estimates Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Chrissy Fleming: The Hidden Cost of Combined Scrum Master and Product Owner Roles

In this episode, Chrissy shares a critical learning moment from her career when she attempted to juggle both Product Owner and Scrum Master roles simultaneously. This dual role led to a situation where the team began “sandbagging” their estimates due to underlying conflicts with leadership. The situation culminated when a team member completed a supposedly two-month project in just two days, destroying team credibility and ultimately leading to the team’s dismissal.

Self-reflection Question: How do you ensure you maintain your authentic voice as a Scrum Master while balancing multiple stakeholder needs?

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🔥 In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn’t just about innovation—it’s about coaching! 🔥

Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she’s caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t just about the product—it’s about the people.

🚨 Will Angela’s coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue.

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About Chrissy Fleming

Chrissy came to Scrum-Mastering via Product Management and a deep love of seeing teams work together. She spent 15 years in the New York tech scene and is currently an Associate Principal in Business Agility with Turnberry Solutions. She also has her own company where she coaches and helps businesses and technologists with their development.

You can link with Chrissy Fleming on LinkedIn.

Avipaul Bhandari: Why Agile Processes Matter, And How to Help Avoid Deathmarch Projects

Avipaul shares the story of a team working on an iPad app under tight deadlines. They skipped Scrum events, leading to chaos and missed deadlines. In this episode, we explore some of the most common anti-patterns that come from skipping or avoiding Agile processes and the importance of structure for teams, especially when under tight deadlines.

Featured Book of the Week: The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier

In this segment, Avipaul shares how “The Coaching Habit” by Michael Bungay Stanier, transformed his approach as a Scrum Master. The book’s seven powerful coaching questions, especially “And what else?”, helped him enhance his coaching skills and deepen his 1:1 interactions.

Transform Your Agile Teams with Hard-Earned Lessons from Super-Experienced Scrum Masters

Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches – Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!

About Avipaul Bhandari

Avipaul is a seasoned Agile Coach with extensive experience helping teams and organizations implement Agile practices effectively. His expertise spans various domains, and he is passionate about fostering collaboration and continuous improvement.

You can link with Avipaul Bhandari on LinkedIn and connect with Avipaul Bhandari on Twitter.

BONUS: The Agile Wire hosts interview Vasco Duarte on #NoEstimates – Jeff Maleski & Jeff Bubolz

This is a BONUS episode on the topic of #NoEstimates. The Agile Wire podcast hosts Jeff Bubolz and Jeff Maleski interview Vasco Duarte.

Some of you might have heard about #NoEstimates, and want to know more, and for others, it might be the first time you hear about it. Either way, in this episode we talk about the origins of #NoEstimates and why you may want to consider it when helping your teams.

This is a shared episode with a fellow Agile podcast The Agile Wire, where hosts Jeff Maleski and Jeff Bubolz interview Agile practitioners. Both Jeff Maleski and Jeff Bubolz have been guests here on the Scrum Master Toolbox podcast.

About Jeff Bubolz and Jeff Maleski

Jeff Bubolz is a speaker, trainer, and agile coach. He has been a Product Owner, Scrum Master and Development Team member. Jeff has worked with enterprise companies to small start-ups. His goal is to end human suffering in organizations, by nudging people to be the change they want to see in the world.

You can link with Jeff Bubolz on LinkedIn and connect with Jeff Bubolz on Twitter.

Jeff Maleski is passionate about working with and building up both individuals and teams using ideas from Jurgen Appelo’s Management 3.0 and Dan Pink’s Drive. When leading project teams, Jeff strives for empirical based planning and forecasting, continuous learning, and delivering high quality software products that exceed expectations. Jeff believes in leading by actions and focusing on building relationships with others.

You can link with Jeff Maleski on LinkedIn.

Neil Killick on information radiators, Little’s Law and Queuing Theory

Little’s Law is a relatively recent discovery in Queuing Theory. It was only proven in 1961, and still unknown to many in the software industry today.
Neil discusses why that simple theorem is so important in software projects, and how it can help you understand why over-commitment is so common, and bad for software development.

About Neil Killick

Neil has been a software professional for over 18 years, mostly as a developer, before moving to management. He spent the last 5 years being a passionate Agile, Lean and Scrum coach, trainer and practitioner. Neil cares deeply about creating enjoyable, authentic workplaces in which human potential can thrive.
You can connect with Neil Killick on twitter. Neil Killick’s blog.