Our first training class is in the books and it was a resounding success. Thank you Genworth for providing a wonderful venue! The participants consisted of folks from a variety of firms around town who return to work equipped with a sound foundation in Leading SAFe. Our instructors brought fresh ideas and an approach towards training that resonated with everyone. As an observer for the 2 day workshop I took note of a few highlights that I would like to share:
Our instructors, Vickie Figaro and Joe Snyder, know their stuff! They are very entertaining and engaging and complimented each other well. It kept the class lively and full of energy. They used their combined experiences in doing Agile to tailor the discussions and examples to scenarios which made it much easier for the students to firmly grasp the concepts.
Some of you may not know, I come from a teaching background. Nothing as sexy as Agile/SAFe. My speciality was Drivers Education, P.E and Math - I was a high school teacher in another life. With that said, watching Vickie and Joe opened my eyes to a really fresh brand of collaboration and idea generation from instructors. They co-taught the entire class as opposed to predetermined hand-offs between instructors. It led to very adaptive discussions amongst everyone that often resulted in meaningful, substantive dialogue. The collaborative teaching approach also helped when the two of them could bring different perspectives to bear on questions, scenarios and learning opportunities.
I enjoyed the fact that Joe and Vickie do not lecture as much as lead the class in detailed discussions. They were often looking to the class members to help answer each others questions to build a team atmosphere geared towards problem solving.
I also observed a mixture of strategic thinking and strategic actions being presented to the course materials born out of a wide range of practical experience in Government and Private sector engagements. I feel relevant, real-world examples provide the best path to learning; at least thats how I'm wired. Now, after 2 days of observation doesn't mean I am a Scaled Agilist! However, I can say, without a doubt in my mind, Vickie and Joe are outstanding at what they do! Hope to see you at the next class RVA!
SAFe Training at Genworth's Campus
Written by: Vinnie Wright
November 1, 2015