One of the most fascinating management challenges is determining the best structure for Scrum teams based on the stage of the project. This does not mean the major waterfall phases like Analysis, Design, Construction, etc. When developing software for use by customers (especially niche SAAS products) and there is some level of customization or specific … Continue reading Evolving Team Structures Through the Product Development Lifecycle
Agile
Introducing Scrum to a Team
For a Scrum Master introducing agile to a team, there is a balance between implementing concepts and practices at a pace that does not overwhelm the team and demonstrating the benefits as early as possible to build momentum and support within the organization. Each situation is different, but let’s assume that an organization wants to use Scrum and there … Continue reading Introducing Scrum to a Team
Outstanding Standups
The daily standup meeting is one of the key agile practices. For teams that are beginning their agile transformation, this is an easy ritual to adopt. For mature agile teams, it is an indispensable part of the day. The daily standup usually goes something like this: The team gathers in the team room. Each team … Continue reading Outstanding Standups
Are You Being Agile or Doing Agile?
The starting point for adopting agile is for a team to learn the mechanics of an approach such as Scrum. They write user stories instead of use cases, do daily standups dutifully, and replace their lessons learned meetings with sprint retrospectives. Eventually the rest of the business comes on board, and the Product Owner takes … Continue reading Are You Being Agile or Doing Agile?
Agile Reflections 