This is one way a work group can improve their interactions and hence become a high performing team. Individuals and Interactions are crucial for a team to have a chance of being a successful agile team. I often see teams…
Monday seems like a logical time to start your Sprint, right? The start of the calendar week, rested after the weekend, let’s go! In reality it is a bad idea, and I will explain why… Primarily it comes down to…
The Scrum Master is a complex, challenging and rewarding role. Consequently they need to develop a broad range of competencies. A diverse skill set will allow them to succeed; no matter what the world throws at them and their team.What…
In organisations that are resistant to change, I introduce change incrementally and iteratively. I use a Plan Do Check Act approach to rollout changes step by step. This blog describes that approach and what I think about as I attempt…
What I have learnt is; don’t. Lean is counter intuitive, ill-defined*, and a tough concept to sell. Instead, ask them what outcome they want to improve: efficiency, speed, quality, innovation, morale or reliability. Use Lean Thinking to determine what Predictor could…
I have recently posted my first game to TastyCupCakes.org, the Scrum Roles and Responsibilities game.This is a game that I have used many, many in my Scrum training courses. I have found it is a great way to help trainees…
Planning Poker is a simple exercise that delivers outstanding results when performed well. It can quickly lead the team to a shared understanding of the work and an accurate estimate of the size of the work. However I often see…
Project Retrospectives tend to be high stakes, emotionally charged, cross teams events, with managers in attendance. This all adds up to an environment that is not ‘Safe to Fail’ as you would expect in a typical Sprint Retrospective. While my Top Tips…
A.k.a. How separating implementation from outcome can lead to better resultsFlexible Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters and Change Agents have a greater impact. Flexibility in how their goals are achieved; allows them to deliver more changes and more effective changes. Overall this…
A.k.a. Story Points allow us to separate Estimation from CommitmentI have known (through experience) for a long time that Story Points are a great way for teams to estimate their work. However it has taken me a long time to come…