You are most likely aware of it already but I will state the obvious:
creating software is complex, difficult, and full of variation. You seldom build the same product, using the same tools and technology, several times in a row.

Why can’t we admit that we can’t predict or know when a product will be ready? Scrum uses the Fibonacci scale in planning poker and some say “don’t keep sprints longer than you can keep change away”. We do this to handle uncertainty. Why is this hard for above-average, intelligent managers to register? Why do estimates become commitments?

One reason…

On Podcasts, I hear knowledgeable persons talk about the perfect Sprint Length. To my surprise, the answer is often that a two-week Sprint is good — but if you want to be really Agile, maybe a week or even a day is best. Then after a moment of thought, they add— but then you should consider Kanban.

For me, that is begging the question; don’t worry about Sprint length. Sprint length doesn’t matter. Worry about cycle times and how fast you can take something into production. …

In the beginning was no Word. Wise men gathered in Snowbird to define a Word describing practices that had helped them deliver valuable software. Among those intelligent persons were the founders of Scrum. The Word they decided on was Agile. So, on the third day, the Agile Manifesto saw its first light. The Word Agile was a representation of ideas and principles from their collective experience on “what does work” to deliver software successfully.

I feel sorry that the use of the word “Agile” or “Scrum” today, for many, is connotated with “what does not work,” based on their experience—the…

Well-crafted software is fundamental for successful Scrum. Despite this, I don’t hear people discuss their robust codebase as the factor for success. There is a high correlation between successful Scrum and technical discipline. Scrum has built-in mechanisms to ensure delivery of both value and quality. The balance is delicate, and pressure often disturbs that balance.

Delivery of value is achieved through increments, and quality is instilled through The Definition of Done (DoD).

“The entire Scrum Team is accountable for creating a valuable, useful Increment every Sprint.” — The Scrum Guide 2020

Increments combined with DoD enable sustainable increments.

Sustainable increments…

A case of how different authorities describe the Scrum Master

We failed to figure out the Scrum Master accountabilities at work. The teams and their members all held different views — we had to study and do workshops to get a better idea. The fact that we had to do investigations reveals the confused state we are in.

Frankly, the situation was expected. Depending upon which framework you read (Scrum, SAFe, LeSS) or year of the Scrum Guides, the responsibility of the Scrum Master is explained differently. …

The sections below show the Scrum Master description from several sources.

The Scrum Primer v2.0

The Scrum Primer is a compendium written by Pete Deemer, Gabrielle Benefield, Craig Larman, and Bas Vodde. The guide refers to the Scrum Guide and wishes to be a lightweight guide or compendium.

“The ScrumMaster helps the product group learn and apply Scrum to achieve business value. The ScrumMaster does whatever is in their power to help the Team, Product Owner and organization be successful. The ScrumMaster is not the manager of the Team members, nor are they a project manager, team lead, or team representative. Instead, the ScrumMaster…

Scrum is designed to be a lightweight framework that helps us deliver valuable products. The reason why Scrum became mainstream, and not, for example, XP or Crystal, is frequently discussed. I believe Craig Larman’s proposal comes close to the truth.

“Scrum hits an ideal balance between abstract principles and concrete practices”
- Craig Larman

Now, if the ideal balance is vital for the success of Scrum, must we not be careful with how the game is played? The rules for Monopoly, the game, have not been changed for decades, which has probably helped its success. …

Let’s imagine you have a box with something secret inside, and you call it “Scrum.” No one else has seen what you have in the box. When they ask you what is inside the box, you say it is “Scrum.”

What if everyone had their own little box with a secret inside and called it Scrum? No-one except you would know what is in the box. You would not know what the other person's “Scrum” in the box is! Whatever “Scrum” you have put in your box probably looks very different from what I have in my box. Maybe your…