TL; DR: Scrum Master JobGPT — Learn to Thrive in Today’s Job Market Given the current turbulent times for Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, our community must stand united. This brings me to the Scrum Master JobGPT, your new ally in navigating the job market. This free tool, available with a paid ChatGPT account, delivers actionable insights on job hunting, interview prep, and evaluating Agile maturity in potential employers, based on my years-long writing on identifying suitable employers and clients, passing job interviews with flying colors, and hiring team members while respecting Scrum’s p ..read more

TL; DR: Effective Product Teams, Coaching Mastery — Food for Agile Thought #447 Welcome to the 447th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,561 peers. This week, John Cutler explores how effective product teams prioritize customer interactions, data-driven decisions, and collaboration over estimations and internal requests. Shreyas Doshi clarifies that mastery-level coaching focuses on self-awareness and transformative leadership, and Sjoerd Nijland shares strategies for transforming teams through self-management and accountability. Also, Francis Laleman examines the ..read more

TL; DR: The Meta-Retrospective The Meta-Retrospective is an excellent exercise to foster collaboration within the extended team, create a shared understanding of the big picture, and immediately create valuable action items. It comprises team members of one or several product teams—or a representative from those—and stakeholders. Participants from the stakeholder side are people from the business as well as customers. Meta-Retrospectives are useful both as a regular event, say once a quarter, or after achieving a particular milestone, for example, a specific release of the product. Read more o ..read more

TL; DR: Scrum’s Decline — Food for Agile Thought #446 Welcome to the 446th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,578 peers. This week, Todd Lankford addresses Scrum’s decline due to lack of trust, customer disconnection, team silos, and limited learning, while Sivan Hermon discusses Google’s success with Itamar Gilad’s GIST framework during COVID-19. Moreover, David Luke explains how aligning CapEx and OpEx with Agile models enhances efficiency, and the McKinsey Talks Operations podcast explores leveraging failure for innovation, emphasizing psychological safety and ..read more

TL; DR: Top Five Rookie Mistakes by Self-Proclaimed Scrum Masters Are you struggling with imposter syndrome as a new Scrum Master? Avoid five common rookie mistakes Scrum Masters make. Instead, discover how to set clear Sprint Goals, build trust, balance metrics, and empower your team to make independent decisions. Don’t let early missteps define your journey. Learn from these mistakes and transform them into stepping stones towards mastery. By understanding and addressing these pitfalls, you’ll gain confidence, enhance your leadership skills, and truly embody the principles of Scrum. This art ..read more

TL; DR: The Sprint Review Guide — Food for Agile Thought #445 Welcome to the 445th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,591 peers. This week, Maarten Dalmijn critiques Sprint Reviews as dull and ineffective, advocating for revitalized Scrum events with the Sprint Review guide. John Cutler discusses the complexities of systems thinking and its challenges in professional contexts, while Melissa Perri and Amy Edmondson emphasize the necessity of a healthy failure culture for innovation, focusing on intelligent failure and psychological safety. David Rock identifies lea ..read more

TL;DR: Product Owner and Scrum Master? Combining the roles of Product Owner and Scrum Master in one individual is a contentious topic in the Agile community. A recent LinkedIn poll, see below, revealed that 54% of respondents consider this unification useless, while 30% might accept it in rare moments. This blog post explores the implications of merging these roles, emphasizing the importance of distinct responsibilities and the potential pitfalls of combining them. We also consider exceptions where this approach might be temporarily justified and analyze the insightful comments from industry ..read more

TL; DR: Overpriced Cheerleaders — Food for Agile Thought #444 Welcome to the 444th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,579 peers. This week, Sam Haynes critiques the dwindling effectiveness of Agile Coaches, shifting from vital change agents to mere overpriced cheerleaders. Maarten Dalmijn criticizes Scrum for providing a blame-shifting ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card, impeding real improvement, while Christiaan Verwijs advocates for scientific research to restore Agile’s credibility and effectiveness. Also, Michael Küsters emphasizes strategic alignment by rephrasing ..read more

TL; DR: Toyota Kata Coaching with Fortune Buchholtz Business and academic leaders advocate coaching as crucial for growth. In Agile, diverse methods like GROW and OSKAR thrive, yet Toyota Kata Coaching emerges as a standout for its simplicity and effectiveness. In this Hands-on Agile Meetup of May 7, 2024, Fortune Buchholtz explores its potential as a superior Agile coaching tool. Whether confirming its benefits or broadening your coaching repertoire, the recording offers valuable insights. ? Watch the video now: Toyota Kata Coaching for Agile Teams & Transformations with Fortune Buchholt ..read more

TL; DR: Scrum Theory — Food for Agile Thought #443 Welcome to the 443rd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,551 peers. This week, Francis Laleman reconsiders Scrum theory, appreciating its robust foundation in empiricism and lean thinking, and Jeff Putz advocates for Agile’s practical value over procedural adherence. Also, Todd Lankford outlines steps to enhance team autonomy and leadership. Verena Schwarzer discusses Agile’s challenges in large organizations, while Chris Matts critiques superficial Agile implementations, particularly the ineffective “Go/No Go” mee ..read more