Books like Mike Cohn’s Succeeding with Agile and Henrik Kniberg’s Scrum and XP from the Trenches were two of the first books I read as I began my agile journey. These books were useful to teach me about Scrum, but Scrum is simple to understand. People though? They’re a challenge. As Ronika Lewis eloquently put it: The […]
The Best Books About Scrum Aren’t About Scrum Read More »
Scrum is not agile. I think Scrum is a brilliant and simple framework, but again it’s certainly not agile. It was Allen Holub in his Death of Agile keynote that convinced me of this. Watch for yourself. He makes many excellent points, some I find more agreeable than others. For frequent readers, I’m sure you
Scrum Is Not Agile Read More »
I have a confession to make. I’m an introvert, and I feel this is at odds with my responsibilities as an agile coach. Or at least I used to feel that way. Over time, I’ve found more like me. In fact, I’ve learned that it’s not as uncommon as I had thought. Many educators, speakers,
The Introverted Agile Coach Read More »
I previously wrote Tips To Be a Successful Scrum Master. Over time, more Scrum Master tips have come to mind so today I’d like to extend my list of tips by ten. Each of these tips are borne out of my mistakes or experiences, and I hope at least one of these tips is something
Scrum Master Tips to Help Your Teams Succeed Read More »
We spend a lot of our days talking about epics, stories, and tasks, and in many cases, we assume others understand these concepts as expertly as we do. Sometimes they don’t, and today I intend to take Leonardo da Vinci’s advice: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Below you’ll find a table that boils epics, stories, and
Definitions: Epics, Stories, And Tasks Read More »
Scrum Masters tend to optimize for the team, and they’re right to do so. I know as a young Scrum Master I wanted to ensure teams were the center piece of the organization. Over time though and as I experienced the challenges of scaling agile, I began to realize optimizing for other dimensions had to
Optimize for the Team — Sometimes Read More »
Managers in an agile shop. It’s an interesting—and sometimes controversial—topic. In fact, Andy Cleff and I collaborated in June on this. We go in depth in his blog post titled Managers and Agile and Riding an Elephant. Since I haven’t yet written about managers in an agile shop on my own blog, I wanted to
Managers in an Agile Shop Read More »
When can a Scrum Master say no to the team? That’s a question I struggled with as a young Scrum Master. On one hand, I was told that I have only influence—not authority—over the team, but on the other, I was told that I was the keeper of the process. So what do I do when
When Can a Scrum Master Say No Read More »
I’m the Senior Scrum Master at a small 100-person startup in Silicon Valley. The work and my teams rock, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I’m also responsible for helping us hire new Scrum Masters. After reviewing hundreds of resumes, talking to a multitude of candidates on the phone, and conducting a number of on-site interviews,
Getting Hired As A Scrum Master Read More »
I recently had the honor of meeting and learning from Jeff Sutherland, the co-creator of Scrum. He was teaching a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) course in Palo Alto here in Silicon Valley. Granted, I’ve had my CSM for many years, but it was an excellent opportunity to learn from one of the titans in the Scrum
Techniques for Better Learning Read More »
