Articles on Scrum By Example

A series of Stories, designed to help illustrate a team evolving from ineffective, struggling to performing. Unlike a real team I help them make every mistake.

What does it take to be a great ScrumMaster?

When I was in my early years as a Certified 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 was very little written about how to improve or become better at the role, especially for newly certified ScrumMasters, fresh out of the training workshop.

Doing a Google search today, it doesn’t seem like a whole lot has changed.

Scrum by Example is meant to empower readers to become excellent in their practice of Scrum. We’ll examine many of the real-world challenges new ScrumMasters deal with, especially in work environments where Scrum has been only recently introduced or is not applied consistently.

Scrum by Example is written as an episodic story, with a small cast of characters and a simple fictional product. In each episode, there will be a breakdown of a specific problem or issue, as well as information and advice for how to handle it, whether you are a ScrumMaster or in any of the Scrum roles.

The Stories cover far more than the basics of Scrum. For instance, we examine what motivates people, and we apply systems thinking to analyze what happens. We tackle many of the common challenges and misunderstandings that ScrumMasters face

A lineup of characters used in the Scrum By Example series
A lineup of characters used in the Scrum By Example series

Dramatis Personae

The Product – The World’s Smallest Online Bookstore (smallestonlinebookstore.com), is meant to be a consumer-use platform for buying books online. I originally imagined it as a foil for Amazon (back when they sold only books), showing that consumers don’t want an infinite range of choices for books, what they want is help making the right choice for their next book purchase.

Steve – The “protagonist” of Scrum by Example. Steve is a newly certified ScrumMaster and part of the software development team building the World’s Smallest Online Bookstore. While he has 10 years of experience in software, he has no practical Scrum experience, as this is his company’s first foray into Agile.

Paula – The Product Owner for the World’s Smallest Online Bookstore. Like Steve, she is also new to Scrum, but unlike him, hasn’t received any training or certification for her role yet, beyond reading a couple of books. An experienced product manager, she is open to learning the role but is a little uncertain about what needs to be done and how it is different from being a manager.

The Team – And then there’s the Development Team. This is a group of developers, designers, QA testers, analysts, all working together to deliver the Product to the customer.

Members of the Team, along with a few other characters, will be introduced as the story progresses.

Get Certified

Explore what Scrum is and how to make it work for you in our Scrum Certification training. Hands-on learning will guide you to improve teamwork, deliver quick feedback, and achieve better products and results.

Registration is now open for workshops:

January 15-16, 2026

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February 17-18, 2026

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About this course

Focuses on the role of the team and the ScrumMaster. Get the skills and practical experience necessary to improve teamwork, take the exam, and advance your career with a certification that is in high demand today. Often the best fit for anyone new to Scrum.

Learning and Benefits

Relatable Scenarios

Learn on-the-job applications of key Scrum concepts, skills, principles, along with practical solutions that you can apply the next day for difficult, real-life situations.

Respected Certification

Everything you need to earn your Scrum Alliance® ScrumMaster certification, including exam fee and membership, and so much more.

Practical Exercises

With focus on the challenges that real teams face, and tools to dig deeper. You don’t need more boring Scrum theory. You need something you can sink your teeth into to see immediate results.

Jargon-Free Learning

This workshop is not just for software development or people with a computer science degree. We’ve helped many non-software teams with Scrum.

Career Advancement

Use Scrum knowledge to standout at work, get paid more, and impress your customer, all without burning out.

Ongoing Support

Our active Scrum community forum is a safe place to ask questions. Long after you earn the Certified Scrum Master certification, you will have access to the forum, course materials, and additional valuable resources.