Part of an ongoing series called Scrum Master Tales. The series covers ScrumMaster John and his team as they develop an online bookstore. Last time we read about our team they were suffering from a very high rate of interruptions after the product had gone live: The Story of Production Support. After another couple of [...]

Part of an ongoing series called Scrum Master Tales. The series covers ScrumMaster John and his team as they develop an online bookstore. Last time we read about our team they were suffering from a very high rate of interruptions after the product had gone live: The Story of Production Support. After another couple of [...]

At Agile2011 Kevlin Henney proactively suggested that we don’t learn from mistakes (see: Why we don’t learn from our mistakes), suggesting that we learn more from our successes. This seems to against the core agile principle that we learn from our mistakes (i.e. my motto “Fail Fast” etc). It also seemed to contradict the message [...]

At Agile2011 Kevlin Henney proactively suggested that we don’t learn from mistakes (see: Why we don’t learn from our mistakes), suggesting that we learn more from our successes. This seems to against the core agile principle that we learn from our mistakes (i.e. my motto “Fail Fast” etc). It also seemed to contradict the message [...]

When we left John and the team they were just getting the shipping features ready and were waiting to go live with the site. This turns out to be a blessing and a curse. Its a blessing because the business is making money, a curse because with it come support issues. John spends some of [...]

When we left John and the team they were just getting the shipping features ready and were waiting to go live with the site. This turns out to be a blessing and a curse. Its a blessing because the business is making money, a curse because with it come support issues. John spends some of [...]

Caveat – given the way I’m writing this series occasionally things will happen out of order, i.e. I will be reminded of points I wish I had made earlier. John, Sue and the rest of the team have started another sprint this time they committed to fewer stories and part way through the sprint are [...]

Caveat – given the way I’m writing this series occasionally things will happen out of order, i.e. I will be reminded of points I wish I had made earlier. John, Sue and the rest of the team have started another sprint this time they committed to fewer stories and part way through the sprint are [...]

Last time we met John (ScrumMaster) and the team, they had just discovered that their backlog had many large stories and no-estimates. The team delayed the start of their first sprint, did some Product Backlog Grooming. When we meet them again their first sprint in is in progress. Story Coming out of the planning meeting [...]

Last time we met John (ScrumMaster) and the team, they had just discovered that their backlog had many large stories and no-estimates. The team delayed the start of their first sprint, did some Product Backlog Grooming. When we meet them again their first sprint in is in progress. Story Coming out of the planning meeting [...]

You’ve just finished your Scrum Master training and to start exploring some issues we didn’t have time to cover? I spent the afternoon putting together a list of 29 books that I think you will find interesting. As part of the process I decided to experiment with doing the list as a mind map. Let [...]

You’ve just finished your Scrum Master training and to start exploring some issues we didn’t have time to cover? I spent the afternoon putting together a list of 29 books that I think you will find interesting. As part of the process I decided to experiment with doing the list as a mind map. Let [...]

New to Agile Coaching? Trying to get your head wrapped around how to help people without any official authority? Have a tough coaching problem you’re not sure how to handle? Not a coach – but you need some Agile Advice – come ask a question. We may not be able to solve all your problems [...]

New to Agile Coaching? Trying to get your head wrapped around how to help people without any official authority? Have a tough coaching problem you’re not sure how to handle? Not a coach – but you need some Agile Advice – come ask a question. We may not be able to solve all your problems [...]

I’ve been struck how little is written about being a great Scrum Master. There is heaps written about Scaling Agile and a lot of great Technical books, but very little on playing individual roles well. The ScrumMaster Tales are intend to fill this gap. Cast of Characters ScrumMaster John – he’s been in the software [...]