The Scrum Framework is a lightweight approach to organizing teams and getting work done. It is a better, more enjoyable way of building products.
I spoke recently on the topic of retrospectives and continuous improvement. Readers of this blog may recall that I have written no less than 10 articles on this site on…
I recently posted a question on LinkedIn about how to staff the Scrum Master role in a small organization with few people. I was pleasantly surprised by the level of…
Eighty percent of people who are using agile today use some flavor of the Scrum Framework. As you can imagine, there is a lot of variance in how Scrum is…
As agile approaches continue to spread in organizations, the demand for great Scrum Masters is expected to increase and outstrip what is available in the market. What steps can organizations…
At a recent client, I noticed the managers participated as members of the Scrum Team. When I asked about whether they thought there was an issue with hierarchy, they quickly…
The recently published 2019 Scrum Master Trends report has a few interesting takeaways. The report is the result of a global survey of Scrum Masters conducted by Scrum.org and The…
I recently hosted a client workshop on how to improve the retrospective event in the Scrum Framework. Rather than focus on specific techniques (like I did in this related post),…
A pretty common complaint with the Scrum Framework is that there are too many Scrum meetings. Let's explore this complaint to understand if it is valid, why it might occur,…
Being a Great Scrum Master can be LearnedIn my related post, I argued that most Project Managers make lousy Scrum Masters. It's not on purpose, it just happens that the skills that…
As a Scrum Master, listening is one of the most important tools in your tool box. While there are reasons for the Scrum Master to speak up, in general Scrum…
Don't get mad at me. Though it may sound tough or critical, the reality is that most project managers make lousy scrum masters. I didn't make that up—I’ve been hearing…
The very first Agile Coach I ever had taught me the practice of using Norm Kerth’s Prime Directive to start my retrospectives. Though I haven’t always used it, when I do…
In my previous article, I argued that using a distributed team with the Scrum Framework was a bad idea and advised against it. There is sufficient information to show that…
Recent studies show that 3 out of 4 Software Development Teams using the Scrum Framework are distributed, meaning that at least some of the team members are not in the…
Last month I wrote about bad Scrum and other abuse of the Scrum Framework. One of the common abuses that I see in organizations using Scrum is that they don't…
We’ve all seen it - Scrum Gone Bad I think we have all seen Bad Scrum and misuse of the Scrum Framework. Sometimes Scrum started out good with a solid understanding of Scrum,…
Inevitably, when working with organizations and helping them move from Waterfall to the Scrum Framework, there is a lot of confusion about the Scrum Master role. One of the most…
The new Scrum Guide, the definitive reference for the Scrum Framework, is out. As of November 7, Scrum co-creators Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber published an updated version of the Scrum Guide.…
![[UPDATE BASED ON 2020 SCRUM GUIDE] Downloadable Agile Principles & Scrum Tip Sheet](https://vitalitychicago.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/agile-tip-shet-april-2021-300x232.png)
Back in June 2017, we released the first version of our Agile and Scrum Tip Sheet as a free download. Since then, we've updated it a few times and have…
I have a client that has been using Agile and the Scrum Framework for the last 3 years. Let me restate that, this client has been using A.I.N.O. (Agile in…
I always thought that crew looked like a cool sport and I've admired crew teams. In crew, team members in lightweight boats, race to go as fast as possible. It…
People don't use the pigs and chicken metaphor in the Scrum Framework for Scrum Teams much anymore. I tend to agree with the reasons for avoiding it - it tends to…
I find that many of my clients today are trying to improve their use of the Scrum Framework. Many of them are missing out on the benefits of Scrum without…
Many Scrum Masters act as if their job is to keep all the tasks up to date in the online agile tool. They act like mother hens, constantly chirping about…
Several years ago I had the opportunity to support a growing consulting firm to move from waterfall development to the Scrum Framework. It's been exciting to watch Highland Solutions learn,…
In several previous posts I wrote about the retrospective which is a key event and perhaps the most important in the Scrum Framework. We explored how the retrospective doesn’t need…
This is part two in my series of posts about improving your retrospectives. As I mentioned in my previous post, the retrospective is a key part of the Scrum Framework…
The Purpose of the Scrum Retrospective In my last post, I talked about the Scrum Retrospective meeting and how the speed of the retrospective event was not the most important thing.…
Most people are aware of the retrospective meeting that is part of the Scrum Framework. It is a key improvement activity used by Agile and Scrum teams at the end of each…
The daily Scrum Meeting is the most frequent meeting in the Scrum Framework, making it important to be done well. There are some common patterns of problems with the daily…
Earlier this week I was facilitating a discussion on agile estimating at a Meetup. A question came up about whether or not the Product Owner of a team using the Scrum…
