Stefan Wolpers

CORE

Agile Coach at Berlin Product People GmbH

Berlin, DE

Joined Oct 2015

https://age-of-product.com

About

Professional Scrum Trainer with Scrum.org, agile coach, and Scrum Master based in Berlin. Stefan also curates the weekly ”Food for Agile Thought” newsletter on best posts on agile practices, product management, and innovation—with 35,000-plus subscribers. (See @AgeOfProduct.) Also, he hosts the Hands-on Agile Slack community with more than 12,000 peers.

Stats

Reputation:	9209
Pageviews:	1.7M
Articles:	137
Comments:	16

Expertise

Agile

Methodologies

Articles
Comments

Articles

Can Pure Scrum Actually Work?

Learn about the conditions under which pure Scrum thrives, the organizational DNA required, and how thoughtful adaptation can unlock its true potential.

December 18, 2024

· 1,199 Views · 2 Likes

The Lean Tech Manifesto With Fabrice Bernhard [Video]

Join Fabrice Bernhard on how the “Lean Tech Manifesto” solves the challenge of scaling Agile for large organizations and enhances innovation and team autonomy.

December 11, 2024

· 2,572 Views · 1 Like

Understanding Product Team Empowerment Anti-Patterns

Learn about leadership anti-patterns that undermine a product team's autonomy and effectiveness, from overly rigid constraints to tool turmoil.

December 3, 2024

· 932 Views · 1 Like

The Inverted MoSCoW Framework

Understand the inverted MoSCoW and learn how this framework prioritizes exclusions to reduce scope creep, improve focus, and align teams with Agile principles.

November 27, 2024

· 844 Views · 1 Like

Why Leaders Believe the Product Operating Model Will Succeed Where Agile Initiatives Failed

This article analyzes why leaders might turn to the Product Operating Model (POM) after a previous Agile transformation, such as one based on SAFe, has failed.

November 19, 2024

· 1,474 Views

Product Washing: The Pitfalls of a Superficial Product Operating Model Transformation

Learn about the dangers of "Product Washing" in adopting a Product Operating Model and how superficial changes hinder true organizational transformation.

November 13, 2024

· 1,529 Views

Ditch the Unfinished Action Items

Explore five actionable practices to ensure Retrospective tasks get done, including limiting action items in progress, assigning clear ownership, and more.

October 21, 2024

· 2,799 Views · 2 Likes

Transformation to Agile Primitives

This comprehensive sketch on the Agile Primitives helps organizations reignite the spirit of agility and achieve meaningful, lasting transformation.

October 7, 2024

· 2,889 Views · 2 Likes

Agile Primitives

Are we losing sight of what truly matters in Agile? Return to the fundamental principles and empower teams to adapt, innovate, and deliver real value.

September 30, 2024

· 5,059 Views · 4 Likes

Founder Mode?

Learn the darker aspects of Founder Mode, a critical perspective for agile practitioners, product leaders, startup founders, and managers.

September 17, 2024

· 4,015 Views · 1 Like

The Pre-Mortem: Preventing Product Failure Before It Strikes

Learn why pre-mortems are a brilliant tool for risk mitigation, improving your team’s decision process, and transforming your product development process.

September 9, 2024

· 4,380 Views · 2 Likes

From Transparency to the Perils of Oversharing

In this article, learn that while transparency is often hailed as a pillar of Agile practices, navigating its complexities with care is essential.

September 2, 2024

· 4,019 Views · 2 Likes

You Don’t Get Paid to Practice Scrum

Scrum is just a tool; your job is to solve real customer problems and deliver value. It’s time to reassess what truly drives your success.

August 26, 2024

· 4,881 Views · 6 Likes

Transformed Meets the Scrum Guide

It is worthwhile to compare the principles that help form successful product teams with those of Scrum. Let’s delve into an analysis of “Transformed.”

August 19, 2024

· 2,800 Views · 2 Likes

Quick Scrum Gains

Learn 10 quick Scrum gains to pull off without asking for permission or budget to prove your contribution to your org’s survival in these challenging times.

August 6, 2024

· 2,987 Views · 3 Likes

Agile-Regulated Industries?

Do organizations in regulated industries understand the roles they are hiring for? Take a look at a recent job description to learn more.

August 1, 2024

· 4,014 Views · 2 Likes

Gaming Velocity

How do you deal with unreasonable requests regarding your team’s performance? Measuring velocity is not an option. Learn how to “best” game velocity.

July 29, 2024

· 3,233 Views · 3 Likes

Alignment Tools

This article provides actionable insights on leveraging these tools to build trust, enhance collaboration, navigate risks, and maximize value creation.

July 22, 2024

· 3,488 Views · 2 Likes

Agile Teams as Investors

A deeper dive into maximizing organizational value by trusting your teams to find solutions to your customers' problems.

July 16, 2024

· 4,591 Views · 5 Likes

From Backlog Manager to Product Manager [Video]

This interview with David Pereira discusses the challenges of being a product manager and how to move from managing the Product Backlog to driving value.

July 4, 2024

· 3,789 Views · 2 Likes

Scrum Master Interview 2024

Learn how to prove your indispensable value in driving organizational success as you prepare for your Scrum Master job interview.

June 26, 2024

· 4,669 Views · 3 Likes

Scrum Master JobGPT

Scrum Master JobGPT: Your New Tool for Thriving in the Current Job Market. Get help when you search for or select new Scrum Master Jobs.

June 18, 2024

· 4,485 Views · 5 Likes

The Meta-Retrospective

The Meta-Retrospective fosters collaboration and creates a shared understanding of the big picture between teams and stakeholders.

June 11, 2024

· 5,981 Views · 4 Likes

Rookie Mistakes Scrum Masters Make

Discover actionable insights and practical exercises to help you grow from a beginner into an effective and respected Scrum Master.

June 4, 2024

· 4,757 Views · 4 Likes

Product Owner and Scrum Master Combined in One Individual?

Product Owner and Scrum Master combined into one: Is it always a detrimental choice, or could there be situations where this is temporarily beneficial?

May 28, 2024

· 4,770 Views · 3 Likes

Toyota Kata Coaching

Read about Toyota Kata Coaching for Agile Teams and Transformations with Fortune Buchholtz at the 61st Hands-on Agile Meetup.

May 20, 2024

· 2,463 Views · 2 Likes

The Technical Product Owner

The Technical Product Owner: Uncover when their technical acumen is a game-changer, a nice-to-have, or probably detrimental.

May 6, 2024

· 2,108 Views · 2 Likes

System-Level Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns

This article covers the perils of a lack of transparency limited to non-existing leadership support and why penny-pinching is the wrong approach.

May 1, 2024

· 1,465 Views · 1 Like

Creating Value With Scrum

Explore this guide of Scrum Master interview questions to identify suitable candidates as you gain insight to create value with Scrum.

April 17, 2024

· 2,900 Views · 2 Likes

Marty Cagan on the Product Operating Model and Scrum’s Future

In this interview with Marty Cagan, author of the book "Transformed," explore insights on revolutionizing product management and embracing empowered teams.

April 9, 2024

· 5,955 Views · 1 Like

Comments

You Don’t Get Paid to Practice Scrum

Aug 29, 2024 · Stefan Wolpers

I share your experience, Gerhard!

The Uncomfortable Truth of Scaling ‘Agile’

Jul 08, 2023 · Stefan Wolpers

Thanks for the Kudos! Best, Stefan

The Three Daily Scrum Questions Won’t Die

Mar 08, 2023 · Stefan Wolpers

I agree, Alan. As so often, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

A ChatGPT Job Interview for a Scrum Master Position

Jan 10, 2023 · Stefan Wolpers

I would like to train a support chatbot to help with everyday questions when no other support, for example, from the community is available. Also, I would be interested in a sparring partner to get a better understanding about a specific topic or thought.

20 Sprint Planning Anti-patterns

Apr 27, 2022 · Stefan Wolpers

Explain what?

How to Sabotage a Scrum Master

Dec 16, 2021 · Stefan Wolpers

https://age-of-product.com/scrum-anti-patterns/

Scrum: 16 Stand-up Anti-Patterns

Aug 18, 2020 · Stefan Wolpers

"Valet" — I like the coining!

Scrum: 16 Stand-up Anti-Patterns

Aug 17, 2020 · Stefan Wolpers

I was referring to the moment when people wait in-line to share with others. The newer version of the article can be found here: https://age-of-product.com/stand-up-anti-patterns/

27 Sprint Anti-Patterns Holding Back Scrum Teams

Jun 05, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

Thanks for the kudos! You might be interested in downloading the Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide (free PDF) as well. Next post in the coming week is the sprint retrospective.

Scrum: 16 Stand-up Anti-Patterns

Apr 13, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

What makes you believe that? Could you be more elaborate?

Agile Metrics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Jan 08, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

I disagree, your opinion contradicts my experience as shared in the post.

Agile Metrics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Jan 07, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

And how is that helping the team to get better?

Agile Metrics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Jan 06, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

You're referring to these “72% accomplished” metric?

10 Proven Stakeholder Communication Tactics During an Agile Transition

Aug 04, 2016 · Stefan Wolpers

Totally agree, particularly on sprint review part. On some projects, they feel more like an extended version of the daily reporting routine — aka daily scrum –. And I am as well still searching for the golden key… :)

10 Proven Stakeholder Communication Tactics During an Agile Transition

Aug 03, 2016 · Stefan Wolpers

Tobias, I agree. Anything that you would add?

How to Run User Tests Successfully: The ‘Why’ Question

May 10, 2016 · Stefan Wolpers

Ouch! Thanks for pointing at it! #fixed