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.

There are claims in the market that Scrum Masters may be replaced by AI. But at what level is it correct?!!!

In diesem Artikel erklärt PST Simon Flossmann die 10 Aufgaben eines Scrum Masters.

Scrum Masters are human. And sometimes - even when they are trying to help - they can unintentionally overstep their authority. In this article, we will discuss the most common ways that Scrum Masters overstep themselves, and why.

Selecting work in Scrum isn’t just about picking items from the backlog—it’s a collaborative effort by the entire Scrum Team. Explore how value, risk, effort, and shared understanding guide the selection process, ensuring each Increment brings the team closer to the Product Goal.

The Scrum framework offers clear rules, guidelines, and constraints. Teams can use these as boundaries to self-manage and self-organize their work, minimize risk, and deliver value to their stakeholders. When teams are relatively new to Scrum, strictly following the rules and constraints makes sense. But what if a team wants to change the rules of Scrum? In this blog post, I share my thoughts.

What we measure is what we get? If there is no focus on defining what we want to achieve and articulate how we can measure it then often we end measuring wrong stuff and that impacts our ability to create value, to be successful.

In diesem Artikel erklärt PST Simon Flossmann, die 3 Versprechen, die Agile Transformationen einlösen müssen.

This article outlines seven key development directions for Project Management Offices to effectively support modern product-oriented organizations. Transitioning from a project to a product-oriented operating model requires organisational change in culture, processes, and management. This will result in transforming current PMO services to become more Agile and product-oriented .

La servant leadership emerge come paradigma fondamentale nella risoluzione di sfide complesse. Lo Scrum Master, incarnando questo approccio, trasforma il modo tradizionale di guidare i team verso risultati sostenibili e significativi.

2024 ended with my vision becoming reality: A small group of people gathered in Costa Rica to experience a unique approach to leadership development - learning to ride the waves instead of trying to control the ocean - at the Agile Leadership Surf Camp. Learn 5 key insights that emerged from this experience.

In Scrum, the Definition of Done (DoD) is a shared understanding of what it means for a Product Backlog item to be considered complete. For example, for a Scrum team that is developing software, a Definition of Done might include things such as 'Complete code review' or 'all standard Regression scripts have passed' or even 'performance testing complete' or 'page loads in under .1 seconds'.

In this article, Natasha Hampshire and David Spinks discuss common perceptions of product development research and what it means for agility.

In his latest blog post, PST Mehdi Hoseini summary of the DORA report 2024 including the most important insights of the report especially the impact of AI on the software development field.

In this episode of the Take5IRL podcast, PST Jeff Lee is joined by Peter Borsella, co-founder of Big Orange Square, and a leading expert in Agile for hardware. Together, they uncover the fascinating story of a company struggling to keep up in a competitive market.

Personal retrospectives can help you improve your life. This approach, similar to team retrospectives, encourages self-reflection. By assessing different areas of your life and identifying areas for protection and improvement, you can focus on a few small, actionable steps to achieve your goals and improve your overall well-being.

In diesem Artikel stellt PST Simon Flossmann vor, wie du mit Liberating Structures das Sprint Planning gestallten kannst.

Start-up Agility describes the mental disposition within which leaders can learn to swim through uncertainty, build their teams in ebbs and flows, and deliver value at every growth point. By fostering connections, empowering teams, and remaining flexible, agile leaders set up the engagement for sustainable success. Let’s discuss how Agile leadership can revolutionise your Start-up. Leave a comment on your thoughts, or contact us for more stimulation!

Wenn Du in all dem noch neu bist, fragst Du Dich vielleicht: Worum geht es bei Agilität überhaupt? Wie können Organisationen oder Teams davon profitieren, agiler zu werden? ​

This is my work to welcome 2025—Scrum Tour: A quality informative gift to my audience. Enjoy the tour and I wish you all the best in the new year.

The term ‘backlog’ in Scrum refers to more than a list of features—it’s a tool for transparency, collaboration, and delivering value. Learn why shorter, focused backlogs empower teams and how expanding backlog items to include hypotheses, outcomes, and problems can drive innovation.

Adopt one of these New Year's resolutions at your next Sprint Retrospective!

Scrum es un marco de trabajo que ayuda a maximizar la entrega de valor a los clientes, mejorar los resultados de negocio y crear un ambiente cultural de trabajo en equipo basado en los valores de Scrum. A continuación, algunas recomendaciones para mejorar los beneficios de Scrum al entregar valor:

In diesem Artikel teilt PST Simon Flossmann, welche Artikel im Jahr 2024 am erfolgreichsten waren.

In this vlog, join hosts Andreanna Marshall and Grand Scrum Master Scott as they dive into practical strategies for implementing Scrum principles seemingly solo. 🚀 Discover how to navigate resistance and transform your workplace from the ground up!

Making the state of Agile transparent by shining light on problems, obstacles, and successes touches on the essence of what coaches and Scrum Masters should do. Yet many don't use a 'flashlight.' They wander through organizations in the dark, trying to figure out what’s happening. In this post, I explain why using a flashlight matters and how you can get started.

Instead of outcome, “We need to increase customer retention by 10%,” We ask: “What capability will keep improving customer retention over time?” Maybe it’s learning to gather and act on customer feedback faster. Maybe it’s the ability to run small, cheap experiments. Whatever your specific capability is, when you focus on building the capability, the outcomes take care of themselves. The real question is: What capabilities will make us better every day? Outcomes are the result—capabilities are the key.

In diesem Artikel teilt PST Simon Flossmann seine Erkenntnisse über Scrum über Produkt- und Organisationsentwicklung.

A common question for newcomers to Scrum: What Do You Think About Story Points?

In this episode of the Take5IRL podcast, PST Jeff Lee is joined by Peter Borsella, co-founder of Big Orange Square with Hubert Smits and a leading expert in Agile for hardware. Together, they dive into the unique challenges of applying Agile in hardware development—a world where traditional software practices don’t always translate smoothly.

Ordering the Product Backlog in Scrum isn’t just about deciding what’s important—it’s about creating a clear sequence of work for maximum value. Discover the key differences between ordering and prioritizing, and the criteria Product Owners use to arrange backlog items effectively

In diesem Artikel resümiert PST Simon Flossmann über das Jahr 2024 und teilt seine Erkenntnisse und Lektionen.

In this article, we will discuss 3 concepts that work better in simple business problems and not so well in an Agile environment.

In diesem Artikel erklärt PST Simon Flossmann, wie du als Scrum Master mit Bürokraten um gehst

Create a shared understanding of the benefits of Agile for your organization and make gaining them a shared responsibility. In addition, it creates a climate of continuous improvement in which progress is measured. How else would you know you're gaining the benefits of Agile?

Is your Portfolio Kanban Board Busy? Too many cross-product initiatives? Instead of investing in Portfolio management - Descale by Organizing around Outcomes.

La validation de la valeur d'un produit va bien au-delà de l'implémentation de fonctionnalités. Combien de fois vous est-il arrivé de publier une nouvelle fonctionnalité, convaincu que c'était exactement ce que vos utilisateurs voulaient, pour découvrir ensuite que personne ne l'utilise ? Dans cet article, nous explorerons cinq approches concrètes pour vous assurer que votre produit crée réellement de la valeur.

The Scrum Guide says a Product Owner ‘orders the work’ into a Product Backlog. But what does ordering really mean in Scrum? It’s not about commands—it’s about creating clarity and alignment. Explore the collaborative nature of ordering and its impact on the Scrum Team.

Negativity doesn’t just dampen morale -it can derail team performance entirely. This blog dives into the Bad Apple Effect, showing how just one negative individual can impact collaboration, productivity, and development in sports, business, and Agile teams. Ready to address negativity and build high-performing, adaptable teams? Explore how to tackle toxic behaviours and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Dive in to learn more!

E.L.E.V.A.T.E. A Transformative Model for Product Owners to Invest in Themselves

So you have a Portfolio Kanban board managing your biggest investments. You’re actively managing the flow by using this Kanban board in your conversations about the portfolio. Kanban/Flow Metrics can help sharpen your flow focus even further. The four flow metrics described in the Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams / Kanban Guide are Work in Process (WIP), Cycle Time, Throughput, Work Item Age (WIA). How can these metrics help us at the Portfolio level?

In diesem Artikel erklärt PST Simon Flossmann, wie Scrum Master ihre Wirkung potenzieren können.

In diesem Artikel werden wir die Bedingungen untersucht, unter denen reines Scrum gedeiht, die organisatorische DNA, die zu seiner Unterstützung erforderlich ist, und praktische Szenarien, in denen es am besten funktioniert – zusammen mit einem ehrlichen Blick darauf, wo es Schwierigkeiten bereitet.

They tell us a story of slow, centralized decision-making, often related to classic program management culture combined with an iron spaghetti portfolio where delivering product outcomes often requires wide collaboration across teams and even teams of teams.

Product definition is a complex, political and challenging task in large IT organizations. In this blog we discuss what organizations need to consider when looking at their product model. We discuss why shared services could be candidates to become products and the value of tying product to strategy and value. We provide some simple questions to ask of your products to help guide the selection and remind the reader that product models like organizational structures require people and people come with politics.

Elevating Katas: Driving Continuous Improvement in Organizational Topologies In the evolving landscape of software development and organizational design, Elevating Katas play a crucial role in fostering continuous improvement. These structured, repeatable exercises help teams refine their workflows, challenge inefficiencies, and push for higher performance.