The #DarkScrum Formula
Ron Jeffries coined the term #DarkScrum. #DarkScrum occurs when we focus on enforcing Scrum mechanics rather than reinforcing Agile Values and Principles. This results in…
Tag: agile
The Context for Agility
Some people learn best by reading. Others prefer video. So, I’ve created a video of my blog post: The Future of Agile, Changing the World of…
The future of agile: changing the world of work
I gave a presentation at the Scrum Gathering in Phoenix AZ about the historic context of Agile and Scrum, and where we are headed next.…
Cynefin and Story Splitting
As I was preparing for my Agile Denver session on Unscaling, which leaned heavily on the Cynefin Framework, I reread Liz Keogh’s excellent post, “Cynefin…
Scrum Basics: When Should We Schedule Sprint Transitions?
We’re often asked which day or days are best for scheduling the Sprint Planning, Review, and Retrospective meetings.
Change Happens—So Make it Cheaper
Change on software projects is expensive; it leads to wasteful rework. Change is risk. We can deal with risk one of two ways. We can…
Splitting Stories in French (or, Comment découper un récit utilisateur)
Thanks to Jean-Jacques Lévesque, my “How to Split a User Story” poster is now available in French.
Functional Managers in Agile
As an organization transforms to an agile way of working, functional managers (e.g. a dev manager or a test manager) can feel lost. Many of…
New Story Splitting Resource
More than two years after I originally published it, “Patterns for Splitting User Stories” remains one of the most visited posts on my blog. Splitting…
Coaching Surgeons, Cyclists, and Software Teams
Atul Gawande is a surgeon and author who has written some excellent books and New Yorker articles reflecting on the state of modern medicine. Recently,…
Building a Useful Task Board
The task board is a simple, yet powerful, tool for Scrum teams. As a coach, I can tell a lot about a team just by…
Why Longer Sprints Probably Won’t Help
As a coach, I’m frequently told, “Our sprint length is too short. We want to change it from X to Y weeks.” The time box—the…
Another Story Splitting Pattern (Maybe)
User stories are typically written using a template like, “As a <role>, I want to <action> so that <value>.” My other story splitting patterns focus…
Want Productivity? Focus on Predictability Instead
Focus your team on predictability, and productivity will come. Focus on productivity, and you’ll get neither productivity nor predictability.
Growing DONE—How to Make the Definition of Done Work for Your Team
Effective agile teams get things done. They build software day after day that’s not just “code complete” but really shippable. And when their product owner…
Patterns for Splitting User Stories
Update, October 2020: Richard’s latest story splitting resources are available at Humanizing Work. Good user stories follow Bill Wake’s INVEST model. They’re Independent, Negotiable, Valuable,…
Cuke4Nuke: Cucumber for .NET Teams
Update: If you’ve just landed here, you could get the impression from this post that Cuke4Nuke doesn’t exist yet. It does. Check out this screencast…
Resources from our Agile 2009 Presentation
For those who attended my Agile 2009 presentation with Bob Hartman, “The 7 Deadly Sins of Almost Being Agile,” here are the slides and handouts.…
How to Give a Great Sprint Demo
Exciting. Entertaining. Do these words describe your sprint demo meetings? Or are boring and unfocused more accurate? I can’t believe how many times I’ve come…
Agile is like… cooking???
On Monday, during my flight from Denver to Boston I sat next to a delightful couple who were both retired. When they asked the inevitable…
