The IIL Blog

APRIL 24, 2024

By Alan Zucker Agile is a mindset described by a set of values and principles. The base is Leadership, Systems Thinking, and Process Integrity. Lean is industry-agnostic and offers insight into agility. Leadership Leaders play a critical role and appear at every level in the organization. Toyota was a Lean pioneer.

Lean 164

Lean Agile Underperforming Technical Team Innovation 164

Scrum.org

JULY 18, 2021

Agile Leadership: How to Close the Knowing-Doing Gap. Smart leaders send their management teams on Agile training courses and leadership courses only to find that the learning doesn’t translate into action and therefore improvement. We enable senior leadership teams to figure out how to operate as one team.

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Closing Leadership Agile Controlling 214

Scrum.org

MARCH 20, 2024

The presence of a Scrum Master goes beyond facilitating Scrum Events and meetings and resolving impediments. The Scrum Master encourages the team to embrace change, not as a challenge but as an opportunity for growth and innovation. Transparency and Trust: The Scrum Master helps the team focus on their work.

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SCRUM 2024 Technical Review Agile 174

Scrum.org

JANUARY 13, 2024

Are Special Sprints in Agile Truly Beneficial? In my journey with Agile, I've often encountered teams embroiled in what I term 'special sprints' – Sprint zeros, refactoring sprints, and bugfix sprints. At first glance, these sprints appear as a savvy adaptation of Agile.

Agile 166

Agile 2024 Sustainability Risk Management 166

Scrum.org

MAY 8, 2023

TL; DR: Life Is a Negotiation; Why Would Scrum Be Different? Life is a negotiation; why would Scrum be different, particularly given its egalitarian nature? As you may recall, no one on a Scrum team can tell anyone else what to do, how to do it, or when to do it. Rant: Scrum Masters are no Project Managers ! ? ? ??

SCRUM 187

SCRUM Agile Technical Review Software Review 187

Scrum.org

JANUARY 8, 2024

TL; DR: Humble Planning w/ Maarten Dalmijn In this fascinating talk, Maarten introduced the concept of humble planning and why it’s crucial for succeeding with an Agile way of working and building products of exceptional value. It is a must-see for all agile practitioners! ? Hands-on Agile Meetup. ? If so, how did it go ??

Agile 173

Agile Planning 2024 Consulting 173

Scrum.org

JANUARY 15, 2024

TL; DR: Sunsetting Scrum Masters In this article, I uncover indicators that a Scrum Master’s or Agile Coach’s journey is coming to a close; they are sunsetting Scrum Masters. Preorder the Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide book now for delivery in January 2024! ? Shall I notify you about articles like this one?

SCRUM 171

SCRUM Influencer Sustainability Agile 171

Scrum.org

MARCH 7, 2023

Since I became a Professional Scrum Trainer in November, I have been asked a lot about the current state, and the future perspectives, for Scrum and agile development in Japan, where I’ve worked for the last six years. So much so that many consider the paper to be part of the roots of Scrum. Why is that?

Underperforming Technical Team 142

Underperforming Technical Team SCRUM Agile Software Engineering 142

Scrum.org

MARCH 16, 2024

These innovative agile practices are a departure from the Taylorist traditions of the defense industry, which is grappling with continuous inflation and delays, impacting national security and human lives. How can Scrum principles be applied in the defense industry? However, not all is lost.

Agile 163

Agile Technical Review Manufacturing Innovation 163

Scrum.org

AUGUST 1, 2022

My most successful projects have one thing in common; I used an agile approach to deliver them. Tips for agile delivery: If you plan to use a predictive (waterfall) project approach, the charter will contain detailed scope and high-level requirements. In my experience, agile project teams typically combine these two phases.

Agile 244

Agile Monitoring SCRUM Technical Review 244

Scrum.org

JUNE 7, 2021

TL; DR: Essential Agile Failure Patterns — When Noise Interferes with Signal. There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Given that Scrum is a framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. Join Stefan in one of his upcoming Professional Scrum training classes !

SCRUM 202

SCRUM Agile Technical Review Software Review 202

Scrum.org

JULY 17, 2023

Agile has become more than just a buzzword in our complex world. Agility is a mindset, a skillset, a culture, and a driving force behind successful, flexible, and responsive organisations. The Agile Leader's commitment goes beyond mere lip service to the Agile Manifesto. In the Agile world, this couldn't be truer.

Agile 142

Agile Underperforming Technical Team Innovation Leadership 142

Scrum.org

MARCH 5, 2024

Agility is supposed to be about enabling people to do their best and most creative work. And yet, we often see so-called agile practices and frameworks being used in ways that are more about trying to control outcomes and people. And then we say that we are agile and open to change, so it’s all good.

Agile 197

Agile Innovation Controlling Leadership 197

Scrum.org

APRIL 1, 2022

Although some issues might have been fixed, I rarely see the full potential of a Scrum Team being achieved. Agile implementations shift culture, yet many organizations limit themselves to the bare minimal execution of a framework and call that Agile. Agility is necessary for survival. Agility is necessary for survival.

Underperforming Technical Team 224

Underperforming Technical Team SCRUM Innovation Leadership 224

Scrum.org

JANUARY 4, 2022

Many well-meaning Scrum practitioners have misconceptions about Scrum, which sometimes leads to creating “rules” that do not exist in the framework. Scrum is deliberately incomplete because the framework is used in complex environments where simple best practices won’t fit all situations.

SCRUM 204

SCRUM 2020 Cadence Technical Review 204

NimbleWork

MARCH 7, 2024

As the Agile project management framework reaches adoption maturity at lean, progressive and disruptive startup firms, many teams at established organizations are struggling to fully embrace the Agile project management framework at scale. How to migrate from Traditional PM to Agile?

Agile 114

Agile Software Review Technical Review Leadership 114

Scrum.org

MARCH 13, 2023

TL; DR: The Stoic Scrum Master – Making Your Scrum Work (30) Can wisdom from the past still be relevant to today’s VUCA-determined world? I started reading Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations some time ago and found it intriguing; maybe it applies to “Agile?” In other words: is there something like a Stoic Scrum Master?

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ChatGPT SCRUM Artificial Inteligence Controlling 191

Scrum.org

OCTOBER 15, 2021

Scrum - The Leader’s Perspective. If you’re leading Scrum Teams or generally are a leader in an organization that’s leveraging Scrum? Are you feeling a bit left out after reading the Scrum Guide ? The Scrum Guide describes the leadership required by the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers.

SCRUM 247

SCRUM Leadership Risk Management Governance 247

ProjectManager.com

AUGUST 22, 2023

Risk Management A project risk is an unexpected event, which can be positive or negative. Risk management is a process to identify, manage and resolve these risks, whether it’s to take advantage of a positive one or mitigate a negative one. Leadership: Leading a project inherently means being a leader.

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Certification Leadership Risk Management Budget 353

Scrum.org

MAY 19, 2023

The Creating Agile Organizations approach is about designing your own organizational framework and coaching its adoption. It is important to note that it is different from frameworks like Scrum, LeSS or SAFe, which have specific structures, rules, events, and artefacts to build upon.

Agile 197

Agile Sustainability Risk Management Engineering 197

Scrum.org

MARCH 16, 2023

Some time ago, I had an interesting conversation with an Agile Coach from a large car manufacturer in Germany. As an Agile Coach, he’s responsible for about 50 Scrum Masters. For about one hour we talked about how to be a servant leader for such a group of Scrum Masters. What are ways to lead, inspire, and guide them?

SCRUM 205

SCRUM Leadership Consulting Defining 205

Scrum.org

JANUARY 30, 2023

TL; DR: Agile Transformation with ChatGPT or McBoston? I was interested in learning more about a typical daily challenge many agile practitioners face: How shall we successfully pursue an agile transformation? Or shall we embark on an agile transformation with ChatGPT providing some guidance?

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ChatGPT Agile Artificial Inteligence Consulting 204

Scrum.org

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Join the Mastering Agility Discord community. Although some issues might have been fixed, I rarely see the full potential of a Scrum Team being achieved. Agile implementations shift culture, yet many organizations limit themselves to the bare minimal execution of a framework and call that Agile. To survive.

Underperforming Technical Team 185

Underperforming Technical Team SCRUM Innovation Leadership 185

Scrum.org

MARCH 11, 2019

. What exactly is “agile” or even an Agile leader? I think of this word “agile” as being synonymous with “nimble” or “flexible”. Taking the definition of agile above, then an agile organization is one that is nimble, flexible, and can respond quickly to change. To be agile is usually a choice in my humble opinion.

Leadership 122

Leadership Agile Underperforming Technical Team Engineering 122

The IIL Blog

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

By Alan Zucker We make hundreds of assumptions and take small risks daily. Recovering from these risks may be inconvenient but not horribly impactful. Project assumptions and risks are not as casual. Project assumptions and risks are not as casual. Our risks were identified, but a response strategy was never created.

Risk Management 88

Risk Management Risk Cadence 2016 88

Scrum.org

AUGUST 3, 2023

The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as described in the Scrum Guide. The Scrum Master is a teacher, coach, impediment remover, change agent, mentor, and facilitator. They lead by example and they serve the Scrum team, the organization and the Product Owner.

SCRUM 153

SCRUM Software Review Technical Review Innovation 153

Scrum.org

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Since I first started working with Scrum in 2005, I have wondered what would eventually come along to replace it. Scrum has now been around for over 25 years, so surely something else would emerge? The usage of Scrum has continued to grow. Entire industries including Banking, Insurance and Pharma have adopted Scrum.

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SCRUM 2005 Lean Leadership 209

Scrum.org

MARCH 19, 2022

In 2010 I started my first assignment as a Scrum Master. Mostly intended to help myself reflect on my role, receive feedback from other Scrum practitioners, and make improvements accordingly. Over the years, the sum of these blog posts resulted in the paper “ The 8 Stances Of A Scrum Master ”. The 6 Scrum Master Stances.

SCRUM 228

SCRUM Leadership Influencer Agile 228

Scrum.org

AUGUST 17, 2020

TL; DR: Scrum Master Interview Questions (1). Scrum has proven time and again to be the most popular framework for software development. Given that software is eating the world , a seasoned Scrum Master is nowadays in high demand. Then sign up for the Food for Agile Thought newsletter and join 26k other subscribers.

SCRUM 234

SCRUM Technical Review Software Review Agile 234

Scrum.org

JUNE 16, 2021

Can the Product Owner and Scrum Master be the Same Person? Scrum is an agile project management framework that enables teams to deliver value in 30 days or less. The two most notable roles in Scrum are the Scrum Master and Product Owners. Scrum Master Activities. Managing Risks and Impediments.

SCRUM 246

SCRUM Engineering Estimate Risk Management 246

Scrum.org

OCTOBER 25, 2021

We started the Scrum Guide for Leaders series with a discussion of what Scrum means for you as a Leader. Next, we discussed the conditions where Scrum's Empiricism, Self-Management, and Continuous Improvement can thrive. Next, We are turning to the Scrum accountabilities/roles. Scrum Team. Product Owner.

SCRUM 233

SCRUM Leadership Defining Risk Management 233

Scrum.org

MARCH 29, 2022

The concept of iterative, incremental Product delivery is included in the Scrum guide. But did you know that the Agile Manifesto refers to incremental, iterative delivery in at least 3 of the principles? Unlike waterfall or other traditional project management approaches, Agile teams deliver early and continuously.

Agile 207

Agile SCRUM Software Leadership 207

Scrum.org

MARCH 14, 2022

Scrum is simple, but that simplicity means that each of its elements is essential. Teams that mess with the framework are messing with Scrum. Teams that make changes to the elements limit Scrum's effectiveness and aren't really using Scrum. . Each of the Scrum events has a timebox, and that timebox is important.

SCRUM 207

SCRUM Underperforming Technical Team 2020 Defining 207

Scrum.org

AUGUST 9, 2023

As you deliver your speech, you realize that Scrum and Project Management, despite their apparent differences, face a myriad of common challenges. In this article, we will explore some tactics which I found valuable when I was in need to align Scrum with Project Management practices.

SCRUM 163

SCRUM PMO Governance Government 163

Scrum.org

NOVEMBER 24, 2020

TL; DR: The Scrum Guide Reordered. The Scrum Guide Reordered 2020 is based on about 95 percent of the text of the Scrum Guide 2020, extending its original structure by adding additional categories, for example, on self-management, commitments, or accountability. The Origin of the Scrum Guide Reordered. Leadership.

2020 202

2020 SCRUM Lean Certification 202

Rebel’s Guide to PM

OCTOBER 29, 2022

The role of the project manager has long been shifting away from someone who can tick off tasks as complete on a Gantt chart and towards a strategic leadership position for effecting change in an organization. Project managers still provide an irreplaceably human combination of leadership, integration of specialists, and ethical behaviour.

Artificial Inteligence 477

Artificial Inteligence 2023 Technical Review 2027 477

Scrum.org

AUGUST 8, 2021

At the time, I was the Scrum Master for a team that was building an online application, and the Product Owner did not intend to release the new application to production until it was complete. This is just one of the ways that iterative delivery can reduce risk. How wrong I was. Visibility. It’s far more transparent. Ability to Change.

SCRUM 239

SCRUM Technical Review Software Review Risk 239