large scale agile Archives - Page 2 of 7 - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Paddy Corry: Helping Scrum teams that are under schedule pressure

When teams feel they are under pressure, they tend to focus on “just doing it”. When that happens, they might want to skip refinement, and other ceremonies (e.g. retrospectives), which then leads to problems. In this episode, we talk about those pressures, where they come from, and what Scrum Masters can do to help those teams.

Featured Book of the Week: Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Paddy found the idea of psychological flow: when time melts away, and you can get a lot done. This helped him understand why it is important to block out time for deep work, and changed his approach to the role of the Scrum Master.

In this segment, we also refer to a blog post by Paul Graham on the concept of “maker’s schedule”.

About Paddy Corry

Paddy was a developer for many years, after which he started his Scrum Master journey with special interest for coaching and developing the agile mindset.

You can link with Paddy Corry on LinkedIn and connect with Paddy Corry on Twitter.

Sjoerd Nijland: The success mindset for Scrum Masters

We start the success discussion with a poem by Kipling: “If”. We then discuss what is the real motivation Scrum Masters have to look at their success in the role. Sjoerd explains what is critical for him in that role, and the mindset that helps him when working with teams.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The SWOT Canvas

The SWOT canvas is a technique that helps teams reflect on what are the aspects they can build on (strengths), what they need to either avoid or fix (weaknesses), what are the aspects they can take advantage of (opportunities) and finally what are the dark clouds that threaten their ability to execute (threats). In this segment, we also discuss how that same canvas can be used in the context of product, organization, individual or even product increment to help the team reflect and evolve.

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About Sjoerd Nijland

Sjoerd is a founder of Serious Scrum, and creator of the Road to Mastery co-creative online training. Previously E-commerce manager at Bugaboo, and then Manager of Operations at Digital Agency Triggerfish.

You can link with Sjoerd Nijland on LinkedIn and connect with Sjoerd Nijland on Twitter.

Sjoerd Nijland: Removing the “bus factor” with a Scrum team

In this organization, each developer was assigned an application or component. The catch? Each of those applications was critical for the company’s business. Soon enough, this became a problem. Sjoerd shares with us how he tried to help this company eliminate their “bus factor”, and the important lessons he learned about how not to do it.

Featured Book of the Week: The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

In The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle, Sjoerd learned how important non-work related aspects are for forming a great team. The book shares what are the aspects that are associated with great teams, and highlights how culture and team-culture are critical for the success of a team.

About Sjoerd Nijland

You can link with Sjoerd Nijland on LinkedIn and connect with Sjoerd Nijland on Twitter.

Oskar Collin: The Scrum team that didn’t want to be a team

A team Oskar worked with, was complaining about the meetings and wanted to stop some of those. Over time, the team members started not showing up, or showing up and not participating actively in the meeting. As the team was delivering, no one else saw this was a problem, but Oskar knew that this was not a team, it was just a group of individuals. In this episode, we talk about how to motivate a team and the importance of having a Vision that brings the team members together.

In this segment, we refer to the FREE Create A Compelling Product Vision e-course.

Featured Book of the Week: Accelerate by Nicole Forsgren

In Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations by Nicole Forsgren, Oskar found a book that helped him explain the Agile mindset to technical people. He also understood the role of DevOps in an Agile organization. The biggest takeaway? Listen in to learn what was Oskar’s biggest takeaway.

In this segment, we also talk about the #NoEstimates book, and how that influenced Oskar’s career.

About Oskar Collin

Oskar is a former software developer who became a passionate agile coach and Scrum master. He did so mainly because he was better at helping teams working together than building software. He loves experiments and questioning the status quo. He is passionate about helping teams build digital products and deliver value continuously.

You can link with Oskar Collin on LinkedIn and connect with Oskar Collin on Twitter.

Stefania Marinelli: Helping the introvert Scrum team members express their contributions

One of the worst anti-patterns to deal with as a Scrum Master is the disengaged team. And there are many possible reasons for that anti-pattern. One example is when a team is not allowed space for learning, and necessarily failing some times. Or if the team members are mostly introverts, and there’s no space for them to express their contribution.

Scrum Masters must learn to create space for those team members to express themselves and help the team.

In this episode, we talk about the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. This booked helped Stefania learn how to deal with, and help the quietest team members.

Featured Book of the Week: Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn

Each Scrum Master journey is a path, and each step has a different focus and a different book that makes an impact. Stefania shares how Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn was one of those books, and how later she discovered and learned from the NoEstimates book when she was in a different phase of her journey.

About Stefania Marinelli

Stefania is an Agile Manager @Hotels.com (Expedia group) former Scrum Master, former team leader/project manager, former developer. Stefania is fascinated by people dynamics and works every day to create a collaborative and safe environment. NVC practitioner.

You can link with Stefania Marinelli on LinkedIn and connect with Stefania Marinelli on Twitter.