Professional Scrum teams build software that works
I am always surprised at the number of teams that release undone work to production. I understand that one may need a few sprints, or many if you inherited something nasty, to pay back that debt, but if it’s more then you are not a Professional Scrum Team . The sheer amount of software that I have that is buggy, slow, or just not finished makes me think that there are few professional Scrum Teams out there!
The Sprint Goal is a commitment for the Sprint Backlog
In the 2020 Scrum Guide Ken and Jeff augmented the idea of the Sprint Goal . The Sprint Goal is a commitment to ensure transparency and focus against progress during a Sprint.
Release planning and predictable delivery
Many organisations wrestle with the seeming incompatibility between agile and release management, and they struggle with release planning and predictable delivery. Updated to reflect the 2020 Scrum Guide!
The Product Goal is a commitment for the Product Backlog
In the 2020 Scrum Guide Ken and Jeff introduces the idea of the Product Goal . The Product Goal is a commitment to ensure transparency and focus against progress.
Update to the Scrum Guide on the 25th Anniversary of the Scrum Framework
It has been 25 years since Scrum was first created by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland and it has gone through many revisions. The last major revision was in 2017 and this update represents a simplification for 2020.
Online is the new co-located
In light of the new normal and the last 20 years of technological progress, we need to re-define co-location as we no longer need to be in the same room as each other to get the 80% of communication that is non-verbal . If we are participating in an online event, we should try our best to keep our cameras on so that we can all read those non-verbal queues.
The fallacy of the rejected backlog item
There is a frustrating misunderstanding of reality when one thinks that the Product Owner can reject a single story at the Sprint Review. This is the fallacy of the rejected backlog item and the misguided belief that this backlog item can just be left out of this delivery. That backlog item that was chosen by the Development Team at the Sprint Planning event to help them achieve the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Goal that created focus and has the entire Development Team working in the same area of the codebase.
Evolution not Transformation: This is the Inevitability of change
There is no such thing as an Agile Transformation, Digital Transformation, DevOps Transformation, or any of the Whatever Transformation that you can think of or have been sold. You can’t buy agility, and you certainly can’t install it. There is no end state, no optimal outcome, No best practices. We are no longer factory workers .
Luddites have no place in the modern organisation
In our Professional Agile Leadership training , we talk about changing your organisations hiring practices to hire more of the right sort of people to create the company that you want, not the company that you have. Hire the right people also implies that you will have to, within your cultural constraints, de-hire the wrong people.
Many organisations are lured to SAFe by the song of the Sirens
These Sirens take advantage of the lack of understanding of what business agility is trying to change and lures unsuspecting C-suite executives into parting with their cash for what is effectively someone else’s business process. They are changing their entire organisation, not because of a business challenge, but because they are told to.
Configuring Microsoft Teams for Live Virtual Training
Like most tools, if you want to run successful training in Microsoft Teams you need to do some homework and some configuration before your class. You can just jump in and wing it, but that will not provide a good experience for your students. Currently, I have run more than 6 Live Virtual Training in Microsoft Teams and in a few hours, my 7th will start. I have also recently had to set up Microsoft Teams for my good friend and colleague Russell Miller so that he can also run classes on the platform.
Delivering Live Virtual Classes in Microsoft Teams and Mural
With the new normal , I have been delivering all of my Professional Scrum classes and consulting online. I have tried many tools from Zoom and Webex to Miro and Word. The combination that I have found gives the most security, flexibility, and features are Microsoft Teams with Mural.
Live Virtual Classroom's and the new normal
With the change in business model in the current crisis, many training organizations have had to do the unthinkable and move to Live Virtual training options. Existing wisdom was that training online, just as running teams virtually would be a disaster and reduce the student’s experience.
Live Site Culture & Site Reliability Engineering
As more and more organisations move towards a higher degree of agility, they inevitably also move towards DevOps practices like Continuous Delivery to facilitate shortening the feedback loops. Firms today experience a much higher velocity of business change. Market opportunities appear or dissolve in months or weeks instead of years.
The Tyranny of Taylorism and how to detect Agile BS
Something very close to my heart is helping folks understand the origin of the practices that are commonly used in management today. I feel that only with an understanding of history can we figure out how to change the future. I often talk about this in my classes and help folks see why things are the way that they are in many organisations.
Slaying the Dragons and How to Successfully Descale at Scale
Many organisations don’t really want to change how they do business and believe that they can continue in the way they always have while still getting better at delivering software.
Live Webcast: Q&A with Martin Hinshelwood on 27th March 2020
After my last webcast I received a question from a good friend of mine about how to incorporate UX into a Scrum Team. Since I have been teaching the Professional Scrum with UX class I thought I would share the gist of what might be a good place to start.
What is your perspective on collocation?
As part of the Scrum.org webinar “Ask a Professional Scrum Trainer - Martin Hinshelwood - Answering Your Most Pressing Scrum Questions” I was asked a number of questions. Since not only was I on the spot and live, I thought that I should answer each question that was asked again here, as well as those questions I did not get to.
Can the Definition of Done change per Sprint?
I was asked this question today and I think there is a clear answer, however it may change depending on the context of the question. “During each Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team plans ways to increase product quality by improving work processes or adapting the definition of “Done”, if appropriate and not in conflict with product or organizational standards.” -Scrum guide
How do you handle conflict in a Scrum Team?
As part of the Scrum.org webinar “Ask a Professional Scrum Trainer - Martin Hinshelwood - Answering Your Most Pressing Scrum Questions” I was asked a number of questions. Since not only was I on the spot and live, I thought that I should answer each question that was asked again here, as well as those questions I did not get to.
