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The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook
The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook

The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook: A collection of tips, tricks, and war stories to help the professional ScrumMaster break the chains of traditional organization and management

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The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook

Chapter 2. Release Planning – Tuning Product Development

People in traditional projects attempt to define and then control scope during the project, while Agile teams approach the problem differently: figure out enough to get started, embrace changes, and then proceed as the way opens. Agile teams, by definition, try to respond to changing market or user needs as soon as those needs are discovered, yet business requires them to plan ahead from time to time. Agile teams know that they cannot predict a project's outcome, so they use pragmatic planning approaches to tune their development efforts to the latest and greatest needs. This is somewhat like what your local meteorologist does every night on the six o'clock news—his next-day forecast is usually spot on, but the seventh day is always off! Unfortunately, no team (or weatherman) can predict the future, which is why I keep a backup umbrella in my car.

The traditional project metrics of all planned scope, on budget, and by the deadline don...

Start at the beginning – product backlog


A product backlog is an ordered list of features or work to be implemented in a product. It could be infinite in length; that is, there could always be new requirements for a product. The product owner is an actual customer or an internal representation thereof (think of an iPad product owner representing many millions of users), maintains, updates, administers, and ranks the product backlog. Based on market research, a product vision statement, industry analytics, technical innovations, or simply ideas to test, the product backlog represents the product owner's most valuable ideas and features for a product.

Note

Once the team has selected, planned, and committed product backlog items to a sprint, the product owner cannot make any changes to those items. However, the product owner is given free reign to change the priority, requirements, and even remove any product backlog item that hasn't been committed and planned in a sprint. This simple game rule...

Release planning – when will you set your features free?


So now we have a product backlog. What next? Well, if you're not required to forecast a set of functionality for a future point in time, then the team should simply start working by pulling items from the top of the backlog to implement. When an organization requires a team to forecast a set of scope for a set period of time, they will, however need to do release planning.

Timing of releases and release planning

Releases themselves should occur at a point in time designated by the product owner when he has evaluated the return on investment and determined that a set of features should be made available to customers or users. The product owner, likely, will have an idea of release timeframes before any work has begun (I needed it yesterday!). There is a frequency at which customers or users would like to see new features, and it is the product owner's responsibility to determine this cadence. For example, in the map application on my...

Summary


Release planning is not a crystal ball into which someone can look and predict the outcome of a project. Rather, release planning provides a way for the team and product owner to tune committed work to users' and customers' needs without planning for too much detail too soon. The team and product owner must revisit the release plan periodically during the release and work together to deliver features that delight customers.

In Chapter 3, Sprint Planning – Fine-tune the Sprint Commitment, we will discuss how the team works with the product owner to create a good short-term plan for one sprint.

Recommended reading


  • Cohn, Mike (2009), User Stories Applied, Pearson Education

  • Pichler, Roman (2010), Agile Product Management with Scrum, Pearson Education

  • Reis, Eric (2011), Lean Startup, Crown Business

  • Website of Carolyn Snyder, author of Paper Prototyping: http://www.paperprototyping.com/

  • UXPin (paper prototyping kits): www.uxpin.com

  • Tabaka, Jean (2006), Collaboration Explained, Pearson Education

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Key benefits

  • Checklists, questions, and exercises to get you thinking (and acting) like a professional ScrumMaster
  • Presented in a relaxed, jargon-free, personable style
  • Full of ideas, tips, and anecdotes based on real-world experiences

Description

A natural and difficult tension exists between a project team (supply) and its customer (demand); a professional ScrumMaster relaxes this tension using the Scrum framework so that the team arrives at the best possible outcome."The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook" is a practical, no-nonsense guide to helping you become an inspiring and effective ScrumMaster known for getting results.This book goes into great detail about why it seems like you're fighting traditional management culture every step of the way. You will explore the three roles of Scrum and how, working in harmony, they can deliver a product in the leanest way possible. You'll understand that even though there is no room for a project manager in Scrum, there are certain “management” aspects you should be familiar with to help you along the way. Getting a team to manage itself and take responsibility is no easy feat; this book will show you how to earn trust by displaying it and inspiring courage in a team every day."The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook" will challenge you to dig deep within yourself to improve your mindset, practices, and values in order to build and support the very best agile teams.

Who is this book for?

The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook is for anybody who wishes to be a true ScrumMaster as the role was originally intended - a fearless, professional, change facilitator. This book extends your working knowledge of Scrum to explore other avenues and ways of thinking to help teams and organizations reach their full potential.

What you will learn

  • Create and maintain an impediment backlog to support continuous improvement for you, your team, and your organization
  • How to tell the difference between an obstacle and a true constraint
  • Create a culture transition map to help your team and organization deliver quickly and flexibly
  • Work through exercises to help co-workers and management discover for themselves a new way of approaching tasks
  • Align your actions to the Scrum values every day
  • Facilitate ‚Äúlean‚Äù meetings - light and quick, yet effective
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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Apr 19, 2013
Length: 336 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781849688024
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Product Details

Publication date : Apr 19, 2013
Length: 336 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781849688024
Concepts :

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Table of Contents

11 Chapters
Scrum – A Brief Review of the Basics (and a Few Interesting Tidbits) Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Release Planning – Tuning Product Development Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Sprint Planning – Fine-tune the Sprint Commitment Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Sprint! Visible, Collaborative, and Meaningful Work Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
The End? Improving Product and Process One Bite at a Time Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
The Criticality of Real-time Information Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Scrum Values Expose Fear, Dysfunction, and Waste Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Everyday Leadership for the ScrumMaster and Team Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Shaping the Agile Organization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Scrum – Large and Small Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Scrum and the Future Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Patrick King Jun 17, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
In my 10+ years of working as a ScrumMaster, I have read numerous books and papers that have attempted to describe the role of the ScrumMaster and how to best fulfill it. To my dismay many of the works by prominent names in the Agile Community were a complete waste of time. Others were adequate, but none has been as thorough, thoughtful, and useful as The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook. Stacia Viscardi draws upon a wealth of real-world experience to provide not only a comprehensive guide to all of the Scrum meetings and artifacts, but also an in-depth guide to the philosophy and principles necessary to be great team facilitator.I disagree with the reviewers who don't recommend this book for beginning ScrumMasters. I found that Chapter 1 provided a clear, concise description of the process, the roles and responsibilities, and the required meetings, of a Scrum team. This information could provide even a complete novice with a solid foundation upon which to get started. The rest of this manuscript provides insight into the challenges one can expect to meet and how to best address them. I would have loved to have had this book to serve as an additional "Scrum Buddy" in my formative days as a ScrumMaster.As an experienced practitioner, I found that this work challenges me to continue to grow and increase my skill-set in order to help my teams to provide the greatest possible value to our organization. I particularly liked the coaching provided on ways a ScrumMaster can assist in transitioning an existing culture to Scrum-based set of values, beliefs and behaviors.The author's ability to present an enormous amount of complex ideas in a manner that is easy to grasp quickly, makes this work a thoroughly enjoyable read. Her wit, candor and writing style, make this book feel more like an easy conversation with a great mind, rather than a dry lecture, a boring manual, or a sales pitch. My only complaint with this book is that it wasn't around sooner!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
SeanC Oct 13, 2013
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I found The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook extremely helpful for understanding Scrum. I had been exposed to Scrum from presentations and practices. The author successfully illustrates how SCRUM is supposed to work, which identified gaps contributing to previous misconceptions, as well as, showed how to manage SCRUM.After reading this book, I am much more equipped to manage a team using Scrum. The author explains the SCRUM roles, framework and artifacts in easily understandable and logical ways. The book takes the reader through both release and scrum planning. The insights included along the way pinpoint the actual world challenges which naturally arise from using SCRUM. Knowledge of the types of information to communicate in various relationships and stages is definitely valuable.Resources given throughout the book give more value than most books by helping expand the reader's knowledge of SCRUM and identify other important people who have contributed to its success. The author's concepts surrounding the Scrum pillars, leadership and necessary core values, arm ScrumMaster's with the important ammunition necessary to handle difficult situations. I believe this book is an important resource for anyone interested or working in project management, Agile and Scrum. It will help you close gaps in your SCRUM knowledge.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Chris Thomas Jan 12, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Whether you are a ScrumNovice or ScrumMaster in the magical science of Agile you should consider this your reference book. People starting out in Scrum or seasoned ScrumMasters should use this handbook for exactly that. A handbook. Novices should be referring to this book weekly if not daily. Experts should be opening this book at least quarterly to be reminded of the numerous tips and tricks it has to offer that are forgotten about when you are burning down in the development cycle.This book is better re-read. Read through it initially so you have the memories of Statia Viscardi's experience. Enjoy the stories and consider how they relate to your own experience. Highlight parts. Makes notes on the side. After you’re done reading it the first time, put the handbook on your desk in a blatantly visible spot. Continue your Daily Scrums. Continue your Sprint Plannings. Your Reviews. Your Retros. When the time comes and you have a question about how to deal with a situation that comes up in one of those meetings, open this book. Re-read a chapter. Re-read a section. Refer back to your highlighted parts or your notes scribbled on the pages. As years go by "The Professional ScrumMaster's Handbook" should be creased, frayed, dog eared, marked up and worn around all the edges.Use this book for what it is. A guide to being a better ScrumMaster. This book will help you avoid making some of the same mistakes that previous ScrumMasters have done. If you value your time, learn from this book and spend the time you save to take your ScrumMastering to the next level.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Tristan Boutros Feb 02, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I have read just about every text about Agile and Scrum and have been a coach and practitioner for over ten years. It is thrilling to see a new, fresh book show up that presents the ins and outs of Scrum very clearly. This book lays out the core values, principles, concepts and practices in terms and images that are easy to understand. There are some solid, practical descriptions of key scrum ceremonies and even how to set up tactical items such as swimlanes. This book is truly the go-to book about Scrum and is one I keep at arms length. If you need an overview on being a ScrumMaster or if you need a quick refresher on some aspect of "new age agile management", then this book will suit your purposes admirably. The best part of the book is the section on release planning. So many people don’t conduct this exercise, don’t understand how to do it, or actually believe that release planning is a waterfall practice and not agile. For this reason, and because this text does such an excellent job at explaining it, I highly recommend this book to anyone involved with Scrum!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Hriday Keni Jul 27, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
One of the only practical books on what a Scrum Master is, does and should be.Stacia is an experienced agilist who has been doing this for a long time and her knowledge and wisdom has been distilled into this guide in a non threatening and succinct manner. Stacia should write more books.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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