Webinar #9: Sprint Review Anti-Patterns [Video]

The ninth Hands-on Agile webinar sprint review anti-patterns addresses twelve anti-patterns of the sprint review—from death by PowerPoint to side-gigs to none of the stakeholders cares to attend.

Webinar Scrum Master Anti-Patterns: The Chapters

The ninth episode covers the silent treatment. The stakeholders are passive and unengaged — a tricky situation when the Scrum team wants to collaborate with the stakeholders to figure out what to build next. You can address this situation by (1) Educating the stakeholders about the importance of the sprint review event and their role. (2) Let the stakeholders drive the sprint review and put them at the helm. (3) Or organize the sprint review as a science fair with several booths. (Note: All of the suggestions require that the real stakeholders participate, not just some poor proxies.)

The tenth chapter covers the omniscient product owner, a product owner without any doubt where to go. He or she does not need the team, does not require the stakeholders — collaboration would only slow him or her down. The product owner provides the “Why + How + What” at the same time. A dominant product owner plus a submissive team plus absent stakeholders is a terrible combination for inspection and adaptation and answering the “are we still on the right track” question. (Checks and balances are gone; too bad that Scrum thrives on an equilibrium of all roles.)

The eleventh chapter covers the selfish product owner. Let me put it this way: there is no “I” in “team.” The Scrum team wins, the Scrum team loses. The Sprint review is a rather moment to shine for the development team and surprise customers & stakeholders. It is not a show to praise the product owner.

The twelveth chapter covers the broadcasting product owner. The sprint review is a regular, repeating opportunity to realign the scrum team with customers and stakeholders to answer a simple question: What are we building next? This requires collaboration from all participants, not just a product owner broadcasting decisions already made in advance. If the product owner is not seeking feedback actively, the purpose of the sprint review is missed.

The last chapter summarizes my dirty dozen of the Scrum Sprint Review anti-patterns: from death by PowerPoint to side-gigs to none of the stakeholders cares to attend.

Agile Transition – A Hands-on Guide from the Trenches

The free Agile Transition – A Hands-on Guide from the Trenches e-book is a 249-page collection of articles I have been writing since October 2015. They detail the necessary steps to transition an existing product delivery organization of over 40 people strong to Agile practices.