No matter how much a Scrum Team plans, there are times when someone asks them to undertake unplanned work mid-Sprint. In this article, we will discuss how to handle unplanned work in Scrum.

Is your organization having trouble instilling self-management? Then this is the article for you!

In today's vlog, PST Joshua Partogi share his experiences why Developers hate Scrum so much so you can avoid these factors happening in your company.

In this vlog, PST Joshua Partogi share his opinions on how to be a Scrum Master without any prior experience.

Dealing with complexity requires a diversity of expertise. Learn it from the team that builds functional quantum computers.

I gotta say, refining work items is usually, by far, the Scrum Team’s least popular activity.  No one gets up in the morning saying, “I can’t wait to refine the Product Backlog!” In this article, we will discuss five reasons why refining your Product Backlog is worth the time.

The brand-new Product Owner & Product Manager Salary Report 2022 is available: How do you compare to 500-plus peers?

What are the different categories of product owner? This episode goes outlines all the different types of product owners as well as the characteristics/pros and cons of each by considering them against the definition of a product and how you may deliver value. Join me as I also bust a common...

A short 3 case studies of transparency and a story on where it might lead..

Kurt Bittner, PST Ron Eringa and PST Laurens Bonnema come together again to join host Dave West for a discussion on the Dual Operating Model, Culture, self-management, bottom up intelligence and more! (33:37 Minutes)

Prof. Yaneer Bar-Yam, an eminent scientist who is known for his contribution to the mitigation of ethnic violence in Europe, the eradication of the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa, and establishing the field of Complex Systems Science, discussed the reasons behind the success of self-managed and cros...

Backlog refinement is still a vastly misunderstood activity. There is no single approach to it and no time-boxed event. But why is that? And how to handle it? More on that in this article.

Understanding the “why” behind the Scrum framework can help Scrum teams improve their ability to deliver value to the organization.  We previously discussed the purpose behind each Scrum event and the purpose behind each Scrum accountability.  In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the purpose...

In this episode of Ask a Professional Scrum Trainer moderated by Patricia Kong, PSTs Simon Flossmann and David Spinks answer your burning questions about Scrum and the challenges you or your teams may be facing when using Scrum, particularly within the Scrum events and other scenarios when it may be...

An exploration of what scientific studies and a large dataset of Scrum teams tell us about the benefits of agility

Suppose you are looking to fill a position for a Scrum Master (or agile coach) in your organization. In that case, you may find the following 73 interview questions helpful in identifying the right candidate.

Indicator's of a team's health that's beyond velocity

In this article, I’ll explore the need for and the attributes of an agile business operating system related to Private Equity (PE) portfolio companies. It hopefully helps leaders of such companies and PE professionals focused on the operations side expand their perspective on what “Agile” and "Agili...

Kurt Bittner, PST Ron Eringa and PST Laurens Bonnema join host Dave West for a discussion on some of the topics in the new book, The Professional Agile Leader: The Leader's Journey Toward  Growing Mature Agile Teams and Organizations. (25:49 Minutes)

Improving Employee Engagement with Professional Scrum (Questions 4-6 of Gallup's Q12 Survey)

Here are my observations made after teaching Scrum using Minecraft Education for approximately 3 years. Minecraft is used to create a world (metaverse?) in which students are asked to develop a product. The immersive nature of the platform replicates the workplace and invites students into refle...

Agility and self-organisation were beaten to a stalemate by hierarchy and command & control. We must fight back but can't do that while continuing to frame complex red practices in a complicated blue context.

In this article I will focus on both the theoretical aspects of true leader who serves as well as practical.

​​​​​​​According to the 2020 Scrum Guide, “The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness.”  Scrum Teams must take the Retrospective seriously to achieve these outcomes.  In this article, we will look at four tips for getting the most from your Sprint R...

Lohnt sich der Besuch einer Konferenz noch? Können wir nicht bereits alles im Internet lesen? Geben wir in die Amazon-Buchsuche „Scrum“ ein, dann erhalten wir 10000 Treffer. Auf dem Scrum.org-Blog wurden allein im Juli 60 Artikel zu Scrum veröffentlicht. Und auf YouTube erscheinen jeden Tag mehr ...

What is Large Scale Scrum (LeSS)? LeSS is a de-scaling framework. Also referred to sometimes as a scaling framework, but it's really aimed at simplification and it's designed for product development. This article explores what large scale scrum is about as well as its events. https://linktr.ee/jo...

The Mid Sprint Check-in, Demo, or Review: these meetings make Scrum much less effective while giving the illusion of control and predictability and may be masking other problems. Does your Scrum Team need another meeting?

In this article, we will discuss how limiting Work in Progress can help teams deliver a done increment which meets the Sprint goal.

The Scrum framework is not a set of work instructions; instead, the framework is a guide within which teams learn how to work together to deliver value to the organization and discover which complementary practices work best for them.  However, some see Scrum as a rulebook and take the guidelines to...

Improving Employee Engagement with Professional Scrum (Questions 1-3 of Gallup's Q12 Survey)

Within the Scrum community, Open Space Technology is a common practice. This post can be useful to make the most out of it! 

Tips and tricks to make Sprint Planning easier, master the "Groan Zone" and achieve strong outcomes.

In this episode of Ask a PST, Yuval Yeret answers the audience's pressing Scrum questions focused around leadership, how leadership and Scrum Mastery are intertwined, and how leaders can engage with Scrum. Yuval is co-author of the Scrum Guide Companion for Leaders. (57:35 Minutes)

Scrum’s strength is that it makes difficulties visible faster so the team can address them. While the framework helps to resolve many things that might not be working optimally, it doesn’t eliminate every issue. Let’s look at three problems Scrum doesn’t solve. 

Facilitation plays an important part in helping people to understand and achieve their shared goals and objectives. Here are 5 ways to improve your meetings and Scrum events whether you are new to facilitation or developing your skills to help your Scrum Teams thrive in the pursuit of value.

Patricia Kong leads a discussion with PSTs Todd Miller and Glaudia Califano focused on how Facilitation can help Scrum Teams, the importance of Facilitation Skills for Scrum Team members. (26:37 Minutes)

Today, Scrum.org announced a new skills-based course focusing on facilitation. Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills (PSFS). This class provides a practical, hands-on learning experience focused on developing facilitation skills and the mindset to apply them. This class responds to the importance o...

The Scrum Team consists of three accountabilities: Developers, Product Owner, and Scrum Master. Yet Scrum Team accountabilities and responsibilities can be confusing, misunderstood, and lack shared understanding between its members and the organization. This exercise makes transparent the accountabi...

The values set out in the Scrum framework are essential because they help us to navigate complex work environments as a team. At first glance, they appear straightforward but living the Scrum Values each day is challenging whether this is your first or fiftieth Sprint together. If you’re a Scrum Mas...

In this episode you hear from Queirra Fenderson, the keynote speaker for the WiA 2022 event in Nashville, TN as part of the Agile2022 conference. In her discussion with our host, Leslie Morse, she explores her wisdom in ambition and intuition. (52:18)

The best Scrum teams that I have worked with were supported by management leaders focused on removing impediments, providing resources, and promoting an agile mindset and culture that supports the Scrum values. It’s not an easy job. Making it more challenging are the agile leadership myths out there...

Great facilitation makes it easier for everyone to participate, collaborate, and find shared understanding to reach the desired objective. Facilitate effective Scrum events and other meetings by starting with a well-thought-out facilitator guide.

In this vlog, PST Joshua Partogi break down and maps the project management activities done by the Scrum team.

Scientific insights into what creates stress, and how motivation can buffer it. With 5 practical ways to reduce stress and increase motivation

So you recently started using Scrum and are struggling to get the most out of the Scrum events? Or, maybe your journey with Scrum has been going on for some time and you still feel that something is missing in your meetings. I hear you! It might be challenging to switch from well known and understoo...

Daily Scrum events are filled with 3 questions and meandering discussions about tickets that are in progress. Too many topics and not enough time is the typical opinion. So, how about that Sprint Goal? Likely it’s missing or it’s the token “get all the work done” goal. Stop dividing and conquering. ...

The Sprint Review is an integral event in Scrum as it gives the platform to Scrum Team to showcase the product to stakeholders and invite feedback from them. But often find the seats with the shareholder’s name on them empty.

The empirical process—and its three pillars of transparency, inspection and adaptation—involves checking where you are at by doing something, seeing how you did compared to what you were trying to do, and devising and carrying out experiments (practicing, if you will) to try and get closer to your d...

In this episode, host Dave West interviews David Ingram, VP of Global R&D at Gillette about developing razors using Scrum and how they transitioned to Scrum to do so. (21:16 Minutes)

Agiles Mikromanagement: Eine Pseudo-Verpflichtung zu agilen Prinzipien, die immer dann außer Kraft gesetzt wird, wenn es aus der Sicht eines Stakeholders oder Managers vorteilhaft erscheint.