One of the first things that people new to Scrum learn about is the five events. The five events in Scrum are 1) the Sprint, 2) Sprint Planning 3) Daily Scrum, 4) Sprint Review and 5) the Sprint Retrospective. When they are listed out like that, it seems like - a lot. When people first start learning about Scrum, it can seem like Scrum requires many meetings. It might even seem like Scrum is a waste of time. Nothing could be further from the truth. Scrum is used in complex environments where less is known than unknown. In these environments, we need to plan frequently, inspect our work, an ..read more

Velocity is a complementary practice many Scrum teams use to plan future work. Here’s how it works: A team selects a point system and decides that certain types of work are worth one point and other types of work may be worth different point values. Every Sprint, the team adds up points for each Product Backlog item (PBI) that meets the Definition of Done by the end of the Sprint. The team's Velocity is the total summed amount of all of the points associated with PBIs that meet the Definition of Done by the end of the Sprint. Velocity can be a helpful metric.  Teams can use Velocity t ..read more

Some of the highest-performing teams I have ever worked with were part of a Product team. A Product team is when multiple Scrum teams support a single product. Product teams share a single Product Backlog and create a combined, done increment at least once per Sprint. They share ownership of product delivery and are aligned toward a common vision. By consolidating efforts and resources, Product teams foster an environment conducive to delivering substantial value with each Sprint. With a single Product backlog and Product vision serving as the North Star, Product teams use their collectiv ..read more

Many Developers are not accustomed to spending time on Refinement.  Many even consider Refinement a “waste” of their time!  Refinement is the act of adding detail, order and size to items in the Product Backlog. A well-refined Product Backlog is an investment that accelerates value delivery in the long term.  Here’s why. No Fluff, just Value A well-refined Product Backlog saves time in development because Developers can work with the Product Owner to ensure that Product Backlog items only include the work necessary to deliver the sought-after value to the customer and no mor ..read more

People new to Scrum or without formal training sometimes use Scrum as an excuse for various bad practices.  These practices can be very unproductive and may undercut many of the benefits that the organization is seeking from an Agile transformation in the first place.  For example, Scrum is no excuse not to create a forecast for delivery or to accept a lack of direction for your product.  This article will discuss three common bad practices and explain why Scrum is no excuse. 1. No Forecast Too many people think that Scrum means we can’t forecast or meet deadlines.  As wit ..read more

According to the ,,2020 Scrum Guide, Scrum team members should be “self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how.” There is a lot of confusion about what exactly this means.  On the one hand, some Scrum team members think that self-managing means doing whatever they want.  On the other hand, others may dismiss self-management altogether, replacing it with micromanaging techniques such as leadership assigning particular tasks to particular developers. Self-management doesn’t mean developers can do whatever they want, and it doesn’t mean leadership should ..read more

People may not see the point when they hear about the Definition of Done in Scrum. They may say, "We are so sick of talking about the Definition of Done," or “Why does this matter?” First and foremost, what is a Definition of Done?  The Definition of Done (DoD) in Scrum is a set of criteria determining when a Product Backlog item can be considered complete.  Sounds simple, right?  And perhaps a little pointless? Nothing could be farther from the truth. Consider this: when you bake a batch of cookies, when are you ‘done’?  Is it when the cookies are baked?  Or when the ..read more

When a new Product Owner looks at an empty Product Backlog, it can be overwhelming to get started.  It can be tempting to ask yourself, what is everything we need to do to deliver this Product? But that’s the wrong question - and it can lead to writer’s block. Writer’s block is not something that we typically associate with the Product Owner.  But the Product Owner is responsible for the content and ordering of the Product Backlog.  Content is the keyword here.  When you are staring at an empty Product Backlog, it can be hard to put the metaphorical pen to paper and get st ..read more

Scrum is the most popular Agile framework. According to the 17th annual State of Agile report from Digital.ai, 63% of teams who are using Agile are using Scrum. For Rugby fans, the term Scrum may already be familiar. In Rugby, a "scrum" is where players pack closely together, heads down in formation, to gain possession of the ball. Each member of the scrum formation in Rugby serves a specific purpose. Some people in the formation push forward, while others hold the formation up. The success of the scrum in Rugby hinges on the collaboration and coordination of every team member. Remove one, an ..read more

Scrum is a framework within which teams work together to deliver products in complex environments. The Scrum framework includes five events: The Sprint Sprint Planning Daily Scrum Sprint Review Sprint Retrospective. Each of the five events in Scrum is time boxed. This means that every Scrum event has a maximum (but not a minimum) amount of time the Scrum team will spend on the event every Sprint. By limiting the time spent in each Event, the Scrum framework pushes Scrum teams to maximize the quality of their time together. Why are events time boxed? Timeboxing is used to reduce waste. Accor ..read more