Agile

All blog posts from the last 8 years...

Aug 2, 2019
2 min

We are scrum masters. We are botanists.

I have a bush in my garden that I planted over 3 years ago. I bought it because I’ve seen them in other people’s gardens in glorious full...

Jun 28, 2019
2 min

Is Scrum Master a full time role?

Working with a variety of clients over the years I’ve consistently observed the mis-understanding of the Scrum master role. Broadly speak...

Nov 28, 2018
5 min

5 quick games to get your team laughing out loud.

Need to help a new group bond? Want an ice breaker activity for a meeting/workshop? Looking to inject some fun back into your team? These...

Nov 15, 2018
2 min

What’s on the menu today?

Over the last few years I’ve been on a huge learning journey, both in terms of gaining a bunch of practical experience and in consuming k...

Aug 9, 2018
2 min

So you think you’re an agile coach?…

After conducting lots of interviews for scrum masters recently it’s clear the trend of anyone with any hint of agile experience calling t...

Jul 28, 2018
2 min

The beauty of PI planning…

OK, first off – I admit the title of this post is click bait. SAFe bashing seems to be a favourite hobby for some at the moment, but this...

Jul 6, 2018
3 min

Team games

Was lucky enough to facilitate an awesome knowledge sharing session today with some peers where we discussed different games we’ve played...

May 16, 2018
3 min

The one model every scrum master needs to know and love…

Tuckman’s model wonderfully articulates the journey of a team before they become fully cohesive and awesome as a group. The beauty of it ...

Mar 20, 2018
2 min

SAFe is not the goal…

Nor is doing LeSS or being a good DAD. If you’ve got no idea what I’m on about, these are all cash cows frameworks for scaling agility in...

Nov 1, 2017
3 min

The top 2 most destructive Agile anti patterns. Ever.

An anti-pattern is a common response to a recurring problem that is usually ineffective and risks being highly counterproductive. There a...

Oct 18, 2017
4 min

Only another 15 or so years to go…

Unfortunately there are still lots of managers and directors running teams and departments in large organisations, who may have good inte...

Aug 10, 2017
4 min

Agile – to scale or not to scale…

Through working at different organisations, attending a bunch of conferences, meet ups and training courses, I’ve gained first hand exper...

Apr 16, 2017
4 min

11 killer tips for getting the most out of a distributed team

Having a team co-located is the dream. It’s proven to make any team higher performing, more successful, more efficient and with stronger ...

Feb 8, 2017
1 min

Being a scrum master is a doddle (as long as you master this one thing)…

So what exactly does a scrum master do? I hear this question a lot. And the answer is easy: As little as possible. However, being a scrum...

Dec 12, 2016
4 min

It’s time to slay the agile dragon (and some of the Knights too)…

Dragons – Mythical monsters generally represented as a huge, winged reptiles with enormous claws and teeth. In European tradition dragons...

Dec 7, 2016
2 min

What can dev teams learn from manufacturing? It’s as clear as mud(a)…

References in books and training courses about agile, scrum, lean or kanban almostalways include a reference to the manufacturing industr...

Oct 29, 2016
2 min

The spirit of agile

Went on scrum master training recently. Passed. Whoop. If I’m being totally honest going in was a tick box exercise. Get the certificate....

Oct 6, 2016
4 min

10 killer visuals that every Scrum Master needs

Like it or not, scrum masters are constantly challenged on the value of agile. You need to be able to educate teams and stakeholders on t...

Sep 8, 2016
6 min

Agile jargon buster

Trying to work with business agility and adopting a more iterative approach to the way we work is becoming increasingly commonplace these...

Jul 7, 2016
3 min

You have to earn your right to be a twat

Ok – bear with me on this. Anyone can act like a twat, and because it’s easy lots of people act like twats. All. The. Time. But to actual...

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