Back to Basics
Tags [ INVEST, Scrum, sprint goal, user stories ]
I’ve been re-reading Agile Software Development with Scrum to see if it has any insight for some of our current product struggles. Fortunately, I think it does, and I’ve been getting fired up for a great Scrum revival. [ Revival tent picture courtesy of PinkMoose on Flickr, used under a Creative Commons Attribution license ]. I’m going to be reprising my role as Scrum Master for my team next sprint as well, so hopefully I’ll be able to transmit some of these values.
Looking forward to getting back to some Scrum fundamentals, including:
- sprint goal: let’s set an overarching sprint goal we can be working towards
- INVEST user stories: in particular, the “N” – negotiable – means we have maximum flexibility to react with agility during the sprint
- commitment: the team signs up for a set of work, and commits to completing it by the end of the sprint. No carryover. If burndown shows we are behind, we need to collaborate with the Product Owner to revise functionality / approach so that we have an achievable set of work. Also, we need to have the team take responsibility for completing the work – no more reporting blockers and then giving up without trying something else.
- product increment: end of the sprint, we have a potentially shippable product. No half-baked / half-finished pages on the site.
I’m pretty excited for the upcoming sprint. We’ve got a lot of talented folks, we just need to really get them motivated and self-organized, and then awesome stuff will erupt.