Archives

Don’t Blame Scrum for Helping You See

Today I completed a CSM course & Workshop in Charlotte. I forgot to tell the attendees one thing. One of the major purposes of Scrum is to enable the Team to see its problems better.  Seeing problems (impediments) better, the Team and firm will take more action to fix the top impediment (well, over time, […]

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The spirit of Scrum

In the US, where I am, we speak of the spirit of Christmas. While some people are a bit cynical about it, I think I actually see it sometimes.  It is meaningful and people do know what you are talking about. In a roughly similar way, the spirit of Scrum is also real. Some people […]

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Please try all of Scrum.

Scrum is a bare framework. It is very simple.  Scrum is not trying to be a full methodology. Lots of people are doing Scrum-Butt.  “We do Scrum, but…” Then they say… …we don’t have a product owner. …we change the length of the sprint often …we don’t have a ScrumMaster …we don’t do a _daily_ […]

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Joe’s Agile Release Planning – New Version

While I was writing the book on Agile Release Planning I was posting free versions. The book is now available here: https://leanpub.com/joesagilereleaseplanning   But it is no longer free (except to class participants).  (Although I frequently have deals on LinkedIn or Twitter.) I hope you will leave comments or send me comments or questions.

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Summarizing Scrum (a list)

The more I think about Scrum, the more it becomes a Gestalt…a whole thing.  It becomes somewhat misleading to talk about its parts. Scrum itself is actually very small.  We recommend you do all of Scrum; it will lead to better results almost always.  It you only take part of the medicine…well, you will not […]

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Is release planning worth it?

In a word: Yes, if done professionally. Next, let’s acknowledge that it is a fair question.  At some point, if release planning costs too much versus the benefits, then it is a waste.  But we do not find that the ratio is nearly that bad. How is release planning, and release plan refactoring… useful? A […]

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Who is Scrum for?

A few months ago someone I know and respect in the Agile community said that they do agile to make the world safe for programmers. This phrase has stuck with me. I don’t know how seriously the person meant it. I suspect it was partially a joke and partially a stronger statement than one might […]

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Joe’s Agile Release Planning

I have written a new booklet that I want you to have (I think you will find it useful) and also to comment on. It is about Agile Release Planning. [Note: It was a booklet, it is now a book.  See: https://leanpub.com/joesagilereleaseplanning] It proposes that agile release planning consists of these major steps (at least): […]

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Two Levels of (Agile) Planning

Almost all firms that I work with have at least two levels of planning.  I call them “high level” and “team level.”  High Level At the high level, project or product ideas come in.  Someone has to prioritize these opportunities initially, to see which ones make the cut.  Often this is formally done once a […]

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Something Unexpected

What do we do when something unexpected happens? “The readiness is all,” said Hamlet. So we must be ready.  Ready to meet that new thing, that innovation, that crazy idea, that new person…more than half-way. Yes, we may be skeptical. Yes, as Polonius says (careful grandmotherly type that he may be)…we must try our friends […]

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