum certified is my goal. I admit that I am a techie and love doing statistical programming. My first foray into project management is actually IT project management. Scrum is natural to me especially since it provides the framework for continuous improvement; and, I am all about this.

This stop is the last of the line and I have never been here before. Dunn Loring, the penultimate stop, is the farthest I have even been. I then transfer to the 2B bus to the office building. The ride is going very well but I miscalculated staying on the bus an extra stop forcing me to walk back over the bridge. I have managed to find it. I arrive at 8:30am right on the dot. Well, this is an adventure.

I sit in the only remaining seat (in the front, of course). I thumb through the material and it looks manageable; that’s until the instructor starts going off on tangents. I admit that I am scared because we start at 8:30am ending at 12:20pm (Lunch was supposed to be at 12 noon but there was another tangent) and we’ve only covered 8 slides on 4 pages. I’m just happy that I have read Jeff Sutherland’s book and some Scrum for Dummies because I’ve felt abandoned. While dining at P.J. Chang’s for lunch, I am writing in my notebook about ways to study in order to pass the CSM. I have paid my own money and have been dead set on getting my scrum certification. I will figure this out. Luckily, he speeds up the pace. At the end of day one.

I do have a tablemate who lets everyone know that he is taking a graduate software engineering program. Okay, when I advise him that he convert the scrum certification into an elective. This advice is coming from someone who has earned her MBA in her 20s. His response : ‘the way that I am set up, I am only 4 courses away from my masters.’ Dummy. He could have used this certification converting it into something else. However, I must remember that I am a quick study. I bet that we are the same age but have different paths. I refuse to pay more money than I need to on anything especially my education. Good luck with that! My father fighting in Vietnam and my paternal grandfather fighting in World War II also perturbs me about this tablemate who has never seen war but always talks about the Army. Sheesh! One more day!

I have started practicing for the CSM because I am anal and need to have as many looks as possible. It is one thing for the instructor to recommend what I should study on the exam. It is another to be able to problem solve. I need to know the why because scrum is a part of agile project management. Mastering scrum is essential towards my deeper understanding of this. Furthermore, I love tinkering with technology. For me it is all about walking into the workshop knowing all of my stuff not just what is recommended.

Yippie! I have scored 80% on a mock CSM exam. I have gotten 12 out of 15 correct. Two out of the three that I have gotten wrong are because I don’t know the terminology. I don’t know anything about technical debt of maintainability. I will ask the instructor about this.

More yippie! I have taken a full 35-question mock exam and increased my score to (29/35)! That’s better than the 15-question one. It is essential to build my stamina by taking a full mock exam because I need to know how I will react.