At the time I’m writing this, agile raid #1 is complete (November 2014), agile raid #2 (March 2015) is almost full (we’re waiting for confirmation from one last person; we’re going to set up a waiting list just in case). Finally, future agile raids are being prepared for 2015: one in June 2015, the other in fall in Quebec (agile raid in Quebec) with Claude Emond & Charlotte Goudreault in addition to our classic duo (clodio and me).
Delighted
First I must say that I’m delighted with the success of the first agile raid, this November 2014. (To learn more: the origin of the agile raid, or clodio’s article about it, or this article, again from clodio, on the rétrochataigne). Everything worked out rather well. Right down to the good last-minute inspiration of opting for a large black van to transport everyone to the location (rather than a much more random trip in cars). I thank all the people who passed along the information about this training that’s different to say the least, all the people who expressed their interest and support for this type of initiative.
Thus triply delighted: delighted with raid #1, the sun, the physical and spiritual nourishment, a good atmosphere. Also delighted with the good feedback from participants (some testimonials). Delighted about the future raids that are coming (for the second one we’re going from 12 to 18, which is the maximum capacity).
Feedback
- I really enjoyed this duo with Claudio, and the general spirit of a retreat in the Cévennes among friends with Neil Young guitars, and duck legs.
- Ah, I did notice a few moments of disagreement between the two of us. But I don’t see how it could be otherwise. And on the contrary, I perceived this difference as enriching for everyone.
- A second day very dense in content where the need to get out (walk, hike) became obvious. We’re going to balance that. But I reassure everyone that the “raid” is primarily and will remain an immersion in the Cévennes without any particular physical effort except for fairly standard walks.
- Cévennes food doesn’t mess around with your liver. I’m going to look for how to add lighter things to the hearty meals from the local caterer.
- I wonder if we shouldn’t systematically simulate a network outage on the first day (as was the case during the first raid). This contributed to the isolation and general concentration.
We’re keeping
- A large part of the program delivered during these three days (but we’re ready to change everything if necessary).
- Claude’s gîte (they’re everywhere, in this case it’s “she”), and Luc.
- The caterer (which we combine with a bit of lightness).
- The van(s) to pick everyone up in Nîmes.
- Pétanque, ping pong, foosball in the gîte, music for the evening werewolves, and the always cruel “skulls & roses”.
Continuous improvement
- Balance the moments: hikes, agile workshops to improve the general rhythm. More generally rearrange our program, we’ve identified the areas that were too dense, and the relevance of certain workshops at certain times or not.
- Refine, complete our Peetic examples with Clodio, particularly on Kanban.
- Find a daily ceremony that opens discussion at the end of the evening in world café mode.
- Perhaps address organizational agility in a more pronounced way.
- Make t-shirts for everyone (as well as participants from number #1).
- Some participants from the first raid mentioned creating a linkedin group or something similar to continue discussions afterwards. Why not!
Naturally I need to discuss all of this with Clodio. But I don’t think I’m too far off in mentioning these directions.
The agile raid on twitter (#raidagile).
C’est tiguidou
So everything is going very well for what’s next. The March raid is in preparation: we’ll see if the increase in group size (from 12 to 18) disrupts our initial learnings. We’re delighted to already have an almost full raid (one confirmation remains. We’re going to open a waiting list, and launch a 3rd one for June). And also full of hope about an agile raid in Quebec in fall 2015. I haven’t been to Quebec since…1987.