In traditional software development environments, testing may have been something that was outsourced. One group of people wrote the code and handed it off to a different team for testing. More recently, as the Principles of Agile were created and the Scrum framework in particular was popularised, cross functional teams… Read More »Testing is an activity, not a role
The Agile and Lean communities love an acronym, but will settle for an initialism if they have to. For clarification, an acronym is when a word is formed from the initial letters of words in a phrase, and is then pronounced as a separate word (for example, BAFTA or WYSIWYG).… Read More »Acronym Quiz
UPDATE: please note that the Scrum Mentorship Programme is no longer running. For information on our latest mentorship scheme, please go to agilementorcircle.org “How do I start using Scrum?” is a question I get asked a lot. “Where can I go to get some hands-on training?” is another. The need is… Read More »Scrum Mentorship Programme
How different is an agile coach from a ScrumMaster? Are they interchangeable? Is a ScrumMaster always a coach, and a coach always a ScrumMaster (assuming you’re using Scrum)? These were just a few of the questions that were raised at this week’s LADG when we met to discuss “how to… Read More »What is an agile coach?
On 20 July 2013, I delivered my first workshop for General Assembly. The “global education network that transforms thinkers into creators through education and opportunities in technology, business, and design” launched its new campus in London in June 2012 (only their second after NY) and already has a wealth of… Read More »Agile at General Assembly
I’m convinced that Kanban works very well for service desks and other response-based teams. For these teams, planning two weeks’ work up front just doesn’t make sense. Similarly, I can see why people might think that Scrum works best for projects: iterations give great visibility and regular milestones at which… Read More »Scrum or Kanban?
What makes a good user story? Is it as simple as just following the format advocated by many Scrum practitioners: As a <who>, I want <what> so that <why> For example: as a user I want to be able to add a product to a wishlist so that I can… Read More »What makes a good user story?
“I’ve found iteration burndown charts to be extremely useful with iteration lengths of two weeks or more.” ~ Mike Cohn in Agile Estimating and Planning “I’ve found burndown charts frustrating, irritating and misleading.” ~ Me on a regular basis when they are discussed Mike Cohn goes on to say “An… Read More »Burning the burndown chart
In a recent LADG meeting, I realised why middle-management are sometimes reluctant to embrace agile: it’s because they have to accept an element of responsibility for the team’s output. With waterfall, the manager declares what he or she wants, then sits back and let’s the team commit to deliver the project by… Read More »Why old-school middle management prefers waterfall
“I don’t like the word commitment”, started Bob in a retrospective, “I don’t feel it’s fair that I’m promising the business the delivery of something that I have no control over [because there was work in the sprint that Bob would not be working on]. I’d prefer to use a… Read More »Commitment issues
Contact us today to start building your tailor-made plan so that you can successfully implement better agile ways of working.
© 2013-2024 Scrum and Kanban Limited. All Rights Reserved
Website Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Anti-Bribery Policy | Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement | Environmental Policy