Mountain Goat Software

Thinking about the Word ‘Boss’

Personally, I don't mind whether I've been called big cheese or manager. Call me whatever you want. Just don't call me late for dinner.

One of a Kind Beats Three of a Kind

I worked with a team last week that had three business people who each established the team's priorities. This caused a number of problems for the team because they had no clear guidance on who to…

Scrum Shortcuts without Cutting Corners: Agile Tactics, Tools, & Tips

Rather than a conventional review, here is the foreword I was asked to write for this book. --Mike In the…

Book Review

Agile Planning and Project Management

In this session we will shatter the myth that agile teams can't plan. We'll start by looking at the…

Presentation

How to Estimate Velocity As an Agile Consultant

Many of you work in a dedicated in-house team, but some of you contract with companies for Scrum and agile consulting. One problem that sometimes arises as an agile contractor is when the prospective…

Providing Feedback to Team Members

Even if you've taken the often stated agile stance of getting rid of periodic performance reviews in your organization, it can still be helpful to provide people with some commentary on how their…

Names Should Not Be Needed for User Stories

I've never been a fan of naming user stories. Stories should generally be short enough that naming them should be necessary. Yes, novels and movies get names. But we don't name the sentences…

Sprint Burndown Sums All Work Remaining

A sprint burndown chart shows only one thing: How much work remains.

Three Tips for New ScrumMasters

They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure—this adage definitely applies to new ScrumMasters and teams.

Hard to Read Handwriting Is Best for User Stories

I've always been envious of those with nice handwriting or even distinctive printing. I've always been in too much of a rush to do be better than barely legible at either. My handwriting…

Breaking the Daily Scrum Time Box

One of my favorite things to hear about during this part of a daily scrum is how team members in a different country will be celebrating a holiday.

Avoid Taking Notes During the Daily Scrum

If you do want to take notes, I recommend writing the note on a whiteboard or some place where everyone participating in the meeting can see what you write.

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