Ground Rules for Your Team
Some initial “rules” that everyone agrees to follow will help your team avoid misunderstandings and deliberate misconduct.
DONEness Definitions (DoD)
What's the one thing YOU could do as a Scrum Master to improve your team's reliability, quality, and productivity? Read on and find out!
Is Your Scrum Team Stuck? It Might Be a Product Ownership Problem
If your Scrum teams are “doing all the right things”—running Sprints, holding Reviews—but still not improving in quality, value, or productivity, the issue may not be process. It may be a lack of real Product Ownership. This article explores why communication is a Product Owner’s most valuable skill, how traditional mindsets limit Agile success, and what to do if formal training isn’t an option.
Sprint in Trouble? Here’s What Great Scrum Teams Do Next
In Scrum, it’s not enough to deliver high-quality work. Teams must also take ownership of how the work is done and how they respond when things don’t go as planned. This post outlines five actions Scrum teams can take when they realize the Sprint Goal is at risk—and how to develop the habit of self-correction before it’s too late.
Why You Should Think Twice Before Changing Sprint Content
High-performing Scrum teams thrive on focus, commitment, and trust. Yet one of the fastest ways to erode that performance is to repeatedly change the Sprint after it’s begun. While Scrum allows flexibility, it’s not a license for chaos. In this article, we explore why scope changes during a Sprint are so damaging—and what leaders can do instead to protect team focus and boost long-term performance.
What to Do Instead of Extending a Sprint
Scrum Sprints provide empiricism, part of the Agile core beliefs, which is why extending a Sprint is never a good idea!
Keep Your Daily Scrum Short
Many Scrum events seem simple, but aren't. The Daily Scrum seems to be the event that causes the most problems for teams.
Keep Your Work In Process Low
The fastest team productivity killer is working on 3+ backlog items at once. You'll end up with a team that's great at starting work, but lousy at finishing it.
Teaching the Scrum Framework
It's critical everyone on a new Scrum Team starts with the same understanding of Scrum. A learning structure called “ShuHaRi” can be related to teaching Scrum.
Measuring Scrum Team Productivity
Measuring Scrum Team productivity is something nearly every organization wants, but performance metrics should really only be created under two conditions.