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Unengaged Stakeholders at the Sprint Review

There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Given that Scrum is a framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. For example, what if your Scrum team repeatedly faces unengaged stakeholders at the Sprint Review? How can the Scrum team stay on track in accomplishing the Product Goal when a vital feedback loop is missing?

Join me and delve into how to support your stakeholders in living up to their part of the collaboration with the Scrum team in less than two minutes.

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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 (Really) Is Velocity in Scrum?

Unlike most other races, measuring velocity isn't always beneficial in Scrum.

In complex and uncertain environments, more is unknown than is known. And what we know is subject to change. Only what we have achieved is known (unless we prefer to cover up). Progress is in what we have done, more than in what we plan to do. What we plan to do are assumptions that need validation by emerging actions and decisions. We make and incrementally change decisions based on what is known.

In Scrum, it is considered a good idea for teams to know about the progress they have been making. It is one parameter (of several) to take into account when considering the inherently uncertain future.

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Pattern of the Month: Timebox

A timebox is a period of fixed maximum duration in which team activities may be carried out. In Scrum, there are five timeboxed events: Sprint Planning, the Daily Scrum, the Sprint Review, the Sprint Retrospective, and the Sprint itself which is a timebox containing all other events. In Agile practice, the delivery of value should not be put in unnecessary delay. Brisk timeboxing can help, since events are often subject to the law of diminishing returns.

For example, it’s unlikely that spending two working days on Sprint Planning will be twice as effective as one working day. It is believed that the purposes of Sprint Planning may be reasonably accomplished in 8 hours or less. Any longer is not likely to improve the quality of the activity, and it would be better to commence work and learn from actual experience, inspecting and adapting the Sprint Backlog accordingly.