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Apr 5, 2020
John was very helpful
John was very helpful and knowledgeable. I am glad i had the privilege to learn from him.
Adam Blankenship
Apr 2, 2020
Excellent hands on class for beginning…
Excellent hands on class for beginning Scrum Masters!
Alex
Apr 2, 2020
Excellent
John teaches a well structured class with plenty of opportunity to collaborate with peers and as questions. Definitely recommend this course for anyone with or without experience with scrum!
Thanks John!
Harry Guloien
Mar 17, 2020
Enjoyable and focused
John was patient and very explicit in clear simple terms. His approach was one that even a self starter like myself can quickly understand.
The interactive nature of the class made me feel more comfortable. I have been studying Scrumguide and related topics on my own but taking this class was an eye opener especially with the additional links and supplemental reading tips and tricks he provided.
If anything, I'll recommend his class to anyone.
Thank you again John.
Betsy
Feb 29, 2020
I learned a lot
I learned a lot. John/the course material were very engaging. The days flew by and I felt very prepared to take my exam, especially because John recommended good follow up reading that reinforced everything.
Justin Hachey
Feb 27, 2020
Draw from a wealth of experience with a great instructor!
John was a great instructor with tons of experience to draw from in the class - giving real life examples of scrum in action within an organization as well as the challenges that scrum masters face. I was in a small class, but it was highly interactive, and gave us the ability to ask questions about how scrum could be applied in our work contexts. The exercises we did in the class was invaluable to truly understanding what it means to be a scrum master and the types of situations you would face in that environment. I would recommend this training to anyone serious about DOING the actual work of enacting scrum within an organization or team. The class beats anything you can simply read from the book, and it was a truly enjoyable learning experience.
Lisa LP
Feb 11, 2020
Very good class
Liked the openness and honesty of the facilitator, and the content mixing the best of both Scrum and Kanban
Carlo Criniti
Feb 3, 2020
John is very knowledgeable and is great…
John is very knowledgeable and is great at providing insight as to how Scrum applies to your organization. His class was very enjoyable and I successfully passed the PSPO I cert exam after. I definitely recommend taking John's course!
Melissa Baum
Jan 28, 2020
John is an excellent trainer and the…
John is an excellent trainer and the class was fantastic! Highly recommend!
Robin Maher
Jan 28, 2020
Superb Experienced Trainer
John was an excellent trainer and was able to facilitate our questions, with his real life experience. His knowledge and experience is invaluable to this class.
Danya Gibbons
Jan 28, 2020
Professional Scrum Master - John Gillespie
John's class was one of the most enjoyable sessions I have attended in my career. His mix of relate able work experiences mixed with exercises kept us engaged. He was able to coach and provide advice for any challenges we described with our own teams. I hope to be able to implement new scrum initiatives in my organisation with great success after attending this class.
Abena Kerr
Jan 22, 2020
John exceeded my expectations!
John exceeded my expectations! He was a great teacher and went above & beyond the scope of the course to help me with my business and life! :)
Grant VanderHayden
Dec 3, 2019
The instructor John Gillespie was great…
The instructor John Gillespie was great for my class.
William Sims
Nov 25, 2019
John has very rich experience in his…
John has very rich experience in his profession that he brings to the class and keep the curriculum it on track for two days. However at times during the class he was barely audible due to his low voice making some of the class find the sessions monotonous even though the concepts John explained and presented were very helpful. He did a great job with the exercises and group activities which gave me a lot of perspective on the class.
Tejash Patel
Nov 16, 2019
John Gillespie is an excellent mentor
John Gillespie is an excellent mentor. He provided the required support whenever I reached out to him even after the class. Great class with an equally knowledgeable and helpful coach!!!
Aparna Das
Nov 12, 2019
John is very knowledgeable and can…
John is very knowledgeable and can convey his ideas and experiences clearly. As with all of the level one scrum classes, the classes have some built in "beginner scrum" stuff but the face to face exchanges are always the most valuable.
Charles J
Oct 16, 2019
Great class!
The only reason why the review is not 5 stars is because the course was too focused on software and not geared enough toward agile marketing. Otherwise, John is fantastic and led a great 2 days...we were lucky to have him!!
JP
Oct 10, 2019
John is Awesome
John is Awesome - very knowledgeable!
Renee LaCapria-Harper
Oct 10, 2019
John Gillespie provided a great…
John Gillespie provided a great learning environment and was very successful at ensure the class was engage and interact,
Kandace Gall
Oct 8, 2019
Professional Product Owner Certification
John Gillespie provided great learning experiences specifically when applying the project courses in class
Kandace Gall
Oct 8, 2019
PSPO
Very informative, hands-on learning; course was extremely applicable to me as a product owner. Would prefer to have the course be a multi-week, one day a week course to allow myself to put learnings into practice instead of a brain dump where some concepts may be lost in the future. Would also like more info on how to become certified, and market data on what the best orgs are to be certified through. Overall great course, would highly recommend.
Alex
Oct 8, 2019
Great Class
It was a great course and learned a lot. The only downside is I wish it would of had more real life teachings.
Todd Hinton
Sep 29, 2019
was great as I got basic ideas of the…
was great as I got basic ideas of the values and details about scrum master. But I think the course should be a little longer with a longer case study.
yuhui liu
Aug 30, 2019
This was a good class
This was a good class. Our instructor John was extremely experienced and seasoned in the field, which helped him to understand all of our companies and the unique challenges that we face. As our company has been transitioning to Agile, I have felt very confused about the why and how, and our Scrum leaders have done a terrible job explaining it to us. So, it was great to have John clarify everything. I understood Scrum and Agile better after 2 days in this class than I have from months of trainings at work. It also helped me understand how UX fits into Scrum. John knows that every company is different and you can't be overly firm in your definitions or rules of Scrum. It's not meant to be an omnipotent system. I think it was more expensive than the value what we got out of it, hence removing one star. However, as far as the class itself went, I can't imagine a better instructor or much that could have been done in a different way.
Laurel Hulme
Jul 14, 2019
I think the class was well laid out and…
I think the class was well laid out and provided some helpful guidance even to those without a UX background.
JOSE
Jun 28, 2019
A lot of good information was shared…
A lot of good information was shared that I'll be able to apply to my current job, and will plan to relay it to upper management. Very applicable and useful to my work. Glad I took the class!
Arlene Atkin
Jun 22, 2019
Professional Scrum Master 1
I found the Professional Scrum Master 1 class to be very informative and interesting. Our instructor, John Gillespie, was very knowledgeable and made learning the framework of Scrum enjoyable.
Jacqueline Batten
Apr 24, 2019
John did an amazing job presenting the…
John did an amazing job presenting the material and facilitated a completely engaging class.
Jared Blake
Mar 9, 2019
I really enjoyed the PSPO class
I really enjoyed the PSPO class. Many of the product owner skills and capabilities overlap well with my portfolio role.
Jim Pirnik
John's Certifications
John's Bio
John Gillespie MBA, MSCS, PST is a technology and transformation executive with significant experience in data centers, solutions architecture, and continuous delivery including mobile application development and product management in financial institutions. For the past ten years, he has guided organizations in the adoption of Lean/Agile frameworks and has been integral in leading enterprise-wide transformations. As an entrepreneur, John founded 2 profitable technology firms selling one to a publicly traded company and the other to a venture capital firm. Through his affiliation with Scrum.org John is licensed to teach all of the Scrum.org classes. He earned an MBA specializing in finance and leadership from NYU Stern School of Business and an MS in Computer Science along with a BS in Economics.
Contact me to discuss how your organization can leverage Scrum to improve your business agility.
Spoken Languages
- English
Courses taught by John
See What My Students Say
Apr 5, 2020
John was very helpful
John was very helpful and knowledgeable. I am glad i had the privilege to learn from him.
Adam Blankenship
Apr 2, 2020
Excellent hands on class for beginning…
Excellent hands on class for beginning Scrum Masters!
Alex
Apr 2, 2020
Excellent
John teaches a well structured class with plenty of opportunity to collaborate with peers and as questions. Definitely recommend this course for anyone with or without experience with scrum!
Thanks John!
Harry Guloien
Mar 17, 2020
Enjoyable and focused
John was patient and very explicit in clear simple terms. His approach was one that even a self starter like myself can quickly understand.
The interactive nature of the class made me feel more comfortable. I have been studying Scrumguide and related topics on my own but taking this class was an eye opener especially with the additional links and supplemental reading tips and tricks he provided.
If anything, I'll recommend his class to anyone.
Thank you again John.
Betsy
Feb 29, 2020
I learned a lot
I learned a lot. John/the course material were very engaging. The days flew by and I felt very prepared to take my exam, especially because John recommended good follow up reading that reinforced everything.
Justin Hachey
Feb 27, 2020
Draw from a wealth of experience with a great instructor!
John was a great instructor with tons of experience to draw from in the class - giving real life examples of scrum in action within an organization as well as the challenges that scrum masters face. I was in a small class, but it was highly interactive, and gave us the ability to ask questions about how scrum could be applied in our work contexts. The exercises we did in the class was invaluable to truly understanding what it means to be a scrum master and the types of situations you would face in that environment. I would recommend this training to anyone serious about DOING the actual work of enacting scrum within an organization or team. The class beats anything you can simply read from the book, and it was a truly enjoyable learning experience.
Lisa LP
Feb 11, 2020
Very good class
Liked the openness and honesty of the facilitator, and the content mixing the best of both Scrum and Kanban
Carlo Criniti
Feb 3, 2020
John is very knowledgeable and is great…
John is very knowledgeable and is great at providing insight as to how Scrum applies to your organization. His class was very enjoyable and I successfully passed the PSPO I cert exam after. I definitely recommend taking John's course!
Melissa Baum
Jan 28, 2020
John is an excellent trainer and the…
John is an excellent trainer and the class was fantastic! Highly recommend!
Robin Maher
Jan 28, 2020
Superb Experienced Trainer
John was an excellent trainer and was able to facilitate our questions, with his real life experience. His knowledge and experience is invaluable to this class.
Danya Gibbons
Jan 28, 2020
Professional Scrum Master - John Gillespie
John's class was one of the most enjoyable sessions I have attended in my career. His mix of relate able work experiences mixed with exercises kept us engaged. He was able to coach and provide advice for any challenges we described with our own teams. I hope to be able to implement new scrum initiatives in my organisation with great success after attending this class.
Abena Kerr
Jan 22, 2020
John exceeded my expectations!
John exceeded my expectations! He was a great teacher and went above & beyond the scope of the course to help me with my business and life! :)
Grant VanderHayden
Dec 3, 2019
The instructor John Gillespie was great…
The instructor John Gillespie was great for my class.
William Sims
Nov 25, 2019
John has very rich experience in his…
John has very rich experience in his profession that he brings to the class and keep the curriculum it on track for two days. However at times during the class he was barely audible due to his low voice making some of the class find the sessions monotonous even though the concepts John explained and presented were very helpful. He did a great job with the exercises and group activities which gave me a lot of perspective on the class.
Tejash Patel
Nov 16, 2019
John Gillespie is an excellent mentor
John Gillespie is an excellent mentor. He provided the required support whenever I reached out to him even after the class. Great class with an equally knowledgeable and helpful coach!!!
Aparna Das
Nov 12, 2019
John is very knowledgeable and can…
John is very knowledgeable and can convey his ideas and experiences clearly. As with all of the level one scrum classes, the classes have some built in "beginner scrum" stuff but the face to face exchanges are always the most valuable.
Charles J
Oct 16, 2019
Great class!
The only reason why the review is not 5 stars is because the course was too focused on software and not geared enough toward agile marketing. Otherwise, John is fantastic and led a great 2 days...we were lucky to have him!!
JP
Oct 10, 2019
John is Awesome
John is Awesome - very knowledgeable!
Renee LaCapria-Harper
Oct 10, 2019
John Gillespie provided a great…
John Gillespie provided a great learning environment and was very successful at ensure the class was engage and interact,
Kandace Gall
Oct 8, 2019
Professional Product Owner Certification
John Gillespie provided great learning experiences specifically when applying the project courses in class
Kandace Gall
Oct 8, 2019
PSPO
Very informative, hands-on learning; course was extremely applicable to me as a product owner. Would prefer to have the course be a multi-week, one day a week course to allow myself to put learnings into practice instead of a brain dump where some concepts may be lost in the future. Would also like more info on how to become certified, and market data on what the best orgs are to be certified through. Overall great course, would highly recommend.
Alex
Oct 8, 2019
Great Class
It was a great course and learned a lot. The only downside is I wish it would of had more real life teachings.
Todd Hinton
Sep 29, 2019
was great as I got basic ideas of the…
was great as I got basic ideas of the values and details about scrum master. But I think the course should be a little longer with a longer case study.
yuhui liu
Aug 30, 2019
This was a good class
This was a good class. Our instructor John was extremely experienced and seasoned in the field, which helped him to understand all of our companies and the unique challenges that we face. As our company has been transitioning to Agile, I have felt very confused about the why and how, and our Scrum leaders have done a terrible job explaining it to us. So, it was great to have John clarify everything. I understood Scrum and Agile better after 2 days in this class than I have from months of trainings at work. It also helped me understand how UX fits into Scrum. John knows that every company is different and you can't be overly firm in your definitions or rules of Scrum. It's not meant to be an omnipotent system. I think it was more expensive than the value what we got out of it, hence removing one star. However, as far as the class itself went, I can't imagine a better instructor or much that could have been done in a different way.
Laurel Hulme
Jul 14, 2019
I think the class was well laid out and…
I think the class was well laid out and provided some helpful guidance even to those without a UX background.
JOSE
Jun 28, 2019
A lot of good information was shared…
A lot of good information was shared that I'll be able to apply to my current job, and will plan to relay it to upper management. Very applicable and useful to my work. Glad I took the class!
Arlene Atkin
Jun 22, 2019
Professional Scrum Master 1
I found the Professional Scrum Master 1 class to be very informative and interesting. Our instructor, John Gillespie, was very knowledgeable and made learning the framework of Scrum enjoyable.
Jacqueline Batten
Apr 24, 2019
John did an amazing job presenting the…
John did an amazing job presenting the material and facilitated a completely engaging class.
Jared Blake
Mar 9, 2019
I really enjoyed the PSPO class
I really enjoyed the PSPO class. Many of the product owner skills and capabilities overlap well with my portfolio role.
Jim Pirnik
Upcoming Classes by John
See all upcoming classesClasses Attended by John
John has no visible classes.
Latest Blogs by John
See all blogs
John Gillespie
In the world of tech, many industry giants such as Google choose to use a management framework known as Objectives and Key Results (OKR).
Oct 7, 2019
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John Gillespie
Does your firm exceed your customer's expectations regularly? Is just meeting expectations good enough in your market? Businesses pursuing an improved ability to deliver customer value using Scrum face numerous challenges.
Sep 26, 2019
Read blog
John Gillespie
Millennials in the workplace. Agile and Scrum can help virtually any organization, from small startup tech businesses with mostly young employees to well established Fortune 2,000 companies with a much more experienced staff.
Aug 26, 2019
Read blog
John Gillespie
Have you heard the term “lamp post metric”? [i] This is a measurement that is easy to gather and may even seem like common sense. If you lose something on a dark night, where are you going to look?
Mar 24, 2019
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John Gillespie
The Agile Manifesto statement of “Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation” is less than helpful when it comes to writing contracts for projects to be worked in an Agile fashion. Contracting for Agile software development projects continues to be a major organizational impediment.
Oct 9, 2018
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John Gillespie
Does your Finance Department discourage Agile software development because it would all be charged to operational expense?
Jul 28, 2018
Read blog
John Gillespie
Behavior Driven Development (BDD) and Test Driven Development (TDD) are Agile Practices that are complementary to the Scrum framework. Both are focused on improving the quality of the software product under development. That said, they approach building valuable software from different perspectives.
Jun 27, 2018
Read blog
John Gillespie
The question remains as to why managers continue to plan projects based on sequential assumptions.
Nov 1, 2017
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John Gillespie
When an organization decides to embark on an Agile Transformation, the first question should be, “Why?” What does leadership hope to achieve? Will the chosen path lead to improved ability to deliver high-quality business value? Once the goals of the Agile Transformation are identified, leadership should consider something that Ken Schwaber, co-creator of Scrum said over five years ago:
“I estimate that 75% of those organizations using Scrum will not succeed in getting the benefits that they hope for from it . . . Scrum is a very simple framework within which the “game” of complex product development is played. Scrum exposes every inadequacy or dysfunction within an organization’s product and system development practices. The intention of Scrum is to make them transparent so the organization can fix them. Unfortunately, many organizations change Scrum to accommodate the inadequacies or dysfunctions instead of solving them.”
If your teams are bolting on a few Scrum events such as the Daily Scrum to an iterative waterfall software development lifecycle without understanding and embracing Scrum core values, it is a safe bet that you will not achieve the business agility envisioned at the outset of your Agile Transformation.
Is the organization adopting an “Agile-ish” approach as opposed to an Agile Transformation because mid-level management does not want to trade “command and control” with servant leadership? Does middle management believe current processes have already been optimized and that there is no need for continuous improvement? Or is the failure to implement Scrum related to fear of change and transparency?
Having a team perform waterfall iterations is not a reasonable facsimile of an Agile approach.
How many of the four foundational values from the Agile Manifesto[1] does an iterative waterfall approach embody? How many of the 12 principles[2] does it employ? Few if any, as most iterative waterfall teams still apply a significant upfront design phase. An iterative waterfall-based project plan measures progress via arbitrary milestones that do not typically include delivering working software to stakeholders.
When is the last time you attended a program review meeting where everything was stated as “GREEN” though no evidence of working software or customer feedback was provided? “GREEN” is of little consequence without delivering working software. Does “GREEN” mean that you failed to identify “RED” feedback? Is this lack of transparency willful misdirection? Scrum, in contrast, would highlight the deficiencies as they are encountered while delivering a working product increment each Sprint. This real-time feedback provides information while there is still time to act on it to improve the project. An Agile-ish approach may give you some insight at the time of a post-mortem, but that doesn’t allow for any course adjustments in your current effort.
So, have you succeeded with your Agile Transformation or have you “Kind of… Not”? Have you decided not to address the organizational impediments that the Scrum framework makes visible? Now may be a good time to revisit the reasons for initiating an Agile Transformation.
[1] http://agilemanifesto.org/
[2] http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
Oct 13, 2017
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