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Blog Post

Don't Be A Comfortable Scrum Master!

May 4, 2021
At a recent Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master II class, I asked the group to write down some learnings from the class that may help other Scrum Masters. One statement that came up has stuck in my mind ever since: “Don’t be a comfortable Scrum Master.” – Unknown Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master II Attendee.
Blog Post

Taking the First Step toward Scrum

May 3, 2021
Agile frameworks such as Scrum have continued to gain traction because of their ability to vastly improve business outcomes and employee engagement. Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams, and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems.
Blog Post

What is a Scrum Master?

May 3, 2021
The Scrum Master is probably one of the most famous Agile roles. And rightly so, because the Scrum Master pays a pivotal role in helping the team with the efficient and effective use of Scrum. Learn more from the team at www.FractalSystems.co.uk
Blog Post

Scrum Guide 2020: True Leadership is an Attitude

May 2, 2021
The readers going through this piece more or less know the definition of a Scrum Master. Co-Creators Ken & Jeff, in their Scrum Guide 2020, having introduced exclusively the framework for Scrum, have put it as: “Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organisation.” The article’s objective is introducing the shift in the mindset or attitude. This is a requisite to become a genuine leader, as far as my experience goes. 
Blog Post

Savez-vous reconnaître et guérir du Zombie Scrum ?

April 26, 2021
Les équipes et organisations qui utilisent le cadre agile Scrum espèrent toutes que les efforts porteront leurs fruits, et qu’elles seront bientôt sorties de tous leurs problèmes grâce à la magie de l’agilité. La première étape consiste généralement à appliquer un cadre de travail avec plus ou moins de rigueur. Mais cette étape est souvent vu comme un objectif à part entière et non un simple premier pas. Nous allons explorer comment sortir d’une application mécanique de Scrum pour progresser vers une utilisation performante de Scrum, en particulier par l'utilisation disciplinée d'une "Definition of Done" stricte.
Blog Post

Data-Informed Retrospectives

April 26, 2021
In their book Agile Retrospectives, Esther Derby and Diana Larsen popularized the idea that a Sprint Retrospect comprises five stages. The second stage refers to gathering data so that the Scrum Team can have data-informed Retrospectives.
Blog Post

PO Interview Questions — The Product Backlog and Refinement

April 19, 2021
If you are looking to fill a position for a Product Owner in your organization, you may find the following 71 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are derived from my fourteen years of practical experience with XP and Scrum, serving both as Product Owner and Scrum Master and interviewing dozens of Product Owner candidates on behalf of my clients.
Blog Post

3 Tips for Tools in Scrum

April 14, 2021
In my Professional Scrum Training and coaching sessions with teams, I am often asked about Product Backlog management tools. In this post, I'll share my thoughts on tools and 3 tips for using tools effectively in Scrum.
Blog Post

What is Organizational Agility, Really?

April 12, 2021
Have you ever noticed people keep talking about things, but they've not aligned with what their words mean? I have seen agility measured as the number of "agile teams" and the "number of training attendees" more often than I like to admit.
Blog Post

"I’m Not Getting Anything Done"

April 9, 2021
I've given the same advice to almost all of my clients -- "you need a clearer Product Backlog", "You're working really hard but you're not getting anything done", and "You need to cut scope, launch your product with a more focused scope, launch it, and then get feedback." ...
Blog Post

Radical Remote Working

April 9, 2021
Companies have shifted to long-term remote work and employees across many different industries are accepting that the pre-pandemic workplace will not come back. I call this "radical remote".
Blog Post

YDS: What is the difference between Scrum and Agile?

April 8, 2021
On today’s episode of YOUR DAILY SCRUM: What is the difference between Scrum and Agile? Today's question asks us to ponder the difference between "Scrum" and "Agile". These words are not synonyms. Ryan and Todd explore the definitions of each word and how they are related, but not the same.