Read more about the article Game of Sprints
Game of sprints

Game of Sprints

Check out the video below of Kevlin Henney presenting on "The Game of Sprintsy" at the Washington DC Scrum User Group (DCSUG). Kevlin explores what kind of game Scrum is with lots of people are playing it — or say they are — but there seems to be some disagreement about what the point of the…

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How Do I Prepare for Taking the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) Exam?

Did you just complete your Certified Scrum Master (CSM) Class? Are you prepping to take the Scrum Alliance CSM exam? Are you ready for the CSM test? You have 90 days after the completion of the class to take the Scrum Alliance administered CSM exam. To pass, you must correctly answer 37 out of 50 questions…

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Read more about the article Can I Take a Practice or Mock Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) Exam or Test?
CSM Exam

Can I Take a Practice or Mock Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) Exam or Test?

Sure! If you just completed a Certified ScrumMaster class with us and you would like to take a practice test to prepare for the CSM exam, click here for a mock CSM exam and follow the instructions provided to you in class. Good luck!

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Read more about the article When Can I Take the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) Exam?
CSM Exam

When Can I Take the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) Exam?

You can take the exam right after you successfully complete the in person 2 day Scrum Alliance® Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®) class delivered by a Certified Scrum Trainer® (CST®). The exam is not taken during the class but can be taken immediately after the end of day 2 if you like. I however do not recommend that…

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Read more about the article How do I Become a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)?
CSM Certificate

How do I Become a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)?

To become a Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®) you have to Take the in person 2 day Scrum Alliance Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) class delivered by a Certified Scrum Trainer® (CST®).Pass the Scrum Alliance administered CSM exam within 90 days of taking the class. To pass, you must correctly answer 37 out of 50 questions within 60 minutes.Accept the…

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Read more about the article Has Your Agile Transformation Hit a Wall
Has Your Agile Transformation Hit a Wall

Has Your Agile Transformation Hit a Wall

Check out the video below of Michael Spayd and Michele Madore presenting on "Has Your Agile Transformation Hit a Wall? Understand Why and What to Do Next" at the Washington DC Scrum User Group (DCSUG). Michele and Michael look at what might be missing from a transformation: Culture has not changed, leaders do not yet fully…

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Technical Debt Series – 5 Ways Scrum Teams Manage Technical Debt

In my previous post, I talked about establishing a debt payment plan. On a Scrum team, there are several approaches a team can take to pay down the debt. Debt Limit Trigger – Whenever our debt limit is reached, the team focuses the next Sprint on technical debt reduction (better than nothing).Release Trigger - After every…

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Which Scrum Certification Class Should I Take?

The classes described here lead to certifications issued by the Scrum Alliance®, a nonprofit association with more than 1 million practitioners worldwide. Scrum Alliance was founded in 2001, and is the largest, most established and influential professional membership and certification organization in the Agile community, guiding Agile practitioners through every step of their journey, and providing…

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Read more about the article How to Change Minds: The Art of Influence Without Manipulation
How to Change Minds The Art of Influence Without Manipulation by Rob Jolles

How to Change Minds: The Art of Influence Without Manipulation

Check out the video below of Rob Jolles presenting on "How to Change Minds: The Art of Influence Without Manipulation" at Washington DC Scrum User Group (DCSUG). Rob explores why people are resistant to change. Why? Because people fundamentally fear change. In this fast paced, and spirited keynote participants are forced to focus away from the…

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Technical Debt Series – The 6 Step Technical Debt Management Plan

In the previous blog, we looked at how when we don’t actively manage our debt, it can lead to a vicious cycle we can’t get out of. We want to make prudent and deliberate decision on debt and have a plan to service the debt and make our payments. So to do that, we need a…

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Read more about the article So You Want To Go Faster? A Journey to Continuous Deployment
So you Want To Go Faster By Dan Davis

So You Want To Go Faster? A Journey to Continuous Deployment

Check out the video below of Dan Davis presenting on "So You Want to Go Faster" at Washington DC Scrum User Group (DCSUG). Dan explores how frequently does a good agile team deploy to production. Not every team is capable of deploying "on every commit". What does it take for a team to even start deploying…

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Technical Debt Series – The Vicious Cycle of Technical Debt

In my previous post, we looked at the difference between good technical debt and bad technical debt and highlighted the importance of keeping our debt low. Unfortunately, the typical scenario that most teams face is that they eventually reach a point where their output is lower then what it used to be. Instead of stopping and…

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Read more about the article Productivity Engineering – Scaling a DevOps Culture
Productivity Engineering - Scaling a DevOps Culture by Mike McGarr

Productivity Engineering – Scaling a DevOps Culture

Check out the video below of Mike McGarr presenting on "Productivity Engineering - Scaling a DevOps Culture" at Washington DC Scrum User Group (DCSUG). Mike talks about how the software industry has seen an influx of technologies and techniques, including DevOps, cloud, Agile, microservices, machine learning, big data, containers and more. Organizations are becoming flatter and…

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Technical Debt Series – Good Technical Debt vs. Bad Technical Debt

In my previous post, we defined technical debt and saw how not all technical debt is bad. Just like in the financial world, some type of debt is considered ok as long as it is paid back. Consider a house loan or a car loan for example. Those are generally considered acceptable types of debt in…

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Read more about the article We are the Leaders we have been Waiting For
We are the Leaders we have been Waiting For by Lyssa Adkins

We are the Leaders we have been Waiting For

Check out the video below of Lisa Adkins presenting on "We are the Leaders we have been Waiting For" at Washington DC Scrum User Group (DCSUG). Lisa asks if we Agilists value individuals and interactions over processes and tools, why do processes and tools so often run the show? In this talk, Lyssa offers two good…

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