Sprint Planning is the most underappreciated Agile event. Unfortunately, that leads to a whole host of errors and problems, as we will soon see. The ScrumGuide says: “Sprint Planning initiates the Sprint by laying out the work to be performed for the Sprint. This resulting plan is created by the collaborative work of the entire […]
Sprint Planning
Scrum Anti-Patterns: The Hardening Sprint
Hardening Sprints are one of the most common kinds of Scrum Anti-Patterns: ways of addressing recurring problems that seem like effective solutions at the time but in fact hamper productivity or create more problems later on. Here we introduce why they are used, why they are not an effective design pattern, and how you can […]
Scrum by Example – The Story of an Incomplete Sprint
A Scrum Sprint is incomplete when the Team can’t deliver the working features they committed to. We cover the reasons for this and how you can help your Team. Dramatis Personae Steve – a ScrumMaster and the hero of our story Paula – the Product Owner of Steve’s Team Tonia – the Team’s Quality Assurance […]
Is There a Best Day to Start and Finish a Sprint?
No, of course not. So when should your Team start and end Sprints? The usual rules of Scrum apply – ask the Team. Run an experiment. There is an instinctive tendency to want to wrap up things at the end of the work week so we can unplug our brains for the weekend, and start […]
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.
Lifecycle of a User Story
Agile User Stories. Answers to: What are they? Where do they come from? When are they created? How are they prioritized? Practical examples.
Story Splitting – a Play – “Spike Sherman”
The story of a Scrum Team from UBC who created a play to demonstrate their understanding of INVEST, User Story Splitting and Spikes.
Scrum By Example – The Team Collaborate on Acceptance Criteria
A case study of a Scrum team. In this Sprint the team improves at collaboration, even pairing outside their normal tasks, but there is something odd in the User Stories.