Embracing Emergent Work
As I practice Scrum and tackle issues in Scrum Teams/Organizations, one common theme "emerges". Emergent is one of those funny words that gets thrown around quite a bit in the...
Organizational Rhythm
Rhythm...let's define that word really quick before we move on: a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound In music, that rhythm is the foundational cadence that allows multiple...
So you want to do Scrum?
What do you truly want? I have spent a career helping organizations go from whatever process they are doing to wanting to be more agile. The request typically starts with...
We can't release until the end of the sprint...
As I work with Scrum Team's, I find a common thread in teams that believe our releases are "tied" to the Sprint time-box. This is not the case. Releases are...
We are agile, we can't provide dates...
Throughout my journey of helping teams deliver great products, one common theme tends to stand out (especially for larger organizations). That theme is that an agile process can't provide long...
Dedicated Scrum Roles (to share or not to share)
Have you ever played Chess? Chess has 6 distinct roles in the game. A king, queen, bishop, knight, rook, and pawn. Each player has a certain amount of those pieces...
Stop Starting and Start Finishing
Ever run in a race or participated in a track meet? No matter how far the distance, when you cross the finish line, you’re done. It’s easy to understand and...
Cross-Functional AND Self-Organized
Back in elementary school when everyone was out at recess (do they even have that anymore?), Red Rover was a classic game. Red rover, red rover, send Samantha right over...
Requirements in Scrum
Let's be honest. Most teams struggle with how to get requirements into their new "agile" process. Take Scrum for instance. Scrum says you start with what is called a Product...
Drive Fast in the Fog
Many organizations today simply embrace agility because they "think" it will make them go faster, thus beating their competition. If done under the correct values and principles of agile; it...
Is Your Team Focused with a Sprint Goal?
One of the 5 values of Scrum is Focus. Too often, I will ask Product Owners "What is the goal of this sprint"? Their response? "To get all of these...
Are You Working On the Organization? Or In It?
Many organizations strive to go through an "Agile Transformation". In fact there is a great debate on the word "transformation" in our community. Let's just really call it what it...