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Professional Scrum: Elevating Agility Through Empiricism and Technical Excellence

A disciplined, empirical approach to delivering complex products through transparency, technical excellence, continuous improvement, and accountable teamwork.

Professional Scrum is a disciplined ethos of empiricism, accountability, and continuous improvement that transcends the Scrum framework.

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Related Blog
You can't stop the signal! But you can ignore it! Pragmatism crushes Dogma in the wild Storms of Neglect The Perils of Not Delivering Usable Products in Agile Iterations
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Empowering Teams to Maximize Value and Return on Investment Empowering Your Team: Why Quick Fixes in Agile and DevOps Are a Myth The Importance of Patience and Trust in Building Agile Organizations
Related Signals
Every delay increases the risk of failure Frequent releases are not just a technical strategy Every unreleased feature is a cost
Related Guides
Nexus Guide The Evidence-Based Management Guide 2020: Improving Value Delivery under Conditions of Uncertainty Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams
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Overview

Professional Scrum is the disciplined expression of Scrum guided by empiricism, technical excellence, and continuous delivery of value. It transcends frameworks and rituals, focusing instead on how individuals, teams, and organisations choose to work—with intent, professionalism, and accountability.

At its core, Professional Scrum reflects a philosophy: transparency is not a ceremony, Done is not a suggestion, and empiricism is not optional. This philosophy demands that Product Owners act as strategists, Scrum Masters as agents of change, and Developers as disciplined engineers. It embraces complexity not as a challenge to control, but as a condition to respond to—by learning fast, delivering often, and improving always.

Professional Scrum is not a template. It is how you bring humanity, responsibility, and rigour to complex product delivery. It’s not just doing Scrum. It’s doing it professionally.

Learn More about Professional Scrum

Tags

Definition of Done

Getting Started with the Definition of Done (DoD). Every team should define what is required, what criteria must be met, for a product increment to be considered releasable.
See all 24
Tags

Scrum Master

The Scrum Master is an accountability in Scrum, responsible for enabling the effectiveness of the Scrum Team and fostering continuous improvement across the organisation.
See all 97
Blog

The Role of Agency in Scrum: Why Self-Management Without Agency is a Lie

Explains why true Scrum requires real team agency, not just self-management in name, and how lacking agency leads to ineffective, ritualistic Agile practices.
Professional Scrum : 96% Find out More
Videos

Why “Done” Only Counts When It’s Live: Moving Beyond Fake Finishes to Real Value in Software Delivery

Discover why “done” means live in production—not just code complete. Learn to deliver real value, close feedback loops, and drive outcomes that matter.
Professional Scrum : 95% Find out More
Guides

The Scrum Guide

Discover more about The Scrum Guide and how it can help you in your Agile journey!
Professional Scrum : 95% Learn More
Blog

Work can flow across the Sprint boundary

Explains how Scrum teams can strategically allow unfinished work to flow across Sprint boundaries, enhancing throughput, responsiveness, and continuous delivery without compromising goals.
Professional Scrum : 93% Find out More
Case-Studies

Policing for the 21st Century: How NKD Agility Enabled Organisational Change in the Ghana Police Service

NKD Agility helped the Ghana Police Service drive organisational change using Scrum, enabling continuous improvement, transparency, and local ownership across all levels.
Professional Scrum : 93% Find out More
Blog

There Is No Such Thing as a "Junior" Scrum Master

Argues that the Scrum Master role requires proven mastery and real-world experience, not entry-level skills or certifications, and should be earned within the team, not assigned.
Professional Scrum : 92% Find out More
Blog

Great Scrum Masters Need Technical, Business, and Organisational Mastery

Scrum Masters are most effective when they combine leadership skills with technical, business, and organisational mastery to support teams, Product Owners, and change.
Professional Scrum : 92% Find out More
Blog

Delivery is the only Measure of Progress in Scrum

Scrum teams must deliver working software to real users every Sprint; true progress is measured by delivery to production, not just by completing internal work.
Professional Scrum : 92% Find out More
Blog

Definition of Done - Objective vs Subjective

Explains the difference between subjective goals and the objective Definition of Done in Scrum, highlighting how clear, measurable criteria ensure consistent product quality.
Professional Scrum : 92% Find out More
Blog

The Scrum Master is accountable for Delivery

Explains how the Scrum Master is accountable for enabling effective product delivery, fostering team success, and ensuring each sprint produces a usable, valuable increment.
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Signals

let-us be blunt

Accountability in Scrum requires real agency; without the power to act, roles like Product Owner and Scrum Master become ineffective and accountability is undermined.
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Blog

Professional Scrum Developer (.NET) Training in London

Intensive five-day course for software developers covering Scrum, Visual Studio 2010, .NET, and Agile practices through hands-on team sprints and real-world case studies.
Professional Scrum : 92% Find out More
Blog

The fallacy of the rejected backlog item

Explains why rejecting individual backlog items at Sprint Review is a misconception, highlighting Scrum’s focus on learning, collaboration, and delivering a complete increment.
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Signals

“Teams are self-managing

Explains how self-managing teams in Scrum need structure and leadership, clarifying the Scrum Master’s role in maintaining clarity, alignment, and effective self-management.
Professional Scrum : 92% Find out More
Videos

Debunking the Top 5 Myths About Scrum: Unlocking Agile Success in Your Organisation

Explores and corrects common misconceptions about Scrum, clarifying its true principles, events, planning, and governance to help teams adopt Agile practices effectively.
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Videos

Unlocking Scrum Success: A Comprehensive Guide to Values, Roles, Artifacts, and Events

Explains Scrum’s core values, roles, artifacts, and events, highlighting how they support teamwork, transparency, and adaptability in managing complex projects.
Professional Scrum : 92% Find out More
Guides

Nexus Guide

Discover more about Nexus Guide and how it can help you in your Agile journey!
Professional Scrum : 92% Learn More
Signals

Scrum Teams don’t set the bar for quality—they meet it

Scrum Teams uphold, not lower, quality by strictly following and evolving the Definition of Done, ensuring predictable releases and reducing technical debt and risk.
Professional Scrum : 91% Find out More
Signals

The True Role of a Scrum Master Beyond Facilitation

Explains how a Scrum Master drives team improvement, removes obstacles, and leads organisational change, going far beyond basic facilitation or meeting management.
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Tags

Evidence Based Management

Evidence-Based Management (EBM) is a strategy for improving an organisation’s ability to deliver value by making decisions based on evidence, not opinion. It enables data-informed investment in agility, innovation, and outcomes rather than output.
See all 40
Signals

Fear is the real enemy of agility

Explores how fear hinders true agility in teams, emphasising the need to foster courage and trust for effective Agile, Scrum, and DevOps practices and continuous improvement.
Professional Scrum : 90% Find out More
Signals

Scrum is built on empiricism—transparency, inspection, and adaptation

Explains why consistent delivery of usable increments is essential in Scrum, highlighting the Scrum Master’s accountability for ensuring transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
Professional Scrum : 90% Find out More
Course

Professional Scrum Master and Product Owner (PSMPO) with Certification

Scrum Teams flourish when the Scrum Master and Product Owner accountabilities are well fulfilled. The 3-day Professional Scrum Master and Product Owner (PSMPO) course combines the key learning objectives from both the Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master (PSM) and Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO) courses.
Professional Scrum : 90%
Signals

We hear self-managing teams so often it become a cliché

Explains how true self-management in Scrum requires active, disciplined effort from Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and Developers, not chaos or lack of structure.
Professional Scrum : 89% Find out More
Signals

Scrum is not a process it is a social technology designed to expose dysfunction

Explains how Scrum reveals team dysfunctions by clarifying roles and accountability, highlighting its purpose to expose issues that hinder value delivery and improvement.
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Signals

Scrum Masters: Why Influence Alone May Not Be Enough

Explores why Scrum Masters need authority, not just influence, to enforce Agile practices, remove blockers, and ensure teams follow Scrum for true organisational agility.
Professional Scrum : 89% Find out More
Videos

Stop Paying the Hidden Costs of Weak Delivery: Why a Strong Definition of Done Transforms Your Team’s Results

Stop paying the hidden costs of weak delivery. Discover how a strong, shared definition of done builds trust, quality, and real agility in your team.
Professional Scrum : 88% Find out More
Signals

Toyota "andon" cord lets any worker stop production to fix defects

Explains how true quality improvement needs both tools and a culture of safety, using Toyota’s andon cord as a lesson for Agile and Scrum adoption in organisations.
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Signals

Too many Scrum Masters believe they don’t need technical skills

Highlights the importance of technical knowledge for Scrum Masters, arguing that understanding team-specific skills is essential to effectively support and enable their teams.
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Signals

Here the dirty secret behind many agile transformations

Many agile transformations restrict team autonomy, leading to control and compliance instead of true ownership, adaptability, and meaningful engagement in value delivery.
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Blog

Your Evolving Definition of Done

Explains how the Definition of Done evolves in Scrum, aligning team practices with organisational standards to ensure consistent quality, compliance, and business value delivery.
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Blog

Professional Scrum teams build software that works

Professional Scrum Teams prioritise software quality, accountability, and continuous improvement, ensuring each release is reliable, defect-free, and delivers real value.
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Blog

Are technical skills required to be a Scrum Master?

Technical skills are not required to be a Scrum Master, but understanding technical, business, and organisational contexts helps Scrum Masters better support their teams.
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Videos

The Competence Crisis in Scrum Master Roles: A Call for Excellence

Many Scrum Masters lack essential skills and experience, leading to poor agile outcomes. True competence requires deep knowledge, practical experience, and ongoing learning.
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Blog

You are doing Scrum but the Scrum Master tells the team what to do!

Explains why Scrum Masters should not direct teams, emphasising self-organisation, shared responsibility, and the importance of team autonomy in Scrum practices.
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Blog

Getting started with a Definition of Done (DoD)

Explains how to create, apply, and improve a Definition of Done (DoD) in Scrum to ensure software quality, transparency, and consistent delivery of working increments.
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Blog

Pragmatism crushes Dogma in the wild

Explores how practical use of Scrum fosters adaptability and resilience in teams, highlighting the value of flexibility over rigid rules in complex product development.
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Blog

If your backlog is not refined then you are doing it wrong

Explains why regular backlog refinement is essential in Scrum, how to make backlog items ready for Sprint Planning, and ways to measure effective refinement.
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Blog

Can the Definition of Done change per Sprint?

The Definition of Done can evolve to improve quality but should not be weakened or vary per backlog item. Consistency ensures transparency and reliable product increments.
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Signals

What Makes an Effective Scrum Master Beyond Meeting Facilitation

Explores key qualities of an effective Scrum Master, focusing on team empowerment, backlog management, collaboration, and removing organisational barriers for lasting impact.
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Blog

I do continuous deliver, why should I Sprint?

Explains why Sprints are valuable even with continuous delivery, highlighting benefits for planning, feedback, communication, and predictability in Scrum teams.
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Blog

Balance of Leadership and Control in Scrum

Explores how Scrum Masters and Product Owners balance leadership, authority, and team autonomy to ensure accountability, effective self-management, and organisational alignment.
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Blog

My journey into Professional Scrum

Reflects on experiences with Professional Scrum, highlighting its impact on software development, team culture, training, and the challenges of scaling agile practices.
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Blog

Professional Scrum is for everyone in your organisation

Explains how involving everyone in Professional Scrum training fosters organisational agility, breaks down silos, and empowers teams to drive meaningful change together.
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Blog

Professional Scrum Training for the Ghana Police Service

Professional Scrum training introduced Ghana Police officers to Agile methods, using hands-on sprints to support organisational change and collaboration in policing.
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Recipes

Daily Scrum Recipe

Discover more about Daily Scrum Recipe and how it can help you in your Agile journey!
Professional Scrum : 87% Learn More
Blog

Professional Scrum Foundations in Alameda, California

Covers a two-day, hands-on Scrum.org course in Alameda, teaching Scrum principles, teamwork, and practical software delivery for all roles in the development process.
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Blog

My first Scrum team in the wild

A real-world account of guiding a new Scrum team through their first sprint, covering estimation, story points, sprint planning, and handling unfinished work.
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Videos

Redefining the Scrum Master: From Boss to Empowering Facilitator

Explains how effective Scrum Masters empower teams through facilitation, support, and coaching, moving away from authority and micromanagement to foster self-organisation.
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Videos

Can organisations run an Applying Professional Scrum workshop? How would that help them?

Running an Applying Professional Scrum workshop helps organisations build agile skills, improve teamwork, and adopt Scrum practices through hands-on, collaborative learning.
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Blog

Hiring a Professional Scrum Master

Covers key responsibilities, skills, and requirements for hiring a Scrum Master, including leadership, coaching, facilitation, and fostering effective Scrum teams.
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Videos

Mastering Scrum: Essential Insights for New Teams from a Scrum Master's Journey

Guidance for new Scrum teams on building strong foundations, embracing empiricism, Scrum values, continuous learning, and the Scrum Master’s role in fostering team growth.
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Videos

Why Every Scrum Master Needs an Immersive Training Experience

Immersive training helps experienced Scrum Masters deepen practical skills, boost team effectiveness, and develop leadership through hands-on, real-world learning.
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Videos

Redefining the Scrum Master: From Misconceptions to Empowering Leadership

Explores common misconceptions about the Scrum Master role, highlighting the shift from tool admin to empowering leader who fosters team autonomy, growth, and self-organisation.
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Videos

Unpacking the Scrum Master Role: Moving Beyond Misconceptions to True Accountability

Explores common misconceptions about Scrum Masters, clarifies their true accountabilities, and highlights the importance of principles, competence, and organisational impact.
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Workshops

Sprint Review #1

Discover more about “Sprint Review
Professional Scrum : 87% Learn More
Videos

Maximise Your Scrum Process: Leveraging Azure DevOps for Agile Success

Learn how to customise Azure DevOps to support Scrum teams, manage backlogs, plan sprints, and improve agile workflows with practical setup and process tips.
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Videos

Unpacking the Scrum Master Myth: Why Servant Leadership is Key to Team Success

Explains why the Scrum Master is a servant leader, not an authority figure, and how this approach empowers teams, encourages autonomy, and dispels common misconceptions.
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Videos

Beyond the Rituals: Embracing the Core Principles of Scrum for True Agile Success

Explores how focusing on Scrum’s core principles—empiricism, transparency, and value delivery—leads to true agile success, beyond just following rituals or practices.
Professional Scrum : 87% Find out More
Videos

Mastering the Art of Scaling Scrum: Insights from the Scaled Professional Scrum Course

Learn practical strategies for overcoming common challenges in scaling Scrum, based on hands-on insights from the Scaled Professional Scrum course and the Nexus framework.
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Blog

In Nexus with 5 Scrum teams, how can the Product Owner attend all Sprint Planning events?

Explains how a Product Owner can manage Sprint Planning across multiple Scrum teams in Nexus by delegating, using area or team owners, and maintaining clear communication.
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Videos

Scrum is like communism, it doesn't work. Myth 1.

Explains why Scrum events are not pointless meetings but structured opportunities for inspection, adaptation, and progress, clarifying common misconceptions about Scrum.
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Blog

How to Set and Achieve Effective Sprint Goals

Learn how to define, craft, and achieve effective Sprint Goals in Scrum, using frameworks like SMART and OKR to align teams, deliver value, and improve accountability.
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Videos

Who Should Lead the Sprint Review? Unpacking the Role of the Product Owner in Agile Success

Explains why the Product Owner should lead Sprint Reviews in Agile, detailing their role in maximising value, gathering feedback, and updating the product backlog.
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Videos

Mastering Sprint Planning: Key Principles for Agile Success

Learn essential principles for effective Sprint planning in Agile, including understanding the product backlog, setting clear goals, and fostering true team collaboration.
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Videos

Transform Your Scrum Master Journey: Key Insights from the Advanced PSM Course

Discover how the Advanced PSM course helps Scrum Masters shift from admin tasks to empowering teams, supporting Product Owners, and tackling organisational challenges.
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Videos

If you could teach just one thing about Scrum, what would it be?

The most important aspect of Scrum is empiricism—using transparency, inspection, and adaptation to navigate complexity and drive effective product development.
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Videos

Unlocking Your Potential: Transformative Training for Aspiring Scrum Masters

Comprehensive Scrum Master training offering interactive workshops, practical activities, community support, and assessment to build Agile skills and foster continuous improvement.
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Blog

Decoding Scrum Team Work: Balancing Sprint and Refinement Work

Explains how Scrum teams can balance Sprint work and Refinement, with strategies and visual tools to track, manage, and visualise both for better workflow and product delivery.
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Blog

Navigating the Future with a Fine-Tuned Product Backlog

Explains how a well-ordered, refined Product Backlog guides Agile teams, supports goal alignment, and ensures value-driven product development through ongoing prioritisation.
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Videos

What is Sprint Planning?

Sprint planning is a collaborative session where teams define and align on goals, tasks, and priorities for the next sprint, ensuring clarity and focus for effective delivery.
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Videos

#1 tip for a new Scrum Master

New Scrum Masters should start by thoroughly reading the Scrum Guide to understand Scrum principles, roles, and practices, forming a strong foundation for Agile success.
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Videos

Unlocking Trust in Scrum: The Power of Openness and Transparency

Explores how openness and transparency in Scrum foster trust, clear communication, and a supportive team culture, essential for effective Agile collaboration.
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Recipes

Sprint Review Recipe

Discover more about Sprint Review Recipe and how it can help you in your Agile journey!
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Videos

Product Ownership vs. Product Management: Busting the Myth That They're Separate Roles

Explains why product ownership and product management are deeply connected in Scrum, clarifying their roles, focus on value delivery, and the need for agile adaptation.
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Videos

What will you learn on the professional scrum master course?

Gain practical skills and deep understanding of the scrum master role, scrum theory, empiricism, team dynamics, and delivering value in agile product development.
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Blog

Hiring a Professional Product Owner

Explains the key accountabilities, skills, and behaviours required for a Scrum Product Owner, including hiring trends, role requirements, and practical job specifications.
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Blog

Sprint Goal is an Immediate Tactical Goal

Explains how the Sprint Goal serves as an immediate tactical objective in Scrum, guiding teams toward strategic Product Goals and maximising value through focused outcomes.
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Recipes

Sprint Planning Recipe

Discover more about Sprint Planning Recipe and how it can help you in your Agile journey!
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Videos

How critical is a Product Owner in developing a great Product Backlog?

Explains why a product owner is essential for shaping, prioritising, and maintaining a focused, lean product backlog that drives effective Agile product development.
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Blog

The Sprint Goal is a commitment for the Sprint Backlog

Explains how the Sprint Goal guides Scrum teams by providing a clear, shared objective for each Sprint, ensuring focus, transparency, and alignment with the Product Goal.
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Blog

Update to the Scrum Guide on the 25th Anniversary of the Scrum Framework

Summarises key changes in the 2020 Scrum Guide, including simplified language, self-managing teams, and new commitments for goals, backlog, and definition of done.
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Videos

What is the most common mistake in sprint planning?

Explains the sprint goal in Scrum as a clear, tactical objective for each sprint, guiding team focus, enabling actionable feedback, and linking daily work to product vision.
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Videos

Mastering Product Backlog Management: Essential Skills for Product Owners

Learn the core skills and best practices for effective product backlog management, including risk, value, sizing, learning, and refinement to maximise product delivery.
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Videos

What is a Sprint Backlog?

Explains the Sprint Backlog as a transparent, flexible plan in Scrum, combining goals, tasks, and strategy to help teams stay focused, adaptable, and successful in Agile work.
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Blog

The Product Goal is a commitment for the Product Backlog

Defines the Product Goal as a clear, measurable objective in the Product Backlog that guides Scrum Teams, ensuring focus, transparency, and alignment with long-term value.
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Videos

Why Your Definition of Done Is the Secret Weapon for Real Business Impact and Agile Growth

Transform your definition of done into a strategic advantage—deliver real value, reduce risk, and drive business impact with every sprint.
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Signals

Why compromising on software quality is a leadership decision

Compromising software quality is a leadership choice, not a team one. Lowering standards carries business risks that should be openly addressed by decision-makers.
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Signals

Challenging Misconceptions About Behaviour in Agile Teams

Explores common misconceptions about Agile teams, clarifying that true agility demands discipline, planning, and professionalism—not chaos or lack of accountability.
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Signals

Everyone loves the idea of self-managing teams

Explains how self-managing teams thrive with autonomy balanced by structure, highlighting the need for clear goals, accountability, and alignment within frameworks like Scrum.
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Signals

Why Teams Claim Self-Management to Avoid Alignment Discussions

Explores how teams misuse self-management to dodge alignment, clarifying that true autonomy requires accountability, shared goals, and adherence to frameworks like Scrum.
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Signals

Empowering Product Owners as Strategic Leaders in Scrum Teams

Explores how Product Owners can drive strategy, maximise value, and lead Scrum teams effectively, highlighting the need for empowerment beyond basic backlog management.
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Signals

A changing Definition of Done undermines quality and predictability in teams

Frequent changes to the Definition of Done reduce team quality and predictability. Consistent, enforced standards are key to reliable delivery and continuous improvement.
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Tags

Product Owner

The Product Owner is an accountability in Scrum, responsible for maximising product value through effective backlog management and stakeholder alignment.
See all 54
Blog

Should the Scrum Master always remove impediments?

Explains when a Scrum Master should remove impediments, focusing on team self-sufficiency, true impediments, and supporting team growth within Scrum practices.
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Signals

Hiring a Product Owner? Avoid copying job specs from the internet

Learn what makes an effective Product Owner, why generic job specs fall short, and which key responsibilities and skills are essential for true product leadership and success.
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Delivering Live Virtual Classes in Microsoft Teams and Mural

Guidance on running live virtual Scrum classes using Microsoft Teams and Mural, focusing on tech setup, safe collaboration, self-organising teams, and effective facilitation.
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Videos

Mastering Scrum: Key Insights on Definition of Done, Spikes, and Managing Ad Hoc Work

Explains key Scrum concepts: distinguishing Definition of Done from acceptance criteria, using spikes vs. refinement, and strategies for managing ad hoc work in sprints.
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Signals

Everyone loves to shout give teams autonomy

Explores why team autonomy in Scrum must be balanced with alignment to strategic goals, highlighting the role of clear objectives and leadership in achieving true agility.
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Signals

Great Scrum Masters and Product Owners don’t micromanage

Effective Scrum Masters and Product Owners empower teams with clear goals and autonomy, balancing structure and flexibility to promote accountability and true agility.
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Tags

Scrum Values

Commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect as the foundation of Scrum.
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Signals

When you scale Scrum, the challenge isn’t just delivery—it coherence

Explains how scaling Scrum requires UX coherence through Communities of Practice, shared frameworks, and collaboration—not central control—to ensure consistency without bottlenecks.
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Signals

No one questions a Product Owner authority

Explores why Product Owners’ authority is accepted while Scrum Masters’ is questioned, highlighting the need for clear authority to ensure team effectiveness and agile success.
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Tags

Current Value

Current Value is one of the four key value areas of Evidence‑Based Management. Rather than being a single measure, it comprises a group of indicators that collectively assess the tangible, real‑time value a product or service delivers. This group of measures includes, for example, customer satisfaction data, revenue impact, and performance feedback—all of which help determine how much value is being realized at present.
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Signals

Executives want predictability

Lack of a clear, enforced Definition of Done leads to hidden risks, unreliable forecasts, and eroded trust in delivery, undermining predictability and organisational confidence.
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Signals

If every release feels high-risk, you lack a true Definition of Done

Releases feel risky when teams lack a clear Definition of Done. Learn how a strong DoD ensures stress-free, reliable software delivery with built-in quality and security.
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Signals

Scrum Masters and Product Owners are held accountable for results

Explores the gap between accountability and authority for Scrum Masters and Product Owners, highlighting the need to empower roles responsible for team outcomes.
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Signals

Scrum Masters: Enabling Teams, Fostering Agility, Removing Blockers

Explains the Scrum Master’s role in ensuring team delivery by fostering agility, removing blockers, and being accountable for improving team effectiveness each sprint.
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Tags

Common Goals

Common Goals are a first principle of effective delivery. They align strategy with execution, enabling every decision, every Sprint, and every line of code to serve a shared purpose. Without them, you don’t have a system—you have disconnected activity.
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Signals

How Top Scrum Masters Are Selected by Their Teams

Explains how Scrum Masters are naturally chosen by teams based on trust, experience, and leadership, highlighting the importance of peer selection over external assignment.
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Signals

Hiring a Scrum Master is hard

Finding a skilled Scrum Master is challenging; true effectiveness requires deep Scrum knowledge, coaching ability, and alignment with your team’s business and technical needs.
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Tags

Sprint Review

Inspecting and adapting the increment to ensure transparency and stakeholder feedback.
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Videos

How to Evolve Your Definition of Done: Start Small, Grow Smarter, and Build Lasting Momentum

Unlock a smarter Definition of Done—start small, evolve standards, and build team momentum without overwhelm. Discover how progress drives excellence.
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Blog

A better way than staggered iterations for delivery

Explains why staggered iterations harm software delivery, increasing technical debt, and recommends cross-functional teams, test-first, and working software each sprint.
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Blog

Why Most Scrum Masters Are Failing and What They Should Know

Many Scrum Masters lack core Scrum knowledge and technical skills, leading to poor team support. Learn key competencies needed for effective, measurable impact.
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Blog

Release planning and predictable delivery

Explores how agile teams can achieve predictable software delivery through quality focus, effective release planning, and continuous improvement, despite inherent uncertainty.
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Videos

The Crucial Role of Competence: How Knowledgeable Scrum Masters Drive Team Success

Scrum Masters with deep knowledge and competence enable teams to deliver better products, drive business outcomes, and foster real improvement in software development.
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Signals

Microsoft shift from 2-year cycles to 3-week Sprints caused team anxiety

Microsoft’s switch to 3-week Sprints increased team anxiety due to greater transparency, exposing inefficiencies but enabling faster, more frequent software delivery.
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Signals

The fastest way to cripple a Scrum Team? Hire the wrong Scrum Master

Hiring an unqualified Scrum Master limits team growth, reduces agility, and hinders value delivery. Effective Scrum Masters drive change, coaching, and business alignment.
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Big Scrum: All you need and not enough

Explores how to scale Scrum effectively by applying agile values, fostering professional teams, and adapting processes to fit unique organisational needs for large-scale agility.
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Signals

A two-day Scrum Master certification doesn’t make you a Scrum Master

Practical experience is essential for effective Scrum Masters; certification alone is insufficient. True expertise comes from guiding teams, solving challenges, and delivering value.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Blog

Big Scrum: Are you doing mechanical Scrum

Explores the difference between mechanical and Professional Scrum, highlighting the importance of values, principles, and technical excellence for effective Agile teams.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

Unlocking Success in Agile: Why Your Definition of Done is Essential for Quality Delivery

Explains why a clear Definition of Done is vital in Agile and Scrum for quality delivery, transparency, and risk mitigation, with tips for team alignment and improvement.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Blog

Story Points & Velocity are a sign of an unsuccessful team

Explains why relying on story points and velocity signals team immaturity in Scrum, and highlights better ways to build confidence and predictability through transparency.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

What is the hardest part of working with a brand-new scrum team?

The biggest challenge with new scrum teams is overcoming misconceptions about scrum and shifting focus from process mechanics to core agile principles and empirical learning.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Blog

Are you doing Scrum? Really?

Explains recent changes to Scrum aimed at reducing rigidity, clarifying core practices, and providing a checklist to help teams assess if they are truly following Scrum.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Blog

What's in a burndown?

Explains burndown charts in Scrum, their purpose, common issues, and compares tracking by hours, story points, and acceptance tests to improve team progress visibility.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

What is empiricism and why is it so critical to great Agile?

Explains how empiricism—continuous observation, inspection, and adaptation—drives Agile success by enabling teams to respond effectively to real project data and feedback.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

How much of an impact can a strong, skilled product owner have?

A skilled product owner drives teams to build valuable solutions, anticipate customer needs, and deliver features that create real business impact—not just more features.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

Understanding the True Role of a Scrum Master

Explains the true responsibilities of a Scrum Master, how to maximise team effectiveness, teach Scrum principles, and address organisational challenges for better outcomes.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Blog

The Definition of Done: Ensuring Quality without Compromising Value

Explains how to maintain clear, measurable quality standards with the Definition of Done, while avoiding confusion with acceptance criteria and preserving product value.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

Why the Scrum Master’s True Power Lies in Influence, Not Authority

Explains why a Scrum Master leads through influence, not authority, focusing on building trust, fostering team effectiveness, and supporting agile collaboration.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

Is a scrum master an agile micromanager?

A Scrum Master empowers teams by facilitating, mentoring, and supporting—not micromanaging—fostering trust, collaboration, and continuous improvement in Agile environments.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Blog

How do you handle conflict in a Scrum Team?

Guidance on resolving conflict in Scrum Teams, including facilitation techniques, escalation steps, and the Scrum Master’s role in fostering healthy team dynamics.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

Unlocking the Scrum Master's Potential: Embracing Broader Responsibilities for Agile Success

Explores how Scrum Masters can expand their impact by embracing wider organisational responsibilities, challenging outdated practices, and fostering agile team growth.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

How does the APS course help people apply scrum effectively?

Explains how the APS course uses practical exercises and simulations to help people understand, apply, and improve scrum practices in real-world organisational settings.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

How effectively does an APS prepare a team to do a solid, professional Scrum?

Explains how Applied Professional Scrum (APS) helps teams master Scrum by focusing on fundamentals, removing unhelpful practices, and enabling effective agile transformation.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

Is a PSM II certification validation of your skills, or does it develop your skill and capability as a Scrum Master?

Explains how the PSM II course focuses on developing advanced Scrum Master skills, facilitation techniques, and accountability, rather than just validating knowledge.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

How will a PSM II course challenge your assumptions the most?

Explores how the PSM II course challenges common misconceptions about Scrum Masters, emphasising advanced skills, team empowerment, and evolving Scrum practices.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Newsletters

Unlock Your Potential in 2024: Master Scrum with NKDAgility - Exclusive 20% Discount!

Advance your Agile skills in 2024 with expert-led Scrum training, hands-on practice, and a 20% discount. Suitable for Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and Agile leaders.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

What should be top of mind when a Scrum team prepare for a Sprint review?

Learn how Scrum teams can boost Sprint review success by engaging stakeholders, tailoring communication, and focusing on value, transparency, and active participation.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

The Truth About Newbie vs Professional Scrum Masters: Bridging the Experience Gap

Explores the real differences between new and experienced Scrum Masters, challenging common myths and highlighting the importance of accountability, value, and mindset.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Blog

Product Owners are not a myth

Explains the Product Owner role in Scrum, common challenges with proxies, and how support teams like Business Analysts can help manage large product backlogs effectively.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Blog

Can you really commit to delivering work?

Explores why Scrum shifted from “commitment” to “forecasting” work delivery, highlighting the risks of overpromising and the benefits of transparency in Agile teams.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Blog

Adventures in Scrum: Lesson 1 – The failed Sprint

Explores common pitfalls in early Scrum adoption, highlighting why full team involvement in sprint planning is crucial and lessons learned from a failed first sprint.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

Quotes: Don't scale Scrum! Pragmatic or defeatist?

Examines whether the belief that Scrum can’t scale is practical or defeatist, highlighting Nexus as a proven approach for scaling Scrum to deliver greater value.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Newsletters

Unlock the Power of Effective Backlog Management with our new course from Scrum.org

Learn essential Scrum Product Backlog management skills, including stakeholder engagement and data-driven decision-making, to boost team effectiveness and project success.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Videos

What is the most common Aha moment people have in a scrum course?

Most people in scrum courses realise the true value of empiricism and purpose behind scrum’s events and artefacts, shifting from rote process to meaningful, high-performance teamwork.
Professional Scrum : 82% Find out More
Overview More Resources
Table of Contents
Related Blog
You can't stop the signal! But you can ignore it! Pragmatism crushes Dogma in the wild Storms of Neglect The Perils of Not Delivering Usable Products in Agile Iterations
Related Videos
Empowering Teams to Maximize Value and Return on Investment Empowering Your Team: Why Quick Fixes in Agile and DevOps Are a Myth The Importance of Patience and Trust in Building Agile Organizations
Related Signals
Every delay increases the risk of failure Frequent releases are not just a technical strategy Every unreleased feature is a cost
Related Guides
Nexus Guide The Evidence-Based Management Guide 2020: Improving Value Delivery under Conditions of Uncertainty Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams
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