Gearing a Team for Maximum Outcomes
Creating a maximum outcome team is every ScrumMaster’s goal, but you must first understand how great teams form and what YOU need to do to create a great team.
Jim's 10 Tips for Scrum Development Teams
With COVID-19 forcing us all to learn about working from home, we're re-publishing our list of "Jim's 10 Tips for Scrum Development Teams," UPDATED for 2020!
It's All About Value
One small change can make a BIG difference to your Product Owner success. Before worrying about putting value on backlog items, here's some simple tips.
Simplify Your Work by Slicing
When slicing a backlog item, we're taking a complex problem and paring it down into smaller problems, which are easier to solve and build.
What Does it Mean to BE Agile?
With the Agility mindset, it's critical to understand the concept of "being" Agile. Some people want "to do Agile", but you don't DO Agile, you must BE Agile.
Should Scrum Teams be Dedicated to a Single Product?
Should Scrum teams be dedicated to a single product? The truth is, there's times when you want a dedicated team and times when you don't. Let me explain!
Get the Problem Right or You'll Get the Solution Wrong
Good software solves the customer's problems, but to provide the right solution, you must start with the right problem.
5 Ways to At Least DOUBLE Team Performance
Here's 5 steps you can take as a manager or ScrumMaster to help DOUBLE your Development Team's performance (#5 is a shocker; it's easy but SUPER non-intuitive!)
Creating the Skills You Need for Agility
When beginning the transformation to Agile Development, it's hard to know exactly what skills the organization needs to adapt to the new way of working.
Speeding up Your Scrum Teams
Effective Scrum use is more than Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, and so on. To see a big difference in your team's Sprints, make these workflow changes.
Scrum Education Unit (SEU) Requirements
Scrum Education Unit (SEU) requirements are being rolled out for ALL Scrum Alliance certifications, meaning you'll need to earn SEUs to maintain certification.
ScrumMaster Certification Renewal
So, you attended a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) class a while ago and have noticed your certification has expired, or is about to expire. What are your options?
What is the Role of the ScrumMaster?
Although the Scrum Guide defines the ScrumMaster at length, here we're going to dissect that description and take a much closer look at what a ScrumMaster is.
What Do Testers REALLY Do On a Scrum Team?
Analysis, design, coding, and testing are done constantly rather than in phases, meaning testing ISN'T just a phase but an ongoing part of Agile Development.
Self-Managing Teams
When I teach or coach people about Scrum, we talk about self-organization, but the importance of self-organizational principles cannot be understated.
Don't Waste Time in Sprint "Capacity" Planning
Trying to plan detailed capacity for a Sprint? Thankfully, there are two things we can do to make capacity planning easier (and faster) in Sprint Planning.
The Specialist Bottleneck: A Real Challenge in Agile Teams
Scarce specialists like technical writers, DBAs, and UX analysts often become overloaded in Agile environments. Assigning them to multiple Scrum teams seems like a fix—but leads to delays, frustration, and poor outcomes. This article offers 5 proven strategies to solve the specialist bottleneck while improving flow, reducing risk, and enhancing learning across teams.
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.