It is a Team, not a Clinic
We have by now held three sessions of the Agile Austin “Ask an Expert” service. The thing that impressed me most in these three meetings is the effectiveness of the the team discussion modus. Rather than make the clinic a series of 1-1 consultations, we followed Scott Killen‘s good suggestion to conduct it in the manner articulated in the statement of purpose:
Team discussions with any Agilists attending the program will be encouraged to maximize the sharing of experience and draw out the wisdom of crowds.
It is starting to become evident we enriched the experience and made it more gratifying by moving away from the {professor –> student} modus. The sessions are kind of everyone singing, everyone dancing. Rather than a plain answer for a plain question, we get much richer threads. Moreover, it is obvious the experience one clinic “patient” shares with another is as valuable as the expert advice.
We are starting to see repeat “patients.” It is really becoming a team more than a clinic.
The Agile Executive 
I could not agree more. In fact, one participant said that she has learned more from the questions others asked than from those she brought herself. The group tends to highlight areas that are common stumbling blocks in order to share solutions and educate one another about unforseen pitfalls.
Paul Brownell
June 2, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I would allow myself a speculation: it might be the case that folks who are inclined to adopt Agile are also open to learning in new way(s).
Israel
Israel Gat
June 2, 2009 at 2:15 pm