I’m not sure how on earth I managed to commute to London five days per week for over 20 years, it’s flipping tiring! After a very full day I had a nice snooze on the train home 😂
Today was the first day of a two-day planning session called Termly Increment (TI) Planning, which takes place every 12 weeks. The whole department c.500 people gets together to plan what they are doing for the following TI. This is a key Agile ceremony and it’s really effective when we all get together as we can easily communicate between teams and discuss dependencies.
This was my first TI as the Agile Delivery Manager (ADM) for the Estates IT Product team, and it opened my eyes to how much work our manager had to do when he was ADM! Every team member has to do their bit to contribute their work plans, and it’s my job to facilitate conversations with them and our technical teams, ensure the work streams are planned effectively (taking into consideration risks and dependencies) and then report upwards to our Product Delivery Manager.
Our team comes under a wider umbrella called Digital Campus Experience, and collectively all the teams work hard to provide effective IT/AV facilities, online tools, technical support and a host of other digital facilities for UCL students and staff. I feel very lucky that I am surrounded by supportive and encouraging colleagues – a big shout out to all these friendly, dedicated, conscientious and talented people!
Elizabeth Mooney 