Agile for Humans with Ryan Ripley and Todd Miller

Today's question is about release planning on a Scrum Team. When it comes to deciding when to release, the Product Owner has a lot of input. But when it comes to how we release or what is released, the Developer has a say. From an efficiency perspective, even the Scrum Master could have an opinion. Listen in to see how Todd and Ryan sort out release planning on a Scrum Team. How does your Scrum Te...

Fixing Your Kanban with Daniel Vacanti, Todd Miller, and Ryan Ripley. This new show is all about how teams use Kanban and how to get better at managing the flow of value. Today we discuss the launch of ProKanban.org and the release of the OFFICIAL KANBAN GUIDE. // Want to learn more about Kanban? Visit ProKanban.org - https://prokanban.org/Read the OFFICIAL KANBAN GUIDE - https://kanbanguides.org/...

Today's question is all about those situations where a Scrum Team member dominates the conversation and doesn't let other Scrum Team members contribute. Todd and Ryan break down this common situation and provides some insights on how to facilitate more effectively when these things happen. How have you handled a dominant Scrum Team member? Let us know in the comments! This is one of those Scrum Ma...

Today's question is does a Scrum Team handle unexpected work that interrupts the creation of features and value? Todd and Ryan break down the tactics they've used to address this issue and how a focus on technical debt and technical excellence is essential. How do you handle unexpected work? Let us know in the comments! This is one of those Scrum Master interview questions that can throw you off....

Today's question is from Jodie who wants to know about alternatives to the 3 questions when facilitating the Daily Scrum. We are always happy to take questions about the Scrum Events. Todd and Ryan discuss the lean metric "item aging" and how it can be used to help a Scrum Team gain insights into the progress of their work. What is your favorite way to facilitate the Daily Scrum? Let us know in th...

Today's question is whether or not a Scrum Team should make the results of their Sprint Retrospective public. Todd and Ryan are clear that meeting minutes and notes from the Retrospective are not for public consumption. However, if people outside the Scrum Team want to know which improvement items the team selected during the Retro, well...that could be a good idea! Do you make the results of the...

Today's question is all about the Scrum Master and what keeps them busy all day. Scrum defines clear accountabilities that if performed well keeps your Scrum Master busy and engaged all day. Check out the video hear more from Ryan and Todd about all the things that fill a Scrum Master's day.  Are you a busy Scrum Master? Let us know in the comments! This is one of those Scrum Master interview ques...

Today's question asks us to take a look at how to know when a Product Backlog Item is "ready". Some teams use a Definition of Ready, however, this is a complementary practice, not an official part of Scrum. Check out the video for Todd and Ryan's take on this practice and whether or not a definition of ready is helpful to a Scrum Team. Do you use a definition of ready? Does it help? Let us know in...

A past student left us a comment in our Slack channel asking how to get the Developers on their Scrum Team to attend the Daily Scrum. This is a common issue that many Scrum Master's face. Fortunately, it is an easy problem to solve. Watch as Todd and Ryan break down this situation and expose many of the common reasons that Developers do not attend the Daily Scrum. One common reason is that the Scr...

Today's question asks us to take a look at how a Scrum Team builds trust with stakeholders, your product owner, and the organization. Todd and Ryan discuss the only way that they have found to build trust: DELIVER!  What is your favorite way to help your Scrum Team build trust? Let us know in the comments! This is one of those scrum master interview questions that force us to adopt an agile mindse...

A recent student asked Ryan and Todd to talk about the differences between a Sprint Backlog and a Product Backlog. It's an interesting question as these are two Scrum Artifacts that teams use to keep information transparent. The Sprint Backlog is a representation of present work while the Product Backlog represents future work. Check out the video to learn even more ways the Sprint Backlog and Pro...

Today's question is from a viewer who wants to know if a Product Owner should come from the business side of the company or from IT. Todd and Ryan discuss the role of the  Product Owner and how the business vs IT mentality does not often lead to great product management. What do you think? Does a Product  Owner come from the business or IT? Let us know in the comments! Want to learn more about Scr...

Today's question is from a viewer who wants to know if a Product Owner needs technical skills to be successful. Todd and Ryan discuss the pros and cons of a technical Product Owner and give their guidance on when these skills can be helpful? What do you think? Does a PO need technical skills? Let us know in the comments! Want to learn more about Scrum? Buy Fixing Your Scrum: Practical Solutions to...

A YouTube viewer sent in a question asking about what to do when a Developer does not commit. This question had a little context with it. The scenario was when a Developer won't focus during a Scrum Event or meeting. Check out what Todd and Ryan had to say about this situation! // Want to learn more about Scrum? Buy Fixing Your Scrum: Practical Solutions to Common Scrum Problems - https://amzn.to/...

Today's question is from a viewer who wants to know what are our favorite Scrum best practices. Todd and Ryan tackled this question with the very direct statement: There are NO best practices in Scrum. Once we accept this truth, we can then start looking at a practice or two that helps make life a little better for Scrum Teams. Let us know what you think in the comments. Do you have a BEST PRACTIC...

Today's question is from a viewer who wants to know if every Sprint Backlog Item relates to the Sprint Goal commitment? Watch as Todd and Ryan break down how to use the Sprint Backlog and Sprint Goal to help guide development decisions, manage progress, and keep the Scrum team focused on delivering an increment by the end of the Sprint. Want to learn more about Scrum? Buy Fixing Your Scrum: Practi...

A Scrum Master wrote in and asked Ryan and Todd what should a Scrum Team do when they finish their work early during a Sprint. This is such a great problem to have! Our first step is to CELEBRATE. It's great that value has been delivered, but now there are some important choices to make. Check out the video to learn how Todd and Ryan handle this Scrum situation. // Want to learn more about Scrum?...

Today's question is from a viewer who wants to know if there is some kind of age cap to getting started down the Scrum Master career path. Todd and Ryan both agree that there are no age limitations when it comes to learning Scrum. Check out the video to learn what they think is most important when becoming a Scrum Master. Don't forget - suggest a better Twitter handle for Todd and win a book!!!! W...

A recent student was concerned about the amount of time Product Backlog Refinement was taking away from product development. After a few questions, we realized that our student had some misconceptions about who should attend Product Backlog Refinement. Ryan and Todd discuss the things that they take into consideration when planning a Product Backlog Refinement session. A key takeaway is to do what...

Today's question is from a viewer who wants to know which Scrum Event is the most important. Todd and Ryan discuss the purposes of each Scrum Event and the ones that they enjoy facilitating the most. Listen in to learn the "why" behind each event and how they can help your teams succeed. Want to learn more about Scrum? Buy Fixing Your Scrum: Practical Solutions to Common Scrum Problems -  https://...

You're just starting a new Scrum Master role and you see many opportunities to change and improve things. With so many options, it's hard to know where to begin. Watch as Todd and Ryan break down this situation and give guidance on how to get started and what to do once the biggest issues are discovered. We'll give you a hint, Vanilla Ice gave us a great solution back in the '90s. You'll have to w...

Today's question is from a viewer who wants to know whether or not a non-software team can use Scrum successfully? The answer is an emphatic "YES!". Todd and Ryan share their experience using Scrum with non-software teams and how these teams successfully used Scrum to deliver awesome products. Want to learn more about Scrum? Buy Fixing Your Scrum: Practical Solutions to Common Scrum Problems -  ht...

A listener asked Todd and Ryan how to get Scrum Master experience after getting certified as a Professional Scrum Master. Quite a few Scrum Master's have gotten creative as they've looked for ways to apply their learnings before getting their first Scrum Master gig. Ryan and Todd discuss the things that they did that ultimately led to their first Scrum Master roles. Sometimes they had to think abo...

Today's question is from a viewer who wants to know whether or not a Scrum Team use Story Points? It really depends on your context and situation. Story Points can certainly be a better option than hours. Ryan and Todd also provide options to Story Points and other considerations that they take into account when deciding between story points and other options for estimation. Want to learn more abo...

We get this question pretty often, especially when speaking at conferences: I'm a project manager at a company that just adopted Scrum, am I now out of a job? The quick answer is: Of course not, but there are likely some changes coming your way. Ryan and Todd take the question head-on in today's video. // Want to learn more about Scrum? Buy Fixing Your Scrum: Practical Solutions to Common Scrum Pr...