Who is Justin Doyle?
Justin was proposed by Joanne and Kevin
Here is what Joanne has to say about Justin: I have spent the last year working with Justin on the SUGSA_JHB committee. I enjoy his insights and he is passionate about Agile and about helping teams and people be better. I have really enjoyed working with Justin this year and learning together.
What is something people usually don’t know about you but has influenced you in who you are?
I enjoy roleplaying, you know, where you get a bunch of people into a room with some paper and pencils and a bunch of oddly shaped dice and form a party of heroic adventurers off on some desperate quest?!
Well it’s good fun to be had with a group of friends and I have played a number of systems and characters over the years, from sneaky thieves relying on their skills and agility to get past challenges in D&D, through to rogue FBI agents fighting to stave off the minions of Cthulhu for just one more day in Delta Green.
Roleplaying has allowed me to explore and experiment with parts of my personality and abilities that I maybe would not have been comfortable to do in real life. No more is this true than my experiences playing my favourite character of a bard. This charismatic, confident, jack-of-all trades persona seems to resonate with me and in many ways reflects both my career path and current role as Scrum Master, as well as a vision of what I would like to aspire towards in my life and career going forward.
What would have become of you, if you were not doing the job you do today?
Most likely I would have continued in some form of development or Development Manager type of role. That or I would have changed direction completely towards something like IO psychology… Which to be honest is something I am still strongly considering looking into as I feel there is a huge overlap and relevance to what I currently do.
What is your biggest challenge and why is it a good thing for you?
Strange as it may seem of a Scrum Master, but I have something of a phobia when it comes to writing on white boards and flip charts, which stems from a seeming inability to spell things correctly when writing in front of people combined with a rather scrappy hand writing.
Happily, I have chosen a career that almost constantly puts me in this situation so this is something I have had to confront and come to grips with. I have taken more than one failure bow during my time at the white board.
Although frustrating and embarrassing at times, I feel this has taught me a certain level of humility. Also, I think that this particular challenge acts in a way to show the teams I work with that we can be vulnerable and that failure is not the end of the world and rather is something that should be celebrated and learnt from so that we can build trust and constantly grow and improve.
What drives you?
Having a sense of purpose and feeling that I can make a difference are strong drivers for me. That is why I find working for a company like Discovery really motivating as everything you do has a direct impact on helping to make people healthier and protect and enhance their lives.
What is your biggest achievement?
To date I would like to think that the impact I have had and substantial progress Discovery has made on its journey to becoming a lean and agile organisation is one of my biggest achievements. This for me stands out because of the real difference Discovery makes in people’s lives, which I feel I am a part of, and helping to make even better.
Is there a piece of music that has a special meaning for you?
There are many pieces of music that stand out for me as they capture a particular sense of passion or emotion, however if I had to pick one it would be Adiemus by Karl Jenkins. Not only is this a truly beautiful piece with a rolling feeling of joy and passion, but it holds a very special meaning and memory for my wife and I, as we chose it in place of a traditional wedding march to accompany my wife as she entered the chapel and walked down the aisle.
What is the last book you have read?
Well I am currently coming to the end of my second read through of the Harry Potter series and the tension is mounting as we rush towards the inevitable confrontation between Harry and Lord Voldemort!
On a more agile track I am busy reading Disciplined Agile Delivery: A Practitioner’s Guide to Agile Software Delivery in the Enterprise by Scott Ambler and Mark Lines, which has been a very interesting read as I find the pragmatic approach it proposes to be of great help in organisations still busy with their transition to agile.
What question do you think we should also ask and what is the answer?
What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?!
On a serious note, perhaps a question around why we need something like agile? Why is it important?
This may seem obvious, but I think it is an important question as I have seen and heard of too many people who just follow the mechanics without understanding the underlying principles of agile.
In my opinion agile is a solution to the constantly changing, non-standard work environment we are faced with in things like product development. Agile allows for rapid innovation and experimentation and reduced concept to cash cycle times, which are critical competitive differentiators that organisations need to learn if they want to survive.
(and the correct response to the first question is to answer with a question - ‘An African or European swallow?’ - courtesy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and representative of the importance of always delving deeper to find the right answer)
Whom do you think we should ask next in South Africa?
My introduction and awakening to the concepts of Scrum and agile was during my time working at Kaizania, a company headed by Lionel Bisschoff. Lionel is a brilliant individual with a deep understanding of lean and agile and how it is not only changing the way we work, but also how we approach broader societal challenges.
I have learnt a great deal from Lionel and feel that he is a true thought leader in the agile community.
Whom do you think we should ask next, not in South Africa?
Although not strictly an agile practitioner, I would be most interested to learn more of Daniel Pink. I feel his work on motivation in books such as Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, resonate strongly with agile and it’s values and principals and I have found myself referring to his concepts around motivation - autonomy, mastery and purpose - on many an occasion.
How would you define your relation to the South African Agile community?
Actively involved! I am a committee member of the Johannesburg chapter of the Scrum User Group South Africa (SUGSA), an authorised user group of the Scrum Alliance. Together with my fellow committee members, I help to arrange monthly events with speakers on a wide range of Scrum and agile related topics. In addition, I try as far as possible to get involved and attend regular agile interest groups such as Agile Breakfast and Lean Coffee meet-ups, and also run an internal Scrum user group at Discovery.
Recently, I have also had a paper accepted for the Scrum Gathering in Cape Town, which will hopefully be the first of many such conference presentations going forward.
Johannesburg, October 2013
How to connect with Justin
Twitter: @doyle_justin
Linked In: za.linkedin.com/in/justinwdoyle