The Mountain Goat Software Blog
Blog articles
The Sprint Review as a Sign-Off Meeting
Decide whether sprint reviews should be used as formal sign-off meetings.
What Is a Product?
Define products clearly so backlogs, teams, and ownership make sense.
The 2 Things You Need to Do in Daily Scrums to End Complaints
End most daily scrum complaints with two simple meeting habits.
Incentives and Deterrents for Starting Daily Scrums On Time
Encourage team members to arrive on time for daily scrums without creating bad incentives.
The Best Way to Establish a Baseline When Playing Planning Poker
Establish useful baselines so Planning Poker estimates stay relative.
Don’t Estimate the Sprint Backlog Using Task Points
Some teams like story points so much, they invent task points and use those for sprint planning. Bad idea. Here’s why.
How to Prevent Estimate Inflation
Keep story point estimates consistent as teams learn and improve.
Summarizing the Results of a Sprint
Document sprint outcomes lightly without turning reporting into ceremony.
Teams Don't Need to Think of Everything During Sprint Planning
Avoid over-planning every sprint task before work begins.
Advice on How to Split Reporting User Stories
See examples for splitting reporting stories into smaller, useful pieces.
Should Scrum Teams Include a Stretch Goal In Their Sprints?
Decide whether stretch goals help or create pressure in sprint planning.
A Simple Way to Run a Sprint Retrospective
There are many ways you can run a sprint retrospective. Here’s the simplest way and still my favorite.