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Release Planning in Agile Projects

"In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable" - Dwight D. Eisenhower

There is always a fear when embracing Agile that things will fall into chaos and that planning and strategy go out the window. I have been on projects that have run into these types of issues, and a big part of that stemmed from the team losing sight of the big picture goals and direction for the project. One thing that has been very helpful in preventing chaos and keeping things on track has been: release planning.

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Scrum Master: The Veritable Factor Behind Success of Organizations

Scrum Master's play a vital role in Scrum Team Management. The role of a Scrum Master is evitable from the fact that to attain the business agility in the enterprise, the proper implementation of the Scrum Framework throughout the work process is very necessary.

As Scrum Master holds a very key and responsive position in the enterprise, what exactly are the diversifying responsibilities the Scrum Master has and how he/she performs the same is a matter of fact everyone around is keen to know.

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Everything You Need to Know About a Scrum Master

We know that a Scrum Master sounds like another designation in the project management industry. However, this role defines not only a very serious position that comes with some very important responsibilities but also entails many different strategies that new PMs are not aware of.

The definition of a Scrum Master is that a person in this position is solely responsible to ensure that a proper scrum process is applied to all of the steps involved in developing a project.

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Remote Agile (Part 2): Virtual Liberating Structures

Last week, we addressed basic practices and tools of remote agile with distributed teams. Based on that article, I also ran a live virtual class, the recording of which will be made available soon on the Age-of-Product’s Youtube channel. This follow-up post now delves into virtual Liberating Structures, answering the question of how we can make use of the powerful toolbox of inclusive and collaborative practices in a remote setting.

Liberating Structures

Created by Keith McCandless and Henri Lipmanowicz, Liberating Structures cover a set of easy to learn, yet powerful ways to collaborate as a team — even as a (very) large team by Scrum standards, overcoming traditional communications approaches like presentations, managed discussions, or another disorganized brainstorming at which the loudest participants tend to prevail.

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Scrum Masters Are People Too – Give ‘Em a Break and a Hand

There are great Scrum Masters and lousy Scrum Masters. There are also great and lousy managers, developers, testers, salespeople, and neighbors. People are people – no matter what their profession or role in life. Scrum Masters are people too. Like every profession, most people grow and improve with time and experience. Some grow more quickly than others.

Do you have obstacles (impediments) that continue to plague your team because the Scrum Master has not removed them? Or, is communication inside the team or external to the team poor and hampering your ability to get things done? Perhaps you feel like your team is stuck in a rut and your Scrum Master doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. What do you do if your Scrum Master isn’t all you hoped they would be?  

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Remote Agile (Part 1): Practices and Tools

Agile has always been about colocation, about direct communication, physical boards, and all the other haptic and analog moments to create value in the digital realm. As a Professional Scrum Trainer, I strive to provide training classes without using PowerPoint or digital devices. Moreover, admittedly, I love index cards. However, times are changing. So, let’s dive into the particularities of practicing remote Agile with distributed teams. 

We start with basic techniques and tools and follow up with how to apply Liberating Structures in the remote realm. 

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The Successful Scrum Master — Liberating Structures for Scrum (6)

The Successful Scrum Master Meetup

During the 19th Hands-on Agile meetup, 30-plus people addressed the path to becoming a successful Scrum Master or Agile coach, following up on the “Scrum Master Career 2020 — Using Ecocycle Planning to Identify Opportunities” meetup we had in December 2019.

We used two Liberating Structures microstructures — Appreciative Interviews and Superpower Cakewalk — to delve into what lets us grow as professionals as well as individuals.

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Scrum and Micro-Retrospectives

One of the twelve principles behind the Agile Manifesto says: “At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly”. Agile is all about adjustments here and there, learning, fine-tuning and responding to change. 

It’s really hard to adjust and fine-tune effectively if we don’t pause to find out where adjustments are needed. The Sprint Retrospective is the mechanism that Scrum teams usually use to fulfill this principle of inspection and adaptation. Unfortunately, the retrospective is often treated like an add-on or a luxury and performed only “if there’s time”.

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Three Books Scrum Masters Should Add to Their Reading List [Video]

As a seasoned Scrum Master, you’ve probably already read every good book there is about Scrum. As you look to broaden your knowledge you may now find yourself craving something different. If you’re anything like me, you may appreciate learning complementary ideas that can help expand your skillset. Watch Robb Pieper, CEO of Responsive Advisors share his top three books you should add to your reading list and why.

Further Reading

5 Books I'll Read to Facilitate Software Engineering Practices

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Scrum 101: Everything You Need To Know

Excuse me? Can someone tell me about Scrum?

Whether your team is wondering what Scrum is, comparing it to other methodologies, or trying to implement big changes, this article is for you! Check out the links to popular DZone articles for everything you need to know!

What Is Scrum?

  1. DZone Refcardz: Scrum, written by multiple Scrum experts at Scrum.org, This refcard is a detailed introduction to Agile's most popular framework. It explores the theory, values, roles, and events involved with Scrum.

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Becoming a Scrum Master

A few days ago, I attended the two-day Martine Devos' Certified Scrum Master, Estimation & Planning Class at Skills Matter. I had the privilege of meeting and learning from Martine Devos, one of the best Scrum trainers in Europe. This also gave me the opportunity to discuss many aspects of the Scrum process.

A common sight during the Daily Standup.
You may also like: How to Make Scrum Fail

Becoming a Certified ScrumMaster shouldn’t be the goal of attending the course because certifications don’t make you a real Scrum Master. To become a Scrum Master you have to put the Scrum theory into practice.

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What Is a Scrum Master?

The globalized business landscape means that most companies are on-demand, all the time. The product development process needs to be highly customer-centric to achieve success, and companies have evolved different methods to address this need.

The most popular way for companies to accomplish their goals is through the adoption of the Agile Scrum process. Over 80 percent of organizations use the Scrum framework, but there are vast differences in the way it is implemented across various organizations.

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Iterating Towards Professional Scrum: Full Lecture (Agile Week Riga)

This video is a presentation from Agile Week Riga titled, "Iterating Toward Professional Scrum". The "2019 Scrum Master Trends Report" by Scrum.org and the State of Agile 2018 shows numbers that provide insight into the maturity of Agile adoptions. More than 80% of the companies claim to be in or below a 'still maturing' level. With Scrum being the industry standard (at least in western Europe it is), these numbers are surprising. In this overview of iterations towards Scrum maturity, I describe the characteristics and main challenges to overcome in each maturity stage. This overview might help you as a Scrum Master or leader to assess your current situation and show you a direction in which you might find a solution for the problems you are facing implementing Scrum.