Blog Post
Reveal Scrum Success With Appreciative Interviews
December 1, 2017
Appreciative Interviews (AI) is a Liberating Structure that helps identify enablers for success in less than one hour. By starting from what goes well - instead of what doesn’t. In this post we'll share examples of how we've applied this structures within our Scrum training and coaching engagements.
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10 Tips for Product Owners on Stakeholder Management
December 1, 2017
As a Product Owner, you are responsible for stakeholder management. It's important that you know your stakeholders, their interests, what they need from you and your Product and how they may be able to help you out as well!
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10 Tips for Product Owners on (Business) Value
November 30, 2017
Value comes in many different forms, value is context dependent and the definition of value in a certain context may change over time! What? Yes, that's right! What 'value' is, or what it means, is firstly context dependent.
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10 Tips for Product Owners on the Product Vision
November 29, 2017
The Product vision describes the purpose of a Product, the intention with which the Product is being created and what it aims to achieve for customers and users. The Product vision describes a future state of the Product and what problems it tries to resolve or what ambitions it tries to fulfill.
Blog Post
What’s Driving Your Need For Agility?
November 28, 2017
I have created a little exercise that I like to use to help focus the on things we can change, or at least situations to seek out or avoid, to help focus change efforts. The essence of it is summarized in a picture. I call this the agile affinity model, and the dimensions the key drivers of empiricism.
Blog Post
Myth 6: The Product Owner is a Proxy for Stakeholders
November 28, 2017
In this post, we'll bust the myth that the Product Owner is a proxy for stakeholders. The bottom-line is that Scrum Teams become significantly less Agile when only the Product Owner communicates with stakeholders. Instead of framing the Product Owner as a proxy, we instead prefer to explain the Product Owner as the person responsible for including stakeholders in the conversation.
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10 Tips for Product Owners on Agile Product Management
November 28, 2017
The Product Owner role is totally different from traditional roles that are know in most organizations. Some people think that the Product Owner is a kind of 'Agile project manager' or that the Product Owner is sort of a 'business analyst'. This is not true!
Blog Post
Tips for starting Product Owners
November 27, 2017
In this blog, we'll cover some tips and tools for starting Product Owners, to help you in your new role.
Blog Post
What is Servant Leadership
November 26, 2017
Here I am sitting in my hotel room while looking at my half-empty wine glass and the stars outside while preparing for my last Professional Scrum Master (PSM) class for the year 2017 and pondering about all of the classes I have facilitated over this year. PSM has been a transformational course for me because it has changed me by seeing how it has changed the life of many of my students.
Blog Post
4 Ways to Coach with the Scrum Values
November 24, 2017
Scrum is a framework that thrives on self-organizing teams. It gives you boundaries (e.g. time-box of a Sprint), clear accountabilities (e.g. Product Owner optimizes value), and goals (e.g. “Done” Increment).
Blog Post
Why Scrum Teams Need to Learn
November 22, 2017
System optimization: Upgrading Team Competencies
When developing complex innovative products, the Development Team will have different a workload for each one of their members.
Blog Post
Outcome based agility: Optimize your business using LEAN and Scrum
November 22, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Scrum Master Role- What to expect?
November 22, 2017
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.
Blog Post
How I Use Scrum To Run My Business
November 21, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Myth 5: In Scrum, the Product Backlog is prioritized
November 21, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Update Scrum Guide: 5 Scrum misconceptions set straight
November 20, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Getting Real About Your Values – The Values Retrospective
November 20, 2017
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. Because values and principles have the potential to provide us with clarity and guidance that transcends what practices and frameworks can achieve. Ideally - part of your empiric inspection and adaptation process should explore whether you are living according to your values/principles. To achieve that you can try a value-based retrospective.
Blog Post
Use ‘25/10 Crowd Sourcing’ to spice up your Scrum Events
November 17, 2017
‘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.
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Scrum Guide change: Planning Retrospective items into a Sprint Backlog
November 16, 2017
"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
Blog Post
Don't Assimilate, Resist the Status Quo
November 15, 2017
I once worked for an organization with many opportunities for improvement. To be honest, it was a mess.
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Myth 4: In Scrum, the Product Backlog has to consist out of User Stories
November 15, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Scrum is often a waste of money
November 15, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Scrum and Technical Excellence
November 14, 2017
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".
Blog Post
A modern source control system supports DevOps & Agility
November 13, 2017
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.
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Scrum is simple, just use it as is!!
November 12, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Open Space and Scrum
November 11, 2017
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.
Blog Post
What is a Product Backlog for, anyway?
November 9, 2017
"Perfection has to do with the end product, but excellence has to do with the process." - Jerry Moran
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Workshop - The Scrum Master as a Manager
November 9, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Scrum Guide Update November 2017
November 7, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Coaching questions filled with curiosity – Part II
November 7, 2017
Let the coaching experiment continue!
Welcome back to part two of our curiosity filled coaching questions!
Blog Post
Myth 3: In Scrum, releases are done only at the end of the Sprint
November 6, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Professional Scrum Training for the Ghana Police Service
November 2, 2017
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
Blog Post
The Best Laid Plans often go awry.
November 1, 2017
The question remains as to why managers continue to plan projects based on sequential assumptions.
Blog Post
Professional Organisational Change at the Ghana Police Service
October 31, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Zombie Stories: Conversations From Beyond the Grave
October 30, 2017
"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.
Blog Post
Should Our Team Use Scrum?
October 30, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Myth 2: The Sprint Backlog can’t change during the Sprint
October 30, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Coaching questions filled with curiosity – Part I
October 28, 2017
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!
Blog Post
The Scrum Master as the Change Leader
October 28, 2017
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.
Blog Post
Myth: The Scrum Master must be present during the Daily Scrum
October 23, 2017
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.
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How Many Scrum Teams Should You Be On?
October 19, 2017
Never an easy answer and always being pulled in multiple directions, a question often asked: How many Scrum Teams should I be on?
Blog Post
Why PSD is such a great Training
October 19, 2017
The PSD training teaches the whole Scrum Team on how to do real Scrum. They work in Sprints, create Done software and use the appropriate tools and practices for it. It is a unique experience on how really good Scrum feels like.
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Courage is an increasingly important value in delivering products
October 16, 2017
Courage however is more than just learning what it means and telling your teams to be courageous.
Blog Post
Agile-ish is “Kind of…..not”
October 13, 2017
When an organization decides to embark on an Agile Transformation, the first question should be, “Why?” What does leadership hope to achieve? Will the chosen path lead to improved ability to deliver high-quality business value? &
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What Scrum Says About Estimates
October 11, 2017
An estimate is our best guess for what can be achieved and by when. There are some situations when estimates are very important:
Blog Post
It's time to learn the missing metric
October 10, 2017
Over the past years I have been looking for a metric that could indicate the agility of an organization. After a study of the more common metrics used for products and management reports, I couldn’t really find a metric that indicates the level of agility.
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How to Create DoD for a Large Product Group
October 8, 2017
When multiple Scrum Teams are working on one product, shared DoD becomes necessary. DoD helps to ensure that each increment is transparent by the end of every Sprint and creates a shared understanding of what “Done” means.
Blog Post
Follow the $$$ - Inclusion and Accessibility
September 28, 2017
Although people with disabilities do have special needs, their purchase power isn’t special: it’s the same as everyone else’s. No longer can we think of accessibility as a compliance play. It’s simply good business. Let me frame this point with my story.