Category

“Are we doing Scrum right?” “Is SAFe the best Agile framework for us?” “Are we Agile [enough] yet?” Common questions from beginners and decision-makers investigating Agile software development. For me, I find it hard to give a specific answer...

A while back, I made the claim in one of the Agile LinkedIn groups that writing use cases was one aspect of being a professional software developer.  That naturally received a bunch of push back from people who felt use cases were too heavyweight.  Many people claimed user...

To build a quality product we need to let go of the outdated 20th century idea that quality can be achieved through inspection alone, i.e. testing.  Instead, let us focus on constructing a framework that produces quality outcomes from the beginning and the two Lean concepts...

Today I am going to share with you a engaging , interactive and brief exercise I use to teach Scrum in the first twenty minutes of my Certified ScrumMaster or a basic one-day Intro to Scrum class.  The game is called Buy a Framework and is based on the classic Innovatio...

I came across this question\comment on the LinkedIn ScrumMasters group the other day asking about Burndown Charts and management analysis. “I send out Burndown Charts daily and have been questioned by upper managent as to why we see fluctuations, up or down to the ideal...

Why does writing user stories have to suck so much? I recently heard from a colleague that they were looking for some ideas, tricks, tips and techniques to make user story writing more innovative so they can build a delightful product.  Definitely a good idea, but running a good...

During the second half of 2012, I wrote an article describing some challenges I had regarding my Certified Product Owner (CPO) course and how I achieved a breakthrough in my understanding about the class – trust the learners.  What a new and amazing concept?! Since then, I...

Last week I attended a really interesting session at Agile Open NoCal about what are good metrics for Agile teams.  Since I spent a lot of time thinking about this when working with Cardinal Health on their Design Excellence program, here are some thoughts I have. Metrics are a...

On May 6th and 7th, I attended an Innovations Games® consultant’s class hosted by Luke Hohmann.  Innovations Games® are collaborative games designed to help business people develop and prioritize new product ideas.  In the context of Scrum, these games are tools the Product Owner...

Finally had a few moments to write about my upcoming speaking engagement at the Orlando Scrum Gathering from March 8th to March 10th.  I am VERY excited about the chance to speak at a Scrum conference and I was lucky enough to be selected to provide two presentations in Orlando....