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Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

Every week day, Certified Scrum Master, Agile Coach and Business Consultant Vasco Duarte interviews Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches from all over the world to get you actionable advice, new tips and tricks, improve your craft as a Scrum Master with daily doses of inspiring conversations with Scrum Masters from the all over the world. Stay tuned for BONUS episodes when we interview Agile gurus and other thought leaders in the business space to bring you the Agile Business perspective you need to succeed as a Scrum Master. Some of the topics we discuss include: Agile Business, Agile Strategy, Retrospectives, Team motivation, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Backlog Refinement, Scaling Scrum, Lean Startup, Test Driven Development (TDD), Behavior Driven Development (BDD), Paper Prototyping, QA in Scrum, the role of agile managers, servant leadership, agile coaching, and more!
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Now displaying: Page 7
Sep 15, 2023

Toby Rao: The Part-Time Product Owner Anti-Pattern, And Its Consequences

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

The Great Product Owner: The Part-Time PO Anti-Pattern

In this segment, Toby discusses common anti-patterns associated with Product Owners (POs), particularly the issue of them treating their role as a part-time role. Many organizations assign PO responsibilities as a secondary task, causing problems like absenteeism during critical team interactions. This particular PO, who had a full-time job outside of their role, lacked both Agile and software development experience, along with emotional intelligence. The key takeaway was the importance of PO presence and engagement with the team, with a suggestion to have them spend a full day working alongside the team to improve collaboration.

The Bad Product Owner: User-Centric Leadership, a Critical Skill For POs

In this segment, Toby discusses the qualities of a great Product Owner (PO). The exceptional PO he describes, was known for their easy collaboration with the team and their constant availability. The PO emphasized understanding before imposing their views and consistently approached discussions from the perspective of the key Personas for the product. The PO also encouraged the team to consider the system from the customer/user standpoint, this PO deeply comprehended the team's workflow, which made collaboration easy. Additionally, they recognized the efficiency of pre-refinement in the team's processes, and made the necessary adaptation to their own workflow.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Toby Rao

Toby is an ICF-credentialed Coach and accredited IC Agile trainer, and practices as a certified Executive coach. With a dynamic Agile journey beginning in 2007, he's an active contributor to the global Agile community. He is based in Washington DC Metro, and speaks at Agile events worldwide and co-founded the A20 Agile conference. Toby also co-founded two thriving Agile meetups in the Washington DC area, with a combined 1300 members.

You can link with Toby Rao on LinkedIn and connect with Toby Rao on Twitter

Sep 14, 2023

Toby Rao: Success Metrics for Scrum Masters Which You Can Observe In The Daily Meeting

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, we discuss how to achieve true self-organization within the team. Toby’s perspective is that success is measured by several key factors, including active participation and engagement in daily standup meetings. Toby suggests we assess our success by observing if team members are paying attention, interacting with one another, and openly sharing solutions during these meetings.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The 4 L’s and generating learning opportunities

Toby’s favorite retrospective format is the "4 L's retrospective," which stands for Liked, Learned, Lacked, and Longed for. In this segment, he highlights its effectiveness in generating ideas, with a particular emphasis on the "learned" component. Toby stressed the importance of continuous learning for both himself and his team, making it a central theme in his retrospectives. The format encourages sharing valuable learning moments and contributes to the team's growth and improvement.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox! 

 

About Toby Rao

Toby is an ICF-credentialed Coach and accredited IC Agile trainer, and practices as a certified Executive coach. With a dynamic Agile journey beginning in 2007, he's an active contributor to the global Agile community. He is based in Washington DC Metro, and speaks at Agile events worldwide and co-founded the A20 Agile conference. Toby also co-founded two thriving Agile meetups in the Washington DC area, with a combined 1300 members.

You can link with Toby Rao on LinkedIn and connect with Toby Rao on Twitter

Sep 13, 2023

Toby Rao: How To Get A Team From Mini-Waterfall Sprints To True Scrum

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Toby talks about a team whose burndown chart resembled a cliff, indicating possible problems in the way they managed their sprints. The team was essentially following a mini-waterfall approach, with stories remaining open until the last two days of the sprint. Toby realized the need for change and emphasized the importance of observing what's happening beyond the team's actions. He acknowledged that change couldn't happen overnight and worked with the team to break down stories for better progress transparency. But that wasn’t an easy process! Toby shares how he got the team from “you are criticizing us” to having the team take ownership of their process and make the necessary changes. 

 

[IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.

 

About Toby Rao

Toby is an ICF-credentialed Coach and accredited IC Agile trainer, and practices as a certified Executive coach. With a dynamic Agile journey beginning in 2007, he's an active contributor to the global Agile community. He is based in Washington DC Metro, and speaks at Agile events worldwide and co-founded the A20 Agile conference. Toby also co-founded two thriving Agile meetups in the Washington DC area, with a combined 1300 members.

You can link with Toby Rao on LinkedIn and connect with Toby Rao on Twitter

Sep 12, 2023

Toby Rao: Helping a Team Go From Storming To Performing With Trust Building Strategies

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Toby shares his experience working with a once high-performing team that faced challenges after a leadership change and the introduction of new team members. The established team members, deeply bonded, struggled to share information with the newcomers who questioned team practices. The team found itself stuck in the "storming" phase of development, with trust being a significant issue. Toby emphasized the importance of creating new working agreements when a team undergoes significant changes and promoting collaboration with a "yes, and" approach. He highlighted the need for trust-building interventions, engaging retrospectives, celebrating small successes, and conducting 1-on-1 conversations to address the trust imbalance and improve team dynamics.

In this episode, we refer to the Tuckman Stages Of Group Development and TastyCupcakes.org.

Featured Book of the Week: "Atomic Habits" by James Clear

In Toby's discussion about his favorite book, "Atomic Habits" by James Clear, he highlighted how the book transformed his perspective. He successfully encouraged team members and friends to read it by emphasizing its approach to change. The book's principle of breaking down significant changes into small daily habits resonated with Toby. It underscored the idea that consistent small actions can result in substantial transformations. Toby also mentioned how the book influenced his coaching style, particularly by suggesting the effective question, "What's your plan to solve that problem?" It emphasized the power of incremental changes and thoughtful problem-solving strategies.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!  

 

About Toby Rao

Toby is an ICF-credentialed Coach and accredited IC Agile trainer, and practices as a certified Executive coach. With a dynamic Agile journey beginning in 2007, he's an active contributor to the global Agile community. He is based in Washington DC Metro, and speaks at Agile events worldwide and co-founded the A20 Agile conference. Toby also co-founded two thriving Agile meetups in the Washington DC area, with a combined 1300 members.

You can link with Toby Rao on LinkedIn and connect with Toby Rao on Twitter

Sep 11, 2023

Toby Rao: The Critical Impact of Effective Stakeholder Engagement in Agile Projects

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Toby shares his experience of working with a team in this transition. Toby emphasized the importance of addressing the initial challenges, including stakeholder engagement and logistics. He highlights the need to overcome mindset barriers within the organization. Key takeaways from this conversation include: the importance of seeking to understand before being understood, helping others grasp the team's needs, involving leads and stakeholders from other teams to identify blockers, and being open to negotiation for the team's success. Ultimately, creating shared understanding and transparency led to successful collaboration.

In this episode, we refer to the Tuckman Stages Of Group Development.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.

 

About Toby Rao

Toby is an ICF-credentialed Coach and accredited IC Agile trainer, and practices as a certified Executive coach. With a dynamic Agile journey beginning in 2007, he's an active contributor to the global Agile community. He is based in Washington DC Metro, and speaks at Agile events worldwide and co-founded the A20 Agile conference. Toby also co-founded two thriving Agile meetups in the Washington DC area, with a combined 1300 members.

You can link with Toby Rao on LinkedIn and connect with Toby Rao on Twitter

Sep 9, 2023

BONUS: The Surprising Costs Of Outsourcing Software Development, And Effective Outsourcing Strategies with Douglas Squirrel

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

Squirrel delves into the misconception that outsourcing engineers overseas automatically leads to cost reduction in software organizations. He explains that while the salary expenses might be lower for offshore teams, other costs come into play. 

He illustrates the situation with an example involving two tech teams, one located onshore in California, USA, and the other in India. The Indian team had one quarter the salary of the onshore team, prompting the question of why the more expensive US engineers are retained. The discussion highlights the importance of evaluating the genuine costs of offshoring beyond just salaries. Additionally, Squirrel raises the question of which team is more productive and points out the time zone difference as a significant factor impacting communication and coordination. 

Surprisingly, when the overall costs are tallied, they often don't exhibit a substantial difference due to various expenses that often get ignored. The aspect of speed of delivery is also examined, and the suggestion is made to have a local representative support the outsourced team to facilitate smoother communication. Beyond the operational costs, we also talk about how difficult it is to maintain effective communication between teams, and the cost of frequent international travel. 

Squirrel emphasizes the necessity of having experienced individuals in the offshore team, highlighting that it’s even more important to hire very senior people in offshore teams. We also discuss how hard it is to find accommodation for senior engineers that move to the offshore locations.

Effective Offshoring Patterns

Squirrel delves into the patterns that can enhance the effectiveness of offshoring. The concept of near shoring is introduced, especially when there are significant challenges in finding talent close to the headquarters. 

The discussion then pivots to the importance of team organization for offshoring success. The idea of cross-functional teams or feature teams is introduced as an effective approach. Squirrel references FeatureTeams.org, emphasizing that these teams possess the flexibility to work on any feature, thereby minimizing communication dependencies. 

A strategy to integrate feature teams across regions is presented through the "ambassador pattern," which involves designated individuals who bridge the communication gaps between teams in different locations.

Optimizing Communication and Resources for Remote Teams

We also discuss how to optimize communication and resources for remote teams. Squirrel introduces the notion that outsourcing and offshoring may be a possible solution to solve the talent problem by tapping into global talent pools. He offers practical tips, such as conducting all meetings online and making it a rule to always include offshore team members. Creating opportunities for "osmotic communication" – the exchange of information through casual interactions – is suggested as a means to foster team cohesion across distances.

Recommended Resources

The episode concludes with a list of recommended resources for further exploration. These include Stack Overflow’s own experience about fully remote work, Squirrel's own website (DouglasSquirrel.com), Team Topologies (a topic which has been presented on the podcast by its authors Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais), the FeatureTeams.org website, and the virtual office platform Sococo.

Throughout the conversation, Squirrel provides insights into the complexities of offshoring, shedding light on the multifaceted considerations that impact its success. From cost evaluation to effective team organization and communication strategies, the episode offers a comprehensive overview of the nuances surrounding offshore software development teams.

About Douglas Squirrel

Squirrel has been coding for more than forty years and has led software teams for twenty. He uses the power of conversations to create dramatic productivity gains in technology organisations of all sizes. Squirrel’s experience includes growing software teams as a CTO in startups from fintech to biotech to music, and everything in between. He lives in Frogholt, England, in a timber-framed cottage built in the year 1450.

You can link with Douglas Squirrel on LinkedIn and connect with Douglas Squirrel on his website

Sep 8, 2023

Seye Kuyinu: Learning and Leading through Experiments, The Scrum Master Who Turned Product Owner

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

The Great Product Owner: Learning and Leading through Experiments, The Scrum Master Who Turned Product Owner

In this episode, Seye highlights a remarkable product owner with a background as a Scrum Master. Her calm demeanor and willingness to experiment, even without a clear endpoint, stood out. She actively engaged in collaborative experimentation, asking "Can we try this?" and collectively defining and learning from experiments with the team. This experimental mindset contributed to her effectiveness as a Product Owner. Moreover, she adeptly interacted with all team members and had the valuable skill of calming down heated discussions. 

The Bad Product Owner: Beyond To-Do Lists, Overcoming Anti-Patterns in Backlog Management

In this episode, Seye discusses the disengaged Product Owner (PO) anti-pattern. He underscores the significant impact of PO engagement on performance, highlighting the necessity for their active involvement in discussions that lead to clarity. Other anti-patterns include treating the backlog as a simple "to do list" and having insufficiently detailed backlog items (DEEP Backlog) for prioritization and estimation. These issues stem from diverse causes, such as organizational oversight of product ownership. Seye suggests assisting POs in understanding their role, offering guidance to rectify these patterns and enhance their effectiveness in Agile teams.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Seye Kuyinu

Seye has been a Scrum Master for about a decade now. He first connected to Agile, frustrated with the lack of adequate communication that plagues traditional complex projects. He finds People and Interactions over Processes & Tools cannot be overstated, while seeing that everything is a fractal- our individual, team, organization and societal challenges are the very same. The solution in every layer is the same- an understanding of ONENESS!

You can link with Seye Kuyinu on LinkedIn and connect with Seye Kuyinu on Twitter

Sep 7, 2023

Seye Kuyinu: From Working Software to Human Flourishing, A Holistic Approach to Scrum Master Success

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Seye delves into his multi-layered perspective on success as a Scrum Master. Firstly, he emphasizes understanding success from the perspective of those he serves, suggesting collaboration to define it. He also sees success in terms of "working software" and advises teams to contextualize its meaning. Seye underscores the human aspect of product development and references the concept of "making people awesome" from Modern Agile. He encourages Scrum Masters to align with their personal values and live them out, adding depth to their success definition in the agile context.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Temperature Mapping

In this episode, Seye introduces his preferred retrospective formats, starting with "temperature mapping." Using tools like MURAL, this format encourages team members to share their emotions throughout the sprint. Another favorite is the "Sailboat retrospective," employing visuals to stimulate discussion. Seye also advocates for a "futurespective" using storytelling, where teams envision the future. These formats foster open communication, engagement, and forward thinking, enhancing the retrospective experience and driving improvements in the team's agile process.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox! 

 

About Seye Kuyinu

Seye has been a Scrum Master for about a decade now. He first connected to Agile, frustrated with the lack of adequate communication that plagues traditional complex projects. He finds People and Interactions over Processes & Tools cannot be overstated, while seeing that everything is a fractal- our individual, team, organization and societal challenges are the very same. The solution in every layer is the same- an understanding of ONENESS!

You can link with Seye Kuyinu on LinkedIn and connect with Seye Kuyinu on Twitter

Sep 6, 2023

Seye Kuyinu: Shared Ownership of Change, Strategies for Effective Agile Transformation

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Seye delves into change leadership within an organization facing team cohesion challenges. He highlights the initial step of process assessment and the impact of conflicting factions within a team. The breakdown of processes led to differing interpretations of the team's goals. Seye references Arlo Belshee's work in Agile Engineering Fluency (detailed map here), and suggests establishing work agreements, visualizing the change process, and securing buy-in for effective change. He underscores the importance of collective ownership of change and introduces the idea of a team coaching canvas to facilitate progress. The episode emphasizes collaborative change leadership to address team dynamics and process issues.

 

[IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.

 

About Seye Kuyinu

Seye has been a Scrum Master for about a decade now. He first connected to Agile, frustrated with the lack of adequate communication that plagues traditional complex projects. He finds People and Interactions over Processes & Tools cannot be overstated, while seeing that everything is a fractal- our individual, team, organization and societal challenges are the very same. The solution in every layer is the same- an understanding of ONENESS!

You can link with Seye Kuyinu on LinkedIn and connect with Seye Kuyinu on Twitter

Sep 5, 2023

Seye Kuyinu: Agile Re-Teaming For Scale, Restructuring Scrum Teams Along Value Streams

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Seye discusses an organization's journey towards creating value streams and aligning teams accordingly. They adopted the approach of taking teams to the work rather than the reverse. This involved setting up teams for new features, but the structure changed after a few months, leading to reassigning team members. Seye refers to the Tuckman's stages of group development to highlight the transitional nature of teams. In this episode, we also discuss how important it is to focus on setting up a robust infrastructure to make it possible to dynamically reconfigure teams, underlining the importance of adaptability in Agile environments.

Featured Book of the Week: The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self and Relationship by David Whyte

Seye's recommended book for Scrum Masters is "The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self and Relationship" by David Whyte. The book explores reimagining work and relationships, emphasizing the need for a holistic view rather than strict work-life balance. Another impactful read is “Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond” by Bob Galen, which transformed Seye's coaching approach. He suggests adapting language to the audience, shifting from software development jargon to business terminology. Seye advocates speaking the language of those being served, aligning communication for more effective collaboration.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!  

 

About Seye Kuyinu

Seye has been a Scrum Master for about a decade now. He first connected to Agile, frustrated with the lack of adequate communication that plagues traditional complex projects. He finds People and Interactions over Processes & Tools cannot be overstated, while seeing that everything is a fractal- our individual, team, organization and societal challenges are the very same. The solution in every layer is the same- an understanding of ONENESS!

You can link with Seye Kuyinu on LinkedIn and connect with Seye Kuyinu on Twitter

Sep 4, 2023

Seye Kuyinu: Effective Agile Coaching, Building Contextual Understanding Beyond Scrum Guides

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Seye discusses a common anti-pattern that scrum masters can fall into, which involves not recognizing the distinction between Scrum practices and real-world situations. The organization Seye was working at had embraced Agile methodologies. However, Seye found some Agile adoption  issues like never ending meetings, one-hour daily standups, and conflicts during sprint planning. Seye suggests refraining from commanding the team and emphasizes the importance of not imposing the daily stand-up. He reflects on his own experience of lacking context and merely following the Scrum guide. To address this, we discuss forming coaching agreements with teams to ensure mutual understanding and effective implementation of Agile principles. Seye underscores the need for practical adaptation rather than rigid adherence.

In this episode, we also refer to Holacracy, and the book Getting Things Done by David Allen.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.

 

About Seye Kuyinu

Seye has been a Scrum Master for about a decade now. He first connected to Agile, frustrated with the lack of adequate communication that plagues traditional complex projects. He finds People and Interactions over Processes & Tools cannot be overstated, while seeing that everything is a fractal- our individual, team, organization and societal challenges are the very same. The solution in every layer is the same- an understanding of ONENESS!

You can link with Seye Kuyinu on LinkedIn and connect with Seye Kuyinu on Twitter.

Sep 1, 2023

Khwezi Mputa: The Product Owner that knew how to collaborate with the Agile team

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

The Great Product Owner: The PO that knew how to collaborate with the team

In this segment, Khwezi highlights an exceptional Product Owner (PO) she collaborated with. The PO possessed a deep understanding of the product's market, customers, and business context, enabling her to continuously update the product effectively. She exhibited excellent teamwork despite the distributed nature of the team, showing awareness of diverse cultures. Her proficiency in user story mapping facilitated smoother processes, including onboarding new team members. Overall, the PO's comprehensive grasp of the product's ecosystem and her collaborative skills stood out as instrumental in driving the team's success.

The Bad Product Owner: The Unavailable and Bossy PO

While POs typically hold respected roles with authority over the product backlog, some misuse this status, behaving as if superior to the team. Often from management, such POs pose various challenges, including not being available often enough when the teams need their presence. Scrum Masters play a role in educating POs, advising team lift-offs to define roles, and coaching the POs to be active team participants. Khwezi emphasizes the Scrum Master's mediation role, and we discuss the “Coach Your PO e-course” which aims to help Scrum Masters have an effective PO collaboration

 

[IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Khwezi Mputa

Khwezi is an experienced Agile coach, trainer, and IT professional since 2008. With diverse roles like Scrum Master, Agile Project Manager, and Business Analyst, she's active in the Agile community, promoting diversity. Passionate about teaching, she empowers individuals and organizations to reach their full potential through coaching and mentoring.

You can link with Khwezi Mputa on LinkedIn.

Aug 31, 2023

Khwezi Mputa: Visualizing Success And Coaching With Impact, With The Help Of A Coaching Backlog

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Khwezi emphasizes empowering teams over personal recognition. She highlights the importance of informing and involving stakeholders and sponsors, using a coaching backlog as a valuable tool. This backlog aids in feedback provision, achievement tracking, and maintaining focus. It also visually represents the team's journey. Khwezi acknowledges the challenge of conveying intangible scrum master efforts to sponsors and recommends visual tools like MURAL for clarity. Her insights encourage fostering empowerment and sharing impact beyond tangible metrics, reflecting her holistic approach to effective scrum mastering.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The Movie Critic Retrospective

In the episode, Khwezi introduces “The Movie Critic” retrospective, a creative approach to retrospectives using movies. By asking the team to liken their experience to a movie genre, such as action or drama, they delve into struggles and reasons behind their choices. The question "do you recommend this movie?" prompts reflection. Utilizing tools like MURAL enhances the process, and Khwezi advises encouraging additional sharing to ensure comprehensive insights are captured. This cinematic retrospective technique offers an engaging way to explore team challenges and insights collaboratively.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox! 

 

About Khwezi Mputa

Khwezi is an experienced Agile coach, trainer, and IT professional since 2008. With diverse roles like Scrum Master, Agile Project Manager, and Business Analyst, she's active in the Agile community, promoting diversity. Passionate about teaching, she empowers individuals and organizations to reach their full potential through coaching and mentoring.

You can link with Kwhezi Mputa on LinkedIn.

Aug 30, 2023

Khwezi Mputa: From Silos to Synergy, A Story of Agile Coaches and HR Integration during change

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

Khwezi shared insights from an Agile transformation journey involving collaboration between Agile coaches and the Human Resources department HR business partners. They recognized overlap in their responsibilities and merged into a cohesive team. Challenges surfaced through joint meetings, leading to the realization that their work needed to be aligned. They adopted the SPINE model for effective change, emphasizing starting with the "need" for change. Co-facilitation and shared knowledge enhanced their efforts. To bridge communication gaps, HR partners were encouraged to attend Agile bootcamps. Khwezi emphasized the universality of Agile principles, advocating for their application beyond IT teams, and promoting tool-sharing for wider team benefits.

 

[IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.

 

About Khwezi Mputa

Khwezi is an experienced Agile coach, trainer, and IT professional since 2008. With diverse roles like Scrum Master, Agile Project Manager, and Business Analyst, she's active in the Agile community, promoting diversity. Passionate about teaching, she empowers individuals and organizations to reach their full potential through coaching and mentoring.

You can link with Kwhezi Mputa on LinkedIn.

Aug 29, 2023

Khwezi Mputa: Breaking Down Dysfunctional Dynamics between a Scrum team and their Product Owner

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Khwezi discusses a challenging team scenario where great individuals struggled due to high-pressure dynamics and dysfunctional patterns. The Product Owner lacked decision-making authority, leading to delayed information and a proxy PO situation. This pressure caused scope creep and hindered technical debt management. Khwezi highlighted the importance of empowering the team to push back against excessive demands, coaching the PO to engage stakeholders effectively, and ensuring the right person fills the PO role. Addressing these issues was crucial for improving the product and fostering a healthier team dynamic.

If you need to support your Product Owner, we’ve created a course for you. You can access the Coach Your PO e-course here

Featured Book of the Week: Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins

In this segment, Khwezi shares her recommended book, "Coaching Agile Teams" by Lyssa Adkins, which played a pivotal role in her self-improvement journey as a scrum master. This book provided valuable insights into guiding teams toward high performance. Khwezi emphasized using the Agile coaching competency framework and suggested self-assessment based on it. This framework led her to discover additional paths for growth. The book also highlighted the importance of exploring diverse topics to enhance skills. She mentioned the "Periodic Table of Scrum Master's Competencies" as a useful resource for understanding various skills enhancement facets.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!  

 

About Khwezi Mputa

Khwezi is an experienced Agile coach, trainer, and IT professional since 2008. With diverse roles like Scrum Master, Agile Project Manager, and Business Analyst, she's active in the Agile community, promoting diversity. Passionate about teaching, she empowers individuals and organizations to reach their full potential through coaching and mentoring.

Aug 28, 2023

Khwezi Mputa: From Fear to Empowerment, How Scrum Masters Can Thrive By Facing Their Fears

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

Khwezi shares her challenges as a scrum master within a pressure-filled environment marked by discrimination. Recognizing her role as a team supporter, she confronts unemployment fears and ventures beyond her comfort zone. This shift motivated her to aim for helping teams be self-sufficient, empowering team members to thrive after her departure. Her story highlights the value of adaptation, risk-taking, and nurturing positive team dynamics.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.

 

About Khwezi Mputa

Khwezi is an experienced Agile coach, trainer, and IT professional since 2008. With diverse roles like Scrum Master, Agile Project Manager, and Business Analyst, she's active in the Agile community, promoting diversity. Passionate about teaching, she empowers individuals and organizations to reach their full potential through coaching and mentoring.

Aug 26, 2023

BONUS: From journalism to Scrum Mastery, collected lessons on working with teams by Ian McGrady

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

Ian's journey from journalism to becoming a Scrum Master is a testament to his adaptable mindset and persistence. His transition stemmed from a unique start; he secured his first job due to his fast typing skills and a desire to meet Peter Jennings. Ian's persistence in seeking a meeting with Jennings honed his tenacity. The introduction to the Scrum Master role came through recognizing the news industry's agile, continuous delivery setup. Despite challenges, like sending out 400 resumes for just 3 interviews and a job offer, Ian's honesty on his resume and his ability to relate his existing skills to the software field were pivotal. In interviews, he remained coachable, acknowledged his learning curve, and emphasized genuine interest in others. He underlines the importance of not striving to be the smartest person in the room, instead focusing on collaboration and curiosity.

From TV News Deadlines to Agile Leadership, learning how to work under pressure

Becoming a Scrum Master has brought about significant changes and personal growth for Ian. Inspired by Jeff Sutherland's book "The Art Of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time," he realized the value of efficiency. Transitioning from TV News, where deadlines were paramount, he leveraged his experience to provide leadership to his team. Ian's principles and vision became guiding forces, focusing on extracting the best from individuals and incorporating it into the work. He emphasized stepping back to allow the team to shine and maximizing their value without personal dominance. His journey exemplifies transformation through collaborative leadership and value-driven mindset.

Building the Foundation: Key Steps for Launching Effective Teams

Launching new teams is a crucial process that Ian has garnered valuable insights from. Key lessons involve the necessity of team formation events, despite potential resistance from upper management. Addressing this as a communal effort, Ian suggests socializing the idea of team formation through specific activities. Four critical steps include creating a working agreement, establishing a workflow, defining a Definition of Ready (DoR), and a Definition of Done (DoD). These artifacts can aid in resolving conflicts. Ian recommends the book "Liftoff" by Diana Larsen and Ainsley Nies and advises using timeboxes to identify and address conflicts during team formation.

Empowering New Teams: Strategies for Maximizing New Team Potential

Addressing challenges faced by new teams in attaining maximum value from Scrum events, Ian shares insights and solutions. He recounts an NGO team's bureaucratic hurdles that hindered effective team startup events. Ian emphasizes the importance of focusing on delivering the essence of Scrum events and the Scrum Master's role in ensuring team value. He recalls an example where a team failed to update the board during the daily scrum, suggesting the live update approach to enhance visibility. He advises keeping work consistently on the board and centering the daily scrum on "done" work. Ian also recommends incorporating refinement into the workflow for improved outcomes.

Turning the Tide: How Effective Team Formation Revolutionized Scrum Outcomes

Ian shares a transformative case study highlighting the impact of team formation. He joined a team of talented individuals struggling with teamwork. After obtaining buy-in for a startup event from his boss, the team's performance improved drastically. Shifting from completing 3 items per month to 22, Ian recommends focusing on metrics that emphasize "done" work. Addressing the challenge of team composition, having reliable contributors was vital. Open communication and transparent norms facilitated tough discussions. Challenges during formation included gaining buy-in from all stakeholders and addressing pushback from senior management. Ian emphasizes that while some individuals may be natural stars, teams require nurturing for success.

In this segment we refer to the OTOG mnemonic (One Team, One Goal) as a team effectiveness maximizing strategy. The One Team, One Goal approach is depicted in this blog post by Vasco Duarte.

 

About Ian McGrady

Ian McGrady started in IT as a co-founder and Junior Project Manager at Blue Lotus Systems Integration and Data Conversion. There he co-authored an internal book about project management. He has worked as a Scrum Master in wagering, banking and healthcare.

You can link with Ian McGrady on LinkedIn

Aug 25, 2023

Zach Stone: Strategies for Healing a Disrupted Team-Product Owner Connection

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

The Great Product Owner: The Ideal Product Owner, Balancing Strategy, Collaboration, and Care

In this episode, Zach highlights an exceptional Product Owner (PO) who showcased a unique blend of tactical and strategic prowess. This PO's deep care for the team was evident in their collaborative and engaging approach. They fostered open dialogue, valuing team input and seeing engineers as partners in solving problems. The PO's commitment to understanding stakeholder requests in-depth allowed them to effectively shield the team. Their transformative and protective actions were a testament to their collaborative leadership style, making them a beloved and effective bridge between stakeholders and the engineering team.

The Bad Product Owner: Restoring Harmony, Strategies for Healing a Disrupted Team-PO Connection

In this episode, Zach reflects on a challenging experience with a struggling Product Owner (PO). The PO's performance was hindered by environmental factors and burnout, leading to breakdowns in team collaboration and psychological safety. A lack of connection with the team and berating behavior adversely affected team morale and relationships. The adversarial atmosphere hindered healthy conflict resolution and led to self-sabotage. Zach shares valuable tips for improving such situations, emphasizing the importance of gauging safety for conversations, individual validation, and creating a secure space for difficult discussions. He underscores the potential for growth through acknowledging mistakes, highlighting that the PO eventually transformed into a sought-after collaborator through positive change.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Zach Stone

Zach has worked as a process facilitator for over 17 years, as a specialist in behavioral science. He co-founded a firm that uses techniques to rebuild war zones  for organizational dynamics. He has been an agilist for the past 7 years and was recently a speaker at the Global Scrum Conference. He lives in Santa Fe with his Wife and spends his time exploring canyons and trails.

You can link with Zach Stone on LinkedIn

Aug 24, 2023

Zach Stone: Evolving Our Perspective On Scrum Master Success With Experience

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Zach discusses his evolving perspective on success as a Scrum Master. Initially valuing predictability, he now prioritizes the impact of Scrum events over strict adherence. He acknowledges the risk of losing sight of purpose when fixating on predictability and velocity. Shifting from an adherence mindset to a goal-oriented, customer-centric approach, Zach emphasizes the importance of clear product goals in boosting team motivation. Success, for him, is now defined by the meaningful impact achieved through Scrum events, aligning teams with overarching objectives and driving tangible results.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The Rosebud and Thorn Retrospective Format

In this episode, Zach shares his preferred retrospective format, the "Rosebud and Thorn." He appreciates its simplicity and authenticity, as it prompts participants to share both positive and challenging aspects. The retrospective serves as a communication gauge for the team, revealing their dynamics and communication quality. Zach emphasizes the format's value in assessing team functioning throughout the sprint. Additionally, he advises adapting facilitation strategies for remote sessions, especially those lacking camera visibility, ensuring effective retrospectives regardless of the setting. The "Rosebud and Thorn" emerges as a powerful tool for insightful and meaningful reflections.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox! 

 

About Zach Stone

Zach has worked as a process facilitator for over 17 years, as a specialist in behavioral science. He co-founded a firm that uses techniques to rebuild war zones  for organizational dynamics. He has been an agilist for the past 7 years and was recently a speaker at the Global Scrum Conference. He lives in Santa Fe with his Wife and spends his time exploring canyons and trails.

You can link with Zach Stone on LinkedIn

 

Aug 23, 2023

Zach Stone: Beyond Tech, Facilitating Change Amid Strong Emotional Turmoil

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Zach discusses his experience initiating change within a 10,000-employee mass transit organization plagued by violence towards its staff. Initially met with skepticism, the consulting team employed active listening and dialogue facilitation, prioritizing fair conversation. The process involved uncovering needs, contextual understanding, and addressing assaults on employees. Frustration was initially high, but they introduced motivational interviewing, emphasizing that change is difficult and often involves conflict. They posed the question, "Does the pain of staying the same outweigh the pain of changing?" Acknowledging normal feelings like fear and anger, the team encouraged acknowledging resistance, highlighting the importance of being heard and seen throughout the challenging change journey.

 

[IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.

 

About Zach Stone

Zach has worked as a process facilitator for over 17 years, as a specialist in behavioral science. He co-founded a firm that uses techniques to rebuild war zones  for organizational dynamics. He has been an agilist for the past 7 years and was recently a speaker at the Global Scrum Conference. He lives in Santa Fe with his Wife and spends his time exploring canyons and trails.

You can link with Zach Stone on LinkedIn

Aug 22, 2023

Zach Stone: Overcoming Vision Challenges in Agile Teams, And The Key Role Of The Product Owner

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Zach recounts a team's struggles with a platform and component-based structure. Despite having capable members, the team faced challenges surrounding unclear priorities and vision. Frequent changes in priorities left the team uncertain about their work's purpose after a significant launch. Communication issues arose as developers weren't grasping the vision. The absence of direction led to disengagement, arguments during refinement, and an overwhelming workload. Introducing a Product Owner with a clear mission restored commitment. A critical incident, the Ukrainian war, catalyzed a much-needed laser focus. This episode underscores the importance of a well-defined mission and external factors in shaping team dynamics.

Featured Book of the Week: "The Help Increase the Peace Program Manual" by the American Friends Service Committee

In this episode, Zach discusses some of his favorite Agile-related books. "The Help Increase the Peace Program Manual" by the American Friends Service Committee is praised for its insights into conflict facilitation and fostering healthy communities. This book transformed Zach's perspective on communities and equipped him to navigate groups with conflicts. Another book that Zach highlights is "Thinking in Systems" by Meadows explores various aspects of sociology, economy, and more, encouraging readers to view the world holistically. Zach values its ability to prompt a deeper understanding of "why" and uncover systemic factors. He emphasizes how external/systemic issues can impact team-level problems, shedding light on the interconnected nature of challenges.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!  

 

About Zach Stone

Zach has worked as a process facilitator for over 17 years, as a specialist in behavioral science. He co-founded a firm that uses techniques to rebuild war zones  for organizational dynamics. He has been an agilist for the past 7 years and was recently a speaker at the Global Scrum Conference. He lives in Santa Fe with his Wife and spends his time exploring canyons and trails.

You can link with Zach Stone on LinkedIn

Aug 21, 2023

Zach Stone: Stakeholder Turbulence in Agile And Their Impact On Team Morale

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Zach reflects on his impatience and passion for the change process in Agile. He discusses a challenging scenario involving two conflicting stakeholders with differing product ideas. The stakeholders' heated conflicts escalated, impacting team morale. Zach initially focused on the team rather than addressing the stakeholder conflict directly. He suggests bringing stakeholders together to discuss the situation, emphasizing the importance of early conflict resolution. Zach also highlights the significance of observing and validating team dynamics, as well as addressing conflict promptly to prevent further disruptions. He acknowledges an anti-pattern of fear and emphasizes proactively engaging with stakeholders for better outcomes.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.

 

About Zach Stone

Zach has worked as a process facilitator for over 17 years, as a specialist in behavioral science. He co-founded a firm that uses techniques to rebuild war zones  for organizational dynamics. He has been an agilist for the past 7 years and was recently a speaker at the Global Scrum Conference. He lives in Santa Fe with his Wife and spends his time exploring canyons and trails.

You can link with Zach Stone on LinkedIn

Aug 18, 2023

Danielle Braun: Vision, Strategy, Collaboration, The Art of a Remarkable Product Owner

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

The Great Product Owner: Vision, Strategy, Collaboration, The Art of a Remarkable Product Owner

In this episode, the spotlight is on an exceptional Product Owner known for inspiration and skill. With a crystal-clear product vision and a strategic approach, she collaborated closely with the team to refine requirements. Their prowess extended beyond internal teamwork, as they maintained strong connections with customers and stakeholders. Employing the MoSCoW method for prioritization, she empowered the team to discern not only what to work on but also what to omit. A key takeaway is the emphasis on "maximizing the work not done," demonstrating how a focused approach to prioritization can drive efficiency and success in Agile product development.

The Bad Product Owner: From Micro-Management to Empowerment, A Tale of PO Transformation

In this episode, Danielle tells the story of a new Product Owner (PO) who struggled to transition from project management to the PO role. Initially they took a micro-managing and instructive approach, and the team's efficiency suffered, leading to frustration. Danielle intervened by providing constructive feedback using Nonviolent Communication (NVC) techniques. A candid question about the team's feelings prompted the PO to realize his negative impact. Acknowledging their mistake, the PO adjusted their behavior, reestablishing team motivation. A key lesson emerged: allowing patterns to develop before intervention and fostering open dialogue can lead to positive change. Ultimately, collaboration between the PO and team led to improved dynamics and shared responsibility.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

 

About Danielle Braun

Danielle is a Scrum Master and systemic coach. She strongly believes in the power of teams and that we carry the solution to all challenges within us.

You can link with Danielle Braun on LinkedIn

Aug 17, 2023

Danielle Braun: The Art of Active Listening, A Scrum Master's Success Strategy

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Danielle emphasizes her approach as a Scrum Master to keenly listen and observe. Key points include assessing team autonomy, understanding and embodiment of Agile principles, delivery of results, customer satisfaction, and collaboration. Challenges arise when new team members struggle with Agile adaptation, prompting her to focus on aiding their transition. By prioritizing individual integration into Agile methodologies, Danielle fosters a cohesive and effective team dynamic. Her dedication to attentive listening and targeted support underscores the role of a Scrum Master in facilitating successful Agile implementation.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The Amazon Retrospective

In this episode, Danielle describes the "Amazon Retrospective", where the team approaches their last sprint like reviewing an Amazon product. They give titles, rate it with stars, and write replies from the seller's perspective. This unique perspective enhances reflection and understanding of the sprint's outcomes. However, Danielle cautions against using this approach during conflicts. Another technique, the "Marie Kondo Retrospective," involves evaluating team processes by asking if they "spark joy." Inspired by the decluttering philosophy, it aims to streamline and optimize processes. These inventive retrospective methods offer fresh ways to assess and improve team performance.

 

[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox! 

 

About Danielle Braun

Danielle is a Scrum Master and systemic coach. She strongly believes in the power of teams and that we carry the solution to all challenges within us.

You can link with Danielle Braun on LinkedIn

Aug 16, 2023

Danielle Braun: Practical Strategies To Cultivate Change Acceptance

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Danielle recounts her initial Scrum project involving a transformative team seating arrangement. Despite a grand vision, initial resistance to change emerged, with the team rejecting the idea. Reflecting on the first lesson learned, the importance of their buy-in was highlighted. Employing strategies to shift perspectives, they focused on making the change appealing, visiting bustling areas to contrast with a quiet space. Key tips emerged: showcasing benefits visually, active listening to needs, and creating a receptive environment. Danielle underscores the significance of adapting to individual requirements and prioritizing customer feedback for successful change implementation.

 

[IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.

 

About Danielle Braun

Danielle is a Scrum Master and systemic coach. She strongly believes in the power of teams and that we carry the solution to all challenges within us.

You can link with Danielle Braun on LinkedIn

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