New to agile? INVEST in good user stories
As a <user> I want <function> so that<value>. Above is a very simple user story template. How can something so simple be so hard to get right? User stories make up the heart of...
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How to make a LOT more money using agile
Yesterday’s blog post dealt with how to manage scope for an agile project. Today I have to admit it was a bit of a setup. It was designed to set up today’s blog post which is really the important...
View ArticleAgile antipattern: Using email as the primary communication tool
Can I just be short and to the point for this one? I hope so, because that is my intention! Email is LOW BANDWIDTH communication Agile teams REQUIRE HIGH BANDWIDTH communication Do you see a problem?...
View ArticleNew to agile? Work at a sustainable pace
Question: Which is better: a) Working nights and weekends to meet iteration commitments, or b) Admitting the commitment was too much and working normal hours regardless of the commitment? Many people...
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Agile antipattern: Taking on large stories
Earlier this week I posted a blog entry “Agile antipattern: Burndown charts that hide the truth” which dealt with one way a burndown chart could hide reality. This blog entry shows another way it is...
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New to agile? Learn how to split stories
In my last blog Agile antipattern: Taking on large stories I said I would give you some tips on how to split stories. First though, it is important to understand WHY splitting a story well can be...
View ArticleAgile antipatterns: Agile burn-down chart roundup post
Do you want to see several different ways agile and scrum burn-down charts can lie? If so, you are in the right place! This month I went on a burn-down chart craze and posted several blog entries...
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New to agile? Remember a user story is more than a card!
What’s wrong with the user story on the card? It seems to have everything we need: a) short title, b) a size (in this case 2), and c) a well-written story using the standard “As a … I want … so that...
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The Real Baseline Agile Retrospective Format
I always considered this six question format to be the Baseline Agile Retrospective Format. I say baseline instead of standard because a baseline is something to build on, not an ‘always the way’...
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Be Better, Don’t Limit Yourself to Best Practices
We hear a lot about best practices. We talk a lot about them. Many organizations are of the opinion that if they can identify the best practice, they are set. Of course, that thinking can be limiting...
View ArticleWhen in Doubt Ask “How Will I Know I’ve Done That?”
Tired of not knowing exactly what to create or test? Get in the habit of asking the magic question “How will I know I’ve done that?” In other words, ask the Product Owner (or whatever person you have...
View ArticleNew to agile? Remember one thing: Just enough, just in time
If you lived through the past few decades you have undoubtedly heard the time “Just in Time” (JIT) as applied to manufacturing. This is the lean breakthrough that allows companies to get rid of large...
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New to agile? Tools for distributed agile
I’ve been working the past several weeks with some highly distributed teams. Each team requires a way to track their project effectively (when you have people in 6 different states and a few countries...
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Ten Ways to Improve Your Planning Poker Results
People who promote the use of Planning Poker understand some of the main reasons why it is successful. People like Mike Cohn have been very instrumental in pushing planning poker and even created...
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Agile Architecture – It is NOT an Oxymoron!
Many companies adopting agile have a hard time with the architecture and design of their large systems. They like the concept of agile, but can’t understand how to emerge and meet architectural...
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Agile antipattern: Extending an iteration
I had a previous blog post about stopping an iteration and how it was a really bad idea. Another blog post was about moving work from one iteration to the next and again it mentioned how this is a bad...
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New to agile? Tips for better daily stand-ups
As an agile coach I have attended a lot of daily stand-up meetings. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been in a meeting that went something like this: Scrum Master: OK everyone, it is time for...
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Agile antipattern: Using manual tests
In an agile environment manual testing is fine – except for when it isn’t! In particular, everyone recognizes manual regression testing takes time. When using a traditional development process...
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Agile antipattern: Code freezes during each iteration
Over the past 18 months I’ve encountered a number of teams where it is standard practice to have a code freeze late in the iteration. The reason given for this was “to allow QA to test what we created...
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New to agile? Do the simplest thing that works – THEN STOP!
As an agile trainer and coach I often see new teams struggle with a simple question: “How much to do on a user story?” A lot of people say the simplest thing that works is what should be implemented....
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