#agile #scrum

A different way to run the daily scrum

Have you ever felt that the daily scrum offers no value? That we are wasting some precious time and getting everybody tired at the same time? I decided to write this blog post, in order to challenge the formalistic way in which the daily scrum is often run and share an alternative format for it. I have been using this format for over 3 years now. I had to find myself as a new team member to an existing team to notice how useful it has been and to remember that it is not the default way to go. ...

#agile

Agile theater

Almost 20 years past the authorship and signature of the Agile manifesto and its true message has gone astray. The residual believers of the original ideas of the Agile manifesto have found shelter in the Software Craftsmanship movement, but nowadays the roots of the problem lie far deeper than the lost ideas and the wasted potential to do things better. The misinterpretation of the philosophy of the agile manifesto combined with the creation of a number of frameworks, certifications and job titles has resulted in a chaotic situation. ...

#technical debt #agile

Dealing with technical debt in an agile environment

How many times have you experienced software engineering teams that, regardless of the reasons, opted for quick solutions, resulting in poor code quality and created problems that accumulated over time? Where did this lead? Eventually, the product resembles an iceberg. The stakeholders can only see the end result, the behavior of the system, the part of the iceberg that lies above the surface, unaware of what lies underneath it. However, the software engineers have the full picture. ...

#agile #retrospectives

Driving fruitful retrospectives

How many times have you found yourself engaged in a retrospective, wondering why do you lose all this time? How many times have you committed to action items that no one ever dealt with in any way? How many times have you caught your team or yourself discussing the same issues again and again thinking that this will not be the last time? Retrospectives are very hard-to-drive meetings. The hurdles to overcome are countless. ...

#agile #scrum

Technical background: the extra mile on scrum mastery

Among other things, scrum is very “trendy” lately. Virtually any company that I know of has either adopted it or attempted to do so or at least considered it. The software industry needs change rapidly, evolving the scrum master in one of the most sought after roles. However, the inability of the offer to meet the demand and the absence of required technical skills to become a scrum master has made the role appealing to a number of people outside the industry, giving birth to an ongoing debate. ...

#agile #xp

Agile code

During Christmas, just a few days before I decided to take up blogging, I was reading Sandro Mancuso’s excellent book Software Craftsmanship. I couldn’t help but agree (sometimes even out loud) when reading what Sandro describes as the Agile Hangover. How many companies decide to become agile only to find their projects failing for the very same reasons that urged them to become agile in the first place? What are the common characteristics of so many failed attempts? ...