Some teams struggle. They flounder in chaos, miss deadlines, and suffer from constant firefighting. Eventually, the pain becomes unbearable, and they take action—hiring an agile coach, changing their approach, or even replacing key team members. Other teams just get by. They hit their deadlines (some of the time). They hold their agile events. They deliver work that’s… fine. Not great. Not terrible. And because the discomfort never reaches breaking point, nothing changes. This is the Region Beta Paradox at play.

Scrum Masters as change agents, often face challenges in becoming effective in their accountability. The reasons behind this can vary, but changes are inherently difficult. People resist change, consciously or unconsciously, and change agents face these challenges on personal, team and organisational levels. On the other hand, the role of the Scrum Master as a change agent is crucial and can profoundly impact the Scrum Team and Organisation. This article describes six characteristics that can guide your growth as a change agent. It is a valuable resource for Agile leaders (Scrum Masters, Delivery Managers, Agile Coaches) who aim to embrace their role as agents of change.

Your organization works exactly as it was designed to work. The results you get—good or bad—are not by chance. They come from the way your teams are set up, the people you hire, the decisions you make, and the processes you follow. It might or might not be what you intended, but it is what your design produces.

In vielen Teams wird der Fokus daraufgelegt, dass jedes Mitglied „beschäftigt“ ist und seine Aufgaben möglichst unabhängig erledigt. Doch ist das wirklich der beste Weg zu großartigen Ergebnissen? Alternativen wie Swarming, Pair-Programming und Mob-Programming werden oft als ineffizient abgetan, doch diese Methoden haben es in sich! Warum? Bessere Lösungen durch kollektive Intelligenz: Gemeinsam erarbeitete Lösungen sind oft durchdachter und robuster. Kontinuierlicher Arbeitsfluss: Keine unnötigen Wartezeiten oder Kontextwechsel – Aufgaben werden schneller und qualitativ hochwertiger abgeschlossen. Stärkerer Team-Spirit: Gemeinsame Verantwortung, bessere Kommunikation und ein echtes Gemeinschaftsgefühl führen zu höherer Motivation und besseren Ergebnissen. Es lohnt sich, traditionelle Denkweisen zu hinterfragen und die Kraft echter Zusammenarbeit zu nutzen!

In diesem Artikel beschreibt PST Simon Flossmann, wie Scrum Master mit Facilitation gängige Problem lösen.

The only purpose of doing Scrum is to create a DONE Increment. To get to a DONE Increment, quality is key. In Scrum Teams Definition of Done enables transparency around quality and releasability of the Increment. However, more often than not the Definition of Done stops at meeting acceptance criteria and completing a few levels of testing. But is that enough to make the product increment releasable; of highest possible quality? Maybe or maybe not.

To stay competitive and relevant as an Agile Practitioner, continuous learning and upskilling in AI are no longer optional but essential for the new world of careers. Take a free AI quiz to see where you stand now.

Every great product starts with a simple idea: solving a problem in a way that matters to people and businesses alike. But what exactly defines a product—and what doesn’t?

Los Scrum Master líderes que sirven al desarrollo del equipo Scrum a la vez que protegen una cultura basada en los valores de Scrum para ayudar a maximizar la entrega de valor. Los Scrum Masters efectivos trabajan de muchas maneras para mejorar la adopción de Scrum buscando crear confianza y un crecimiento de la autogestión. A contunuación algunas recomendaciones para lograr Scrum Masters efectivos:

Scrum - when done well - actually promotes even greater accountability than waterfall, because the Scrum team is accountable for value delivery. And great Scrum teams measure - and reflect upon - customer outcomes so that they can adjust course and improve their ability to deliver value.

You can't force a team to improve; instead, create the conditions where they want to. Improvement must come from within, and your role as a Scrum Master, leader, or manager is to make that journey possible. In this article, I'll share questions to reflect on and offer tangible recommendations to get started.

In diesem Artikel erklärt PST Simon Flossmann, wie du in 5 Schritten ein Produkt-Ziel definieren kannst.

Surfing holds surprising lessons that correlate to leadership in business and all aspects of life. Today's lesson is about measuring success in complex, unpredictable, and rapidly changing environments.

Struggling with cross-product initiative ownership? Imagine turning complex, strategic bets into streamlined successes with visionary leadership. Discover how product-oriented initiative owners drive outcomes, foster collaboration, and transform challenges into growth opportunities across teams and products.

Many organizations hesitate to hire a dedicated Scrum Master for various reasons, but can Scrum still work without one? Find out in this video with PSTs Robert Pieper, Greg Crown, and Jason Malmstadt.

Leverage the Taskade AI tool to upgrade your Estimation process. It is like a Scrum Team member with a lot of knowledge with which you can have meaningful conversations. So, try it.

An Increment in Scrum must be both useful and usable to deliver value. Explore the differences between these two key qualities, why they matter, and how your Scrum Team can ensure every Increment solves real problems and is ready to be leveraged by users.

Ser un desarrollador efectivo no consiste únicamente en escribir código. Las habilidades para resolver problemas de manera colaborativa y mejorar de manera continua son fundamentales.

So bringen Sie Ihr Produkt-Backlog zur Maximierung der Wertschöpfung für Kunden und Organisation in Ordnung.

Warum „Done“ das Herzstück von Scrum ist In Scrum ist „Done“ weit mehr als nur ein Begriff—es ist das zentrale Konzept, das sicherstellt, dass ein Produktinkrement tatsächlich einsatzbereit ist. Ohne eine klare Definition of Done (DoD) ist empirisches Arbeiten in Scrum unmöglich, da Transparenz, Inspektion und Adaption auf unzuverlässigen Daten basieren würden. Wie beeinflusst „Done“ die Qualität und den Erfolg eurer Sprints? Und warum ist es der Schlüssel für fundierte Entscheidungen und kontinuierliche Verbesserung? In meinem Blog-Post tauche ich tief in die Bedeutung von „Done“ ein und erkläre, warum ohne dieses Konzept der gesamte Scrum-Prozess ins Wanken geraten kann. Jetzt den Blog-Post lesen und herausfinden, wie „Done“ eure Arbeitsweise transformieren kann.

In diesem Artikel teilt PST Simon Flossmann seine beste 3 Workshop-Energizer.

Scrum has been around for almost 30 years now yet there are so many misconceptions about what needs to be done and how it can be done effectively. Even today, as I coach and consult many teams I often see that the purpose of events is mostly lost. And people simply go through the motions, probably to get “checkbox” ticked. For me, Sprint Retrospective is an important event which often is completely misunderstood and is often not very effective. In fact, at times I have seen some teams completely skipping the Retrospective. In this article, I am exploring a common set of dysfunctions I have observed and how can those be countered. I hope you will find it useful.

Many Scrum Masters struggle to coach Product Owners beyond the bounds of the Scrum Guide. This guide offers a practical 30-day approach to building core product management context.

In this vlog, PST Joshua Partogi shares an overview on Evidence-Based Management to measure effectiveness in an organisation, regardless of whether they're using Scrum or Kanban.

Ordering a Product Backlog ensures that every step taken, every backlog item worked, is a step towards delivering value, satisfying stakeholders, and making the best use of the team's capabilities.

Management by exception is the idea that we should manage the things that are off track, rather than giving focus to things that are going well. In the context of the Daily Scrum, this could be done by asking open ended questions intended to find out if there are any issues that need to be discussed.

What gets measured gets managed. But setting OKRs isn't enough. The flow and traction of OKRs need to be managed as well - otherwise, you'll find yourself in the OKR swamp. Using an OKR Kanban can help you both see the swamp and improve the flow and traction of OKRs.

How to Align Teams with Stakeholders, and Finally Fix Your Product Backlog.

In diesem Artikel erklärt PST Simon Flossmann, 5 Problem die Scrum Teams langsam machen.

Surfing holds surprising lessons that correlate to leadership in business and all aspects of life. Today's lesson is about learning through intentional practice.

In Cascais last year at our trainer meetup, we asked, "What are the principles of CAO?" Initially, we saw the Guides in the book as potential principles, but the question stayed with me... Now, back in Cascais for some remote work, I’ve distilled those guides into these principles. Here they are:

In Scrum, a valuable Increment delivers meaningful outcomes to users, not just features. Explore how value is subjective, how to understand your users’ needs, and why releasing frequently is key to ensuring your Increment truly moves toward the Product Goal.

Diese Frage höre ich oft, und meine Antwort lautet immer: "Nein und Ja." Warum das so ist, erkläre ich in meinem Blog-Post. Zwar sollte das Scrum Framework laut Scrum Guide eigentlich nicht verändert werden—genau wie man beim Schach die Regeln befolgen muss, um Schach zu spielen. Doch in der Praxis geht es nicht darum, Scrum starr nach Lehrbuch umzusetzen. Viel wichtiger ist es, herauszufinden, was für euer Team am besten funktioniert, selbst wenn das bedeutet, von den Regeln abzuweichen. Aber Vorsicht: Nicht jede Anpassung ist sinnvoll! Erfahrt mehr darüber, wann und wie es sich lohnt, Scrum-Regeln zu hinterfragen, und wie ihr durch gezielte Veränderungen mehr Wert für euer Team schaffen könnt. Neugierig? Jetzt den Blog-Post lesen und euer Scrum-Wissen vertiefen!

In diesem Artikel gibt PST Simon Flossmann angehenden Scrum Mastern Tipps, wie sich sich auf ihre Arbeit vorbereiten können.

Leverage AI tools in your day-to-day work and move to a new level of Scrum Mastery.

The Scrum framework is simple, with just enough - but not too much - structure to enable teams to collaborate around value delivery in complex environments. The problem is that a lot of teams add unnecessary complexity to the Scrum framework itself, which results in a lot of wasted effort. Here are four strategies to help Scrum teams work smarter, not harder.

An increment is a usable, completed piece of a product, built in an iteration or less, that adds potential value and moves the product closer to the goals, ensuring continuous progress and improvement.

Around 2010, a manager asked me something like: “𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘈𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪-𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘙 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?” Instead of traditional top-down evaluations, implement: - 𝐏𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Frequent, informal feedback helps individuals and teams grow without the constraints of traditional appraisals. - 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝: Teams must develop new skills to stay competitive in a rapidly changing world. - 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: Performance must focus on team outcomes, not individual metrics. When orgs follow these ideas, it tends to support adaptable teams, people who embrace change, and a more resilient organization.

In diesem Artikel gibt PST Simon Flossmann 3 Tipps, wie du als Product-Owner Konflikte mit Stakeholdern löst.

Como Scrum Master te puedes preguntar muchas veces: ¿Cómo puedo mejorar la relevancia, efectividad e impacto en el equipo y en la entrega de valor? ¿En qué me puedo enfocar como Scrum Master para ayudar de mejorar manera al equipo? ¿Y que habilidades, conocimiento y experiencia necesito mejorar?. A continuación, algunas formas de mejorar la efectividad como Scrum Master y que pueden ayudar a mejorar la forma en que se asumen las responsabilidades como líder usando Scrum.

In Scrum, progress isn’t about completing tasks—it’s about delivering usable value incrementally. Learn how each Increment builds on the last, moving your team closer to the Product Goal and ensuring real progress with every Sprint.

What is the relationship between Scrum and Lean Thinking? Please explain how Scrum enables Lean Thinking or how Lean Thinking fosters Scrum? These are my two favorite questions when I typically want to gauge the knowledge of Scrum Masters. And over the many interviews in the past couple of years I have come across maybe 1 or 2 people who were able to answer it satisfactorily. I often ponder why that is. This article elaborates a bit more on it and I also share how I connect Scrum and Lean Thinking. So, if you want to explore it, this might be a good starting point. Disclaimer: Long post alert.

In diesem Artikel gibt PST Simon Flossmann 5 Tipps, wie du deine Onlineschulungen verbessern kannst

Die forensische Produkt-Backlog-Analyse ist eine 60-minütige Teamübung um Ihr Produkt-Backlog in Ordnung zu bringen. Identifizieren Sie, was kaputt ist, finden Sie heraus, warum, und einigen Sie sich auf praktische Lösungen – alles in fünf schnellen Schritten. Ohne Schnickschnack, nur Ergebnisse.

In 2018, after over a decade of working with Scrum Teams, I attempted the PSM III exam, sparking a journey of deep learning and humility. Passing the exam revealed how much there was still to learn about Professional Scrum—characterized by empiricism, high standards, self-management, and the Scrum Values. Pursuing the path to becoming a Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) was challenging, requiring extensive preparation, peer reviews, and overcoming failures like rejected essays and a failed exam retake. Mentorship and collaboration played a crucial role, with peers and trainers offering invaluable feedback. The journey emphasized storytelling, feedback, and balancing empathy with instructional clarity. Key lessons included embracing humility, lifelong learning, and the courage to challenge students to foster meaningful change. The PST experience was transformative, demanding persistence, resilience, and a commitment to continuous growth. Aspiring Scrum Masters are encouraged to embrace failure, seek mentorship, and explore practical training to deepen their Scrum mastery.

Most organizations wait way too long to adopt some portfolio-level agility practices. But What if fixing what’s broken REQUIRES focusing on the upstream that’s shaping the work and context of these teams?  My secret weapon in these common situations is to ignore common advice and to actually start with the Portfolio level.

In vielen Organisationen bleibt echte Zusammenarbeit oft eine Wunschvorstellung. Einzelne Teammitglieder arbeiten isoliert, Missverständnisse häufen sich, und die Synergie bleibt aus. Doch wie schafft man es, dass ein Team wirklich zusammenarbeitet und Verantwortung teilt? Die Antwort beginnt beim Backlog Refinement. Das Backlog Refinement ist mehr als nur eine Schätzrunde—es ist der erste Schritt, in dem das Team ein gemeinsames Verständnis der Anforderungen entwickelt. Wenn alle im Team die Bedürfnisse der Anwender verstehen und gemeinsam nach Lösungen suchen, entstehen durchdachte, kohärente Ergebnisse. Dies verhindert isolierte Insellösungen und fördert eine echte Zusammenarbeit, die sich im Sprint Planning fortsetzt.

With their unique blend of skills and expertise, Scrum Masters can potentially become catalysts for change, fostering an environment where value delivery and product mindset thrive.

Surfing holds surprising lessons that correlate to leadership in business and all aspects of life. Today's lesson is about using our full body intelligence.

A 60-minute team exercise to fix your Backlog. Identify what’s broken, find out why, and agree on practical fixes—all in five quick steps. There is no fluff, just results.