An exploration of what scientific studies and a large dataset of Scrum teams tell us about the benefits of agility

Scientific insights into what creates stress, and how motivation can buffer it. With 5 practical ways to reduce stress and increase motivation

What science tells us about how work agreements create high-performing teams. And five practical areas to focus on.

An investigation of scientific research into what motivates teams, and how many of these insights informed the Scrum framework and other Agile methodologies

An exploration of scientific insights. And four practical tips to encourage cohesion and coherence in your team.

A critical, evidence-based reflection on a hunch that Scrum Masters may often be more concerned with the quality of the process than the value of its outcomes.

Why many Scrum teams struggle with continuous improvement, and how you can do better

An exploration of the color theory of change, and how it illustrates a bias in our community that may explain our failure to enact meaningful change

An investigation of three schools of thought on team development and high-performing teams

A guide on how to act professionally by seeking out evidence to test what you believe to be true about Scrum, teams, and change

Surprising insights from scientific studies into when and why code smells are introduced, and practical recommendations for how to write better code

Insights from 7 scientific studies into what it is that Product Owners do and what makes them successful

(And that should benefit experienced Scrum Masters too)

A scientific investigation to explore how management, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and Developers contribute to successful Agile transformations

A scientific investigation of ~1.200 Scrum teams to identify core factors and offer evidence-based guidance on how  to support and diagnose Scrum teams

What scientific research on team cognition tells us about high-performing teams

With the Scrum Team Survey, you can create transparency with your team around five core questions: Are you building what stakeholders need? Are you shipping fast enough?...

A simple model to better understand why and when something is valuable to your team and its stakeholders (in commercial organizations)

A reflection on four key changes in the 2020 Scrum Guide, why they were made, and why that is a big deal

How to tell if Scrum fits your work and what to do when it doesn’t

In this series of ‘In-depth’-posts, we take time to consider the bigger picture. This series is not about easy answers or practical tips, but to develop a more complete understanding of what may be going on.

In this post, we explore eight common biases, underlying research and how they distort our thinking. We also offer what you can do to reduce them.

Without skilled developers, the Scrum Framework is no more than lipstick on a pig.

Scrum is all about self-organizing. But what does that mean? And more specifically, how can Liberating Structures support that? In this post, we reflect on Liberating Structures from the perspective of self-organization.

A physical build monitor - like a light that turns red when a build fails - is a great way to get fast feedback. Its also a fun & educational activity for Development Teams, as it gives them a product of their own they can apply their craft to. And it encourages a Developer Culture.

"What is worry about our product is keeping you up at night? What can we build or test this Sprint to make you sleep a bit better?". In this post we share this and 9 other Powerful Questions to help your team find better Sprint Goals. And what to do when these questions don't help you at all.

Although most people see the value of Sprint Goals, how to create them is a huge source of confusion and frustration. Is the Spring Goal there before the Sprint Backlog? How do you create a Sprint Goal out of the unrelated set of items at the top of your Product Backlog? And should everything on the Sprint Backlog be related to the Sprint Goal? In this post I work from examples of a real product, and the Sprint Goals we used there, to answer those questions.

Scrum is intended as a simple, yet sufficient framework for complex product delivery.

Trying to make virtual meetings work with your team? We've made many mistakes in our virtual meetings over the years. In this post, we share our ten most helpful tips for having engaging and productive meetings online.

Continuing to grow your skills is vital in a field where technologies, frameworks, and skills change so rapidly. So what do you do? How do you get other developers in your team excited about their craft?

Why output-oriented metrics are mostly a waste of time in software- and product development.

This post is an excerpt from the book that we’re writing, the ‘Zombie Scrum Survival Guide’. It’s our way of delivering small increments and involving our stakeholders: you, the reader. So we’d love to hear your feedback, encouragements and wild ideas.

A while ago, I received an interesting scientific article from Gunther Verheyen titled “Getting Things Done: The Science Behind Stress-Free Productivity” (Heylighen & Vidal, 2007). The article discusses possible scientific explanations for the success of a personal productivity approach called “Getting Things Done” (GTD; Allen, 2001).

How do you change a system that is as complex as an organization? This is the quintessential question facing Scrum Masters, Product Owners and other drivers of change. In this post, we explore how the Liberating Structure ‘Panarchy’ offers a powerful perspective and allows you to put systems thinking into practice. And even though it is perhaps the most complicated of them all, Panarchy brings together all the promises of Liberating Structures: engage everyone and unleash change on every level. Its a great way to drive organizational change together in an organic way.

This is a series on how to create more engaging and interactive Scrum Events with Liberating Structures and recover from Zombie Scrum.

This post is an excerpt from the book that we’re writing, the ‘Zombie Scrum Survival Guide’. It’s our way of delivering small increments and involving our stakeholders. So we’d love to hear your feedback, encouragements and wild ideas.

Sprint Goals are one of the more elusive parts of the Scrum Framework. Most teams know they are important, but few use them - for a variety of reasons. In this post, Barry Overeem and I bust the myth that Sprint Goals are optional in Scrum. And we make an effort to show what makes them so vital in the face of complex work. And more importantly, what you can do to start working with Sprint Goals from now on.

Want to know if your team or organisation is suffering from Zombie Scrum? Find out with our free symptom checker and get help. And join our worldwide research into how teams work with Scrum, and what works for them.

Conflicts are fascinating. Now, this may be the organisational psychologist in me talking, or the facilitator who senses them in the groups I work with.

Writing code is like finding your path through a dark forest. Behind each tree can lurk a monster, a treasure or a pit. Or there is no path at all.

During a recent meetup of The Liberators Network, we got together with 30 enthusiastic Scrum Masters.

A personal story of what encouraged a Developer Culture at NowOnline. And why Scrum really doesn't work without it.

Changing the way we work is extremely difficult — we all know this. It requires us to find novel solutions to wicked challenges, to deal with cultural baggage (‘the way we do things here’) and to bring along the people needed to make a change successful.

Scrum Masters are often understood mostly as “team coaches”. Yet, their role is vastly more important. The Scrum Guide emphasizes that Scrum Masters are responsible for leading and coaching organizations in the adoption of Scrum and causing change that increases the productivity of the Scrum Team.

I always assume that the people I work with are professionals - and not children. This is why I don’t like maturity models in whatever shape or form. And we’ve got a lot of those in our industry.

Scrum is intended as a simple, yet sufficient framework for complex product delivery. Scrum is not a one-size-fits-all solution, a silver bullet or a complete methodology.

In Scrum, “Done” doesn’t support adjectives like “nearly”, “pretty much” or “almost”. Work is “Done” or it isn’t . And there is a very powerful, compelling reason behind this: the Scrum Framework only helps to reduce the risk of wasting money and effort when you deliver “Done” software every Sprint; a new version of your product that is, or with the proverbial press of a button can be, released to users. In this post I underscore how essential this rule is to Scrum.

Woohoo! Last week marked the official announcement from Scrum.org that I’m finally a Professional Scrum Trainer. I’m excited, amazed and incredibly humbled to join this community of professionals. In this post, I would like to share this journey. Perhaps it will inspire you towards a similar journey, or help you if you’re already on it.