Course 5: Agile Project Management

Iterative

Repeating cycles of delivery. The project works in time-boxes / iterations

What are the responsibilities of a development team?

Responsible for how a team will deliver that product Creating a plan for the Sprint, the Sprint Backlog Instilling quality by adhering to a Definition of Done Adapting their plan each day toward the Sprint Goal Holding each other accountable as professionals Executing sprints by designing, building, and testing Product Backlog items in increments

Solutions to team dynamic issues

Run a team brainstorm session Change up the workflow Take a training class together

Respect

Scrum Team members should respect the opinions, skills, and independence of their teammates (e.g. more likely to listen to feedback)

Co-located

Scrum Teams work along side each other in the same physical space.

Empiricism

Scrum is founded on this idea. The idea that true knowledge comes from actual lived experience. Built on 3 foundational pillars

User Stories

Short, simple description of a feature told from the perspective of the user. This helps the team create a solution that is always centered around the user and the user experience. They might start off large and broad or maybe broken down to be as small or specific as possible. In order to have a completed user story the acceptance criteria must be met. It's important to note that while the Product Owner can write user stories and epics, a Developer can also write them as long as the Product Owner remains accountable for the Product Backlog item.

Agile's Approach to Deliverables

Smaller more frequent releases. Each release has a less formal celebration. The steadily release of project deliverables enables an Agile team to get consistent feedback. Without regular feedback the team could end up deliver something the customer doesn't want.

5 Scum Events

Sprint Sprint Planning Daily Scrum ("The Stand-up") Sprint Review Sprint Retrospective

Signs there are business collaboration issues

Team overwhelmed with critical feedback or change request Us vs. Them mentality between the team doing the work and management

Working software over...

...comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over...

...contract negotiation

Responding to change over...

...following a plan

Individuals and interactions over...

...processes and tools

Focus

Everyone focusing on the work of the Sprint and the overall goals of the Scrum Team (e.g. Team member focusing on a difficult but necessary task, and the team helps them then figure it out as the team focusing on the solution will speed the work up in the long run)

A Sprint Review covers...

Exploration of which items should be considered done in the Product Backlog Demonstrate and inspect the product

Solutions to business collaboration issues

Feedback comes in a stead pace Addressing critical feedback and change request by doing more demos Conducting a solution design sprint Ensuring changes to the Backlog are introduced ONLY in between Sprints

Questions to ask when trying to deliver high value

How do users get support? How does the product add value to users long after they initially received it? How do you make sure that new features and capabilities reach the existing users?

Once the team has a stable velocity (it can take multiple sprints to reach a stable velocity) and a refined backlog with prioritization and estimates. The Scrum Master can now tell Stakeholders and Sponsors...

How long it will take to complete the entire Product Backlog How much of your Backlog will be completed by a particular time.

Agile's Approach to Documentation

Emphasis on real time person to person conversations. Rather then large formal documents with rigorous change management and approval process there are shorter documents with just enough detail to achieve their purpose - Focused on what the reader needs to know, and are written only as needed.

Scrum Guide

A main source of truth for Scrum Teams and is available for free at the Scrumguides.org

The Four Values of the Agile Manifesto

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools 2. Working software over comprehensive documentation 3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation 4. Responding to change over following a plan

The Roles of Scrum

1. Scrum Master 2. Product Owner 3. Development (Developer)

The 4 themes of the 12 Agile principles

1. Value Delivery ➝ Delivering the work as quickly as possible in order to get feedback and mitigate time risk. 2. Business Collaboration ➝ Collaborating with customers helps the team get critical business information immediately, allowing them to adjust and adapt to any new information instantly. 3. Team Dynamics and Culture ➝ Create an effective team culture that is inclusive, supportive, and empowering. 4. Retrospective and Continuous Learning ➝ Strive to continuously learn and adapt to what's working and what's not.

Scrum Theory

A framework for developing, delivering, and sustaining complex products.

Epic

A "very large user story"—one that could not be delivered within a single iteration and may need to be split into smaller stories. A group or collection of user stories whose purpose is to help manage related user stories.

Scrum Master vs. Project Manager

A Scrum Master is responsible for helping the team understand Scrum theory and practice. They ensure Scrum events take place and help the team focus on delivering value by removing impediments. But unlike a traditional project manager, they do not take on the management of changes in scope or priorities. Additionally, Scrum Masters do not maintain traditional project artifacts like Gantt charts.

When can a Sprint be canceled?

A Sprint could be cancelled if the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. Only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint.

Flow

A core principle of Kanban that aims to maximize efficiency

CSV (Comma Separated Values) File

A file that holds a spreadsheet's data (Excel, Google sheets)

The Daily Scrum ("The Stand-Up")

A meeting of 15 or fewer minutes every day of the sprint. This meeting is used for the team in inspect their progress towards their goal. Clear roles and responsibilities, while emphasizing the power of the team Regular and predictable meeting and delivery schedules formats and outcomes. With pre-defined agendas and outcomes for the meetings.

Sprint Review

A meeting with the entire Scrum Team where the product is demonstrated in order to determine which aspects are finished and which aren't. Occurs during the end of a Sprint and is crucial to the Scrum pillar of inspection and adaptation. It also demonstrates the values of openness, courage and respect. A time for the team to demonstrate what they have accomplished The development team and Product owner play a heavy role within the inspection and discussion.

Mission

A short statement that stays constant for your team throughout the process and gives them something to work toward. Tells you why you/the team are doing the work (aka Goal/Objective)

Sprint

A time-boxed iteration in Scrum where work is done. Can be between 1-4 weeks long, although most sprints are 2 weeks. This is often called the iteration.

Adaptation

Adjusting project, product, or process to minimize any further deviation or issues. Change aspects that do not work or could be better. This includes implementing process changes so that future projects do not repeat past mistakes

Agile vs. Scrum

Agile is the foundational philosophy and mindset, while Scrum is a framework that materializes or brings that philosophy to life. Scrum came before the Agile Manifesto and served as an inspiration for the entire Agile philosophy.

Define VUCA

An acronym that defines the conditions that affect organizations in a changing and complex world. Designed to help industries factor in the forces of change and uncertainty in projects and businesses. Business can apply the concept of VUCA as a tool for determining how best to approach projects.

Value roadmap

An agile way of mapping out the product development process A guide that demonstrates where to go, how to get there, what to accomplish Helps the team explain the vision of the product used to identify important milestones.

Definition of Done

An agreed upon set of items that must be completed before a project or user story or Backlog item can be considered complete. (note that this list is not comprehensive and the team should determine what else should be on this list and should improve it as needed) The code or solution itself is reviewed by an independent peer group (Peer reviewed) The product or unit passes all testing requirements, which could include security or performance testing (QA/Bugs) Documentation is completed (Admin) All user story acceptance criteria specified by the Product Owner is met (all subtask complete) The Product owner accepts the user story (approval)

Agile Project Management

An approach and team management that embodies "agility" and is based on the Agile Manifesto. Which is a collection of 4 values and 12 principles that define the mindset that all Agile teams should strive for.

Sprint Retrospective

An essential meeting of up to 3 hours for the Scrum Team to take a step back, reflect and identify improvements about how to work together as a team. Its important to demonstrate the Scrum value of Respect and to allow the team to remain blameless

User Stories are typically written as...

As a <user role> I want this <action> so that I can get this <value>.

How does a velocity stabilize?

As the team gets used to estimating and working together

Pit falls of a Sprint Retro

Avoid too many gimmicks.(games and exercises) Try not to only focus on the negative. Avoid changing processes after each retrospective.

The benefits of developing and maintaining a product roadmap

Clarifying the sequence of deliverables Showing teams how their efforts relate to the north-star vision. In other words, their ultimate goal. Showing stakeholders the incremental value that will be achieved over the course of the project (rather than reviewing it as one big delivery at the end) Helping stakeholders roughly understand the layout of the work behind the deliverable

Agile coaching

Coaching is a two-way communication style aimed at influencing and developing team members' skills, motivation, and judgment. Coaching empowers team members to arrive at solutions on their own by teaching them critical thinking and decision-making skills This is achieved through offering feedback and providing opportunities for professional development. When challenges arise, coaches will offer guidance, then get out of the way. Coaches don't jump in during times of crisis in a way that a manager would.

What are the responsibilities of a Scrum Master?

Coaching team members on Agile and Scrum practices, rules, and values ➝ The Scrum Master acts as a coach to the Scrum Team—they encourage the team to build the product in the time frame. They also support the team by creating a collaborative environment so the project's goals are achieved. This includes Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality Helping to find ways to manage the Product Backlog effectively ➝ The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum Team's effectiveness. They do this by enabling the Scrum Team to improve its practices, within the Scrum framework. Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done Facilitates Scrum events such as Sprint Retrospectives ➝ The Scrum Master makes sure that important meetings occur, like the Daily Scrum. In the same way that a coach would be aware of the game clock, the Scrum Master is tasked with making sure that the meeting is kept within the appropriate timebox. Helps the team remove blockers (e.g. missing information, access to training, tools) ➝ Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team's progress Prevents unhelpful interactions from outside of the team ➝ Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox

What does CSV stand for?

Comma Separated Values

The 5 values of Scrum

Commitment ➝ Personally committing to achieving the goals of the Scrum Team (e.g. A member of the team is struggling with overcoming an issue that is blocking their work from getting done; new technology) Courage ➝ The Scrum Team members must have the courage to do the right thing and work on tough problems. (e.g. OK working on complex bodies of work with many risk; learning a new skill; admitting you are stuck and need help; calling out negative behavior on the team) Focus ➝ Everyone focusing on the work of the Sprint and the overall goals of the Scrum Team (e.g. Team member focusing on a difficult but necessary task, and the team helps them then figure it out as the team focusing on the solution will speed the work up in the long run) Openness ➝ The Scrum Team and its stakeholder agree to be open about all of the work and challenges with performing the work. Respect ➝ Scrum Team members should respect the opinions, skills, and independence of their teammates (e.g. more likely to listen to feedback)

Inspection

Conducting timely checks towards the outcomes of a Sprint goal to detect undesirable variances. Always checking in on progress and deliverables.

What are the responsibilities of a Product Owner?

Continuously maximizes the value of the product delivered by the Scrum Team ➝ Key activity is to act as the voice of the customer within the team. They represent/express this voice through their ownership of the product backlog. Help the Scrum Team understand why their work matters within the overall goal and mission ➝ Developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal. Creating and clearly communicating Product Backlog items. Prioritize the Product Backlog to optimize delivery and values to customers Ensures that the Backlog is visible, transparent and understood by all

Benefits of timeboxes

Create a sense of urgency which will drive prioritization Provide a window of focus which will translate into productivity gains Help the team develop a predictable rhythm to their work. A Sprints timebox can range from 1-4 weeks

The 5 principles of Lean

Define value ➝ Identify and focus on what the customer wants, and including the customer in the process. (A products value is the sum of all the things a customer wants) Map value stream ➝ Mapping out the process/stream including all the steps involved in producing value for the customer and challenges any steps that can be considered wasteful Create flow ➝ Ensuring the product flows through the value stream/process efficiently, eliminating waste throughout the cycle. This works to remove interruptions, delays or barriers to the work stream. Establish pull ➝ Ensure the customer is "pulling"/asking for it on the product through this stream/process by asking for features and incremental deliveries Pursue Perfection ➝ Push the team to continuously improve the first four process steps

Best practices of a Sprint Retro

Demonstrate the Scrum value of Respect Allow the team to remain blameless Participation is key Balance the negative with the positive Act on it! Ask open-ended, probing questions. Consider diverse styles of communication and participation. Cover the many aspects of the Sprint when conducting a retrospective. Consider reflecting periodically on Scrum theory and values by asking specific questions.

What are the 4 XP activities?

Designing ➝ Write a design document describing the parts of the code or instructions for the product and how it will function. XP wants to ensure that all of the pieces of the product will fit together properly so it stresses simplicity. Start with a simple design to meet the most basic and important requirements. Simple designs also take less time to complete Coding ➝ The language used to write software instructions. XP demands clear and concise code so that others can easily read and understand the program. Makes it easier to troubleshoot problems and come up with solutions. Testing ➝ Checking the product for flaws so that they don't end up in the final product. XP requires a lot of testing. The goal is to test for and eliminate any flaws in a feature before building it and continuing on. Also checking that the product meets the customers requirements. Listening ➝ Listening to the customer and ensuring that the requirements are integrated into the product.

3 aspect to responding to change over following a plan

Identifying a needed change Deciding to make the change Implementing the change

how do you know when a solution is shippable or releasable?

In a Scrum Team, it is ultimately the decision of the Product Owner to ensure there is value before releasing an item. To determine this, they may consider a few things: Is the increment complete? Will it bring value and does it meet quality measures? Has it been well-tested? Is it usable by the end user? Can we use their direct or indirect feedback to improve future versions of the product?

I.N.V.E.S.T

Independent ➝ The story should be able to be started and finished by its self. Its not dependent on another User Story to finish it. Negotiable ➝ There is room for negotiation and discussion Valuable ➝ Completing the User Story has to deliver value Estimable ➝ The Scrum Team / Organizations definition of done must be clear, so that the team can give each User Story an estimate Small ➝ Each User Story needs to be able to fit within a planned Sprint. If the User Story is too big then it should be broken down into smaller stories. Stories that are low priority on the Back log can stay big until they are more of a priority for an upcoming sprint.

Relative Estimation

Instead of trying to determine exactly how long a task will take we compare the effort of that task to another task and that becomes the estimate. This estimation is not done in traditional units of hours, days, or weeks instead each backlog item is assigned a relative unit for size. Its up to the Scrum Team to decide which estimation method they use. Effective relative effort estimation leads to successful and predictable sprint outcomes, which leads to a successful project overall.

The Product Owner with some or all of the Scrum Team review the backlog to ensure...?

It contains the appropriate items, and that nothing new is needed or nothing needs to be removed. That the items are prioritized by the Product Owner (i.e. Order Field) That the items at the top of the backlog are ready for delivery with clear acceptance criteria That the backlog items include estimates or an informed assessment about how much work a particular backlog item will be.

pitfalls around roadmaps to avoid

Letting stakeholders think the roadmap is set and unchangeable. This may cause stakeholders to impede teams' ability to adapt in response to new information, as well as put a lot of pressure on teams to achieve deadlines no matter what it takes. Spending too much time fine-tuning delivery dates versus keeping them rough and improving specificity as the dates get closer Putting all the work into creating the roadmap rather than producing the deliverables

3 Key Features of a product back log

Living artifact ➝ Items are added to the back log at any time. It evolves through out the lifecycle of the project and centralizes the team on what to work on next. Owned and adjusted by the Product Owner ➝ They are responsible for defining the Scope not the Scrum master Always a prioritized list of features ➝ When there is new information, or new features they are added to the back log in order of importance. The items at the top of the list are very specific and well defined, leaving the items at the bottom of the list that are vague

Signs of team dynamic issues

Low team morale Lots of conflict Low conflict

best practices to help you get the most from your roadmaps

Make it highly noticeable to the team and refer to it frequently. Clearly indicate the highest priority items. If possible, clearly indicate the highest value items. Make it visible to your wider stakeholder group so that they can use it for their planning. Conduct regular reviews of the roadmap with sponsors, stakeholders, and the team to ensure that it is still providing the blueprint for the project.

Transparency

Make the most significant aspects of out work visible to those responsible for the outcomes. Everyone must be transparent. Encourages more collaboration and fewer mistakes.

Common Agile coaching challenges

Managing a stable product roadmap Incomplete implementation of Scrum Experiencing a lack of stability within the team

Burndown Chart

Measures time against the amount of work done and amount of work remaining The goal is to keep the team aware of how they are doing against their overall goals. Within a Scrum team it reflects how a team is doing with completing user stories during the Sprint The Scrum Master will review the Burndown chart, sometimes daily to examine if the team will hit their goal or not.

Signs of Value delivery issues

Missed expected delivery dates Burned out Too many items "in progress"

Solutions to value delivery issues

More demos of the solutions Use retros Make sure that everyone understands "done" Focus on only a few user stories per Sprint

During the Sprint...

No changes are made that would endanger the Sprint Goal; Quality does not decrease; The Product Backlog is refined as needed; Scope may be clarified and renegotiated with the Product Owner as more is learned.

Skills needed to be a Scrum Master

Organizational Skills ➝ Effectively organize project artifacts and manage Scrum events Supportive leaders ➝ Focus on the needs of others and the needs of the team before their individual needs. They are not aiming to raise themselves up as the manager of team who "bosses people around", rather they ask question like: How can I help? What would help the team go forward on this project? Facilitate productivity and collaboration ➝ Critical skill to ensure that every team members voice is heard, and that their input is addressed Coach team members On Scrum Theory and application ➝ Encourages dialogue and discussion, rather then just providing the answers Great Communicators (Stakeholder Management) ➝ Especially with stakeholders and are experienced with engaging with diverse stakeholders who may have competing perspectives and styles.

What are the innovative practices of XP?

Pair Programming ➝ Two team members work together at the same time on one task. Continuous Integration and Continuous Refactoring ➝ Merging product changes into a shared version of the product a few times a day to get quick feedback Avoid Big Design Up Front ➝ Design is just enough to get started and should be continuously improved as the product evolves Write Test Not Requirements ➝ Embed product requirements into the test plan. Instead of writing a formal requirements document and then later writing a test plan, the test plan can serve 2 purposes by: - Telling the team what to build - Comparing what the team built to what was supposed to be built

Commitment

Personally committing to achieving the goals of the Scrum Team (e.g. A member of the team is struggling with overcoming an issue that is blocking their work from getting done; new technology)

Managing a stable product roadmap

Product Ambition

Product Roadmap

Product Roadmap is the responsibility of the Product owner to create and maintain. It details: High level view of the expected product and its requirements Estimated schedule for reaching milestones

Product Vision

Product Vision is based on user interviews and market analysis and details: What is product is How it supports the customers business strategy who will use it

3 components of a value roadmap

Product vision Product roadmap Release Plan

Agile Management Style

Project managers keep team members organized and on track. They streamline communication and give directions. In Agile project management, however, teams are designed to be self-managing. A self-managing team has the autonomy to choose how best to accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others from the top down. Agile team members should also feel empowered and equipped to problem-solve on their own. Even so, there are some cases where the decisive action of a manager is required.

Sprints

Provide the rhythm of work for the team and is one of the 5 Scrum Events. It allows the team to get feedback quicker and encourages team collaboration while providing more focus for the Scrum Team. Within a Sprint the amount of work is planned based on the historical capacity of the team and is made ready for the sprint planning event.

What is Kanban?

Provides transparent visual feedback to anyone who may be interested in the status or work in progress (Kanban Board; e.g. Trello) Displays the work as: To do, In progress, and Done Ensures that the project team only accepts a sustainable amount of in progress work. Also known as the work in progress limit (WIP) or the WIP Limit. The WIP limit is decided on by the team. Team members add new task to be completed only after they have completed their previous task and are below the WIP Limit. Which means that once a task is starting to be worked on it become a priority for the whole team to get it to done. By focusing on less work the work gets done faster.

What is I.N.V.E.S.T?

The 6 Criteria of a User Story

3 aspects of coaching an Agile team

The Scrum Master: Designs the "plays" with the team (The Scrum master owns the play book but it should be created with the entire team ("plays")How the whole team runs a sprint review How the team runs day-to-day How the team publishes plans to stakeholders) Provide feedback to the team (Provide feedback as early as possible and on a day-to-day basis.) Celebrate and learn with the team (Acknowledge loss as critical data and a learning opportunity)

Openness

The Scrum Team and its stakeholder agree to be open about all of the work and challenges with performing the work.

Courage

The Scrum Team members must have the courage to do the right thing and work on tough problems. (e.g. OK working on complex bodies of work with many risk; learning a new skill; admitting you are stuck and need help; calling out negative behavior on the team)

Value driven delivery

The Scrum master and the Scrum team are focused on delivering a product of high value.

Sprint Back Log

The Sprint Backlog is composed of the Sprint Goal (why), the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint (what), as well as an actionable plan for delivering the Increment (how).

Sprint Goal

The Sprint Goal is the single objective for the Sprint. Although the Sprint Goal is a commitment by the Developers, it provides flexibility in terms of the exact work needed to achieve it. The Sprint Goal also creates coherence and focus, encouraging the Scrum Team to work together rather than on separate initiatives. The Sprint Goal is created during the Sprint Planning event and then added to the Sprint Backlog. As the Developers work during the Sprint, they keep the Sprint Goal in mind. If the work turns out to be different than they expected, they collaborate with the Product Owner to negotiate the scope of the Sprint Backlog within the Sprint without affecting the Sprint Goal.

Backlog Refinement

The act of keeping the backlog described, estimated, and prioritized so that the Scrum Team can operate effectively. After the Product Owner has added the Backlog items with the required details they conduct backlog refinement. This refinement should take place regularly, its up to the team to decide how often to conduct backlog refinement

Product Backlog

The central artifact in Scrum, where all possible ideas, deliverables, features, or task are captured for the team to work on. Its prioritized and proactively managed by the team continuously through out the life of the project.

Coaching vs. Managing

The difference in each approach is in communication. Management is about giving direction, while coaching is about teaching. Some situations will call for coaching, and others will call for management. As a project manager, it is important that you understand when each skill set is necessary for success.

Sprint Planning

The entire Scrum Team comes together and meets to confirm how much capacity, meaning time and people are available during this Sprint. Then they identify which items from the Backlog will be done during the Sprint. This becomes the Sprint Backlog and ultimately the Sprint Goal.

Velocity

The measure of how many story points the team burns down in a given Sprint

Sprint Goal

The overarching objective that the team aims to achieve. It helps the team understand the why of the Sprint. This should be thought of in a big picture way.

Aspects of a Sprint Retro

The productivity and efficiency of the team The scope and understanding of the definition of done Communication and interactions within the team Stakeholder communication Progress towards more long-range release plans

Sprint Backlog

The set of Product Backlog items that are selected to be completed during the upcoming Sprint

What is a good velocity?

There is no such thing as a goo velocity or a bad velocity. Velocity is only what the team has been able to achieve in a pre-determined time box (Sprint).

3 considerations when choose a Sprint timebox

Think about what you expect the frequency of changes to be ➝ How often do you/the team think the requirements might change? Think about how much focused time your solution Developers need to build a Product Backlog Item ➝ If the baseline effort for most of the activities requires at least a week to create something valuable then the Sprint length should be at least 2 weeks. Think about how much overhead goes into a "delivery" of your product

The Daily Scrum ("The Stand-up")

Time for the Scrum Team to synchronize and prioritize activities for the day Daily stand-ups should provide the Scrum Master with the opportunity to quickly unblock the team with little delay. They are also an opportunity to reinforce focus on the Sprint backlog and the Sprint Goal.

What is Extreme Programming (XP)?

Took traditional software activities to an extreme level Aims to improve product quality and the ability to respond to changing customer needs

The 3 Pillars of Scrum

Transparency ➝ Make the most significant aspects of out work visible to those responsible for the outcomes. Everyone must be transparent. Encourages more collaboration and fewer mistakes. Inspection ➝ Conducting timely checks towards the outcomes of a Sprint goal to detect undesirable variances. Always checking in on progress and deliverables. Adaptation ➝ Adjusting project, product, or process to minimize any further deviation or issues. Change aspects that do not work or could be better. This includes implementing process changes so that future projects do not repeat past mistakes

Agile's Approach to Requirements

Treated as dynamic, and are expected to change as the team receives feedback and new information. The team works with stakeholders to prioritize the requirements, always moving the most urgent or valuable item to the top of the list. The the team works done the list working on the requirements in iterations. At the end of each iteration the team can get feedback and make necessary adjustments to the requirements before cont. the next iteration.

3 Elements of a User Story

User Action the user will take The benefit to the user

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Version of a product with just enough features to satisfy the early customers, which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort." In other words, gathering insights from an MVP enables quicker feedback from users than developing a full-featured product that may not be 100% tested or secure. A minimum viable product is a package of features that may take several sprints to develop,

3 features of Kanban Board ("Scrum Board")

Visualizaton Work in progress limit (WIP Limit) Flow of work

Questions a Scrum Master should ask during a daily stand up

What did I do yester day that helped the development team meet the Sprint goal? What will I do today to help the development team meet the Sprint goal? Do I notice any impediment that will prevent me or the development team from meeting our goals?

Product Increment

What is produced after a given Sprint, to be unveiled by the team. This is something that is considered releasable. It is a concrete stepping stone toward the Product Goal. Each Increment is additive to all prior Increments and thoroughly verified, ensuring that all Increments work together. In order to provide value, the Increment must be usable. At the end of each Sprint only items that have met the definition of done are considered apart of the product increment. Anything that is not done goes back to the product backlog.

What does the Scrum team reflect on during the Sprint Retro?

What's working or not working for the team regarding the people, processes, and the tools? What improvements are worth exploring in the next Sprint? What improvements were put in place for the last Sprint? Were they helpful or not? Why?

Releasable ("Shippable")

When the team has developed a minimum viable product, which has a set of implemented features or requirements. The goal for every Sprint is to result in a completed, tested, ready-to-ship addition to the product or solution. Having a potentially releasable Increment also allows the team to get early feedback on the product, ensure that the work is high quality, and have the opportunity to respond to change

How does velocity contribute to Sprint Planning?

When the team is conducting Sprint planning they are using their average velocity or at least 3 sprints to determine how many items they can safely (sustainably) add to their Spring backlog.

Product Vision

When you set a vision, you're making it clear what the team is responsible for and where your teams boundaries are. Helps you/the team imagine what the work will be like when we're done

Questions a Scrum Master should ask during Sprint Planning meeting

Who is available during this Sprint? Are there any vacations or conflicts that "we" should know about? What has been "our" average philosophy?, i.e. how many points or backlog items has the team been able to complete in a single spring in the past? What can and should be accomplished by the team within the upcoming Sprint? What is the ultimate Sprint Goal? How will the work get done? Through out the Sprint who is responsible for what tasks?

Incremental

Work is divided into smaller chunks that build on each other. The product is built over time through work done during each iteration. Allows the Scum master and project team to keep checking in on the product through out the lifecycle of the project. This helps the work become more predictable and to manage the uncertainty in the project.

Release Plan

developed in collaboration by the product owner and the project manager. An agile team may have several release dates before the project is considered done. Only the first release date should be considered to be set in stone. The rest is based on early estimates and is subject change as the project progresses. Aspect of a release plan are: Release Goal List of Backlog items Estimated release date Other relevant dates that impact a release (hard dates)

Overhead

e.g. testing and review

Shorter Sprints can be employed to...

generate more learning cycles and limit risk of cost and effort to a smaller time frame. Each Sprint may be considered a short project.

Benefit of having a big Sprint Goal

it helps the team focus on a broader team objective rather then putting them into separate work streams

When a Sprint it too long...

the Sprint Goal may become invalid, complexity may rise, and risk may increase.

What does VUCA stand for?

volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous