Illustrated Agile
Key Takeaways Your decision to become a Scrum Master triggers the start of a journey to become the catalyst your organization needs. Becoming a first-time Scrum Master requires more than just attending training or receiving a certification. Agile education comes in many shapes and sizes so your training selections should align with your own learning […]
As Agile continues to expand its reach, more and more people are deciding to become a Scrum Master or they are being asked (told) to shift into to the role of a Scrum Master. If you are finding yourself in this situation, should you make the move? Perhaps you’ve been a project manager for much […]
It is hard to believe 2015 is almost over and it’s even harder for me to believe that this blog has been around long enough to have a Scrum Master resolution post for the 5th year in a row. In case you’ve missed any of them here are the four earlier New Year resolution posts. […]
I have been asked over the past couple of months by a variety of folks to share a template to use when creating a job posting for hiring a Team Agile Coach (or Scrum Master). I’ve had a few versions over the years but here is the latest compilation of my thoughts. Share any suggestions […]
As a part of the Scrum Master Performance Review series of posts, an emphasis was placed on obtaining feedback for the Scrum Masters reporting to you. Step 5 focused on receiving feedback from the product owner while step 6 focused on gathering feedback from members of the team. In the past, I have used a […]
The impediment. As a Scrum Master, you know you are supposed to remove it but how do we even know your team has one? The standard practice is for the Scrum Master to spring into action after a team member has raised an impediment at a daily stand up. A list of impediments is usually […]
If you were to ask a Scrum Master what they do a common response is “we protect the team.” From the context of protecting the team from themselves or an aggressive product owner as Mike Cohn describes, I would agree. Protecting the team from complacency or overwork is a worthy endeavor. For many Scrum Masters, protecting […]
An agile team was recently asked by a manager to prepare and distribute a weekly status report. What is your reaction when you read this? For some, this may seem quite normal. For others, you may need more context behind the request before reacting. If your reaction is anything like mine, you’re probably thinking something […]
The following question was posted to the Ask Anything page. Feel free to ask your own questions here or contribute your thoughts to this question in the comments section below. From: A New Scrum Master Location: England Subject: Important but uncooperative team member Hello. My company is new to scrum and agile, and I am […]
Having worked with many Scrum Masters, I am beginning to recognize patterns and behaviors of some of the best. It appears to me that the Scrum Masters having the most impact with their teams and throughout the organization establish strong rituals for themselves. These rituals provide the momentum to overcome the challenges and busyness of […]
At the beginning of each of the past three years, I have compiled a small list of resolutions for Scrum Masters to consider for their own personal development journey for the upcoming year. It’s hard to believe 3 years have gone by already – time is flying. You can read the resolutions from the past […]
My desk where I’m currently coaching is surrounded by three Agile teams. Periodically, I’ll just watch and listen to each of them and before long, the heartbeat of each team begins to reveal itself. Under “normal” conditions the teams will have a nice steady pulse. They have planned their work effectively, they are having fun, […]