Agile Story Points and Estimating User Stories

What are Agile Story Points and how are they used for estimating User Stories Within Scrum Projects? While Scrum does not follow Traditional Project Management guidelines, there are some Estimation activities around the Work to be Done. Estimation is Done for:-. User Stories, which are subsets of the general Requirements. Tasks, which are the activities…

Writing User Stories: The Perfect User Story

Writing User Stories can be a difficulty process, but is it possible to write the perfect User Story? You read this because:-. As a team member you have been charged with writing a User Story and do not understand where to start. You have actually written some User Stories prior to and the reception was…

Product Vision Board and Creating Optimal Value

How can the Product Vision Board be used in Scrum Projects for creating optimal value? The introduction of a new Product may start from many different sources in an Organization. However the Development, either of the Product itself or of an Application that supports the Product will be carried out in an IT Project. We…

Product Backlog Prioritisation in Scrum Projects

What is Product Backlog Prioritisation and how is it applied within Scrum Projects? We provided a brief description of the Product Owner Role in a previous article where we explained their Responsibilities. One of the responsibilities that we metioned was in regards to the prioritisation of the Product Backlog. As the steward of the Product…

Inspect and Adapt: The Agile Approach to Planning

What is Inspect and Adapt and how does it apply within Agile Project Planning? ‘Agile Planning’ is very different to Traditional Planning because it Accepts and Expects Uncertainty. However, there is still one very important similarity, the Project Constraints. These Constraints are depicted as a triangle, known as the Triple Constraints or the “Iron Triangle”.…

Scrum Ceremonies and Scrum Meetings

What are the Scrum Ceremonies and how are they applied within the project? The democratic composition of a Team in Agile Development causes a dilemma for Companies new to Agile. They may be used to the Traditional Command-and-Control regime of Project Management. This makes transitioning to the Agile values and principles difficult. There is no…

Conflict Management Methods within Scrum

‘Conflict Management’ within Scrum is as much about the Scrum Master’s Management style as it is about Conflicts. These conflicts occur between Scrum Team members (Scrum Master, Product Owner – the Voice of the Customer, and the Development Team). This is where a good Scrum Master comes into their own. However, we are not going…

Bruce Tuckman Model For Team Development

What is the Bruce Tuckman Model, and how does it apply to Scrum Projects? In 1965, Bruce Tuckman composed a definitive research study on the nature of Teams and Group Dynamics. His study was Titled “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups”. This study was based upon Team behaviour in the United States Navy. The study was…

Team Building Plan in Scrum Projects

What is the Team Building Plan and how does it apply to Scrum Projects? The Dynamics of a Team and how to promote co-operation and Teamwork among the Team members is a popular topic. This is due to the move towards replacing old, hierarchical structures with Teams. This is occurring throughout the business and not…

Scrum Master Duties in Agile Projects

What are the Scrum Master Duties within an Agile Scrum Project? The Role of the Scrum Master is often under-rated by many Organisations. This is often because they do not understand the real Value of the Scrum Master. This is why it is often stated that the Scrum Master can be assigned to more than…