It is common in the early stages of Scrum implementation for there to be misunderstandings about what User Stories are for and what makes them useful. A ScrumMaster’s task is to be able to help the Team and Product Owner when they are faced with ineffective User Stories as they go into Sprint Planning. Dramatis […]
Scrum By Example
Scrum by Example – Scrum Anti-Patterns & Unplanned Work Disrupting the Sprint
The Team is in the middle of a Sprint, but the Product Owner has discovered unplanned work and interrupts their flow mid-Sprint to deal with it because it’s now “high-priority.” How should a ScrumMaster deal with this or similar Scrum Anti-Patterns? An anti-pattern is a common response to a recurring problem that is usually ineffective […]
Scrum by Example – Stories for the Working ScrumMaster
What does it take to be a great ScrumMaster? When I was in my early years as a Scrum Trainer, circa 2011, it was noticeable to me that while there was a plethora of content out there explaining the role of the ScrumMaster and what qualities you want in a person for the role, there […]
Scrum by Example – Feeling Pain from Your Daily Scrum?
Dramatis Personae Steve – a ScrumMaster and the hero of our story Michael – another ScrumMaster for a different team Doug – a member of Steve’s team James – a member of Steve’s team Fred – a member of Steve’s team Paula – the Product Owner of Steve’s team Steve and the team are starting […]
Scrum by Example – Stuck Waiting for Other Teams
The Scrum team has improved, progress has slowed. How to analyze and identify the bottlenecks between Product Development and Deployment.
Scrum by Example – The Trouble with Sprint Burndowns
Are Sprint Burndowns helping or hurting your team? Our case study discussed some practical tips a ScrumMaster can use to keep them from being misleading.
Scrum by Example – ScrumMaster for Three Teams? What are the Alternatives?
A company adds teams but wants to keep the same number of ScrumMasters. Smart move or disaster? This case study examines how to handle such a situation.
Scrum by Example – Overtime on a Scrum Team is an Unhealthy Sign
A case study of why overtime in an Agile environment doesn’t work. What pitfalls result, and how ScrumMaster and Product Owner can help the team avoid them.