Musing
Responsibility vs. Accountability
We believe an integral part of honing your mastery of Scrum is exploring real world dialogue from the larger Scrum community. The following is an excerpt from an email discussion between a Scrum practitioner and our 3Back Senior Training Team.
Read MoreR.A.T. – Remembering Agile Teams
One of our students in our Scrum classes sketched out a new way to remember agile teams: R.A.T. Take one handsome rat, combine him with great Scrum techniques and you’ve got a stunning, perceptive diagram.
Read More5 Common Sense Guidelines for Scrum
I’ve seen a lot of Scrum and agile transformations occur, many of them successful and many of them not (or at least not on the first try). I’ve seen more than one team sabotage their transformation by forgetting a few bits of common sense, so here are a 5 simple guidelines for Scrum to help…
Read MoreThe Path to Better Leadership
It’s hard to be a good leader, let alone a great one. Whether you’re a servant-leader (a.k.a. ScrumMaster) or the single wringable neck (a.k.a. Product Owner), you know what I’m talking about. Leadership is hard work! It’s like bushwhacking your way through a messy jungle. On one side of what could only vaguely be described…
Read MoreAgile Management, Myth or Reality?
Despite over a decade of focus on agile practices for software development teams, the truth is that agile is not just for developers. If you’ve been hanging out in the agile world for a significant period of time, you probably already know this to be true. Agile is not just for developers and it never was. But…
Read MoreBreak the Habit
Communication and learning are highly intertwined and as Scrum believers, we are compelled to do both at a high level. We need to shape questions to drive the learning and to forge a path for the product development. How can we ever gain robust, vital feedback without engagement of our audience?
Read MorePathways to Scrum Team Mastery
If you could have four great tools in your pocket to nurture your Scrum team to their highest output, what would you need? You would need to see the product, the challenge, and the way to solve it from the point of view of each team member. Let’s talk about the four perspectives.
Read MoreOne Scrum Team. Four Languages.
Some of these languages are pleasant and palatable to us. Others repel us like vinegar. Our challenge as Product Owners, ScrumMasters and teammates is to peel the words and find value in the thought. Let’s revisit the statements and reveal what the intent truly is.
Read MoreScrum Meetings: Painful or Successful?
Scrum meetings are a frequent and essential occurrence as we move through the Scrum framework. As a team member, a Product Owner, or a ScrumMaster, we have an obligation to facilitate meetings that are engaging. How to accomplish that?? It requires awareness and practice.
Read MoreI don’t like my teammates…
You don’t have to like your teammates. You don’t have to go to happy hour with your teammates or the office birthday parties with them. BUT this is what you do need.
Read MoreThe Scrum Wheel and the Learning Wheel United
Scrum teams spin the wheel daily. Every product, story, and task begs for the Scrum wheel to be in motion. Another wheel is spinning every time the Scrum team gathers. Whether it be for a daily stand-up, a product demo or a sprint retrospective, the learning wheel is also present. Learning wheels churn through ideas and…
Read MoreWhen Your Strength is Your Weakness
What is your strength? Is is creating ideas? Is it researching the latest and greatest data for a project?
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