Don‘t ignore the hidden preconditions for Scrum Did you know that many organizations are not a great fit for Scrum? Scrum makes a few assumptions that are often ignored and not fulfilled. And when we naively start to implement Scrum, we wonder why it doesn’t seem to work as promised. Let’s uncover these hidden assumptions today! Hello Reader, you’re reading a free article of the Agile Compass. If you find my articles valuable, you might want to become a…
Retrospectives can turn into mere problem discussions yielding little positive impact on the work of a Scrum team. Here is how you can ensure insanely effective Sprint Retrospectives with an easy to follow 7 steps template.
Are your retros effective? Do only discuss problems or does the team actually improve continuously? Here is my proven template for effective retrospectives.
A common question I get: How do we demo virtual deliverables in the Sprint Review or System Demo? If we only have a backend or a library to show, how can we best do it? Let me give a few tips in this week’s article.
Avoid the pitfalls of assigning or picking user stories in sprint planning. Learn what to do instead to be more productive.
Alright, do you measure the effectiveness of product owners by how much time they devote to writing great user stories? Many do – more or less explicitly. But there is a hard truth: The better the Product Owner, the less time they spend writing user stories ?!
These are NOT what makes you agile. ? The grass is always greener on the other side. Debating whether scrum or kanban or something else is better will not get you anywhere. Sure, some are a better fit for certain circumstances; but if you arent‘t agile, neither choice...
If you start having trouble finding stories – or wondering whether the story is already in there somewhere – your backlog is probably too long ? The idea of a product backlog is that of a short-term buffer. A backlog lasting about 6 weeks is good; a backlog lasting 6...
How many times have you seen sprint reviews without stakeholders? I must admit, I have seen this far too often in my life. And it's a waste of time! Why is it useless? First we have to ask, what the purpose of a review is. I often get answers like: ? to see the...
Retrospectives often end up as “letting off steam” or “endlessly discussing problems” events. That’s not helpful. Retros should help a team continuously improve! They should feel positive and have impact ? Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough;...