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Blog Post

Learning is the new Leadership Currency

May 20, 2025
In today's world when training budgets are shrinking then as a leader how are you motivating your team members. Money is not the only thing to build a culture of growth and learning. As a leader your small actions can make big impacts
Blog Post

Kommunikation jenseits der agilen Blase: Warum es sich für Scrum Master und Product Owner lohnt, klar zu kommunizieren

May 20, 2025
In der Welt des agilen Arbeitens haben wir unsere eigene Sprache entwickelt. Wir sprechen von Sprints, Backlogs, Impediments und Velocity. Für viele neue Scrum Masteinnen und Product Owner*innen ist dies schnell zur Selbstverständlichkeit geworden – doch genau hier liegt eine der größten Herausforderungen: Wie kommunizieren wir effektiv mit denjenigen, die nicht in unserer agilen Blase leben?
Blog Post

Maximize Value with The Learning Loop

May 20, 2025
The biggest competitive edge your team can get is learning as fast as possible. Not the biggest feature, expendable budget, or exposure, but learning. The Learning Loop helps to shorten your learning time.
Blog Post

Scrum Framework Visualized, Details Matter

May 20, 2025
The Scrum Framework is simple, yet many misconceptions exist about applying Professional Scrum. We often notice cheat sheets and Scrum frameworks that do not match the Professional Scrum Standards. That is why we have decided to change our Scrum Framework poster and align it to Professional Scrum and what we teach in our classes
Blog Post

Scrum as a Catalyst for Product Evolution

May 19, 2025
This article challenges the conventional view of Scrum as merely a delivery framework and reframes it as a powerful engine for product innovation and evolution. While many teams use Scrum to deliver work more predictably, the real opportunity lies in using it to discover what truly adds value for customers. This blog presents four practical strategies to make Scrum more innovation-focused: 1. Treat releases as experiments to validate assumptions. 2. Release based on value, not just Sprint boundaries. 3. Embrace strategic procrastination to keep backlog items flexible. 4. Refine frequently in small efforts to reduce rework and support adaptability. The conclusion emphasizes that Scrum, when used thoughtfully, enables teams not just to ship features, but to learn, adapt, and deliver meaningful outcomes in dynamic markets.
Blog Post

Undone Work is a Monkey on the Scrum Team's Back

May 19, 2025
In Scrum, “Done” means done. Not halfway done, not “almost there,” and certainly not “we’ll get to it next Sprint.” Yet, many teams find themselves with a growing burden of unfinished work. Over time, that burden starts to feel like a monkey on the team’s back—heavy, distracting, and hard to shake off.
Blog Post

Does Your Product Owner Actually Own Anything?

May 18, 2025
In this blog, Ryan Brook asks, "Is your Product Owner actually owning anything?" He explores what real Product Ownership looks like; setting clear goals, making value-based decisions, owning the customer journey, and building strong user relationships. If they're just forwarding emails or waiting on approvals, it's time to ask why.
Blog Post

A Practical Guide to Take a Product to Market

May 15, 2025
In this blog, author Ryan Brook shares a practical approach to launching new products by treating go-to-market as a learning process. He explains how using real customer insights, short Sprints, and Strategyzer’s Test and Learning Cards helps teams validate assumptions, reduce waste, and make smarter decisions with each step.
Blog Post

Ethische KI und Agilität: Vier Grundsätze, die jeder Scrum Master jetzt bedenken muss 🇩🇪

May 15, 2025
Es gibt einen Weg, ethische KI und Agilität zu verbinden, indem vier pragmatische Grundsätze festgelegt werden: Datenschutz (Klassifizierung von Informationen), Wahrung menschlicher Werte (Definition der Rollen von KI und Mensch), Validierung der Ergebnisse (Verifizierungsprotokolle) und transparente Nachvollziehbarkeit (Erfassung von Beiträgen einer KI).
Blog Post

The 8-Hour Workday Myth: Why You’re Only Productive for 2.8 Hours

May 12, 2025
Are your workdays truly productive? What if I told you that despite the long hours, only 2.8 hours of your 8-hour workday are spent on meaningful tasks? This article dives into the Productivity Paradox, uncovering the root causes of distractions, ineffective communication, and poor leadership practices. I’ll also share practical solutions—Structured Working Agreements—to help teams reclaim their focus, improve decision-making, and foster a culture of deep work. Ready to tackle the hidden productivity killers in your workplace?
Blog Post

Designing for What Your Strategy Demands

May 12, 2025
You might think agility is something you apply uniformly. And if you are working in a large org, you have probably heard someone propose that “we all should have one way of working”. A standard way across the entire company. I am here to share that, in my experience, this does not make much sense most of the time. Different Flavours of Adaptability Different parts of a business move at different speeds, operate under various constraints, and require different types of adaptability. Also, not all products are in the same phase. Some might be emerging, with lots of uncertainty, others might be ready for scaling up, and others are mature. All these differences require a different flavour of agile, in terms of adaptability, governance, budgeting, processes and structure.
Blog Post

Upstream Kanban: 7 Essential Metrics for Product Backlog Management

May 9, 2025
Upstream Kanban is a Kanban system designed to uncover new knowledge and assess delivery options. The upstream is a highly creative, collaborative, and unpredictable activity. Consequently, the Upstream Kanban requires a specific set of metrics that can help guide your decisions. This article explores seven essential Upstream Kanban metrics to support product backlog management, agile decision-making, portfolio management, and agile product development.
Blog Post

Strategic Portfolio Planning in UK Government

May 8, 2025
In this blog, Ryan Brook examines the structural challenges of portfolio planning within the UK Government, including political churn, annual budget cycles, and restricted funding. He argues that agility, through adaptive governance, empowered boards, and value-led delivery, is not just beneficial but essential for responsive, effective public sector outcomes.
Blog Post

Warum Scrum-Teams Unsicherheit akzeptieren sollten

May 8, 2025
Unsicherheiten können für ein Scrum-Team auch eine Chance sein In der Softwareentwicklung streben wir oft nach Klarheit, bevor wir loslegen – doch was, wenn Unsicherheiten nicht nur Hindernisse, sondern auch Chancen sind? In meinem Blogpost zeige ich, wie Scrum-Teams durch empirisches Arbeiten im Sprint nicht nur effizienter werden, sondern auch neue Möglichkeiten entdecken. Anstatt den Sprint als Mini-Wasserfall zu sehen, sollten wir Unsicherheiten als Teil des Prozesses akzeptieren und nutzen, um innovative und zielgerichtete Lösungen zu entwickeln. Entdecke die Kraft der Flexibilität und den wahren Wert agiler Methoden!
Blog Post

Scrum, Innovation and the Double Diamond

May 7, 2025
Ryan Brook explores how Scrum and the Double Diamond model complement each other in fostering innovation. By combining structured discovery with iterative delivery, teams can better frame problems, experiment safely, and deliver meaningful outcomes in complex environments.
Blog Post

Warum Konferenzen für neue Scrum Master und Product Owner unverzichtbar sind

May 7, 2025
Ken Schwaber und Jeff Sutherland haben am Ende ihrer Scrum-Trainings stets betont, dass es wichtig sei, nun selbst Erfahrungen zu sammeln. Fachkonferenzen bieten hierfür eine ideale Plattform für Feedback und Weiterentwicklung. Sie sind eine gute Ergänzung zur agilen Community im eigenen Unternehmen oder in der Region. Doch welche konkreten Vorteile bringen solche Veranstaltungen für Einsteiger in die agile Arbeitswelt?
Blog Post

Burnout on the Scrum Team

May 6, 2025
It isn't just individuals who can suffer from burnout. Sometimes, it's the whole Scrum Team. PST Mary Iqbal explores this serious problem in her latest blog post.
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The Downfall of the Scrum Master Role: A Change Agent's Perspective

May 5, 2025
The Untold Story: How the Revolutionary Scrum Master Role Lost Its Way Once envisioned as transformative change agents, Scrum Masters have increasingly become mere meeting facilitators in many organizations. Drawing from two decades of experience guiding agile transformations, this article exposes the critical factors behind this troubling evolution—from certification factories to fundamental leadership misunderstandings. Discover why the reduction of this dynamic role to ceremony management represents just 1% of its true potential, and learn how organizations are unwittingly setting their Scrum Masters up for failure through contradictory structures and impossible expectations.
Blog Post

The Five Faces of Change

May 5, 2025
Change can feel like a minefield, especially when you're leading a team. Are you seeing enthusiasm, resistance, or something in between? This post unveils the five core human responses to change, equipping you with practical strategies to navigate each one, fostering resilience and high-performance in your team.
Blog Post

AI Steroids for Scrum Master: How to Get ChatGPT to Try (Harder)

April 30, 2025
Answer Leveling is a simple technique for coaxing AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude out of their shell to generate more exciting and in-depth responses. In this blog post, you'll learn how Scrum Masters can use this method to get more detailed and well-thought-out answers to team-related challenges from large language models—even without advanced prompt engineering skills.
Blog Post

Management in the Age of Shrinking Budgets

April 28, 2025
We may not be able to control market conditions or increase LandD funding right now. But we can redefine how we lead. The world of work is shifting, and so must the way we manage. As organisations face shrinking budgets, volatile markets, and rapid change, many leaders feel the pressure to tighten control, to demand more output, track every hour, and squeeze every ounce of efficiency.
Blog Post

The "Professional" in Scrum.org Workshops and Certifications

April 28, 2025
Ever wondered what the "Professional" in Professional Scrum Master really means? It's not just a fancy prefix. In this article, I explore how true professionalism in Scrum goes far beyond certification—it's about unwavering integrity when stakes are high and shortcuts tempt. Through powerful comparisons between medical ethics and software development accountability, I reveal why mutual responsibility is the backbone of effective Scrum teams. Discover the binding covenant that separates those who merely practice Scrum from those who truly embody its transformative power. This isn't just about building better products—it's about becoming an agent of positive change in your organization.

Scrum: Más que un marco, una declaración de valores para la nueva era organizacional

April 26, 2025
Algunas voces claman que "la agilidad ha muerto" —señalando burocratización, captura corporativa y rituales vacíos— la evidencia muestra que la agilidad no ha muerto: ha madurado. Estudios globales confirman su expansión, su impacto superior en resiliencia, innovación y crecimiento, y su adopción creciente en industrias críticas. El problema no es Scrum ni la agilidad; es la superficialidad con que a veces se implementan. Scrum sigue siendo vital si se practica desde sus fundamentos: compromiso, coraje, foco, apertura y respeto. Estos valores no son adornos, sino prácticas vivas que sostienen a los equipos frente a la incertidumbre y el cambio. Sin embargo, mientras celebramos ceremonias ágiles, otras transformaciones silenciosas —como la inteligencia artificial, la fragmentación laboral, y la automatización del conocimiento— están redefiniendo las bases mismas del trabajo humano. Nos enfrentamos al riesgo de que la adaptación, inspección y retroalimentación sean tomadas por sistemas automáticos, desplazando la agencia humana. Frente a este escenario, Scrum puede ser un refugio de humanidad consciente o una ilusión vacía. La elección es ética, no técnica.
Blog Post

What If Scrum Masters Only Want To Act On A Team Level?

April 25, 2025
Many Scrum Masters seem to limit themselves to team-level work, avoiding the broader organizational challenges where real change often happens. This narrow focus raises questions about the role’s value and whether it's living up to its potential. Maybe it's time to rethink expectations—or redefine the role entirely.
Blog Post

5 Reasons Leading to Scrum Team Ineffectiveness

April 25, 2025
People tend to highlight that Scrum is best suited as training wheels. However, what most people forget is Scrum is a means to an end; it's not a silver bullet. It is only as good as the members of the Scrum Team. If your team is not getting the desired results with Scrum, then it probably is not Scrum, it’s your Scrum Team that is ineffective.