Exploring the Human edge in Agile
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
After reading about an intriguing concept related to work in progress limits, I fell into a rabbit hole of research that kept pulling me deeper: mathematical principles and psychological findings that all point to the same uncomfortable conclusion. Doing more things at once means finishing fewer things, more slowly. (This wasn’t what I wanted to … Read more
Two titles proudly appear at the top of my LinkedIn profile: Project Manager and Scrum Master. It turns out that I am not the only one who fulfills these dual roles and I have noticed a lot of ambiguity about the difference (and the overlap) between the roles. I would like to take you through … Read more
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
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
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. The Scrum Guide describes the event succinctly: the Scrum Team inspects how the last Sprint went with regards to individuals, interactions, processes, tools, and … Read more
This is it. I spent the last few weeks studying for the PSM III exam. Six books about the exam material are on my bedside table, which I am reading diligently. I even printed out the most recent version of the Scrum Guide, coloring in several words and sentences with different markers. I was filled … Read more