Last April, we ran the first Certified Scrum Master extended course (3-day) in Belgrade. It was some kind of an experiment for us, because we didn’t know how interested our potential participants would be. Moreover, we have left a 2-day course in the offer, because people have already become accustomed to such a concept and schedule, and we didn’t want to abolish this possibility.
We had a small chat with our Certified Scrum Trainer, Petri Heiramo, who actually was the initiator to run this 3-day Certified Scrum Master course. We talked about the feedback of the participants, about the gains, and about the challenges faced before the course. Read the words of our world renowned expert, and see yourself the benefits of this course.
- For the beginning, can you share some feedback from the participants of this 3-day CSM course? What were their impressions?
Of course, I was really delighted with the comments. Here’s some feedback from the participants:
“3-day CSM course is something that should be definitely continued in my opinion.” – Jovana
“I came to get a nice piece of hardwood, and you showed me the forest with a dozen different tree species and heck even squirells and birds.” – Bogdan (from a feedback email with subject, “You sir did a outstanding job”)
- Great comments! Can you share with a wider audience, what did we actually experiment with?
Well, there’s a few elements. First of all, as much as I love doing the courses, if there are no people signing up for them, there’s just no way I can keep running them. In the course we had 14 people, which is less than the ~25 we had in the 2-day version. Because of the 3-day format, it is one more day for participants and we do need charge a little more for the extra day.
We also experimented with content. One of the typical comments in a 2-day course is that it should take 3 days. Well, now it did, and it certainly felt very different. At the end of the day 1, I was like “hey, still two more days! :)” Normally I’m like “oh now, only one day left and so much to share”. It was possible to have a little longer conversations and include more participant-suggested topics.
We were also able to run a half-day Scrum simulation that was considered the highlight of the course by many of the participants. That is definitely something I’m most looking forward to also in the next course in November.
- Would the people in Serbia (and the region) understand the extra value and be willing to invest a little more? Would they be able to take an extra day from their projects and teams to participate?
Clearly the 3-day format is a “tougher sell”. The extra day and the extra money does mean that a 3-day CSM is less attractive. Or at least it was, since we had never organized one before and maybe people didn’t know enough about it. But it was definitely enough people that we will organize another 3-day course in November.
- Were there any downsides to the longer course?
Personally, I didn’t feel that there was. It also looked like the participants were able to maintain their energy and engagement throughout all days. It is three days, though, and I understand that it just isn’t possible for some people to spend out of their workplace. So I’m not willing to give up the 2-day classes, either.
- So, what is your conclusion about this „experiment“?
To conclude, the 3-day course was a blast and allowed a deeper, richer dive into Scrum and Agile. It is well worth the extra investment, if you can only get that third day off your daily job. 🙂
So, I can proudly say the next – Experiment Outcome: Success!
