Let’s get this out right away, I LOVE to travel, especially when it involves taking my family to some fun or exotic destination. My kids all know the airport code for Orlando (MCO) and how to get from the airport to Disneyworld. Through my travels, I have encountered a number of business travelers, casual travelers, and airport employees. Needless to say my all time favorite is the fine security personnel from TSA that help keep our airways nice and safe. Now don’t get me wrong, I feel impressed when people take their job seriously. I would even go as far as to say I love it when people are passionate about what they do. A recent experience at the Philadelphia airport made me think about the role of Agile Project managers. I was waiting in the security line for nearly two hours and this is my story.
As I passed the ID / Boarding Pass Checkpoint, I was quick to make certain my backlog was in order:
All liquids less than 3oz
All liquids and gels stored in a quart size ziplock bag
All laptops ready to be taken out of the bag and placed in a separate bin
All jewelry, watches, belts, wallets, cell phones, PDA’s, & jackets ready to go in a separate container
Shoes in the off position and ready to drop in with my personal belongings
As I executed my final story and reached the front of the line, I discovered my very first impediment. There was a large wooden folding table blocking the entry to the human metal detection device. My first instinct was wouldn’t it be a hoot if I just jumped up on the baggage thingy and lay down? Then I came to my senses, I was dealing with the fiercest security and safety administration known to man. Chances are, they would not find this humorous.
My next impediment was quickly approaching. It was a rather tall & large man with rubber gloves and a white collared shirt emblazoned with six inch letters on the back that read TSA. He walked past me to my relief with a laptop securely in his hand. He proceeded to the very back of the line (which at my best estimate had increased in size to nearly a three hour wait), and placed the laptop on the ground and patted his hand on it. What he did next was most SHOCKING. He proceeded to get everyone’s attention and explained to us that someone was in such a hurry to catch their flight, they forgot to take their laptop out of the bag. The gentleman and his carry-on items were already through security. The laptop on the other hand was at the very back of the line.
He reminded all of us to make the right choice and be prepared when we get to the front of the line! He proceeded back to his checkpoint, moved the table, and returned to work like nothing had ever happened. Being the Agile nerd that I am, I quickly associated this experience to an Agile Project Manager. To best assist the team in completing all of the stories in their iteration, we need to make certain our own backlog is in order and that we are focused on what we can do to remove impediments from the team.
Obviously, in my situation, I was as prepared as I could be. Because someone else on the team had not taken the proper steps to understand the story acceptance requirements (take the laptop out of the bag), the whole team suffered a temporary setback until we could figure a way to best get this person back through the line with their laptop in a quick manner. The product owner (the TSA representative), did not do all he could to help resolve the impediment. Instead he chose to point out the error and create the largest inconvenience possible to make certain this will never happen again.
Part of being a great Agile Project Manager is having common sense. The other part is all about being passionate about what you do. Even after this nightmare experience, I still found a way to allow the gentleman to retrieve his laptop and proceed in front of me at the checkpoint so that he would not miss his flight. We all make honest mistakes, how we identify the mistakes and change course is the difference between good and great.
My advice for all future travels is to study, practice, and execute your backlog. Smile at every person along the way. Set an example to others around you & remember, ‘It’s a small world after all’.
