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Introducing Professional Scrum Fundamentals, a Self-Paced Course

July 30, 2025
Scrum.org has launched "Professional Scrum Fundamentals," a new self-paced course. This course offers a flexible learning option for those new to Professional Scrum or looking to strengthen their existing capabilities, and it includes a complimentary attempt at the PSM I certification test upon completion. The motivation for creating this self-paced course came from community feedback, driven by the desire of digital natives for purely digital training and the need for professional development to fit into busy lives. This new course adds a fourth learning option for Professional Scrum, building on Ken Schwaber's mission to scale access to Scrum training and reflecting the continued relevance of Scrum in an increasingly complex and unpredictable world, especially with the rise of technologies like AI.
Blog Post

From Mice to Machines: The Dilemma That Still Defines Us to Shape Product Strategy

July 30, 2025
In the contemporary digital marketplace, the role of a Product Manager comes with great responsibility, as they must make critical decisions on a daily basis, often with limited data and in an ever-evolving environment. The pressure to select a feature, message, channel, design, or even a combination of all is at an all-time high. But what if there exists a far smarter approach to adaptively test and learn?
Blog Post

Better Without Me?!?

July 28, 2025
The Scrum Master’s purpose is to improve the adoption of Scrum. Sometimes that means facilitating Scrum events — when asked or when needed. So yes, that often puts me - as the Scrum Master - in the position of leading the Daily Scrum.
Blog Post

Handoffs Hurt

July 28, 2025
Handoffs happen when teams are told to “be Agile” but are organized according to an old way of thinking. Instead of assembling cross-functional teams focused on delivering end-to-end value, many organizations organize Agile teams into technology silos—backend, frontend, database, dev ops - each focused narrowly on their own technology area. While it may seem "efficient", what this really means is that teams have built-in walls to value delivery.
Blog Post

The AI Race: Don't Lose Sight of Your Greatest Asset - Your People

July 27, 2025
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲: 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 — 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 As of 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, global AI investment is projected to reach $𝟯𝟲𝟬 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 — a 𝟲𝟬% 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿-𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲. • Countries want to lead. • Corporations want to dominate. • Everyone wants to be first with the most advanced AI systems. But in the noise of this race, I see something deeply unsettling: 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲.
Blog Post

Why Some People Will Struggle (or Refuse) to Embrace Scrum

July 24, 2025
Not everyone is ready for Scrum. This blog explores common personality types that resist Scrum ways of working, such as The Pessimist, The Perfectionist, and The Order-Taker, and explains why they struggle. You’ll also learn practical ways Scrum Masters can coach these individuals, reduce friction, and guide meaningful change during a Scrum adoption.
Blog Post

Scrum Masters and Leaders Have a Lot In Common

July 21, 2025
In a recent conversation with an executive leader, she shared a very interesting insight: “Leadership is a lot like being a glorified Scrum Master.” It may sound surprising to you at first, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me.
Blog Post

Harnessing the Human Side of a Scrum Team

July 18, 2025
In the AI era, our greatest strength lies not in automation, but in our unique human qualities. My two decades have focused on guiding teams beyond basic self-organization to transformative teamwork. High trust and psychological safety are crucial to bridge the gap, requiring growth from both teams and leaders. The hardest part is giving a vote of confidence in advance, risking disappointment.
Blog Post

Scrum Masters, Don't Fall for the Abilene Paradox

July 17, 2025
As a Scrum Master have you ever been in a situation where you were in a team discussion and you agreed to a team decision because everyone was in for it, although deep down you were not really inclined or in agreement with the decision. Also, did it happen that at a later point in time, most, if not all, of the other team members shared a similar feeling that they agreed to a particular decision because they didn’t want to disagree with the rest of the team.
Blog Post

The Double Diamond by UK Design Council

July 17, 2025
The Double Diamond design process model, introduced by the UK Design Council in 2005, is a widely recognized framework that provides a clear and comprehensive roadmap for navigating complex challenges and delivering impactful solutions.
Blog Post

3 Trends in Scrum

July 14, 2025
As a Scrum trainer, I get the chance to speak with people from many different industries—finance, healthcare, tech, education, government. Because of my unique position, I get a chance to notice trends in the industry. Here is what I am hearing a lot about lately.
Blog Post

User Focused User Stories

July 13, 2025
In this article, we'll break down two of the most misunderstood yet powerful tools in the product toolbox: User Personas and User Role Modeling. These tools will help you create value-driven backlogs that reflect real user needs, not just business assumptions.
Blog Post

A Roadmap for Product Definition

July 7, 2025
As a trainer, I have the unique opportunity of hearing from a lot of people practicing Scrum in many different organizations. One of the recent trends that I am thrilled to hear about is that many organizations are - at last! - starting to take note of the importance of defining their products.
Blog Post

Responsible & Ethical AI

July 3, 2025
AI has the potential to be either constructive or destructive. Awareness helps you utilize AI responsibly and ethically. But what does Responsible and Ethical AI mean?!
Blog Post

Thank you, Scrum.

July 2, 2025
Scrum stands as a rare and transformative management innovation in a field where technical progress has accelerated but management practices have stagnated.
Blog Post

Get Unstuck with the 72 Discovery Tactics

July 1, 2025
Stuck in a product discovery rut? PST Sander Dur presents the 72 Discovery Tactics Card Deck and why it should be your go-to tool for sparking fresh ideas and breaking through stale thinking. Draw from six creative themes to challenge assumptions, prototype boldly, and inspire action—whether you're solo or in a team workshop. Ready to energize your next Sprint? Use it solo or in team workshops to spark fresh ideas, remix multiple cards for even wilder insights, and bust through stale thinking whenever you need a creative jolt.
Blog Post

APOM State of Play - Part 4: Organizing your Product Group

July 1, 2025
Organizing product groups effectively is essential as organizations grow or shift from project-based models. Ideal product teams are small, cross-functional, flexible, and self-managed. Scaling often requires approaches like Team Topologies, with Stream-Aligned, Platform, and Enabling Teams, treating shared services and platforms as products. There’s no one-size-fits-all model, but key ideas include making self-managed teams the core unit, decoupling delivery from skills development, and striking a balance between people and product growth. Ultimately, success relies on people and a holistic approach to change.
Blog Post

Measuring Success as a Scrum Master: Why Outcomes Are Not the Full Story

July 1, 2025
Yes, outcomes matter. And we can’t measure our success as Scrum Masters by outcomes alone. In this follow-up to Part 1, I explore the deeper, less-visible indicators of impact—like how we show up in difficult moments, how our teams respond to conflict and change, and how we grow our capacity to lead with presence, clarity, and courage. If you've ever felt discouraged by missed goals or external pressures outside your control, this piece is for you. Let's rethink how we define success in complex environments—and reclaim the parts of leadership that metrics alone can't measure.
Blog Post

Scrum Masters: The More You Quote the Scrum Guide, the Less They Learn

July 1, 2025
Many Scrum Masters fall into the trap of quoting the Scrum Guide verbatim, mistaking recitation for servant leadership. Quoting the rules isn't the same as understanding them. This post explores why simply reading from the Guide can frustrate teammates and stakeholders, lack context, and hinder team growth. Here's what you can do instead. Try taking on a coaching stance to foster understanding through relevance, reflection, and powerful questions. To help teams truly embrace Scrum, the focus must shift from quoting the rules of the game to connecting with the “why.”