Resources

As part of the on-going Scrum Myths series at Scrum.org, here are three myths related to people skills.  When I say people skills, I mean topics like emotional intelligence, emotional IQ, and person-to-person interactions.

In this introductory-level article we look at the mechanics of a Sprint, and at how team members are expected to collaborate in order to produce a release-quality increment.

Download the slides from the ScrumPulse #22 Webcast, Management 3.0 & Scrum

Have you ever wondered what managers do in Scrum? Or maybe you have heard about Management 3.0 and wondered how it can help Agile Leaders. Interested in becoming a next generation Agile Leader who inspires Agile Teams to master the complexity of Software Delivery? If you answered yes to any of these questions, read on…

A Scrum myth that I have encountered: Not finishing all Sprint Backlog Items in a Sprint is perceived as a failure. I have seen organizations go as far as implementing performance indicators around Sprint Backlog completion percentage (yikes!).

The Scrum roles connect with the three drivers of motivation: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. Discover how.

Certifications are important to employers in a number of industries, especially when it comes to technology, where the fast pace of development requires employees to be prepared, knowledgeable and—most importantly—professional about processes and applications.

This myth is my favorite. There are three challenges with this myth. First, it misses the point of Scrum. Second, it sets teams up for failure. Third, it's impossible to prove.

Per a January 20th, 2017 article by Daniel Shapero, VP of Talent Solutions and Careers at LinkedIn, the role of Scrum Master is in high demand. It’s ranked number 10 on his list of most promising jobs of 2017.

Let’s start with a question. When is the Sprint Planning over? Usually, the first answer that comes to mind is “when the time-box expires”. It is a good answer. However, Sprint Planning is a maximal time-box.

Ken Schwaber the co-creator of Scrum and founder of Scrum.org in an interview with the Boston Business Journal talks about when he realized that Scrum was really growing with a tale from a run in on a bike path.

Ken Schwaber the co-creator of Scrum and founder of Scrum.org in an interview with the Boston Business Journal talks about Scrum.org.

Ken Schwaber the co-creator of Scrum and founder of Scrum.org in an interview with the Boston Business Journal talks about how Scrum is used to control risk.

Ken Schwaber the co-creator of Scrum and founder of Scrum.org in an interview with the Boston Business Journal talks about the start of Scrum and Agile, why they were needed and why they are still relevant today.

“What is a good speed to drive?”. The answer depends on a lot of things like: where do you drive (in a residential area, on a highway), are there speed limits, what are the weather conditions, etc.

Professional Scrum Master Barry Overeem writes part 2 of this 8 part series:  The Scrum Master should be able to do more than work well in Agile spaces but also be able to coach and teach others to work well in Agile.

Your team has been trained and coached to deliver new chunks of software in a short time frame. Those using Scrum will be able to deliver in a Sprint. Those using Kanban will deliver as soon as their small feature is done.

This article on the Scrum Master being a hot job for 2017 quotes from and points to the white paper written by Scrum.org PST Barry Overeem Characteristics of a Great Scrum Team. Read this article to see more about why the role of the Scrum Master is hot in 2017.

Professional Scrum Trainer Ravi Verma asks the question:  Have you ever been screwed by an unethical, unprofessional service provider? Watch this episode to learn how I was treated by one of my service providers and if you are brave enough to take on my Agilato Challenge!

“I added a Refactoring Story for the next Cleanup Sprint”

Professional Scrum Master Barry Overeem writes part 1 of this 8 part series:  A Scrum Master is a servant leader focused on the needs of the team and customers, with a goal of achieving results in line with the company's values, principles, and objectives.

I talk to a lot of people (if the day is long enough) and so I get them to ask interesting questions like:

Let me quickly describe a potential situation how this came about.

Ok... Let's make this a short one.

"Not a tester, so what are you then?" you might ask. Being that offending is generally not helpful. Unless you try to catch the attention as I do in this blog post ;-)  

“Shirley, anything worth having is worth working hard for.”, that was how my friend Steve Porter from Scrum.org

This is a very common myth, frequent on people used to develop software only within the context of a closed scope (traditional project).

Professional Scrum Trainer Ravi Verma ask us:  What can agile teams learn from basketball teams? Which of the 7 levels of winning in basketball apply to your software delivery teams and which level are you winning at? Watch this episode to find out…

Professional Scrum Trainer Ravi Verma asks us to watch this episode to learn how the 2001 Philadelphia 76’er’s introduced us to the magic of basketball and how the 2015 Golden State Warriors taught us the 7 levels of winning. How many levels can you name…?

Kurt Bittner to speak at DevOps Summit during Cloud Expo on June 6-8.  Read about his upcoming presentation and an overview in this latest article. 

From serving in the Merchant Marines delivering war supplies to U.S. troops in Vietnam to being the co-developer of one of the most important software development guides ever written, you might say Ken Schwaber has had an interesting career. Read on to learn more about Ken, his past, his future plans and the history of Scrum.

I was honored to participate in the Women in Agile panel discussion last week.

A recurring Scrum myth I see in my training and coaching is that there is no planning in Scrum.  Unfortunately, this myth can lead to two negative consequences.

Professional Scrum Trainer Ravi Verma asks the question: How can you go deep in some areas and broad in others? What is the important and value?

This week I had the privilege to facilitate the Zombie Scrum workshop with Christiaan Verwijs.

This post is part of a series on debunking Scrum Myths.  While my business cards say Professional Scrum Trainer, I may change that to Scrum Myth Buster.  This post debunks the myth that the Daily Scrum is a status meeting.

Join our qualified, pioneering, international panel of Women Agile Influencers as they explore these questions, share their inspiring journeys and provide actionable tips to enable more Women Agile Influencers.

People always as ask me if agile is just for software. Saying agile is just about software is like saying software is just about science. Initially, computer science was about replacing manual processes. Now, it’s about creating human experiences.

In 2012, the airline’s senior leadership and business unit heads issued a mandate to start being agile in order to make the organization more adaptive and able to react faster to changes. To accomplish this, one team of IT developers focused on mobile applications adopted Scrum, a framework for developing and sustaining complex products. Shortly thereafter, more Scrum teams formed in various business units for web and mobile applications.

The Scrum Team consists of 3 distinct Scrum roles that promote self-organization: the Scrum Master, the Product Owner, and the Development Team. The accountability of each role complements the accountability of the other roles.

When Scrum is introduced in a company, most of the time, the development team embraces it with lots of enthusiasm.

Professional Scrum Trainer Ravi Verma asks the question: Why must all healthy families and strong, successful scrum teams steadily sip soda? Especially when taking toddlers to ballet class? Watch this episode to learn about the importance of Soda in your family and work life.

Professional Scrum Trainer, Krystian Kaczor looks at the five steps to implement Scrum: manage the Product Backlog, plan Sprints, keep it visual and transparent, time-box work and monitor progress, and get a coach.

THE (MIXED) BLESSING OF NEXTGEN REWRITES  About 10 years ago, I experienced the mixed blessing of being part of yet another nextgen rewrite project.

One of the recurring Scrum Myth discussions I have with colleagues, teams new to Scrum and those attending training when comparing Scrum & DevOps relate to a misinterpretation of the following paragraph from the Scrum Guide.

One common consequence of teams that do not deeply understand Scrum and the nature of its events is that they believe it is possible to run sprints which do not produce a Done and releasable increment of the product.

Schwaber Honored at the Publication’s Innovation All-Stars Awards Gala

Ken Schwaber was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Innovation from the Boston Business Journal for his work and mission of Improving the Profession of Software Delivery by co-creating Scrum and being a major driver to the Agile Movement.

Clients and training attendees ask me "Can you use Scrum for something else than software?”. What they usually mean is building some other products or organizing team’s work. Let’s explore a more exotic idea.

Professional Scrum Trainer Ravi Verma asks the question: How do you prepare a meal for a special event with lots of guests? What do you have to watch out for and is it ethical to change every part of a recipe and still keep the name? Join us as we explore these profound  questions in this episode of Agilato.