Test-First is a built-in quality practice from eXtreme programming (XP) that emphasized building tests before writing code.  After observing software team practicing agile struggle with completing stories consistently and try to incorporate test driven development (TDD) into the development cycle, I knew something was missing. Allow me to share with you the new paradigm of…

The Scrum team is the builders of things (BoT). I would say one of the most important roles in the Scrum ecosystem. Only the Scrum team members can define the duration to complete work.  The Scrum Master, the PO, nor anyone else in the organization have the authority to define how long work should take. …

The practice of Agile coaching goes beyond single teams and extends to the transformation of organizations to respond appropriately to market challenges and opportunities. Coaching can be defined as: Training and facilitating Agile frameworks knowledge and application Collaborative engagement People empowerment Culture shift.        

The Scrum Master (SM) role facilitates the team practice of lean thinking and agile tenets by using the Scrum framework. Operating in this role without authority is difficult and can lead to questions of worth to the value delivered. The SM role is important for the outcome of team harmony and to enable self-organization.  People…

Germinal writings from Schwaber & Beedle (2002) stated the Product Owner is responsible for prioritizing work in the backlog.  Customer demands are prioritized by the PO but architectural and technical demands are best defined and prioritized by the architects and the software development teams. The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) defined business and architecture epics to…