Resources

System optimization: Upgrading Team Competencies When developing complex innovative products, the Development Team will have different a workload for each one of their members.

LEAN is an excellent way for companies to start optimizing their way of working and make sure the production of waste is kept to a minimum. Scrum itself is based on those very principles.

Looking to hire a Scrum Master? You may go through this job description that talks about the role of a Scrum Master? and what to expect from a Scrum Master.   Here is a Sample Job Description that you may use if you find it useful.

At a recent course, one of my students asked me to share what Scrum “looked like” for me at TheScrumMaster.co.uk. This post is my response to that question. This describes my current process which has evolved via inspection and adaptation over 5 years.

In this post, we'll the myth that the Product Backlog is ‘prioritized’. Although a seemingly trivial change of wording, the Product Backlog is ‘an ordered list’ instead.

The latest release of the Scrum Guide is all about addressing common Scrum misunderstandings. In this blog post I will present the top 5 misconceptions that are set straight in this latest release of the Scrum Guide.

Bringing values down to earth Values and principles can often seem lofty and intangible so many agile practitioners prefer to focus on tools and practices. That's understandable but unfortunate.

‘25/10 Crowd Sourcing’ is a structure that allows you to rapidly generate and sift through a group’s boldest actionable ideas in less than 30 minutes. In this article we'll explain how to use this structure to spice up your Scrum Events.

"To ensure continuous improvement, [the Sprint Backlog] includes at least one high priority process improvement identified in the previous Retrospective meeting." - The Scrum Guide, November 2017 That old familiar feeling

I once worked for an organization with many opportunities for improvement. To be honest, it was a mess.

In this post, we’ll bust the myth that a Product Backlog has to consist entirely out of User Stories. By describing the purpose and characteristics of the Product Backlog, we'll also busted the related myth; that User Stories are an inherent, necessary part of Scrum.

The Intent of Scrum Scrum allows development organisations to invest a little time at regular intervals to allow teams with autonomy over their work to identify and enact frequent, small improvements to the process and the plan.

One of the most common critiques about Scrum that I've heard from smart software engineers are "Scrum does not care about technical practices, Scrum is for wimps". I've also heard managers down the hallway say that "Scrum is for wreckless developers because its main concern is only about fast delivery".

There are a number of things that you have to think about when selecting a modern source control system. Some of that is purely about code, but modern source control systems are about way more than code.

Scrum is a mindset, an approach to turning complex, chaotic problems into something that can be used. eff Sutherland and I based it on these pillars: Small, self-organizing, self-managing teams; Lean principles; and, Empiricism, using frequent inspection and adaptation to guide the work of the teams to the most successful outcome possible.

Open Space is one of the methods that allows organizations to make inspirational meetings and events. I was lucky enough to use Open Space in various contexts, with Scrum Teams. The concept has always worked.

Tune to 6:24 of this radio broadcast to hear Scrum.org Vice President of Marketing, Eric Naiburg talk about the 2017 Scrum Guide update, how Scrum can be used beyond just software development and his view on the future of Scrum. Note that the show is in Dutch other than this part.

"Perfection has to do with the end product, but excellence has to do with the process." - Jerry Moran

This article from ITWeb discusses how Scrum co-creators Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland have made updates to the Scrum Guide, to promote flexibility and clarity within the Scrum framework.

Today I facilitated the workshop "The Scrum Master as a Manager" at the conference "Agile Spain 2017" in Sevilla. In this blog post I'll share the outline of the workshop "The Scrum Master as a Manager". This gives you the opportunity to facilitate the workshop within your own organisation as well.

The new updates to the Scrum guide were announced and discussed in a webinar with Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, authors of the Scrum Guide, and co-creators of Scrum. InfoQ interviewed them.

In this episode Jochen Krebs speaks with Scrum.org  Product Owner and CEO Dave West, about the changes made to the new Scrum Guide release in November 2017.

Scrum co-creators Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland are making new updates to The Scrum Guide to promote flexibility and clarity within the Scrum framework. The updated guide will now clear up common Scrum miscommunications about the framework, and provide a better understanding of Scrum inspection and adaptation.

Scrum.org, the mission-based organization dedicated to improving the profession of software delivery through training, certification assessments and community, and Scrum Inc., the world’s premier Scrum training and consulting provider, today announced that Scrum co-creators Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland have made updates to the Scrum Guide, the body of knowledge of Scrum. These are the first updates to the Scrum Guide since July 2016.

Listen to this lively conversation with Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, the creators of Scrum as they re-examine why this system of inspection and adaptation continues to disrupt markets and accelerate innovation.

Today (November 7th 2017) Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland released an update to the Scrum Guide.The Scrum Guide is the definitive definition of Scrum, authored by Ken and Jeff, the creators of Scrum.

Let the coaching experiment continue!   Welcome back to part two of our curiosity filled coaching questions!

When you say "DevOps" one of the first words that comes to mind is "collaboration." Even the structure of the word "DevOps" implies that Dev and Ops are coming together, collaborating in a way they had not done before.

In this post we'll discuss the myth that Scrum Teams at best release working software at the end of a sprint, constraining teams that are capable of releasing faster.

These slides from the ScrumPulse Webinar: Scrum and Kanban: Make your teams better by busting common myths

Professional Scrum Trainer, David Dame discusses how he has learned to inspect and adapt in life being born with Cerebral Palsy, how he relates his experiences to Scrum and why being a part of the Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) community has been so valuable to him. David gives insight to what he gets out of being a PST and how other PSTs share, learn and communicate. 1:53 Minutes

As part of the Scrum Tapas video series, Professional Scrum Trainer David Dame discusses why the "Definition of Done" is so important when working with Scrum Teams to improve their health. David provides examples of how morale is boosted by the their ability to deliver and know what they are focusing on for delivery. 3:23 Minutes

As part of the Scrum Tapas video series, Professional Scrum Trainer Lucas Smith demonstrates a model for looking at an individuals skill levels and why we should look beyond just improving a current skill, but also invest in adding new ones. 4:01 Minutes

Last time I talked about the Ghana Police Service (GPS) I was talking about Professional Organisational Change and the approach the Inspector General of Polic

As part of the Scrum Tapas video series, Professional Scrum Trainer Lucas Smith discusses ways to measure business, team and product effectiveness. 3:16 Minutes

The question remains as to why managers continue to plan projects based on sequential assumptions.

Capital One was recently faced with the challenge of building a brand new product in 3 months. Not only did they meet this goal, but they were able to deliver their first release 3 weeks early. How did they do it? How were they able to build an entirely new product in such a short time frame? What hurdles did they face? How were they able to overcome them? 

As part of the Scrum Tapas video series, Professional Scrum Trainer Ryan Ripley talks about how Scrum continues to support the concepts of Modern Agile. 4:29 Minutes

Two consultants from AgileSparks have recently been awarded the highest accreditation by Scrum.org, founded by Ken Schwaber (Scrum inventor) - Professional Scrum Trainer. Starting this month, AgilSparks will begin to transfer official certification courses from Professional Scrum Master and Professional Scrum Product Owner to Israel and around the world. Erez Thatcher , CEO of AgileSparks, said: "I am pleased that we have been able to bring to Israel the highest quality certifications in the Scrum market."

As part of the Scrum Tapas video series, Professional Scrum Trainer Steve Porter tells a story about his experience as a Product Owner and why his mistrust for the Scrum Team was a mistake and how the Product Owner should use the Sprint Backlog as a way of building that trust.  Steve discusses the right ways to communicate with the Scrum Team and how the Product Owner is responsible for the "what" and the Scrum Team for the "how". 4:07 Minutes

As part of the Scrum Tapas video series, Professional Scrum Trainer Wilbert Seele discusses the importance of separating what you are building from why you are building it. He talks about how people make buying decisions and that at the end of the day, you need to build products to solve problems. 2:12 Minutes

What is a Product Owner... and how different is it than the role of a Product Manager? Is it different at all? These questions and others are discussed with Dave West, CEO and Product Owner of Scrum.org -- one of the leading organizations helping companies with agile and scrum practices.

The Ghana Police Service is in trouble. Over the last few last few decades, each new Police organisation and government has tried in various ways to carry out some change but most changes have been ad-hoc, temporary, not robust enough or strategic. The old problems return to haunt new administrations and many police officers and the Public has lost hope.

"That's the thing about zombies. They don't adapt and they don't think." - Max Brooks One of the earliest challenges I ever had to resolve, as a Scrum Master, was the proper disposal of the dead.

As a travelling Scrum and DevOps consultant I’m constantly asked “should our team use Scrum”? Now you might think that being a Professional Scrum Trainer – and serious Scrum fanboy – I would always answer “Yes!”. Well, you would be wrong.

In this blog post, we will describe the myth that the Sprint Backlog is fixed during the Sprint. We'll bust this myth by offering the perspective from the Scrum Guide and describing the difference between forecast and commitment.

Do you have time for an experiment? Then please ask me a coaching question!   Welcome to the first of a two part blogpost full of curiosity filled questions on coaching!

In this blog post I'll share my view on the Scrum Master as the Change Leader. I'll briefly describe the common misunderstandings and the preferred stances of the Scrum Master. The services a Scrum Master provides for the Development Team, Product Owner and organisation, and the 3 levels that can be considered as a growth path for the Scrum Master. Want to know why the Scrum Master should be a Change Leader? Check out this article.

En este video, part de la serie Scrum Tapas, el Professional Scrum Trainer Alex Ballarin describe porqué el evento de Sprint Review es una oportunidad para optimizar el curso del desarrollo del producto a través de la inspección y adaptación por todas las partes interesadas. Suele incluir una demo que mejora la transparencia y el feedback, pero ¡es un instrumento más del evento y no su objetivo! 2:14 Minutes

We describe the myth that the Scrum Master should always be present during the Daily Scrum. We'll offer the perspective from the Scrum Guide, describe examples of problems in how Scrum is applied and share tips & tricks on how to make the Daily Scrum more effective.