TL; DR: The Dogmatic Scrum Master Anti-Pattern There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Since Scrum is an intentionally incomplete framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. For example, how do we communicate with members of the Scrum team that take the Scrum Guide literally? …

Scrum Master Interview: Demand Creates Supply and the Job Market for Agile Practitioners is No Exception Scrum has proven time and again to be the most popular framework for software development. Given that software is eating the world, a seasoned Scrum Master is nowadays in high demand. And that demand causes the market-entry of new professionals from other project management branches, probably believing that reading one…

TL; DR: 15 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns Are we still on track to accomplish the Product Goal? Moreover, how did the previous Sprint contribute to our Scrum team’s mission? Answering these questions and adapting the Product Backlog in a collaborative effort of the Scrum Team with internal and external stakeholders is the purpose of the Sprint Review…

TL; DR: Why Teams Estimate, the HiPPO Effect — Food for Agile Thought #343 Welcome to the 343rd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,304 peers. This week, we point to good reasons why teams estimate: ‘credibility, deeper thinking, prioritization, and insight.’ …

TL; DR: Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns What event could better embody Scrum’s principle of empiricism than the Sprint Retrospective? I assume all peers agree that even the simplest form of a Retrospective — if only held regularly — is far more helpful than having a fancy one once in a while, not to mention having none…

TL; DR: Agile Laggards, Fireside Chat with Marty Cagan — Food for Agile Thought #342 Welcome to the 342nd edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,264 peers. This week, we point to Geoffrey Moore’s ‘Technology Adoption Life Cycle,’ and that ‘Agile’ has entered the laggards segment. …

TL; DR: How to Pass the Product Owner Certification — Scrum.org’s PSPO I to III The first article of this mini-series established that you do not need a certificate to become good at what you do, for example, working as a Scrum Master or Product Owner. However, getting certified may be a piece of sound investment advice. …

TL; DR: Adopting Agility, Failure to Scale Ideas — Food for Agile Thought #341 Welcome to the 341st edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 35,206 peers. This week, we learn about adopting agility with a research initiative of Thinkers 50 and Capgemini Invent, and we delve into the difficulties of answering a typical question: ‘What are the pros and cons…

TL; DR: Scrum Master Anti-Patterns No other role in Scrum can contribute to mediocre outcomes like the Product Owner — garbage in, garbage out. Therefore, the following list of some of the most common Product Owner anti-patterns might be a starting point to reflect on the role; maybe, there is room for improvement? If you…