Scrum Values: the value of commitment

Scrum Values: the value of commitment

“People personally commit to achieving the goals of the Scrum Team.” – The Scrum Guide Commitment as a value sounds rather bit abstract and is often misunderstood. Get out of bed, brush your teeth, come into work with a positive mindset, follow instructions, make it to the deadline – right? In the context of the … Read more

The power of No

The Power of No

Let me tell you a little story about assertiveness as a (digital) project manager. Don’t underestimate the power of No. Although this topic is not really related to Scrum, I would like to share a life lesson that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. In my career as a digital project manager, I have … Read more

Don’t go chasing waterfall(s): stay away from the fixed scope

Why I never want to go back to Waterfall again

One of my favorite activities is teaching (potential) Product Owners about their roles and responsibilities in the Scrum Team. One of the most important things I try to help them understand, is “time is rigid, scope is flexible”. And it’s true, in the (Scrum) projects I have been working on at a digital agency for … Read more

“Scrum Insights for Practitioners: The Scrum Guide Companion” by Hiren Doshi: a review

"Scrum Insights for Practitioners: The Scrum Guide Companion" by Hiren Doshi: a review

This article is a review of “Scrum Insights for Practitioners: The Scrum Guide Companion” by Hiren Doshi. To me, the Scrum Guide (by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland) is the gift that keeps on giving. Every once in a while I read the guide all over again and I always get different take-away’s every time … Read more

Eight misunderstood stances of a Scrum Master: my take on the ‘Scrum Master Vices’

In a previous article I talked about the eight stances of a Scrum Master, as described in the 2016 whitepaper by Barry Overeem. These stances are the roles that a Scrum Master should fulfill. In his whitepaper Overeem also described eight misunderstood stances of a Scrum Master. As a Scrum Master, it is important to … Read more

Eight stances of a Scrum Master: my take on the ‘Scrum Master Virtues’

One of my most fondest memories of my PSM II training was a sheet depicting the various stances (and misunderstandings of the role) of the Scrum Master. This was based on the famous 2016 whitepaper of Barry Overeem, in which he wrote about his personal experiences as a Scrum Master. Last year, when I presented … Read more

Why you should reduce ‘work in progress’

Little's Law: an eye-opener

Story of my life: I read a book, come across an interesting concept, Google it – and fall into a rabbit-hole of information I have never heard of before. It’s 11 PM and here I am writing about mathematical concepts and psychological principles. The conclusion is – spoiler alert – to reduce the amount of … Read more

Empiricism for Dummies

Empiricism for Dummies

Philosophy is sadly not my forté. A quick glance at the Wikipedia page on empiricism makes me instantly confuzzled. And yet it is quite important (at least for me as a Scrum Master) to have knowledge of this philosophical movement. The Scrum pillars of empiricism (transparency, inspection and adaptation) form the basis of the Scrum … Read more

Personal Development Goals in Scrum: “We are made, not born”

Personal Development Goals in Scrum

Is there a place for Personal Development Goals in Scrum? Let me give you some insight in my train of thought, and an experiment I did a while back. In my career as a Scrum Master I have helped facilitate and guide a few Sprints. Creating a valuable Increment (and achieving the Sprint Goal) is … Read more

What Makes a Good Sprint Retrospective?

Sprint Retrospective

Earlier today a colleague asked me how I facilitate a Sprint Retrospective. It was her first sprint in the role of Scrum Master and in that sense also her first Retro. Back to the theory for a moment. The Scrum Guide describes the Sprint Retrospective as follows: “The Scrum Team inspects how the last Sprint … Read more