Sprint Goals: Why the Plan Matters Less Than You Might Think
This information will help you take a BIG step toward having product dev, service, and support teams be self-managing. (Yes, really!)
Sprint Goals: The Key to a Well-Executed Sprint
Do Scrum Team Members have to be Full Time? #AskArtisan
Scrum Team members CAN be part-time, but this week’s #AskArtisan video shares insight on helping them maximize their time, and pitfalls to look out for.
How Many People Should be on One Scrum Team? #AskArtisan
I'm often asked about the ideal number of people on one Scrum Team, but maybe a better question is why and how any number becomes too many?
How We Kill Productivity Instead of Improving It
A Leader's Guide to Hiring Team Members
As a leader, hire for culture, capabilities, and diversity. Stop hiring for skills that can be easily taught and focus on the specific skills your team needs.
What's the RIGHT Way to Use Metrics With a Scrum Team?
In many organizations, nothing wastes more time than metrics with no purpose. Here's help on the RIGHT way to measure team performance.
Gearing a Team for Maximum Outcomes
Creating a maximum outcome team is every ScrumMaster’s goal, but you must first understand how great teams form and what YOU need to do to create a great team.
Simplify Your Work by Slicing
When slicing a backlog item, we're taking a complex problem and paring it down into smaller problems, which are easier to solve and build.
Should Scrum Teams be Dedicated to a Single Product?
Should Scrum teams be dedicated to a single product? The truth is, there's times when you want a dedicated team and times when you don't. Let me explain!
Get the Problem Right or You'll Get the Solution Wrong
Good software solves the customer's problems, but to provide the right solution, you must start with the right problem.
5 Ways to At Least DOUBLE Team Performance
Here's 5 steps you can take as a manager or ScrumMaster to help DOUBLE your Development Team's performance (#5 is a shocker; it's easy but SUPER non-intuitive!)
Speeding up Your Scrum Teams
Effective Scrum use is more than Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, and so on. To see a big difference in your team's Sprints, make these workflow changes.
Self-Managing Teams
When I teach or coach people about Scrum, we talk about self-organization, but the importance of self-organizational principles cannot be understated.
DONEness Definitions (DoD)
What's the one thing YOU could do as a Scrum Master to improve your team's reliability, quality, and productivity? Read on and find out!
Is Your Scrum Team Stuck? It Might Be a Product Ownership Problem
If your Scrum teams are “doing all the right things”—running Sprints, holding Reviews—but still not improving in quality, value, or productivity, the issue may not be process. It may be a lack of real Product Ownership. This article explores why communication is a Product Owner’s most valuable skill, how traditional mindsets limit Agile success, and what to do if formal training isn’t an option.
Why Shorter Sprints Give You a Competitive Edge
Shorter Sprints aren’t just a trend—they’re a strategic advantage. While Scrum allows Sprint lengths up to one calendar month, more and more teams are choosing to run 1- or 2-week Sprints. This post explores why shorter cycles reduce complexity, increase adaptability, and result in higher-performing teams—and how to experiment with Sprint length to find your team’s sweet spot.
Sprint in Trouble? Here’s What Great Scrum Teams Do Next
In Scrum, it’s not enough to deliver high-quality work. Teams must also take ownership of how the work is done and how they respond when things don’t go as planned. This post outlines five actions Scrum teams can take when they realize the Sprint Goal is at risk—and how to develop the habit of self-correction before it’s too late.
Keep Your Daily Scrum Short
Many Scrum events seem simple, but aren't. The Daily Scrum seems to be the event that causes the most problems for teams.
Keep Your Work In Process Low
The fastest team productivity killer is working on 3+ backlog items at once. You'll end up with a team that's great at starting work, but lousy at finishing it.