Scrum Team Metrics

by David Koontz, 13 March 2013 | The Agile Blogosphere

What metrics would a great Scrum team want to generate and track the trend?Is the necessary and sufficient set of metrics just velocity?  No - I don't think that is enough.  Can you help me define a short list of metrics, and the reasons for tracking them?First let's lay out some ground rules.  Who is responsible for generating the metrics?  Are all metrics treated the...
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Collaboration Tools List

by David Koontz, 24 February 2013
The Agile Blogosphere

Here's my online collaboration tools list.  It is an ever growing and contracting list.  I'd love to collaborate with you on this list - leave a comment with your best tool.Tools...
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A Leadership Paradox

Are the capabilities of a CEO leader similar to the leadership needs of a ScrumMaster or Agile team leader?  I think they are very similar.  And if so then the risk...
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An Agile Process is an Integral Equation

by David Koontz, 22 February 2012
The Agile Blogosphere

How does one define an Agile process.  I've heard that mathematics should be able to describe most anything; so here is my attempt at describing an Agile process.An integral...
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Yes – You Need a Full Time Scrum Master

by David Koontz, 14 December 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

Many organizations adopting Scrum ask these questions.Do we need a full time Scrum master for each team?Why do we need a full time Scrum master, can't they do other roles also?Now allow...
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Cooperation is found at the top of an Escalator

by David Koontz, 29 March 2011
Agile Teams

Here's an interesting study - where are people at there best (as measured from a Dr Who perspective) at the top or bottom of the stairs? Why Escalators Brings out the Best in People A...
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What does a good Product Owner need?

Why is it so challenging for a company to get the Scrum Product Owner role right?  It is a great job.  Lots of power to envision a market an deliver the product that makes a difference...
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Pair Chess Game Exercise

by David Koontz, 20 February 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

Some years ago I designed this exercise for a Pair Programming simulation using the media of the game of chess.  The idea was to have a pair on each side of the board, they would work...
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Which will you choose – the 2 step or 4 step?

by David Koontz, 14 February 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

When it come to being a messenger - we all should receive a Kevlar vest. So you have bad news - you feel that the upper management will not like to hear about it.  Here are two...
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Agile Coach -or- Transition Guide to Agility

by David Koontz, 2 February 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

A good dialogue on what it means to be an Agile Coach on Quora - http://www.quora.com/What-is-an-Agile-CoachBuckminster Fuller wrote in his 1970 book I Seem To Be a Verb:"I live on...
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Organizational Change Models

by David Koontz, 2 February 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

A short little comparison of Organizational Change models.There is Kurt Lewin's 3 stage model:  Unfreezing, Change, Freeze.See: Frontiers in Group Dynamics (1947).A change towards...
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Time to Market – not sufficient reason to transition to Agile.

by David Koontz, 2 February 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

If your number one reason to switch to Agile software development is - Time to Market - you should come up with a better reason. Dig deeper. Ask WHY this is important to your customers...
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What is a Sustainable Pace? Velocity – Right? No!

by David Koontz, 28 January 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

Do you know what your team's sustainable pace is?  Do you believe it is equal to their Velocity?Let's try to answer that question. Scrum tells us that we should be Sprinting...
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A Technical Debit – Collateralized Debt Obligation you should not invest in

by David Koontz, 23 January 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

I just watch Ward Cunningham explain the XP Technical Debit metaphor that he coined.  It enlightened my understanding of how the term was applied in the early days (when he used...
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First thing we do is Review

by David Koontz, 21 January 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

I'm working with a wonderful team this week in a unique "kickoff" or as we call it in our vernacular a team launch.  Here I have a mental image of an aircraft carrier with a plane...
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And they called it Scrum (iteration 4)

by David Koontz, 21 January 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

I'm sitting here drinking a Big Orange and thinking about Scrum.  How much does Andy's monologue, What it Was, Was Football sound like your management or C-level?Why did they...
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Fail-Successfully:: What was Columbus’ Problem?

by David Koontz, 15 January 2011
The Agile Blogosphere

Columbus Coat of ArmsChristopher Columbus' purpose was to find a faster, safer route to the silk, spices, and opiates of Asia (a total system rewrite for the failing legacy system -...
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