Blog on Agile principles, practices, and project management tools
Meaningful Agile
Why estimates don’t work, not just in Agile
Is it not worth planning and estimating because I’ll never hit the target anyway? In general, people are not good at making accurate estimates, but the good news is that people tend to make more accurate estimates when the scope is smaller. This happens, among other reasons, because the amount of "unknowns" is significantly reduced, and we face fewer surprises. We can better identify what needs to be [...]
Change Starts with Communication
Most change programs focus on activities, the actions through which changes are implemented. However, far too often, people are ultimately unaware of the change because it wasn't communicated. When thinking about and designing a change, it is crucial to begin with how it will be communicated. This can even change the design of the change itself and validate the reasons for the change before its execution. With most [...]
Manager and Petri’s Dish
The role and responsibilities of a manager have significantly changed in today's complex world compared to the past. Companies that have understood this can produce the right products faster and with greater calm. If you have not yet adapted your role as a manager, it may already be too late. Doers and Thinkers Before the industrial revolution, ‘Doers’ and ‘Thinkers’ were the same people. Manufacturers and masters knew [...]
You can change it, or change it.
Everyone reacts to change differently. For some, change is an immediate stress; others are more dominated by fear of change, while some immediately start looking for solutions. Some of us look for reasons for change before we start changing things. Some just shrug their shoulders and make the change. And some will not make any change at all. An Agile Mindset helps understand change, set yourself and the [...]
Requirements Without Noise. Brief, Structured, Meaningful.
Jan, a dedicated Product Owner. The product backlog is the cornerstone of every agile team. It embodies customer wishes, business vision and strategy, the dreams of technologists, and solutions to operational concerns. Over time, however, the backlog becomes a bit of a mess. We put everything into it to make sure nothing is forgotten. Not only that, we write everything in great detail to ensure it’s all captured. [...]
Customer is King. Or the Minimum Viable Product?
Companies that are too focused on themselves can easily fall into solutions they consider minimal and functional. However, the customer might have a different perspective. And with the right minimal solution, you are just one question away. About Push Notifications A successful corporation with a million users of its mobile app decided to add push notifications to the app. A simple change. At least from the user's perspective. [...]
Build a Feedback Culture First, Then Drive Change
In today's fast-paced, complex world, successful organizations rely on a culture of continuous feedback. Only then can they effectively adapt to organizational changes and operational shifts. Alena and Her Scrum Masters Let's start with a brief story from a few weeks ago. Alena, a PMO director overseeing Scrum Masters, regularly collects feedback from agile teams about their Scrum Masters' performance. This feedback is a key organizational indicator of [...]
Solve Problems from the End
Meaningful and successful changes are achieved by tuning into the outcome you want to achieve, not the problems you need to solve. Using the inverse mental model helps align people and create an environment that supports innovative approaches to solutions, focusing not just on problem-solving but on a new status quo. Ivan, a manager in a large organization, organized retrospectives with all teams involved in an organizational transformation. [...]
Product Inspirations and Modern Restaurant Menus
Have you noticed how you approach the menu in a traditional restaurant compared to a modern one? Traditional restaurants aim to attract customers with a wide variety of options. Their menu often resembles a thick booklet, requiring effort to navigate. It takes time, and not everyone has the patience to find the specialty the restaurant would like you to order. Impatient customers often stick to their usual choices—goulash, [...]
The Only Slovak Agile Conference, ScrumImpulz, Is Happening Again This Year!
In recent years, I have observed many easily solvable anti-patterns in practice that cause resistance and reluctance to implement Agile within companies. Statements such as: "Scrum Master, team assistant," "Let the Scrum Master log it," "But the board belongs to the Scrum Master," and "Why should I pay for a Scrum Master?" "Do I really have to attend standups as a Product Owner?" "Does there need to be [...]
Project Team Space Wiki for your Product
About Spaces 📚 Elevate Your Documentation Game with Team Spaces in ScrumDesk! Team Spaces, the dynamic Wiki module within the ScrumDesk application, is here to transform the way you handle project-related documentation. It's all about providing a unified platform where your teams can effortlessly organize and access essential project information, seamlessly integrating it with other project assets. In the fast-paced world of agile project management, not everything [...]
New Agile Management Metrics
Themes Overview Chart Understanding Themes in Agile Project Management Before we delve into the Themes Overview Chart, let's take a moment to understand the concept of themes in agile project management. Themes are a vital element used to track business initiatives, purchase orders, or any other significantly important areas within your projects. They help you categorize and group related backlog items, providing a clear view of how [...]
ScrumDesk v. 9.73.0: AI, better editor, metrics, improved OKR and themes
Project management with the help of AI The latest version of ScrumDesk, the Scrum project management tool, brings the help of AI into your daily life. We focused on highly practical features that speed up and simplify the work of Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and Agile teams as well. Generate new projects with AI Our initial inspiration was simple yet powerful: "How can we revolutionize [...]
Breaking Free from the Traditional Approach: Agile Estimation Techniques for Better Project Management
How to break free from the traditional way of estimation in projects with the help of Agile estimation techniques and principles? Estimation is a widespread practice that businesses impose a significant emphasis on. Businesses include the estimation in their processes as a must-have part. Typical reasons for the estimation include the following: To understand the cost of the implementation. To identify necessary capacities for future effort. To identify possibilities [...]
Checklists
Why should you consider Checklists? Agile is a systematic approach to product development. Great agile teams are very disciplined and follow structures that help them build products of high quality. Instead of dealing most of their time with bugs, great agile teams make new and valuable features. This is enabled by consistency in the development. Agile teams used to have multiple agreements, i.e., Definition of Done or [...]