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20 Sprint Planning Anti-patterns

TL; Dr: Scrum Master Anti-patterns

Sprint Planning is a core event that defines how your customers’ lives will improve with the following Product Increment. Learn more on how to improve its effectiveness by avoiding 20 common Sprint Planning anti-patterns.

The Purpose of the Sprint Planning

Scrum’s Sprint Planning aims to align the Developers and the Product Owner on what to build next, delivering the highest possible value to customers. First, the Product Owner points to the team’s Product Goal and introduces the business objective of the upcoming Sprint. The Scrum Team then collaboratively creates a Sprint Goal, considering who is available and the target the team shall accomplish. Next, the Developers forecast the work required to achieve the Sprint Goal by picking the right items from the Product Backlog and transferring them to the Sprint Backlog. Also, the Developers need to create a plan on how to accomplish their forecast. 

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27 Product Backlog Anti-Patterns

Scrum is a tactical framework to build products, provided you identify what is worth making in advance. But even after a successful product discovery phase, you may struggle to create the right thing in the right way if your Product Backlog is not up to the job — garbage in, garbage out. The following article points to 27 common Product Backlog anti-patterns — including the Product Backlog refinement process — limiting your Scrum team’s success.

The Product Backlog According to the Scrum Guide

First of all, let’s have a look at the current edition of the Scrum Guide on the purpose of the Product Backlog:

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Three Wide-Spread Product Owner Failures in 6:09 Minutes

There are plenty of Product Owner failures. Given that Scrum is a framework with a precise and concise yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone.

Explore with me three widespread examples of how Product Owners fail their team in three short video clips, totaling 6 minutes and 9 seconds.

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The Snitch, the Whip, the Bookkeeper, the Six Sigma Black Belt™

Like a job ad for a Scrum Master position, the equivalent for the Product Owner position also reveals excellent insight into an organization’s progress on becoming agile. Yesterday, I analyzed 60-plus randomly selected job ads from the UK, the US, and Germany for that purpose. Learn more about what makes job ads such a treasure trove with the following 23 Product Owner anti-patterns.

Analyzing Job Advertisements for Product Owner Positions

Probably, you are considering a position as a Product Owner in a particular organization. I suggest that before going all-in (the application process), you should consider analyzing the job description for Product Owner anti-patterns first.

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A Forensic Product Backlog Analysis: Part 1

Garbage in, garbage out. No matter whether your team chose Scrum for the right purpose (solving complex, adaptive problems), whether your product quality is top-notch, or whether your teammates embrace self-management to the fullest... if your Product Backlog is not up to the job, all of these accomplishments will account for little, as your team will provide less value to its customers than possible. Here is where the forensic Product Backlog analysis steps in, a light-weight, simple practice to help Product Owners and Scrum Masters unearth anti-patterns that led to your low-value Product Backlog.

Learn more on how a piece of paper and a pencil can turn the perception of your Scrum Team around among stakeholders and customers.

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Writing About Agile [Prompts]

Writer's block is normal — here's how to relieve it!

Everyone struggles with writing from time to time. Lucky for you, we have compiled a few prompts to get you started! Choose a prompt, do your research, and get writing!

Please comment and let us know if you found these prompts helpful, or if you have any ideas for future prompts!