Agile concepts have been used for decades (if not centuries) in complexity theory, war theory, project management, sociology, and most sciences. Agile practices show us how to "think about" and manage the work required for solving complicated and complex problems. The Scrum Guide says Scrum is for solving complex adaptive problems. In the last 25 years or so, agile concepts have become popular in software development, and there are several pathways you could take in order to be agile. One of these pathways is Scrum, the most popular agile software process in the world.This study guide has two purposes. The first is to help you pass the Certified Scrum Master test. The second is to give you a deeper understanding of Scrum so that you can begin to apply it successfully to your real world needs.
Building a successful product usually involves teams of people, and many choose the Scrum approach to aid in creating products that deliver the highest possible value. Implementing Scrum gives teams a collection of powerful ideas they can assemble to fit their needs and meet their goals. The ninety-four patterns contained within are elaborated nuggets of insight into Scrum’s building blocks, how they work, and how to use them. They offer novices a roadmap for starting from scratch, yet they help intermediate practitioners fine-tune or fortify their Scrum implementations. Experienced practitioners can use the patterns and supporting explanations to get a better understanding of how the parts of Scrum complement each other to solve common problems in product development. The patterns are written in the well-known Alexandrian form, whose roots in architecture and design have enjoyed broad application in the software world. The form organizes each pattern so you can navigate directly to organizational design tradeoffs or jump to the solution or rationale that makes the solution work. The patterns flow together naturally through the context sections at their beginning and end. Learn everything you need to know to master and implement Scrum one step at a time—the agile way.
Examining the questions most commonly asked by students attending Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) classes, The ScrumMaster Study Guide provides an accessible introduction to the concepts of Scrum and agile development. It compiles the insights gained by the author in teaching more than 100 CSM classes and count
Escape “Zombie Scrum” and Get Real Value from Agile! “Professional Scrum and Zombie Scrum are mortal enemies in eternal combat. If you relax your guard, Zombie Scrum comes back. This guide helps you stay on your guard, providing very practical tips for identifying when you have become a Zombie and how to stop this from happening. A must-have for any Zombie Scrum hunter.” --Dave West, CEO, Scrum.org “Barry, Christiaan, and Johannes have done a magnificent job of accumulating successful experiences and sharing their inspiring stories in this very practical book. They don't shy away from telling it like it is, which is why their proposals are always as useful as they are grounded in reality.” --Henri Lipmanowicz, cofounder, Liberating Structures Millions of professionals use Scrum. It is the #1 approach to agile software development in the world. Even so, by some estimates, over 70% of Scrum adoptions fall flat. Developers find themselves using “Zombie Scrum” processes that look like Scrum, but are slow, lifeless, and joyless. Scrum is just not working for them. Zombie Scrum Survival Guide reveals why Scrum runs aground and shows how to supercharge your Scrum outcomes, while having a lot more fun along the way. Humorous, visual, and extremely relatable, it offers practical approaches, exercises, and tools for escaping Zombie Scrum. Even if you are surrounded by skeptics, this book will be the antidote to help you build more of what users need, ship faster, improve more continuously, interact more successfully in any team, and feel a whole lot better about what you are doing. Suddenly, one day soon, you will remember: that is why we adopted Scrum in the first place! Learn how Zombie Scrum infects you, why it spreads, and how to inoculate yourself Get closer to your stakeholders, and wake up to their understanding of value Discover why Zombie teams can't learn, and what to do about it Clear away the specific obstacles to real continuous improvement Make self-managed teams real so people can behave like humans, not Zombies Zombie Scrum Survival Guide is for Scrum Masters, Scrum practitioners, Agile coaches and leaders, and everyone who wants to transform the promises of Scrum into reality. Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.
This is a comprehensive guide to Scrum for all (team members, managers, and executives). If you want to use Scrum to develop innovative products and services that delight your customers, this is the complete, single-source reference you've been searching for. This book provides a common understanding of Scrum, a shared vocabulary that can be used in applying it, and practical knowledge for deriving maximum value from it.
The Provocative and Practical Guide to Coaching Agile Teams As an agile coach, you can help project teams become outstanding at agile, creating products that make them proud and helping organizations reap the powerful benefits of teams that deliver both innovation and excellence. More and more frequently, ScrumMasters and project managers are being asked to coach agile teams. But it’s a challenging role. It requires new skills—as well as a subtle understanding of when to step in and when to step back. Migrating from “command and control” to agile coaching requires a whole new mind-set. In Coaching Agile Teams, Lyssa Adkins gives agile coaches the insights they need to adopt this new mind-set and to guide teams to extraordinary performance in a re-energized work environment. You’ll gain a deep view into the role of the agile coach, discover what works and what doesn’t, and learn how to adapt powerful skills from many allied disciplines, including the fields of professional coaching and mentoring. Coverage includes Understanding what it takes to be a great agile coach Mastering all of the agile coach’s roles: teacher, mentor, problem solver, conflict navigator, and performance coach Creating an environment where self-organized, high-performance teams can emerge Coaching teams past cooperation and into full collaboration Evolving your leadership style as your team grows and changes Staying actively engaged without dominating your team and stunting its growth Recognizing failure, recovery, and success modes in your coaching Getting the most out of your own personal agile coaching journey Whether you’re an agile coach, leader, trainer, mentor, facilitator, ScrumMaster, project manager, product owner, or team member, this book will help you become skilled at helping others become truly great. What could possibly be more rewarding?
Go from absolute beginner to passing your exam the first time with this comprehensive guide. Filled with real-world illustrations, this book has been revised to align with the most recent Scrum standards, empowering you to become a Scrum Expert! Key Features Go from absolute beginner to exam-ready with detailed explorations of Scrum use-cases Understand the different applications of agile concepts, and how to best apply them to your business Discover expert tips and work with real-world examples to pass the certification exam the first time Book DescriptionThis book demonstrates the real-world applications of Scrum in a variety of scenarios, all with practical examples. You’ll understand why the structure of your Scrum team matters, and how to create and manage sprint and product backlogs. Each chapter concludes with relevance to the exam, reinforcing what you’ve learned as you work through the book and making sure you have an edge when it comes to earning your certificate. The statements made and opinions expressed herein belong exclusively to Packt Publishing Ltd and are not shared by or represent the viewpoint of Scrum.org. This training does not constitute an endorsement of any product, service or point of view. Scrum.org makes no representations, warranties or assurances of any kind, express or implied, as to the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, availability or currency of the content contained in this presentation or any material related to this presentation. In no event shall Scrum.org, its agents, officers, employees, licensees or affiliates be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of profits, business information, or loss of information) arising out of the information or statements contained in the training. Any reliance you place on such content is strictly at your own risk.What you will learn Get to grips with Agile development and Scrum from the ground up Understand the roles and responsibilities within the Scrum team Discover how to conduct Scrum events and create Scrum artifacts Explore real-world scenarios and use cases for Scrum in action Develop an in-depth understanding of how to run a successful sprint to deliver results quickly Be fully prepared and able to pass your exam the first time Who this book is for Assuming no prior knowledge of Scrum, this book is for professionals who want to build a strong foundation in Scrum practices with the intention of passing the certification exam. If you're a product owner or project manager looking to stay relevant in an agile world, this book is essential to helping you become a Scrum expert.
“Our job as Scrum professionals is to continually improve our ability to use Scrum to deliver products and services that help customers achieve valuable outcomes. This book will help you to improve your ability to apply Scrum.” –From the Foreword by Ken Schwaber, co-author of Scrum Mastering Professional Scrum is for anyone who wants to deliver increased value by using Scrum more effectively. Leading Scrum practitioners Stephanie Ockerman and Simon Reindl draw on years of Scrum training and coaching to help you return to first principles and apply Scrum with the professionalism required to achieve its transformative potential. The authors aim to help you focus on proven Scrum approaches for improving quality, getting and using fast feedback, and becoming more adaptable, instead of “going through the motions” and settling for only modest improvements. Whether you’re a Scrum Master, Development Team member, or Product Owner, you’ll find practical advice for facing challenges with transparency and courage, overcoming a wide array of common challenges, and continually improving your Scrum practice. Realistically assess your current Scrum practice, and identify areas for improvement Recognize what a great Scrum Team looks like and get there Focus on “Done”–not “sort-of-Done” or “almost-Done” Measure and optimize the value delivered by every Product Increment Improve the way you plan, develop, and grow Clear away wider organizational impediments to agility and professionalism Overcome common misconceptions that stand in the way of progress Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.
Succeed with Scrum in Even the Largest, Most Complex Distributed Development Projects Forewords by Ken Schwaber, Scott Ambler, Roman Pichler, and Matthew Wang This is the first comprehensive, practical guide for Scrum practitioners working in large-scale distributed environments. Written by three of IBM’s leading Scrum practitioners—in close collaboration with the IBM QSE Scrum Community of more than 1000 members worldwide—this book offers specific, actionable guidance for everyone who wants to succeed with Scrum in the enterprise. Readers will follow a journey through the lifecycle of a distributed Scrum project, from envisioning products and setting up teams to preparing for Sprint planning and running retrospectives. Each chapter presents a baseline drawn from “conventional” Scrum, then discusses additional issues faced by distributed teams, and presents specific best-practice solutions, alternatives, and tips the authors have identified through hard, empirical experience. Using real-world examples, the book demonstrates how to apply key Scrum practices, such as look-ahead planning in geographically distributed environments. Readers will also gain valuable new insights into the agile management of complex problem and technical domains. Coverage includes Developing user stories and working with Product Owners as a distributed team Recognizing and fixing the flaws Scrum may reveal in existing processes Engaging in more efficient Release and Sprint planning Conducting intense, brief daily Scrum meetings in distributed environments Managing cultural and language differences Resolving dependencies, performing frequent integration, and maintaining transparency in geographically distributed environments Successfully running remote software reviews and demos Brainstorming what worked and what didn’t, to improve future Sprints This book will be an indispensable resource for every team leader, member, product owner, or manager working with Scrum or other agile methods in any distributed software development organization.
This guide book provides a single, comprehensive source of information on how to pass the Certified Scrum Master (R) Assessment of Scrum Alliance (R). This information includes relevant details on the Certification/Assessment, a strategy to prepare for and take the assessment, and finally, adequate study material for the assessment itself.The only purpose of this book is to provide a focused approach to help achieve the audience's focused objective: attain Scrum Master Credential at the minimum cost and time. It does not seek to provide an adequate background on Agile methodologies, or a complete description of Scrum principles and practices. The focus is on providing just as much information is required; just in time.At present, there are two popular organizations providing different types and levels of role-based Scrum credentials: Scrum Alliance (R), and Scrum.org. The CSM (R) credential of Scrum Alliance is the most popular Scrum Master credential today, but acceptance of the PSM credentials (of Scrum.org) is rapidly growing.This book covers CSM (R) requirements in detail, while giving an adequate exposure to the PSM credential/assessment as well.This book is part of series, aimed at providing enough information and knowledge to pass the CSM (R) and/or PSM I Assessments.This book series has been developed primarily from my own experience, taking into account what was most important while preparing for the assessments, as well as while actually taking the assessments. A continual endeavor will be made to enhance to coverage and effectiveness of the content.While this book series is aimed at those interested in Scrum Master Certification, it will be useful for other certification aspirants - Product Owners, Developers - since it provides quite an extensive coverage of Scrum Fundamentals, common to these roles.
