
## Introduction

Hello, hello! It’s been a while since I wrote my last post here. It’s time to start this year with some new content. 
I just finished a book **Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup"** written by **John Carreyrou**. 

**Spoiler alert!** If you haven't read the book yet, I would recommend doing it first before reading this post. ;)

It is one of these books that you start reading and cannot stop, because it is so interesting. It's the story about startup **Theranos**, an American health technology company. **Elisabeth Holmes** - CEO and the founder of the company was claiming that she will revolutionise the world with her company’s blood testing invention, while it was all a **big fat lie and fraud**. 

Why am I talking about it on this blog? There are so many different thoughts that I had when I was reading this book. I had a sad reflection about the direction of this world, but let’s leave it for later. 

In this post I would like to focus only on one aspect that came to my mind - **critical thinking**. I strongly believe that in the current world it is one of the most important **21st century skills** that we should focus on in education. Let me tell you why, on the example of Elisabeth’s fraud. 

## Trusting famous people & critical thinking

Reading Elisabeth’s story made me realise that there are people in this world that can sell you everything. She was one of them. That woman was able to raise more than US$700 mln from investors who believed in her revolutionary product even if they didn’t see any scientific proof that the product will be able to work. 

Why was it so easy? Of course, I am sure that Elisabeth was able to tell great stories and probably she was a master at manipulating people.

I believe there is something more in this story. One of the reasons why investors got so interested in the product, was creating an **image of Theranos** being the next Apple or Google in the medical sector. 

Elisabeth's idol was **Steve Jobs** and she built her image around being **his female version**. People trusted her and they felt safe enough to invest their money in Theranos. 

![Elisabeth_Holmes](img/elisabeth_holmes.png)

#### Source: "Theranos founder, chairwoman, and C.E.O. Elizabeth Holmes, in Palo Alto, California, September 2014." - BY ETHAN PINES/THE FORBES COLLECTION.

I am pretty sure that there is some psychological process that would describe this behaviour and our willingness to treat famous people differently. I am just wondering why do we trust these people so much?  Could **critical thinking** potentially save us from that? 

Elisabeth Holmes is not the only one who was able to trick people. There are still many, maybe less popular, but still pretty good liars out there. 

Even if I wish we could trust everyone in the world, I don't believe we should. We need to teach students at schools how to **think critically** and analyse information **no matter who they receive it from**. 

Would Theranos have so many investors if they would analyse the facts and confront them with scientific sources? I have no idea, maybe not. But thankfully because few former employees of Theranos were able to think critically, this company doesn't exist anymore.

## Impact of the Critical Thinking

You may wonder why I am connecting these random old investors with education. The reason is simple **our current students at school, university will at some point become adults making decisions that will impact the world.**

Investing in Theranos had a direct **impact on people’s lives.** It was a support for the non ethical process of blood tests that were giving the patients in the US **wrong results**. Imagine receiving misleading information that your results are so bad and you have probably some dangerous disease like cancer. Or the opposite, you received fake positive results, but in reality you should get some medical intervention. In both scenarios you can end up really sick or even die.

This story is just one example, but the way we teach students and what skills they learn, **it can really impact our future**.

## Critical Thinking and "SELF"

Enough sad stories. Let’s try to understand better what critical thinking is and how we can help students to develop this skill.

Quoting **Wikipedia**:

> Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgment.(...) Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking.

There is one really important part of this definition that I believe is crucial, the word **"self"**. The analysis that is done as a part of critical thinking is done by ourselves. We direct it, we decide what and how should be analysed, not other people. **Critical thinking is coming from inside**.
In order to be able to make that analysis by themselves, **students need to have enough space for their "self"**.

They need to have the **autonomy to make decisions** and have a voice in the learning process. 
What does it mean for education?

![self](img/self.jpg)

## Reshaping the format of school

We are at this stage in the history of the world when **schools shouldn’t be just a source of knowledge**. It is no longer possible to cover all important information at school, because we have **much more information** than any human being is able to process.

The purpose of schools is radically changing and at this stage much more important than feeding students with knowledge is **supporting them in their own learning process**.In order to do it, we should give much more autonomy to students. 

In my last [posts](/blog/eduscrum-why-do-we-need-in-education/) I mentioned [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) - framework that I am really passionate about. It is the way of teaching that supports students in learning skills like **critical thinking or collaboration**. 

## eduScrum and critical thinking

How does [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) support students in developing critical thinking skills?

First of all, The Teacher gives Student Teams information about **learning objectives** that are in the form of stories and they list specific **Celebration Criteria** that need to be met in order to achieve these objectives. 

Decision about the way **HOW** these learning objectives will be achieved is owned by students. What does it mean in reality? They need to verify the information, create a list of required tasks and **find their own way of learning**.  At the beginning it can be difficult, because they need to **start analysing data** and **make decisions**. 

They are no longer commanded by the Teacher and they need to **self-organise**. That is exactly the moment when students start developing **critical thinking** skills. 

What is more, they don’t receive the answers on the plate, so they need to **start asking questions** and be proactive to find the right answers. 

![questions](img/questions.jpg)

## The value of critical thinking

When I analyse critical thinking and its impact, I like to remind myself of **Sangen**. "The Principle of Sanmi-Sangen" is a Japanese explanation of the mystery of life. Based on it, square, triangle and circle explain the meaning of human life. 

![Sangen-original](img/Sangen1.png)

#### Source: eduScrum library

Willy Wijnands transformed this metaphor to show the **dynamics & interactions in education**.  

- **The square** represents a **curriculum** that teacher needs to stick to when they plan their work.  

- **Triangle** in the middle reflects the main **focus**, while **circle** is the expression of **dynamics**. 

As a teacher we **change the focus** from subject/project to individual students or to teams depending on needs.   Initially the curriculum is our frame or box and all dynamics are happening within this box.  But once students develop critical thinking skill, they **start growing outside the box**. They are able to achieve what was planned in the curriculum and much more. 

![Sangen-education](img/sangen.png)

#### Source: eduScrum library

That’s the moment when they become less dependent on the teacher and start learning in their own way that wasn’t prescribed by the curriculum or teacher.

I find it fascinating and I’ve seen how **creative** students can be if they have **autonomy and space for their own "self"**. 

## Summary

I strongly believe that we can **impact the future by making the changes in education**. Let’s help our students and give them space for developing critical thinking skills.  Maybe we will save them from believing in some frauds like this one done by Theranos. 

I would like to do my piece and promote [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) all over the world. If you find this subject interesting and would like to learn more, feel free to visit my [website](https://eduscrum.com.au/) and register for [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) training. 

Let’s build this community **together**! :)

In this post I explain the value of critical thinking using the example of Theranos fraud. Was there any way to prevent it from happening?

Critical thinking - could we apply it to avoid Theranos fraud?

## Introduction

I’ve been waiting to post something here for a long time. Definitely too long! The longer I waited, the more difficult it was for me to start.  I have a confession to make - **I am a perfectionist** and sometimes it has a really negative impact on my life. 

On one hand it is great, because it helps me to keep a high level of quality in everything that I do, but perfectionism has also many negative sides. Sometimes it stops me from doing things that maybe wouldn’t be perfect, but could help me to grow - like this post. 

## We are all humans

During the last months I’ve been in some mental state of limbo. I had so many great ideas about what I can post here in a business context e.g. interactions between people, scaling, online communication etc, but at the same time I am passionate about [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) and wanted to write about it too.  But you know what? I realized that I don’t need to feel this pressure and I can just share my thoughts with you! 

This blog was mostly informative so far, but let’s be honest, we are all humans (if you are reading this post from Mars, give me some sign please :D ) and it means that we feel emotions which are not always easy. 

## What did I feel in the last months?

### COVID fatigue

Oh God! So many things happened over the last few months. 

First of all, we’ve been in lockdown in my state. I was fine with that for a long time, but recently I started feeling tired of being constantly on video calls. You need to know one thing about me - I am an introvert and my social skills are still not on the level that I want (yep, I know that my perfectionist part is talking now). But being an introvert didn’t stop me from feeling anxiety and missing interactions with other people.

I miss being in a room full of people where you can all talk and laugh. I miss situations when you want to ask someone a question and you can just go to their desk instead of calling them on Teams.  I think that COVID times are a great moment to appreciate things that you wouldn’t think about before. 

### Stress and how it is killing us!
Except for lockdown, it was also a challenging time for me in terms of work. I changed my job a few months back and one of the main reasons was stress. I needed to find a space for myself that would help me to grow but in a sustainable manner. I did it and I am super proud of myself and happy that I joined my current company. 

But, there is always but! :D Stress that I experienced before, accumulated in my body for a long period of time and it didn’t just go away. Even though in my new job I started to feel safe, my body wasn’t aware of it. For example I am still dealing with my sore jaw muscles. That is a really important lesson.

**It’s not worth it to destroy your body and stress too much!**

I know that it is easier to say than do it, but I really mean it. This situation showed me that I need to make decisions in my life that are in line with my values & my health. 

![stress](img/stress.jpg)

### [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) Australia website?

I don’t wanna lie, in the last months I wasn’t just lying on the couch and that’s it. :D Of course I did that a lot, because I have a super comfortable couch that I love! But I also worked a lot in [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) space. I’ve started developing my website with my personal software developer: my boyfriend. 

It is funny, because I work in software development on a daily basis, but I kind of didn’t realize how much effort is required when you are developing a website alone with your partner. He is working on a coding part, but my role is to design and think about everything that is required on a website. It is interesting, because I started learning how to use tools like Figma and Inkscape. I also discovered how hard it can be to design something that is visually attractive!

At the same time, I’ve been working with people from the [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) community to help with the global changes and promotion of the topic. I will be organizing a session soon with Marija & Carina - “How to organize workshops using [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/)?”. I am super excited, because it can be a great opportunity to share our experiences, but also to learn from others.

## New beginnings

As you could read, I experienced a lot in the last months. If I would mention all my emotions and thoughts, this post would never end. I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive and I really wanted to write more frequently, but life is life. 

Welcome back and don’t worry, you will still find here some posts about [Scrum](https://letsscrumit.com/6-tips-on-how-to-implement-scrum/) or [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/), but not only. I want you to get to know me better and maybe if you will allow me I want to learn more about you too. :) 

![Happiness](img/happiness.jpg)

Welcome back! I wasn't here for a while, but it's time to start writing again. Let me tell you more about myself.

We are all just humans...

##Introduction

You will learn today about **[eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/)** - a framework that I fell in love with and I would like to spread knowledge about it everywhere in the world. 

Initially I was planning to write just a post about [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) basics, but then I realized that before explaining **WHAT** is [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) I need to tell you more about **WHY**. 

Why do we need it in Education? Why could you even think about using that framework? Why do I like this framework so much?

## The origins of eduScrum

To fully understand [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) you need to know its origins.  That’s how it is described by the founder of [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) - **Willy Wijnands**:

> It starts with a bottle of beer and a barbeque in the summer (June) of 2011 with Mark Reijn. Mark just finished a Scrum course given by Jeff Sutherland at the company Schuberg Philis in Amsterdam, where Mark works as a software engineer. Mark was very enthusiastic about Scrum, inspired by Jeff and he explained Scrum to me on one single paper.  > >He was the sparkle who put me on fire. In August 2011 I started one class using Scrum to try-out if it works in the classroom. In the beginning I was surprised that it was working. So, I began to use Scrum in all my classes with success. And so the name eduScrum was born.

When I read this story I can feel a huge inspiration and I am grateful that Willy discovered what Scrum is and implemented it in the classroom. 

## Why did I fall in love with eduScrum?

I am sure that behind Willy's story there are problems that teachers experience in their life every day. He was talking with Mark , because he was looking for inspiration. He really wanted to help his students to collaborate better and to use their potential in the learning process.

I personally believe that the heart of [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) is **care for students and discovering what can help them to thrive**. That’s my **WHY**, the reason why I like [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) so much.  I am inspired by this framework, because the main mission in my life is to help people to discover their potential and thrive. 

If you ever plan to implement [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) in your classroom or project, remember - the purpose is not to give you another technique. [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) is not a silver bullet and it will work only if you will care about your students and give them the wings to fly.

![fly](img/fly.jpg)

## eduScrum & Scrum

As you could find out in Willy's story, he created [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) after discovering what **Scrum** is. 

If you are reading this post and it’s the first time when you’ve heard term Scrum, feel free to check out my previous posts: 
* [First steps to learn Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) 
* [Relationship between Scrum and Agile](/blog/relationship-between-scrum-and-agile/)

[eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) & Scrum have a lot in common, but I will explain it in the following posts.  Today I would like to fully focus on **WHY**.

## Why do we need eduScrum in Education, what are the benefits?

I’ve done some analysis below and explained **3 WHY’s** to show you the reason why we need change like [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) in Education and what are the benefits.

### Education now vs 100 years ago - linear teaching transformation

Initially, when I started writing this part of the post I wanted to mention that education didn’t change too much over the last 100 years. I will not do that, because I would be lying. 

Let’s take a trip down the memory lane- **what changed over the last 100 years?**
* 100 years ago education was available to limited number of people. Currently that’s the case only in some underdeveloped countries. As women we are in much better position now, because in the past we wouldn't have access to education.
* Schools are not using corporal punishment anymore. It is not legal in most of the countries in the world while it was a common approach in the past. 
* Technology is much more advanced - schools use active boards, computers, tablets. 
* In the past the teacher "was always right" even if that wasn’t the truth. Nowadays, there is more space for mistakes and teachers can make them too, because they are human beings, not robots.

**What didn’t change?**

I found a great picture on https://educationrickshaw.com/ that explains it well. 

![Teaching vs learning](img/direction.png "Teaching vs learning")

I wish I could tell you: the left hand side represents education 100 years ago, while the right hand side represents education now.  Unfortunately that wouldn’t be true, because we still teach the way represented on the left hand side. Of course, there are some adjustments like rearranged desks, but one thing still didn’t change:

**The direction of the arrow - it points from the teacher to the student.**

T - represents **teacher**, S represents **student** and arrow shows the **direction of teaching**. As you can see in the picture on the left hand side, the arrow is going from the teacher to students.

**What does it mean in reality?**
* Teacher is the source of truth 
* The role of teacher is to create creative, enjoyable lessons and make sure that students will remember  what they are taught 
* Students job is to remember the lessons

There are few aspects in that approach that **don’t really work:** 
* Teachers can be great people but they they shouldn’t be the only source of truth & knowledge for students
* Responsibility for the learning process shouldn’t be only on teachers shoulders 
* In this approach student is passive and only "receive knowledge", while in reality that’s not the way how we learn

### 1. WHY: change of direction, students empowerment

Based on the analysis of the past and current approach, we can see that something doesn’t really work and that’s how we discover our first **WHY**:

**To change the direction of the arrow. Let's turn it all around and allow students to drive their own learning process.**

Following the [eduScrum guide](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BX4IbmTgcbo0LlupOlHCDUlLpZ0YO0aD/view?usp=sharing):

> eduScrum is a co-creative process in which students are no longer held responsible, but feel responsible for their own work and learning process.

![student](img/student.jpg "student")

**The benefits of that approach:**
* Changing the responsibility for the learning process from teachers to students 
* Teacher’s role is to inspire, support & guide - Students are more motivated, because they have autonomy and they can make their own decisions. 
* It’s easier to recognize when individuals have troubles and more space to help them 
* Students can teach each other & spread their knowledge instead of being only receivers- double benefit, because they can also learn by teaching 
* Teacher can have more time for supporting and guiding students

### 2. WHY:  21st Century skills

In 2015, the World Economic Forum published a report titled ["New Vision for Education: unlocking the Potential of Technology"](http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFUSA_NewVisionforEducation_Report2015.pdf). 

The report describes 16 crucial skills for education in the  21st century: 

* Foundational Literacies 
* Competencies 
* Character Qualities

![21st century skills](img/21stcentury.PNG "21st century skills")

As they mention in the report:

> To thrive in a rapidly evolving, technology-mediated world, students must not only possess strong skills in areas such as language arts, mathematics and science, but they must also be adept at skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, persistence, collaboration and curiosity. (...)  in today’s innovation-driven economy workers need a different mix of skills than in the past.

**Do we currently develop all those skills at school?**

I am afraid that in the traditional linear way of teaching, we focus mostly on Foundational Literacies, while Competencies & Character Qualities are left behind. 

That’s where we found our second **WHY:**

**To help students develop 21st century skills that are required in our rapidly-changing world.**

That's exactly the purpose of [eduScrum](https://www.eduscrum.nl/img/The_eduScrum_guide_English_2.pdf):

> In eduScrum learning is central: learning smarter, learning to collaborate better and getting to know yourself better. In addition, this way of working provides more responsibility, pleasure and energy, resulting in better results and shorter lead times.
>
> ![Agile learning compass](img/compass.jpeg "Agile learning compass")

Source: https://www.eduscrum.nl/resources

**The benefits:**
* We create better future & society members who will be able to adapt to changes. Students can learn how to collaborate. They will need that skill in their future work, relationship and family.  
* We shape human beings who are not only receivers, but they can think critically, have their own opinion and are able to decide what is the best solution. Their persistence, creativity & curiosity will help in solving problems in our society.  
* What is more, they can critically observe their own actions and improve themselves. 
* Communication skills will help students to express their needs, but also to be mindful about others, listen to them & develop empathy.

### 3. WHY: motivation & results

Some of you can think - "Wait a second, it sounds like a beautiful story, but we still need to prepare students to pass exams, we still need to help them to have the best results".
That’s the moment when part of myself is sad, because I know how much we are driven by results and I know that during that process of achieving more and more it is easy to forget about **people**. 

But, don’t worry! [eduScrum](https://www.eduscrum.nl/img/The_eduScrum_guide_English_2.pdf): has it all covered:

> eduScrum is a framework within which teachers and pupils tackle complex, challenging problems and pursue learning goals of the highest possible value in a productive and creative manner.

Teachers are frequently struggling with students’ lack of motivation.  That’s the reason for our third **WHY**:

**To motivate students intrinsically by giving them autonomy what leads to improving academic results.**

**The benefits:**
* Initially it will require more effort to change the approach, but once students discover their strengths, they will get motivated and their results will become better. 
* Students will not be learning only to get better results, but they will become more curious.  
* Teachers don't need to explain how students need to achieve learning objectives, they determine only why and what.  
* At some point, students will not be learning only based on Curriculum, but they will be discovering more out of curiosity. 

## What is your WHY?

I know that this post is long and I didn’t really explain exactly what [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) is, but don’t worry, I will explain it in the following posts. I wanted to start by analysing our world’s needs in education first, so that you can use it later as a reference.

I could explain more and more reasons why I believe that we need a framework like [eduScrum](https://eduscrum.com.au/) in Education, but I will leave some space for your personal reflection. 

**Why do you think we need some change in Education? Have you ever experienced difficulties at school either as a teacher or as a student? Is there anything that you could make better in education if you could?**

Please let me know if you find this topic interesting and what parts you would like to explore more. If you would like to learn more about eduScrum, I invite you to my eduScrum Basic Training.

This post is dedicated to everyone who cares about Education and who would like to discover some innovative ideas on how to help students to grow.

eduScrum - why do we need it in Education?

## Introduction

Today I would like to write a little bit about a subject that we all know about, but it’s been always difficult to deal with - **failure**. It is part of your life, it’s part of my life and no matter how much we try, we are not able to prevent it. Actually, we can prevent it, by not doing anything, but… Wait, isn’t it a failure too?

In my last post I quoted **Brené Brown** and I would like to do it again, because I strongly believe in her words: > There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.

Failure will always be part of our lives, but we can experience it and learn from it or struggle with moving forward. **What do you choose?**

![Failure](img/failure_scrum_blog.png)

## Scrum & Failure

You could wonder - "Why is she talking about failure, if this blog is about Scrum, Agile etc?". The answer is simple - failure is an inevitable part of the Scrum framework and Agile way of working. 

As you may remember, Scrum is founded on empiricism and following the [Scrum Guide](https://scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html):

> Empiricism asserts that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is observed.

If knowledge comes from experience, it means that we learn based on events that occur in our lives - either positive or negative like failure.  Following this conclusion, failure is an important part of the Scrum, because we can learn from it and adapt our behaviour. 

## Failure & Agile mindset 

Nowadays there are many ways of interpreting **Agile**, but I will keep repeating like a broken record that it is not a methodology, it is a **mindset**.  I wanted to highlight it, because to be able to deal with failure, we need to have the right mindset.  Being open for changes, even if they potentially can bring failure is important. 

With that mindset it is easier to find better solutions when you experience failure or any issues in your life. 

I keep learning every day to stay focused on the positive impact of every situation in my life, even if it’s not easy for me. That’s how you can not only **"do Agile"**, but **"be Agile"** in your daily life. 

![Mindset](img/mindset.jpg)

## Failure and environment

There is one crucial aspect in dealing with failure that can change everything - **environment**, conditions in which you operate. 

It is easy to say "I cannot understand how she/he didn’t deal with that failure and what they did with their lives. If I were she/he in this place, I would overcome it easily or solve it differently."

The thing is - **you are not in her/his place**, because you probably have a totally different environment that would help you to deal with failure. Not everyone is so lucky e.g. losing a job for someone who has a supporting partner, family will be a totally different experience than losing a job for someone who has depression and is fighting with their family everyday. 

One of the Agile principles in the [Agile Manifesto](https://agilemanifesto.org/) is saying:

> Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done

I would like to highlight two parts of this principle **"environment"** and **"support they need"**. To be able to learn from your failures require the right environment and support that you need. 

In the business context it is not as easy as it sounds, because in many organizations there is no space for any failure or mistake. 

What does it mean for people? They will not even try, they will not be creative, because they will be afraid of making mistakes and being punished for that.  That’s definitely an environment that we would like to avoid.  Employees are the most creative when they have space to try new things and they have support from the organization.
![Support](img/support.jpg)

## Failure and Perfectionism

I am one of the people who are struggling with **perfectionism** in their life. Sometimes it is a blessing for me, because I aim to do everything the best I can.  Unfortunately, it is also an issue, because I am struggling if I don’t achieve 100% and I don’t deliver something perfect. You can imagine what happens in my mind when I fail. 
For a long period of time in my life, I was blaming myself for every mistake, even small. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and it was impacting my next actions. 

I learned how to stop doing it through Ultimate Frisbee - a sport that I play. I noticed that every time when I was blaming myself for mistakes on the field, I was making even more mistakes and it was stopping me from enjoying the game.  At some point I decided to focus only on my next move, instead of thinking about the past mistakes. 

![Perfectionism](img/perfectionism.jpg)

It is easier in sports than in daily life, but I try to apply it to my work & other personal activities as well. I am sure that I am not the only person who is struggling with perfectionism, because I’ve met many people like me in my career. 

If you are one of these people and you are struggling with thinking about your mistakes, failures, **don’t be harsh on yourself**. I know how difficult it can be, but I also know how important it is for mental health to focus on your current or next steps instead of blaming yourself for mistakes.  Whatever you think, ask yourself if you would say the same words to your close friend if they would make the same mistake. Most of the time, the answer would be "no", so analyse if you want to talk to yourself that way. 

Understanding that nothing is perfect is an important part of the Agile way of working. It allows people to fail and try new solutions or discover why the action didn’t bring any value. 

## Summary

To summarize, failure is an important part of Agile/Scrum, but what is more important - it is inevitable part of our lives!  Think about it as an experience that you can learn from. Don’t forget about support for people around you who are struggling with failure in their lives. **Your few empowering words can change someone's day and help them to move forward**. 

Last, but not least, **don’t be harsh on yourself** when you experience failure in your life. Treat yourself the same way as you would treat your friend. 

Let me know what you think about failure. Do you agree with my opinion that it is part of Agile & Scrum? Feel free to comment here or start discussion on LinkedIn/Instagram.

Have you ever thought about failure in regards to Scrum, Agile? How do you deal with failure? In this post you will have a look at a failure from a different angle and discover its value.

Scrum, Agile and failure 

## Introduction

It’s been a while since I wrote the last post here. I’ve started thinking about it - how did it happen that I stopped writing?  There are many reasons, but today I would like to focus on one that was the most important: **change**. 

People frequently underestimate how even small changes can affect their lives. In my case I changed a job, so it was a significant disruption of my life. I had to get out of my comfort zone and face the new environment, people & standards again. 

I have a love-hate relationship with change. I am always super excited before it comes. When it really happens, I get stressed and overwhelmed. Then I experience new things, learn and at the end I am really happy that I welcomed change in my life. 

I strongly believe that one of the **Agile values**: 

>Responding to change over following a plan

can be applied not only in a business, but also in a personal life context.  Nowadays, no matter how much we try, we will not be able to avoid changes. They will be happening even if we will have wonderful fully-detailed plans. The question is not if they happen, but how we will respond when they do. 

![Change](img/change_2.png)

## How to adapt to change? 

There are few things that I believe can help when we try to adapt to change in both scenarios - business & personal life.

## 1. Don’t be too hard on yourself - failure is inevitable 

Being hard on myself - that’s a mistake that I still make, but I try to minimize it every time when change comes.  No matter how much we try, we will fail and we will be making mistakes. Blaming ourselves or anyone else doesn’t bring any value but makes the process even more difficult. 

Accepting that issues will appear can help to change the focus from mistakes to small achievements during the process of change.  That on the other hand will boost up your energy level and help you to deal with difficult parts.

Whenever you try to adapt to change and make mistake, keep the words of Brene Brown in your mind:

>There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.

## 2. Start from small steps & be consistent

I started this blog by developing a simple habit - writing a minimum 15 minutes daily. That was back when I was working from home every day and I was always writing at the same time.  When changes came into my life (e.g. working partially in the office) I had to start development of my habits again. I must admit - it is hard!  I know that what really helps me adapt to change are small steps. These 15 minutes of writing were no longer easy for me due to different circumstances in my life. I had to approve it and figure out my starting point - the smallest steps possible like writing even a few words or thinking about what I would like to write about. 

In the business it’s exactly the same. When change comes, not everything will be working as we planned, but we need to slowly adapt - step by step.  There is one sentence that I saw so many times in Scrum/Agile materials and I believe it is really important: 

> consistency reduces complexity

Even the smallest steps can help to develop habits if we will be taking them consistently at the same time and place. 

![Steps](img/steps.jpg)

## 3. Feel the fear & take action anyway

It is OK to be afraid of change and it’s OK when you feel overwhelmed. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about your personal life here or about change in your company. We are humans and feeling fear is our natural and primitive human emotion. It is a survival mechanism that alerts us to the present of danger. 

When we experience change, it is quite possible that we will feel fear. It is normal, but it is important to not be frozen in fear.  You need to take action anyway! That is the only way to adapt to change - by taking action. Fear will be still present in your life, so get used to it and learn how to live with it and do not let it stop you from action.

![Fear](img/fear.jpg)

## Summary

I know that there are many more ideas that can help you adapt to change, but I believe that these 3 points are the most important.  

Remember: 
* You will fail, but that’s part of the process. Don’t be too hard on yourself. 

* Adapt to change by doing small steps and be consistent. 

* Get used to feeling fear and take action anyway.
Let me know what you find the most helpful in adapting to change. Feel free to add comments here or start a discussion on LinkedIn/ Twitter. 

People frequently underestimate how even small changes can affect their lives. Changes are unavoidable, so that we need to be ready for them. In this post you can find few things that can help you in the adaptation process.

How to adapt to change?

## Introduction

Last two posts on my blog were dedicated to Scrum Artifacts: [Product Backlog](/blog/scrum-artifacts-1-product-backlog/) and [Sprint Backlog](/blog/scrum-artifacts-2-sprint-backlog/). 

It’s time to talk about one of the Artifacts in Scrum which is the result of all actions in the [Sprint](/blog/scrum-events-1-the-sprint/) - **the Increment**.
 
![Increment](img/increment.png)

## What is the Increment?

Based on the Scrum Guide: 

>The Increment is the sum of all the Product Backlog items completed during a Sprint and the value of the increments of all previous Sprints. 

In other words, the Increment is the result of [Development Team’s](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) work in the [Sprint](/blog/scrum-events-1-the-sprint/). It’s the "Kinder Surprise" for stakeholders that can be unpacked and inspected during [Sprint Review](/blog/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/) meeting. That’s what everybody is waiting for!

## "DONE" Increment

Every new Increment needs to be "Done". It means that it needs to meet the Definition of "Done" created by the Scrum Team. 

The main role of the definition of "Done" is to increase and support high quality of the increment. Definition of "Done" is created by the [Development Team’s](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) to have a common understanding about completed work and to ensure transparency.

What is more, definition of "Done" helps the [Development Team’s](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) to select the right number of Product Backlog items into [Sprint Backlog](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-artifacts-2-sprint-backlog/) during [Sprint Planning](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/) session.

![Done](img/done.jpg)

## Increment & Release

The increment doesn’t need to be released at the end of the Sprint, but it needs to be in releasable state.  It is important to create the increment that is in usable condition and can be released to the market. 

Why is it so important? Because it’s the best way to verify if a created product will fulfill users needs.That will show if the business goals are achieved and will give the a guidance to the Scrum Team what needs to be improved and why. Depending on the situation, [Product Owner](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/) decides if it will be released or not.

## Summary
* Increment is sum of all items completed within the [Sprint](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-1-the-sprint/)  + value of increments from previous iterations

* When Increment is created, definition of "Done" needs to be met - Decision about releasing the Increment is in the [Product Owner’s](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/) hands, but it needs to be in useable/releasable state.

Find out what Increment is, how it is connected with the definition of "Done" and release.

Scrum Artifacts #3 The Increment

## Introduction

In my last post from Scrum Artifacts series, I described the king of artifacts in Scrum framework - [Product Backlog](/blog/scrum-artifacts-1-product-backlog/). Today I would like to tell you more about the next artifact - Sprint Backlog. 


## What is Sprint Backlog?

If Product Backlog is a king or queen of the Scrum Artifacts, Sprint Backlog can be called their beloved child. 

Based on the Scrum Guide: 

> The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus a plan for delivering the product Increment and realizing the Sprint Goal. 

## When & How the Sprint Backlog is created?

Sprint Backlog is created during the [Sprint Planning](/blog/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/) session, when Scrum Team develops a plan for the Sprint and decides what can be "Done" during the upcoming iteration.

[Product Owner](/blog/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/) presents the business objectives and proposes Product Backlog items for the Sprint.

Then the Scrum Team starts discussion about functionalities and items that will be included in the Sprint.  Based on their expertise and skills, the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) should decide what items can be “Done” in the next iteration and what work is required in order to achieve it. That’s how the Sprint Backlog is formed. 

## Sprint Backlog - transparency & commitment

Sprint Backlog is a great tool in Scrum that promotes transparency and supports commitment. 
First of all, [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) selects by themselves all items that will be "Done" during the Sprint. They commit to the work and decide how it will be done. They also own the Sprint Backlog and are responsible for managing their workload. It helps them to be fully committed. 

What is more, having a clear understanding of what needs to be done during the Sprint, promotes Transparency and minimizes understatements. 

Based on the Scrum Guide: > The Sprint Backlog makes visible all the work that the Development Team identifies as necessary to meet the [Sprint Goal](/blog/sprint-goal-why-do-we-need-it/).

The [Development Team](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) can be fully focused on their work, which increases the value of developed increment. 

![Transparency](img/transparency.jpg)

## Sprint Backlog & Continuous Improvement

During [Sprint Retrospective](/blog/scrum-events-5-sprint-retrospective/), Scrum Team should select at least one improvement and include it in the Sprint Backlog.

That’s the best approach to make sure that improvements discussed on the [Sprint Retrospective](/blog/scrum-events-5-sprint-retrospective/) are part of the Sprint.  It will create continuous improvement and help the [Development Team](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/)  to become a high performance team.

## Sprint Backlog - Fully prescribed?

Initially when Sprint Backlog is created it contains enough details to be understood by the  [Development Team](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/).

Does it mean that it is fully described and fixed? Definitely no. It is modified by the [Development Team](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) and emerges during the Sprint.  The team can discover that they need to adjust the plan, do some additional tasks or change their approach. 

It is important to mention that Sprint Backlog solely belongs to the [Development Team](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/). It means that Sprint Backlog can be changed but only if [Development Team](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) needs to update it. It cannot be updated by [Product Owner](/blog/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/) or [Scrum Master](/blog/scrum-roles-3-scrum-master/).

The [Development Team](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) is committed to the work and they decide what changes are required. They can add new work if it is required in order to achieve the Sprint Goal or remove tasks that are no longer required. 

## Sprint Backlog & Daily Progress

During the Sprint the [Development Team](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) is responsible for tracking their work progress.  Sprint Backlog helps them to track total remaining work and inspect it on Daily Scrum.

Transparency of all work required in the Sprint gives the team possibility to plan their work daily and adapt if there are any changes in tasks required or impediments to be removed. 

![Progress](img/progress.jpg)

## Summary

The most important information about Sprint Backlog that you should remember from this post: 
* It is set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint plus delivery plan 

* Sprint Backlog is created during the [Sprint Planning](/blog/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/) session 

* It promotes transparency and supports commitment 

* During Sprint Retrospective, at least one improvement should be selected and included in the Sprint Backlog. 

* Sprint Backlog solely belongs to the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) 

* It can be adjusted during the Sprint by [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) 

* Sprint Backlog is a great tool for tracking of daily progress

What is Sprint Backlog? Who is responsible for managing it? How is it created? Jump in to find it out.

Scrum Artifacts #2 Sprint Backlog

## Introduction

In my last 2 posts from Scrum Roles series I explained who is the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) and the [Product Owner](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/).

Today I would like to tell you more about the role of Scrum Master that is close to my heart, because I act as the Scrum Master in the Scrum Team. 

![Scrum-Master](img/scrummaster.png)

## Who is the Scrum Master?

Before we will start analyzing deeply the role, let’s check what Scrum Guide says about it:

> The Scrum Master is responsible for promoting and supporting Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. Scrum Masters do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory, practices, rules, and values.

The most important responsibility of the Scrum Master role is to help everyone in understanding and using the Scrum framework. This will maximize the value created by the Scrum Team and will help them to build high-performance culture. 

It can sound simple, but there are a lot of skills and actions required from the Scrum Master in order to achieve the above. 

## Scrum Master - servant leader

One of the important things to remember is that: > The Scrum Master is a servant-leader for the Scrum Team. 

It is definitely not the traditional project manager, but the leader who serves the Team and helps them to understand what Scrum is and how they can use it on a daily basis. 
Scrum Master should serve the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/), [Product Owner](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/) and the Organization.  

As a servant leader Scrum Master is responsible for: 
* Removing all impediments during development process 

* Helping to create collaborative and safe culture within the Scrum Team and organization - Finding and proposing new solutions that will help in more efficient development of the product  

* Understanding Scrum Team and organization needs and how they can be fulfilled using an agile approach.

![Servant-Leader](img/servant_leader.jpg)

## Scrum Master - teacher & coach

When I was a young girl, I wanted to become a teacher. What is more, I have even a degree in Early Childhood Education, because teaching others and helping them to grow was always my passion.  After a lot of adventures and changes in my life I become a Scrum Master and I believe that my teaching skills are really useful in this role. 

Scrum Master needs to use coaching skills and teach all below on a daily basis. 

#### Product Owner

*  Clear expression of the business goals, scope and the purpose of the product

* Product Backlog management by finding more effective ways and techniques. This includes making sure that Product Backlog items are clear and understandable for everyone. It should be explained and arranged the way that will maximize the value of the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) work. 

* Understand and practice agility and empirical approach in all Scrum activities.

#### Development Team:
* Self-organization and cross- functionality that are crucial part of their growth

* Understand the purpose of the Scrum and practicing it in an agile way on a daily basis

* Create high-value products 

* Resolve conflicts and discuss issues when they appear.

#### The Organization:

* How Scrum can be adopted and what is required from the Organization

* The value of the Scrum in organization and what does it mean to use empirical process in development of the product

* Plan Scrum implementations, cooperate with other Scrum Masters to increase effectiveness in Scrum adoption in organization

* How Organization should interact with the Scrum Team and what will increase the productivity and what won’t.

![Teacher](img/teacher.jpg) 

## Scrum Master - Facilitator

Scrum framework consists of events that increase communication and effectiveness within the team like : [Sprint](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-1-the-sprint/), [Daily Scrum](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-3-daily-scrum/), [Sprint Planning](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/), [Sprint Review](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/) and [Sprint Retrospective](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-5-sprint-retrospective/).

Scrum Master needs to facilitate some of these events if it is requested or needed. He or she also needs to make sure that events are organized and the team doesn’t exceed the maximum time dedicated for each event. 

Scrum Master should listen to the team’s discussion and issues they are struggling with and ask the right questions in the right moment.  I would say that one of the most important, but also difficult skills for the Scrum Master is taking the step back and creating space for the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) to express their ideas and solutions. 

A lot of Scrum Masters who transformed from the traditional project management approach would like to propose the solution right away instead of giving the freedom to the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) to find it by themselves. 

The only way to help the team to be self-organized is to trust them and allow them to make their own decisions and mistakes. This empirical process is the best way to learn and grow. 

![Facilitator](img/facilitator.jpg)

## Summary

* Scrum Master is the role in Scrum Team who **promotes Scrum** and **helps** everyone to **understand** and **practice** it on a daily basis.

* He or she should be the **servant - leader** who supports [Product Owner](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/), [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) and the Organization in their Scrum journey. 

* Scrum Master is responsible for **helping [Product Owner](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/) in Product Backlog management** and making sure that everyone in the Scrum Team understands it.

* The [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) should be **coached** by the Scrum Master how to become a **self-organized and cross-functional team** and deliver the high value products. Scrum Master needs to support them and promote an agile and collaborative approach. 

* Scrum Master has multiple functions such as: **servant-leader, teacher, coach, facilitator** and more depending on what is needed. She or he needs to be the person who adapts to change quickly and helps everyone else to do it. 

Would you like to know who is the Scrum Master? What is her or his role in the Scrum Team?

Scrum Roles #3 Scrum Master

## Introduction

As I mentioned in my last [post](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/), Scrum Team consists of the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/), Product Owner and Scrum Master.  I’ve already described the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/) and today I would like to tell you more about the **Product Owner**. 

## Who is the Product Owner

Let’s check what Scrum Guide says about it: > The Product Owner is one person, not a committee. The Product Owner may represent the desires of a committee in the Product Backlog, but those wanting to change a Product Backlog item’s priority must address the Product Owner.

This is important information - Product Owner is **one individual**, not a group of people. Why?  The reason is simple - multiple people mean multiple decisions, visions and increased complexity. 

![Product-Owner](img/productowner.jpeg)

## What is the Product Owner responsible for?

Based on the Scrum Guide:

> The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product resulting from work of the Development Team. How this is done may vary widely across organizations, Scrum Teams, and individuals.

Ok, you may ask now - "What does it mean maximizing value?" 

First of all, a Product Owner needs to have a deep understanding of the product. Based on the knowledge about the product, he or she can decide what direction of the development will be the most valuable. It can be done based on the market situation, company strategy or analysis of the customer needs. As it was described in the Scrum Guide, it can vary across companies. 

The simple example from real life: the Product Owner receives the request from the higher management in the company that they want to implement some additional product functionality urgently. 

Before the Product Owner makes any decisions, he or she needs to analyze all implications related to technical aspects, impediments, customer needs etc.  Based on the analysis the Product Owner decides if the new action will be valuable for the product or not. 

## Product Owner & Product Backlog

As we can read in the Scrum Guide:

> The Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog. 

If you don’t know the Scrum yet, you may ask - "What is the Product Backlog?"  It is a list of everything that is required, needed in the product. 
The Product Owner is responsible for creating this list of work items called "Product Backlog items" and managing it. 

![Product-backlog](img/backlog.jpg)

**How can the Product Owner manage the Product Backlog?**
* All Product Backlog items should be clear and understandable for everyone in the Development Team. The most priority items should be fully explained to allow the team to plan their work accordingly.

* Product Backlog should be visible to everyone in the Scrum Team to make sure all requirements and vision of the product are transparent.

* Items need to be ordered by PO based on the business goals and strategy. The most important and priority work should be on the top of the Product Backlog.

* During management of the Product Backlog PO should consider work required from the Development Team and decide how to optimize the value of their work.

Some of the above responsibilities can be done by different people (selected by PO), but the Product Owner remains accountable in terms of the Product Backlog management.

## Product Owner - other responsibilities

The Product Owner is the only person who has authority to cancel the [Sprint](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-1-the-sprint/). It is a really rare case, but this decision can be made by the Product Owner due to technology or market changes.

The Product Owner is also the main link between business and the Development Team. She or he needs to fully understand business needs and clearly express them to the team. 

In Scrum there is one event facilitated mostly by the Product Owner - [Sprint Review](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/): 
* All key stakeholders need to be invited by the PO to the meeting. He or she needs to explain what Product Backlog items were "Done" during the Sprint and what is the current status of the Product Backlog.

* Together with all stakeholders and other members of the Scrum Team, the Product Owner analyzes the marketplace, budget and potential timeline.

  
![Stakeholders](img/stakeholders.jpg)

## Product Owner & Sprint Backlog

The Product Owner is responsible for Product Backlog, but what about **Sprint Backlog**?  Sprint Backlog is created during [Sprint Planning](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/) and includes items selected from the Product Backlog for the new [Sprint](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-1-the-sprint/).

The difference between **Product Backlog** and **Sprint Backlog** is that the first one is managed and can be changed by the Product Owner, while the other one belongs solely to the [Development Team](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-roles-1-development-team/).  It means that the Product Owner cannot update it in the Sprint or add anything. The Development Team can change it and renegotiate selected items with the Product Owner if it’s needed. 

Moreover, the Product Owner plays the important role in **clarification of the Product Backlog Items**. If the Development Team has any concerns related to items selected for the Sprint, the Product Owner should help them and explain all unclear details.

## Summary

To sum up the Product Owner’s role, it is **one person** who makes sure that all the actions within the Sprint are **maximizing value of the product**. 

The Product Owner needs to be the **link between all stakeholders and the Development Team**. She or he should know deeply the product, business needs and marketplace in order to achieve the best results during the product development process. 

The main responsibility of the Product Owner is the **Product Backlog management** including ordering, clarification of items and optimizing the Development Team’s work. 

Who is the Product Owner? What are her or his responsibilities? Read this post to find out more about this Scrum Role.

Scrum Roles #2 Product Owner

## Introdution

Last month, I explained to you in detail all Scrum Events: [Sprint](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-1-the-sprint/), [Sprint Planning](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/), [Daily Scrum](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-3-daily-scrum/), [Sprint Review](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/) and [Sprint Retrospective](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-5-sprint-retrospective/).

Today, I would like to start a new series about **Scrum Roles**. You probably think that you can read about Scrum Events and Roles in the Scrum Guide and there is no need to write posts about them. But I believe that practical knowledge and deep explanation of terms used in the Scrum Guide is important to understand the Scrum framework. 

First posts on this blog are written to create the foundation for all interesting discussions about Scrum and Agile. Without solid basics this framework doesn’t work properly.

![Scrum_Team](img/scrumteam.PNG)

## Scrum Team

To explain the Development Team role, I need to start from the broad context.  In the Scrum all roles are part of the Scrum Team.  Based on the Scrum Guide:

> The Scrum Team consists of a **Product Owner**, **the Development Team**, and a **Scrum Master**. Scrum Teams are self-organizing and cross-functional. 

## Self-organizing?

Oh wait! Don’t they need any manager? Yes, that’s right. Self-organizing team doesn’t need to be managed by someone outside the team.  The team knows the best way to organize and accomplish their work. 

## Cross-functional?

What does it mean? It means that together in a team, they have all skills required to do the work. They don’t need to depend on others who are not part of the team. 
To make their work even more effective, the Development Team should aim for spreading the knowledge in the team. It can be achieved by practices like pair programming, learning at lunch events or changing the facilitator on each Scrum Event.
The above attributes of the Scrum Team increase productivity and flexibility of the team. What is more, Scrum Team inspired by their own autonomy is more creative and delivering complex products is much easier for them. 


## Who is part of the Development Team?

Great, we know that the Development Team is one of the roles in the Scrum Team.  Let’s check in the Scrum Guide who is part of the Development Team:

> The Development Team consists of professionals who do the work of delivering a potentially releasable Increment of "Done" product at the end of each Sprint.

In the Development Team you can find everyone who gets product development work done. I will list examples from software development, but remember that Scrum can be used in any other industry. 

If we develop software products, Development Team can consists experts in:
* Software Engineering
* Designing
* Testing
* Software Architecture
* Business Analysis
* And everything else what is required to get things done.

![Development_Team](img/developmentteam.PNG)

## What is the size of the Development Team?

Based on the Scrum Guide:

> Optimal Development Team size is small enough to remain nimble and large enough to complete significant work within a Sprint.

Size of the Development Team should be from **3 to 9 people**. Smaller teams will be less productive and they can struggle with delivering the increment. On the other hand, a bigger team increases complexity what can cause communication and collaboration issues. 
Scrum Master and Product Owner are not part of the Development Team unless they also do the work from the Sprint Backlog.

## What are the atributes of the Development Team

The Development Team as a part of the Scrum Team needs to be **self-organized** and **cross-functional**.  They decide what is included in the Sprint Backlog and how they will achieve the [Sprint Goal](https://letsscrumit.com/sprint-goal-why-do-we-need-it/) that they planned.

The most important for the team is **delivery of the releasable increment of "Done"** product at the end of each Sprint. They create the definition of "Done" and decide how it will be verified. 

The Development Team should **consist of people with the right skills** to be able to effectively organize their own work and deliver the product increment.
 
Based on the Scrum Guide:
> Individual Development Team members may have specialized skills and areas of focus, but **accountability belongs to the Development Team as a whole**.

It is crucial for the team to remember about and support each other and collaborate effectively in order to achieve their goals.

![Attributes](img/attributes.jpg)

## Titles and sub-teams in the Development Team

Based on the Scrum Guide:
> - Scrum recognizes no titles for Development Team members, regardless of the work being performed by the person
> - Scrum recognizes no sub-teams in the Development Team, regardless of domains that need to be addressed like testing, architecture, operations, or business analysis

**What does it mean in reality?**

It means that the Development Team should work together without anything like titles or sub-team what could divide them.  During [Sprint Planning](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/) they need to estimate work considering all skills and knowledge in the team.  If there are less experienced people in the team, others should teach them and help to develop all necessary skills. 

## Responsibilities of Development Team

What is the Development Team Responsible for? 
* Getting things **Done**

* Development of releasable **increment** of product

* **Planning** their work on the [Sprint Planning meeting](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/)

* **Sprint Backlog** - it can be adjusted after agreement between Development Team and Product Owner

* Achievement of the [Sprint Goal](https://letsscrumit.com/sprint-goal-why-do-we-need-it/) planned for the Sprint

* Managing their work daily, planning and **inspection** during [Daily Scrum](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-3-daily-scrum/)

* Demonstration of **"Done"** work during [Sprint Review](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/)

* **Analyzing** their work, relationships and processes during [Sprint Retrospective](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-5-sprint-retrospective/). They need to inspect and adapt if needed

* **Continues improvement** of their work and processes.

![Responsibilities](img/responsibilities.jpg)

## Summary 

To summarize, the Development Team is responsible for **"Done"** work in the Sprint and "How" it will be done. As a **self-organizing** and **cross-functional** team, they find the best solutions to deliver the product effectively. They **inspect** their work and **adapt** to achieve better results, but also to increase creativity in the team. 

They need to be **transparent** in all their actions to build **trust** and **respect** in the team and create a safe environment for every team member.

Would you like to know who is in the Development Team and what are respnsibilities of the team? Check out this post to find out more.

Scrum Roles #1 Development Team

## Introduction

In my last posts you’ve learned about:
- [Sprint](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-1-the-sprint/)
- [Sprint Planning](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/)
- [Daily Scrum](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-3-daily-scrum/) and
- [Sprint Review](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/)

Today I would like to describe the last event in the Scrum Events series - Sprint Retrospective.

## Definition and length

Definition in the Scrum Guide:

> The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint.

As you can see, this event similarly to [Sprint Review](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/) is focused on the inspection. The main difference between [Sprint Review](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/) and Retrospective is a subject. [Sprint Review](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/) is about review and inspection of the **increment**, while Sprint Retrospective is dedicated to inspection of the **Scrum Team itself**.

Regarding length and occurence of the event, based on the Scrum Guide:

> The Sprint Retrospective occurs after the Sprint Review and prior to the next Sprint Planning. This is at most a three-hour meeting for one-month Sprints. For shorter Sprints, the event is usually shorter.

**Who should attend the event?**

**Scrum Team** - Development Team, Product Owner and Scrum Master. Scrum Master needs to make sure that event is organized and everyone understands the purpose.
Before we jump into the purpose, let’s find the Sprint Retrospective in the running analogy that I used in the whole series. I believe that Sprint Retrospective is like the moment when you finish sprinting and you start analyzing your behaviour, speed and everything else that could impact your running. Before you will start preparing for the next run, you want to know what was working for you and what should be adjusted to perform better.

![Analysis](img/analysis.jpg)

## Purpose

Following the Scrum Guide:

> The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to:
> - Inspect how the last Sprint went with regards to people, relationships, process, and tools;
> - Identify and order the major items that went well and potential improvements; and,
> - Create a plan for implementing improvements to the way the Scrum Team does its work.

Sprint Retrospective gives the opportunity for the Scrum Team to observe their actions and learn from experience. It’s time when they can analyze:
* What went well during the Sprint? - What they didn’t like and should be improved? - What solutions can be implemented to make their work more effective?

Scrum Master should encourage the Team to improve processes and practices to make their work more fun and effective. The continuous improvement is the important part of the Scrum. Making changes and adapting to the current situation is necessary in order to increase product quality. In my opinion it is also crucial for the team and personal development of each team member.

What is the main purpose of the Sprint Retrospective in my opinion? I believe it is an honest discussion about the Sprint and ideas for improvement. I would like to emphasize how important transparency and honesty are during that meeting. It is not possible to make real improvement without honest opinions of team members.

## Celebration
Let me describe the main 3 parts of the Sprint Retrospective.

First of all this event is a great opportunity to celebrate successes and remind all positive aspects of the Sprint. It’s perfect time to appreciate what other team members did and how they did it. This approach helps to build a motivated and collaborative team.
People keep forgetting about positive aspects of their lives and have a tendency to focus on the negative situations. Without knowledge about successes and good solutions, the Scrum Team cannot keep growing. They need to know what is working for them and what they would like to continue doing.

![Celebration](img/celebration.jpg)

## 2) Did not go well

After discussion about positive aspects of the Sprint is time to face with everything that didn't go well. The important part is to create the safety space for team members to express what they think. The only way to achieve it, is creation of a blame-free and full of trust environment.

Let’s remember that during Sprint Retrospective, team members don’t focus only on their work. It’s time for discussion also about relationships or conflicts if they appeared. I would say that is the most challenging bit that they can struggle with. Talking about processes and tools is much easier than telling someone that we didn’t like their behavior or attitude. During this kind of discussion the Scrum Team needs to remember about respect to everyone and openness to feedback.

## Improvements & ideas

Once the major items that didn’t go well are identified, the Scrum Team should try to find the best improvements that can be implemented. That’s a time for brainstorming and sharing all ideas with the team. Team members don’t need to focus on the solutions for the existing issues, but they can suggest any ideas that will make their work and relationships better.
If it’s possible, they can adjust Definition of Done considering the organizational standards and processes.

When all improvements are listed, the Scrum Team needs to decide what will be implemented in the next Sprint and they should include them in the Sprint Backlog.

![Ideas](img/ideas.jpg)

## Summary

There are a lot of examples how Sprint Retrospective can be facilitated. I didn’t include them here, because I wanted to start from describing the main idea and purpose of the meeting first. I will definitely write a post fully focused on the retrospective ideas.

The most important information about Sprint Retrospective:
* It’s an event focused on inspection and adaptation of the Scrum Team itself.

* Time: 3 hours for the one month Sprint.

* When is it happening? After [Sprint Review](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-4-sprint-review/) and before the next [Sprint Planning](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/).

* The purpose: inspect what went well, what didn’t go well and what should be improved in regards to people, relationships, processes and tools.

* It’s an opportunity to celebrate successes and appreciate others' work.

* Discussion about items that didn’t go well should be done without blaming others, but with openness, trust and respect to everyone.

* During Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team should try to find the best solutions to solve their issues and improvements that will make their work and relationships better.

Let’s talk about my favourite and last Scrum Event - Sprint Retrospective. I described when it is happening and what is the purpose of that event.

Scrum Events #5 Sprint Retrospective

## Introduction

In my last 2 posts from Scrum Events series I described what is [Sprint](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-1-the-sprint/) and [Sprint Planning](https://letsscrumit.com/scrum-events-2-sprint-planning/). Today I would like to focus on the event that can be easily forgotten or incorrectly transformed into a status meeting.
 
It’s time to talk about **Daily Scrum**.

![Daily-Scrum](img/Daily_scrum_1.png)

## Definition and length

Let’s start from definition of the Daily Scrum written in the **Scrum Guide** : 

> The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute time-boxed event for the Development Team. The Daily Scrum is held every day of the Sprint. At it, the Development Team plans work for the next 24 hours.

First of all, the same as all events in Scrum, Daily Scrum is time-boxed. The maximum duration of the event is 15 minutes. The meeting should be organized daily at the same time and place to reduce complexity and to help the Development Team get into the habit of this daily activity.

## Inspection, not a status meeting

Continuing the analogy to running, Daily Scrum is like a line that is showing you the distance to the final destination. It is a great tool that helps you to inspect how far away you are. Sometimes it can motivate you to run faster or change your previous running technique. 

Daily Scrum is the event dedicated for inspection of how far the Development Team is from achieving the Sprint Goal. It is verification if they are on the right track or they need to somehow adjust the work. 

I would like to highlight that this event is for the Development Team to inspect their work, not for anyone else. They work together to accomplish what they planned as a self-organized team.  Scrum Master should make sure that event is happening and make sure that the event is not disrupted by anyone else.  It’s important to remember that Daily Scrum is not the status meeting for Product Owner or anyone else. 

![Inspection](img/inspect.jpg)

## Mustical 3 questions?

In the Scrum Guide there is an example of 3 questions that Development Team can answer during the Daily Scrum event: 

> - What did I do yesterday 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 see any impediment that prevents me or the Development Team from meeting the Sprint Goal?

Let’s remember that it is just the guidance. Some teams can prefer discussion - based meetings. The most important for them is to inspect progress towards the Sprint Goal and plan work for the next 24 hours. How will they do it? It’s up to them and that’s why it’s mentioned in the Scrum Guide that 3 questions are just “an example”. 

## Sprint Goal - again?
I’ve already mentioned and described why **Sprint Goal** is an important part of the Scrum in my post [Sprint Goal in Scrum - why do we need it?](https://letsscrumit.com/sprint-goal-why-do-we-need-it/)

The main purpose of the Daily Scrum event is to discuss progress towards the Sprint Goal. I will probably sound like a broken record, but I need to emphasise Sprint Goal’s value in the event.

It is important to mention it, because the Development Team has a tendency to forget about the Sprint Goal and discuss **all work** done a day before and planned for the next 24 hours, even if it wasn’t related to the goal. It can obviously impact the length of the meeting and result in forgetting **why** the team did the work that they did.  I believe that reminding yourself **why** you are doing your work and what is your goal helps you to stay motivated and focused. 

The simple but really useful for Development Team can be a visual representation of the Sprint Goal on their Scrum board or anything else that they are using for daily inspection. It will be a reminder for them to always refer to the progress towards the Sprint Goal.

![Sprint-Gaol](img/goal.jpg)

## Too long Daily Scrum

One of the most common issues related to the Daily Scrum is extending the 15 minutes length.  First of all, Scrum Master should teach the Development Team to keep the meeting within the time frame. It can be challenging, especially with a talkative team. :D 

There are simple tricks that can help in keeping the meeting within 15 minutes time-box: 
* **Focus on the Sprint Goal** - talk only about the work related to the Sprint Goal, not everything what you did or plan to do

* **No technical details** - do not explain technical details of your work or impediments

* **Detailed discussions saved for later** - if there is a need to discuss some issues or plans in detail, it should be done after Daily Scrum. It will definitely save time for people who will not be involved in the discussed subject.

* **Set up time per person** - depending on the size, the Development Team can set up the maximum time for talking per each person. They can even use a timer to count it.

* **Stand up during the meeting** - it is easier to keep the meeting short if people do not sit down. 

## Value of the Daily Scrum

As a Scrum Master, when I hear the question: "Can we skip the Daily Scrum? We have nothing to talk about.", I know that it is the time to step in and something is wrong.  It is important to teach the Development Team, what is the value of Daily Scrum and how it can be beneficial for them. 

* **Inspection and Adaptation** - it is time for the team to inspect their work and adapt if there is a need for change. They can track if they are progressing towards the Sprint Goal or not. As soon as the team forgets about the Sprint Goal, they lose track of why they are doing their work. That’s why they don’t know what to talk about during the meeting.

* **Communication** - quick discussion about progress of a team improves communication and helps the Development Team to be on the same page in regards to what needs to be done and what issues they are struggling with.  Eliminate other meetings - Team knows what is the plan for the next 24 hours and there is no need for other long, time-consuming meetings.

* **Quick fix** - Daily Scrum promotes removing impediments as soon as possible. Early recognition of issues can help in finding the quick solution. 

* **Team support** - Daily Scrum is a reminder for the Development Team that all individual’s actions impact the team, but the team can be supportive and helpful in resolving any issues. The most important is to collaboratively strive to achieve the Sprint Goal. 

![Values](img/team.jpg)

## Summary
The most important information about Daily Scrum to remember are:
* It is a 15 minutes time-boxed event that happens daily.

* It is an internal meeting for the Development Team.

* Daily Scrum is the inspection event, not a status meeting.

* During the meeting, the team should inspect the progress towards the Sprint Goal and adapt to the situation (change their actions) if needed.
Sprint Goal helps the team to realize why they are doing their work.

* The Development Team should keep the 15 minutes time frame. 

* The Scrum Master role is to make sure that the team has a meeting and they do not extend 15 minutes.

* Daily Scrum benefits are: better communication, no need for other meetings, quick fix of issues and support of the team.

I hope my explanation of the Daily Scrum helped you to understand the purpose and value of that event. Feel free to share your thoughts about it on LinkedIn or Twitter!

Are you wondering what is the purpose of the Daily Scrum? Jump in and learn why it is not a status meeting from my third post in the Scrum Events series.

Scrum Events #3 Daily Scrum

![]()

## Introduction

There are multiple reasons why people want to implement [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum) like: 

* increase efficiency,  
* improve work 
* create better products 
* become more interesting for clients 
* Better market position 
* [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum) and [Agile](https://agilemanifesto.org/) are fancy  
* my boss told me to change something  
* it’s an interesting idea, so why not?

You have your own reason but still don’t know how to start? Here you can find some tips.

## 1. Education

No matter why you decided to implement [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) in your company, you need to **start from the basics - learning** about [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum) and [Agile](https://agilemanifesto.org/). 

I recommend you to **read** my other post with [First steps to learn Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) where you can find all that you need at the beginning of your Scrum journey.

## 2. WHY?

Once you have all the **basic knowledge** about [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/), it’s time to understand **why** you want to implement it in your company. 

**Define your goal** before you will start other actions. You will use it later for **inspection** and verification if you are going in the right direction.  List also all **benefits** that you believe [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) will bring into your company/team. Believe me, you will need them soon.

I want to highlight - **Scrum is not a silver bullet.** This is also the moment to analyse if this is really something that your company needs. 

![WHY](img/why.webp "WHY")

## 3. Find your allies

In order to **implement** [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) in your company, you will need to have **allies** who will **support** your decisions and **help** you. I know that this part can be really difficult in old traditionally managed organizations. 

Likely, you will need to show higher management **why** [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) is the good idea for your company and what its **benefits** are. This is the moment when you can use the list that I mentioned about in the previous paragraph. 

If you answered to yourself **why** you want to implement [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) and how **it will impact** the company, you shouldn’t have a problem with explaining it to the management. The key is to **know "the WHY" first and be confident about it.** 

## 4. Spread the knowledge & collaborate

In this article, I assume that [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) is a totally **new idea** in your company. Before you will start using [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/), you need to **teach others.** **Spread the knowledge** that you already have, **print** multiple copies of [Scrum Guide](https://scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html) and **give it** to your colleagues at work. 

It will be also good to do the same as you did with higher management - **explain** to your co-workers **why** you think it is a good idea to **implement** [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) and how it will help them. 

Remember that [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) promotes **collaboration**. Before any action, ask your team, what **they are thinking** about it, write down all concerns, pros and cons. It will bring them **on-board** and will help in commitment to all future  actions.

You don’t use [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum) just for the purpose of using it. If people really **would be against it, you shouldn’t force it.** Sometimes it takes time to convince people that change is needed. And that’s something that you should **respect and give space for.** 

## 5. Define terms & actions

If you are on the same page with your colleagues and you **all agreed to implement [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/)**, it’s time to have some agreements. 

* **Scrum Team roles and responsibilities** 

In order to start using [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum), you need to **create the Scrum Team** in your company. I would recommend starting from one Scrum Team at the beginning and test how they work. Remember that team size shouldn't be more than **10 people.** Team should be **cross-functional,** which means having all necessary **skills to generate the value.**

In the next step you need to decide about **roles** in the Scrum Team - who will be the [Product Owner](/blog/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/), [Scrum Master](/blog/scrum-roles-3-scrum-master/), [Developers](/blog/scrum-roles-1-development-team/). It is also important to define **responsibilities** and **expectations** from each team member. 

* **Scrum Values**

**Analyze** with your team what each [Scrum Value](/blog/the-importance-of-scrum-values/) means for you. How do you plan to use them in daily work? 

* **Scrum Events**

What is the **purpose** of each of the events? **Where and when** will you organize them? What will be your **Sprint length?**

* **Communication**

How do you plan to **communicate** with each other- face to face, email, phone, calls, communicators (Whatsapp, Slack etc)? What about communication with the client/business? Who will be doing it and how? 

* **Product Backlog**

Talk about **tools** related to [Product Backlog ](/blog/scrum-artifacts-1-product-backlog/)**management**. Do you plan to use flipchart and sticky notes or online tools like Microsoft Teams, Jira etc? 

It is also important to **define work items** in the [Product Backlog](/blog/scrum-artifacts-1-product-backlog/). Do you plan to use Epics, Features, User Stories, Tasks, Bugs, Impediments? If yes, **define** each of them. It’s important, because in every company people can define work items differently. 

Of course, the [Product Owner](/blog/scrum-roles-2-product-owner/) is the person **responsible for managing** the backlog, but the whole team needs to be aware of rules and definitions around it. 

* **Boards and work tools**

What about **visual reflection** of the work - boards? Do you plan to track your work using **Kanban** Board? Do you want to use online tools or stick with a simple paper board?

If you decide on a type of board, define all columns or sections included on the board. For example you can have columns: “To do, Active, Test, Done”. What **does it mean** for you that the work item is in each of those columns? When can you move items between columns?

## 6. Do it!

Uff… I know it can sound like **a lot of definitions and clarifications,** but it really matters. **Communication** is a crucial element of **collaboration**, so make sure that you are all on the same page. 

I know from experience that a **lack of all definitions** and common **understanding** of [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) related terms can create a lot of issues during development.  Once you clarify it, work can be much easier.

![Start](img/begin.webp "start")

If you’ve done all above, **let’s Scrum it!** 


**Don’t wait** for the moment when everything will be perfect, just try, **learn from your experience** and adjust if you need it.  Good luck on the wonderful [Scrum](/blog/first-steps-to-learn-scrum/) journey!

Do you need support in the implementation process? Register for [consultation](https://letsscrumit.com/services/implementation-consulting) with me. I will help you to prepare & start using Scrum.

If you think about implementation of the Scrum, but you don’t know where to start, this is the right post for you.

13 posts tagged with #learning