Introduction Let us think of a virtual scenario - You are a Product Owner in a small to medium sized organization and will be starting on a new project. The Product Owner is an important role in Agile framework. She is the bridge between the business goals that an organization pursues and the scrum teams which achieves them. She is the interface on whom the organization depends to maximize value streams. She extracts maximum value for the customers by owning and prioritizing
Enterprise agile teams often face multiple dimension to the cone of uncertainty such as risk and dependencies. One of Constant themes across scrum ceremonies is to reduce this cone of uncertainty through iterative process. In this article we will try to figure out how Sprint Refinement helps agile teams in this activity. The Story So Far You have successfully setup your Scrum team with an initial backlog. The initial Backlog has been created from a Product Roadmap which has b
Scrumban?? Is this one of those process gimmicks which are better suited for theory rather than actual business? These were my immediate thoughts on hearing the concept of Scrumban ! Why then, you ask, am I writing about it? Because I have felt its enormous impact and want to share the process with which I helped implement it, with you. Mind you, if you are a fence-sitter, I will convert you ! I will start by laying out the problem I faced in detail due to which I started lo
Teams not achieving the intended velocity. Missing deadlines and forecasts. We have all been there. As Scrum Master's, we have faced such issues and tried to understand the root cause. And the tool to understand underlying causes to the teams performance is a 'lessons-learned' or 'retrospective meeting' activity. In Waterfall process, PMBOK guide tells you to conduct this during the 'Closing' phase of the project. In Agile process, since iterations occur frequently, it is hel
As a Scrum Master you have been leading a team which works on both software and hardware components. Your organisation has decided to move to Agile framework from the pure Waterfall model after looking at the substantial advantages Agile brings to the table. You along with the team have enthusiastically supported this move as it helps you deliver quality software without the bureaucracy of Waterfall model. However, there is one fly in this ointment. What do you do with the ph
THE CHALLENGE The organization I currently work with, had started adopting Agile processes from 2K16 in specified teams throughout its multiple geographical sites. However, these were acting individually and the organisation was not benefiting from their individual activities. Dependencies still caused havoc with planning and operations. Timelines were still getting missed due to defects arising during system integration between deliverable of the multiple teams. Plans could
THE CHALLENGE TPVision is a joint venture created to manufacture and sell Philips-branded televisions in multiple regional markets such as EU, APMEA etc. With a history steeped in waterfall model of development, TPVision started its journey in the same path. Unfortunately, through 2010 to 2014, its attempts at quality deliverable within predetermined deadline remained unsuccessful. This had a long-term effect in its ability to generate business value and growth. Having spent