Definition of Ready is a term that has emerged recently in the Scrum / Agile community. In this episode we discuss why that concept is important, and how it can help teams improve their performance. We also discuss why planning a little bit in the Sprint is better than trying to plan the whole sprint up front.
About Jon Eversett
Former Business Analyst, Product Owner wannabe, currently a Scrum Master. Jon works with teams with different maturity levels and some relatively new Product Owners. You can find Jon Eversett on LinkedIn, or interact with Jon Eversett on Twitter. You can read Jon Eversett’s blog to find out more about his ideas on the role of the scrum master and all things agile.
Understand and change the system is perhaps one of the major challenges for Scrum Masters all over the world. In this episode Antti shares his favourite tools for that exact task:
Measure Lead Time, and how each action affects that metric. Use that metric to detect problems in how the system works at all times.
Create causal loop diagrams that help you understand what are the many effects, and causes in play within the organization.
Both of the tools mentioned are part of an arsenal of tools that you can find when studying Systems Thinking. To get you started, Antti recommends the book The V Discipline by Peter Senge.
Antti is an agile practitioner, who got started with agile in my own very first Agile project way back in 2004. He's been through all kinds of roles, from team member, to management, to customer-facing roles.
You can connect with Antti Tevanlinna on twitter, and check Antti Tevanlinna’s blog.
What defines a successful Scrum Master is how much they can help the organization increase the speed of feedback. As Antti says: “we often don’t really know what the customer wants!” So, measure your success by measuring the speed of feedback. Is it increasing?
Antti is an agile practitioner, who got started with agile in my own very first Agile project way back in 2004. He's been through all kinds of roles, from team member, to management, to customer-facing roles.
You can connect with Antti Tevanlinna on twitter, and check Antti Tevanlinna’s blog.
How you hire today affects how people perform, and think of their role in your organization. Antti explains how that phenomenon can influence an organization for the long term, and tells us how important it is to carefully craft your role descriptions to avoid the same problem.
Antti is an agile practitioner, who got started with agile in my own very first Agile project way back in 2004. He's been through all kinds of roles, from team member, to management, to customer-facing roles.
You can connect with Antti Tevanlinna on twitter, and check Antti Tevanlinna’s blog.
“Nothing ever changes here” is a team anti-pattern that sometimes takes over and freezes team behavior. Teams experiencing that anti-pattern will often complain, be discouraged, but will not take action to change their situation. How to help teams like that? Antti tells us a story of a team that was in that situation and what he and his colleagues did to change the situation and save the project.
Antti is an agile practitioner, who got started with agile in my own very first Agile project way back in 2004. He's been through all kinds of roles, from team member, to management, to customer-facing roles.
You can connect with Antti Tevanlinna on twitter, and check Antti Tevanlinna’s blog.
How to scale agile software development? is a question we hear often these days. Antti describes his experiences, how long it took him and his colleagues to get it right, and what they learned in the process. Scaling agile software development isn’t easy, and it is important we learn about what has failed in the past.
Antti is an agile practitioner, who got started with agile in my own very first Agile project way back in 2004. He's been through all kinds of roles, from team member, to management, to customer-facing roles.
You can connect with Antti Tevanlinna on twitter, and check Antti Tevanlinna’s blog.
Informed by his knowledge on Theory Of Constraints, Neil looks at specific metrics to identify how the system affects team’s performance. He also explores what is necessary to create agility in an organization, and finally he explores the first value in the Agile Manifesto: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
In this episode Neil recommends a book that everyone should read to understand system metrics: The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt.
Neil has been a software professional for over 18 years, mostly as a developer, before moving to management. He spent the last 5 years being a passionate Agile, Lean and Scrum coach, trainer and practitioner. Neil cares deeply about creating enjoyable, authentic workplaces in which human potential can thrive.
You can connect with Neil Killick on twitter. Neil Killick’s blog.
Neil has published a post where he explains his view on the scrum master responsibilities. In this episode we explore those responsibilities and how it can help us, as scrum masters understand our role and define a successful outcome for our work.
Neil has been a software professional for over 18 years, mostly as a developer, before moving to management. He spent the last 5 years being a passionate Agile, Lean and Scrum coach, trainer and practitioner. Neil cares deeply about creating enjoyable, authentic workplaces in which human potential can thrive.
You can connect with Neil Killick on twitter. Neil Killick’s blog.
There’s often an unspoken pressure to recruit fast. But how to achieve it? Neil tells us about his very own checklist of topics to cover in the recruiting process. He also shares how his views on the recruiting process changed drastically over his years of experience, and why it is so important to find people that don’t fit your culture.
Neil has been a software professional for over 18 years, mostly as a developer, before moving to management. He spent the last 5 years being a passionate Agile, Lean and Scrum coach, trainer and practitioner. Neil cares deeply about creating enjoyable, authentic workplaces in which human potential can thrive.
You can connect with Neil Killick on twitter. Neil Killick’s blog.
Little’s Law is a relatively recent discovery in Queuing Theory. It was only proven in 1961, and still unknown to many in the software industry today.
Neil discusses why that simple theorem is so important in software projects, and how it can help you understand why over-commitment is so common, and bad for software development.
Neil has been a software professional for over 18 years, mostly as a developer, before moving to management. He spent the last 5 years being a passionate Agile, Lean and Scrum coach, trainer and practitioner. Neil cares deeply about creating enjoyable, authentic workplaces in which human potential can thrive.
You can connect with Neil Killick on twitter. Neil Killick’s blog.
We don’t ask questions often enough, and in this episode Neil explains why that is so important. Neil tells us a story of a project that started well, continued well, everything seemed to work well, until…
He discusses how one small detail derailed the whole project, and how to avoid that in the future.
Neil has been a software professional for over 18 years, mostly as a developer, before moving to management. He spent the last 5 years being a passionate Agile, Lean and Scrum coach, trainer and practitioner. Neil cares deeply about creating enjoyable, authentic workplaces in which human potential can thrive.
You can connect with Neil Killick on twitter. Neil Killick’s blog.
Henrik Mårtensson introduces the Logical Thinking Process and Process Control Charts as tools that help you analyse the impact of the system in the performance of the teams. He also discusses how to define clearly what problem you are solving before getting started.
About Henrik Mårtensson
If there is one word summing up Henrik Mårtensson, it is "curious". Henrik is a systems thinker, strategy methodologist, process improvement consultant, project manager, author, and trick photographer. In 2014 he built a network organisation for photography and media production from scratch, to more than 200 people. He is kind to strangers, but has made friends dive off cliffs.
You can follow Henrik Mårtensson on Twitter and read Henrik Måretensson’s blog where he shares his ideas and breakthroughs in the field of Agile, Theory of Constraints and management in general.
Henrik shares his approach in setting goals for a project, and how those goals affect performance over time. He talks about how the goals change over time, and how important it is to have them in a written form.
About Henrik Mårtensson
If there is one word summing up Henrik Mårtensson, it is "curious". Henrik is a systems thinker, strategy methodologist, process improvement consultant, project manager, author, and trick photographer. In 2014 he built a network organisation for photography and media production from scratch, to more than 200 people. He is kind to strangers, but has made friends dive off cliffs.
You can follow Henrik Mårtensson on Twitter and read Henrik Måretensson’s blog where he shares his ideas and breakthroughs in the field of Agile, Theory of Constraints and management in general.
The most important recruitment question for Scrum Masters, how the brain influences team performance, how the “cheapest” is not always the best solution, and finally a question of character. These are just some of the topics that will help you improve the way you interview Scrum Masters, and other team members.
About Henrik Mårtensson
If there is one word summing up Henrik Mårtensson, it is "curious". Henrik is a systems thinker, strategy methodologist, process improvement consultant, project manager, author, and trick photographer. In 2014 he built a network organisation for photography and media production from scratch, to more than 200 people. He is kind to strangers, but has made friends dive off cliffs.
You can follow Henrik Mårtensson on Twitter and read Henrik Måretensson’s blog where he shares his ideas and breakthroughs in the field of Agile, Theory of Constraints and management in general.
Can you build trust with your team to the point they jump off a cliff with you? Henrik did! Henrik discusses how to create an environment where the team feels safe enough to do extremely dangerous things, but be completely secure that they are safe.
About Henrik Mårtensson
If there is one word summing up Henrik Mårtensson, it is "curious". Henrik is a systems thinker, strategy methodologist, process improvement consultant, project manager, author, and trick photographer. In 2014 he built a network organisation for photography and media production from scratch, to more than 200 people. He is kind to strangers, but has made friends dive off cliffs.
You can follow Henrik Mårtensson on Twitter and read Henrik Måretensson’s blog where he shares his ideas and breakthroughs in the field of Agile, Theory of Constraints and management in general.
Sometimes we will face even sociopaths at work. People who are willing to sacrifice everything and everybody in support of their own individual goals. How do we tackle those cases? And how do we recognize those cases? Henrik describes a story of how a sociopath destroyed a project - and lived to pretend it didn’t happen.
About Henrik Mårtensson
If there is one word summing up Henrik Mårtensson, it is "curious". Henrik is a systems thinker, strategy methodologist, process improvement consultant, project manager, author, and trick photographer. In 2014 he built a network organisation for photography and media production from scratch, to more than 200 people. He is kind to strangers, but has made friends dive off cliffs.
You can follow Henrik Mårtensson on Twitter and read Henrik Måretensson’s blog where he shares his ideas and breakthroughs in the field of Agile, Theory of Constraints and management in general.
If you are to help change it, you must reveal the system to the system itself. Dominic explains his approach to uncover the system conditions that block the team’s progress, as well as what he’s learned about how to create the right conditions for the teams to grow within their environment.
About Dominic Krimmer
Dominic has worked as a Software Developer since 2001, being a Scrum Master since 2009. He has collected many cool experiences in agile methods in different companies like CHIP, Sixt, mydriver.com and HolidayCheck. And has a small Kanban implementation at a manufacturing site in Latin America is also under his belt! :)
You can connect with Dominic Krimmer on twitter and visit Dominic Krimmer’s blog.
The success of a scrum master is measured in business impact, and you should create your own definition of what that impact should be. Dominic explains his ideas of how to create your own definition of success and why, as a scrum master, you should focus on the business, not just the team.
About Dominic Krimmer
Dominic has worked as a Software Developer since 2001, being a Scrum Master since 2009. He has collected many cool experiences in agile methods in different companies like CHIP, Sixt, mydriver.com and HolidayCheck. And has a small Kanban implementation at a manufacturing site in Latin America is also under his belt! :)
You can connect with Dominic Krimmer on twitter and visit Dominic Krimmer’s blog.
Confusing the Project Manager with the Scrum Master role can be very dangerous. Project Managers have had a certain historical focus, Dominic discusses the project management focus and how it differs from the Scrum Master focus. “Not everything that counts can be measured, and not everything that can be measured counts.”
Coffee breaks can help teams grow, and Scrum Masters can take advantage of that. They can be effective tools to fight contagious negative behaviors and foster a better atmosphere in the team.
About Dominic Krimmer
Dominic has worked as a Software Developer since 2001, being a Scrum Master since 2009. He has collected many cool experiences in agile methods in different companies like CHIP, Sixt, mydriver.com and HolidayCheck. And has a small Kanban implementation at a manufacturing site in Latin America is also under his belt! :)
You can connect with Dominic Krimmer on twitter and visit Dominic Krimmer’s blog.
How many and what kind of bad apples can you have in a team? Dominic describes his experience with team members that can quickly undo any Scrum Master’s work. We also talk about why some team setups just don’t work and what Scrum Masters should do about it.
About Dominic Krimmer
Dominic has worked as a Software Developer since 2001, being a Scrum Master since 2009. He has collected many cool experiences in agile methods in different companies like CHIP, Sixt, mydriver.com and HolidayCheck. And has a small Kanban implementation at a manufacturing site in Latin America is also under his belt! :)
You can connect with Dominic Krimmer on twitter and visit Dominic Krimmer’s blog.
Leading with transparency is a key skill for Scrum Masters, because you can’t help an organization improve unless the organization recognizes where and why they should improve. Nicolas shares with us how he helps organizations see beyond the surface and learn to see the problems they face.
About Nicolas Umiatowski
Nicholas is 40 year old. He is a a French agile coach, specialized in Scrum and Kanban with a strong experiences in Digital and web projects.
He likes Design thinking, storyboarding (especially paper prototypes), getting real feedback from real users, and helping the team to reach symbiosis, and to find meaning in what they do. He is absolutely passionate about agility, but aware that depending on the context (as a consultant), agility can be different from one company to another.
You can find Nicolas Umiatowski on twitter, and follow his blog in french: Nicolas Umiatowski in French.
Being a change agent is about helping people and teams go through behavior changes. Scrum Masters need to have a very clear idea of what behavior changes they hope to see in the teams and organizations they work with, to be able to measure their success. Nicolas shares his ideas on what are some of the behavior changes that we should be looking out for as Scrum Masters.
About Nicolas Umiatowski
Nicholas is 40 year old. He is a a French agile coach, specialized in Scrum and Kanban with a strong experiences in Digital and web projects.
He likes Design thinking, storyboarding (especially paper prototypes), getting real feedback from real users, and helping the team to reach symbiosis, and to find meaning in what they do. He is absolutely passionate about agility, but aware that depending on the context (as a consultant), agility can be different from one company to another.
You can find Nicolas Umiatowski on twitter, and follow his blog in french: Nicolas Umiatowski in French.
Recruiting interviews are the bread and butter of the recruiting process for many organizations. However, if you have a candidate that aces the recruiting interview, does that that mean that he or she would be a good hire? Knowing how to answer interview questions is not the same as knowing how to solve real-life problems. Nicolas shares his ideas on how to change the interview process to focus on what matters.
About Nicolas Umiatowski
Nicholas is 40 year old. He is a a French agile coach, specialized in Scrum and Kanban with a strong experiences in Digital and web projects.
He likes Design thinking, storyboarding (especially paper prototypes), getting real feedback from real users, and helping the team to reach symbiosis, and to find meaning in what they do. He is absolutely passionate about agility, but aware that depending on the context (as a consultant), agility can be different from one company to another.
You can find Nicolas Umiatowski on twitter, and follow his blog in french: Nicolas Umiatowski in French.
The fear of losing your job can drive a blame culture and a lot of other dysfunctional behaviors in teams. When that fear sets in, defensiveness, silos, lack of cooperation are just some of the symptoms you should expect to see.
Nicolas also mentions how important it is for teams to learn how to deal with failure without falling prey to the blame culture.
About Nicolas Umiatowski
Nicholas is 40 year old. He is a a French agile coach, specialized in Scrum and Kanban with a strong experiences in Digital and web projects.
He likes Design thinking, storyboarding (especially paper prototypes), getting real feedback from real users, and helping the team to reach symbiosis, and to find meaning in what they do. He is absolutely passionate about agility, but aware that depending on the context (as a consultant), agility can be different from one company to another.
You can find Nicolas Umiatowski on twitter, and follow his blog in french: Nicolas Umiatowski in French.