Month: August 2021

The Sprint Backlog and Sprint Goal

~ Adam ~ Leave a comment

Last week I talked about what Artefacts and Commitments are and described the Product Backlog and Product Goal. This week I’m going to continue this theme but focus instead of the Sprint Backlog and Sprint Goal.

The Product Backlog is an ordered list of all the work which would deliver value to the product, we consolodate a future vision of this around a Product Goal. Within a Sprint we look at this at a much smaller scale, breaking down a single step the team aims to achieve and then comes up with a plan to deliver it.

Many teams I’ve worked with come at this the wrong way around. They look at the next work on the Product Backlog and through estimation and historical velocities select a number of stories which will “fill the sprint” usually carrying over anything which wasn’t completed in the previous sprint. Then they declare a Sprint Goal which is usually sounds like “Complete these Backlog Items” or “Do this, this, and this.” If you haven’t already I hightly recomment Jasper Alblas’ blog post about Sprint Goals.

Instead a team should look at their Product Goal and declare a Sprint Goal which will move them towards it. They should then identify the appropriate Product Backlog Items required to deliver that Sprint Goal and use estimation to ensure that it is realistic.

The Sprint Backlog should be a plan to achieve a Sprint Goal. The Sprint Goal should not be to complete a Sprint Backlog. Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com

The Scrum Guide tells us that:

The Sprint Backlog is composed of the Sprint Goal (why), the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint (what), as well as an actionable plan for delivering the Increment (how).

The Scrum Guide 2020

In other words once we have a Sprint Goal in mind we should identify the work required to deliver it (the what) and create a plan for how to deliver it (the how). With these three components in place we are in a position to start delivering.

As the Sprint progresses we should update the Sprint Backlog to reflect the progress of the work being delivered. PBIs may be marked as done or we may encounter impedements. However, by using the Daily Scrum sessions and the Sprint Backlog we’ve created enough transparency for us to be able to inspect and ensure that we are still able to meet our commitment – the Sprint Goal.

This is why a transparent Sprint Backlog is so important, it’s also why Daily Scrums are so vital. They give a daily opportunity to see issues and resolve problems so that the Sprint Goal is met. As soon as the team identifies that their Sprint Goal is at risk, perhaps the original approach won’t work or the effort required is greater than they originally intended they can adapt their plan.

Directly from the Scrum Guide

If the work turns out to be different than they expected, they collaborate with the Product Owner to negotiate the scope of the Sprint Backlog within the Sprint without affecting the Sprint Goal.

The Scrum Guide 2020

In other words the team should attempt to meet their Sprint Goal in a different way, perhaps by negotiating scope or taking a different approach. If the Product Goal is simply “do the work” then there’s no way the scope can be renegociated and the team will not make a move forward against the larger Product Goal.

Finally, if something happens which renders the Sprint Goal obsolete, perhaps a significant new piece of information, business incident, or realising that it’s impossible the Product Owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint and replan a new Sprint Goal.

I hope that this has given some insight into why the Spring Backlog and the Sprint Goal are so important. Next week I’ll progress on and we’ll look at the Increment and it’s Commitment The Defintion of Done.

Artefacts and Commitments the Product Backlog and Product Goal

~ Adam ~ Leave a comment

Scrum contains three Artefects each of which have a corresponding Commitment. It took me quite a long time to get my head around these so I will attempt to explain what both of these terms mean here.

ArtefactCommitment
Product BacklogProduct Goal
Sprint BacklogSprint Goal
IncrementDefintition of Done

But what exactly are Artefacts and Commitments? The 2020 Scrum Guide explains that

Scrum’s artifacts represent work or value

and

Each artifact contains a commitment to ensure it provides information that enhances transparency and focus against which progress can be measured…

…These commitments exist to reinforce empiricism and the Scrum values for the Scrum Team and their stakeholders.

To show this I’m going to describe how these apply to the Product Backlog and its corresponding Commitment the Product Goal. Then, in over the next two weeks I’ll cover the Sprint Backlog, Sprint Goal, Increment, and Defintion of Done.

The Scrum Guide tells us that the Product Backlog (the artefact) represents Work (or value), it is an ordered list of all the work the team intends to do to deliver value to it’s stakeholders. The Product Backlog Items (sometimes written in the form of User Stories) are often sized to give an indication of how much effort is required to deliver them and to help the team with forecasting.

The Commitment contains the information to create transparency to stakeholders so they understand what to expect as the work is delivered. In the case of the Product Goal this is a medium term future state which the scrum team is working to deliver. It describes a set of functionality the team can use to plan against and create a focus beyond the Sprint by Sprint goals.

The scrum team can assess what’s delivered each sprint and look at the work required to meet the Product Goal. They can then decide the next work which needs to be delivered and begin to plan it. This is commonly done in the Sprint Review and Spring Planning sessions. In fact, when a team is following Scrum diligently there is often a lot of crossover between these two sessions with one flowing seemlessly into the next.

I’m having quite a lot of fun talking about Product Backlogs and Product Goals in Donuts and Dragons, the book I’m currently writing about Agile Doftware Development. Initially the team focus on improving overall user experience, then they realise that they need to pivot and adjust their Product Goal accordingly.

It’s worth noting that

[The Scrum Team] must fulfill (or abandon) one objective before taking on the next.

The Scrum Guide 2020

This is to prevent the team splitting their focus and attempting to deliver multiple projects at once. Obviously something which wants to avoided.

Once the Product Goal is met (or abandoned in favour of a more appropriate one if required) the Product Owner will work with the team to identify the next goal. It’s not uncommon to see a high correlation between Sprint Goals and “Releases” in more traditional organisations. While planning a single deployment from release is far from recommended it often helps businesses to group work together into Releases or Projects (I know, all dirty words in Scrum) and the team can map the Product Goals onto these. After all, what is a Product Goal if not a collection of work to be done to deliver value to stakeholders and transparency to the business?

I hope this post has been helpful, next week I’ll discuss the Sprint Backlog and it’s Commitment the Sprint Goal.

PSM-III Exam and Certificate

~ Adam ~ 1 Comment

Over the last I’ve been discussing the Scrum Master exams from Scrum.org. Today I’m going to look at the PSM-III, it’s the hardest and last of the scrum master exams. In their own words

PSM III certificate holders prove that they have a deep understanding of the application of Scrum, Scrum practices, the Scrum Values, and have the ability to apply Scrum in a variety of complex team and organizational situations.   

Scrum.org
The PSM-III is the highest ScrumMaster certificate at Scrum.org

According to Scrum.org’s own statistics at the time of writing less than 1000 people have passed this exam. That’s around 7% of the people who’ve taken the PSM-II and a staggering 0.2% of the people who have taken the PSM-I. In other words, PSM-III certificate holders are few and far between.

So what does the exam entail? As with all other scrum.org exams anyone can take them at any time, there’s no requirement to go on a particular course or buy certain books. The cost for this exam is $500, it’s expensive because real scrum experts mark it. The marks for earlier exams in the series are calculated automatically but the PSM-III asks the candidate to write answers to questions which are then marked. This obviously adds cost.

The exam itself is 30 questions and you have 2 hours 30 to finish it. The questions are a split of multiple choice and essay type answers. As with the PSM-II questions are much more focused around what you would do in a particular situation rather than asking you to give answers directly from the Scrum and Nexus guides. The pass mark is 85%.

Time is your big enemy in this exam (you know, other than the difficulty of the questions). You need to work quickly and make sure you’re covering all the points in each question. Particulary in the essay questions there are multiple points to address and you have to think and write quickly to ensure that you have enough time to finish the paper.

You should work quickly, not focusing too much on spelling and grammar but making sure you’re answering the entire question and what you have written is clear. You don’t lose points for typos but you will miss them if you get to the end of the time and haven’t answered all the questions. Work your way through the question and make sure you’re answering everything which is asked. In the multiple choice questions remember that more than one of them may be correct.

Not all questions are the same length so it’s not as easy as limiting yourself to 5 minutes per question. Some of the multiple choice questions may take ten seconds and the longer essays some significant time. Having said that, keep an eye on the clock and pick up the pace if you’re running behind.

When I clicked Submit at the end of the paper (with around 2 minutes to spare) I felt absolutely exhausted. But then the next trial begins. As I mentioned above the test is marked by scrum.org’s own experts so you won’t get your answer right away. You will get an email confirming they’ve got your answers but then you will have to wait, three weeks in my case and let me tell you it’s a very very long wait. At one point I even began to wonder whether the wait was part of the test and they’d see how I’d escalate or communicate with a third party supplier!

You don’t get the same category breakdown you do with the PSM-I and PSM-II but you do get a very helpful email with feedback, some questions to think through to further your learning, and hopefully some good news.

I found the entire process and exhausting and very rewarding experience and was delighted when my certificate came though.

What are your experiences of the PSM-III exam? What advice would you give to other people looking at taking it? Please drop me a comment below and let me know!

The PSM-II Exam and Certificate

~ Adam ~ Leave a comment

Last week I wrote about scrum.org’s PSM-I exam. This week I’m going to discuss the next Scrum Master certification in the chain, the PSM-II.

The first thing to be aware of is that the PSM-II exam is harder, it’s described as Advanced rather than Intermediate. The second big difference is a LOT less people hold it than the PSM-I.

Significantly less people old the PSM-II than the PSM-I

At the time of writing only 3% of the people who tool the PSM-I went onto the next level. This means that every time I see a PSM-II certificate pop up in a CV it’s worth taking note. These aren’t handed out very often!

The exam lasts for 90 minutes and costs $250 USD, however there are only 30 questions. These are a combination of multiple choice and true/false answers. What distinguishes the two exams is the nature of the questions.

In the PSM-I you’re often asked questions about topics directly from the Scrum Guide. As well as this you’ll also need to be aware of extra areas covered in the recommended reading for me this included topics like scaling scrum but always refer to the website for the latest information.

The nature of the questions is also different. In the PSM-I exam you may be asked a question and you have to choose the right answer from four alternatives in the PSM-II you may have to select the best answer from a list of alternatives. Some options may not be incorrect, but may not be as good as the ideal answer. This ensures that anyone who passes the PSM-II understands not only the scrum framework, but can also apply it in given situations.

You get a very similar score breakdown with the PSM-II which lets you drill into areas you didn’t score as highly on to reinforce your knowledge.

Finally, assuming you hit the 85% pass mark you get the same shiny certificate and badge to share with your network!

What is your experience with the PSM-II? Have you done it? What advice would you give to someone planning on taking it?

The PSM-I Exam and Certificate

~ Adam ~ 1 Comment

I’ve spent the last few weeks writing about sections from The Scrum Guide, before continuing on with that I wanted to touch on some of the certifications out there. I discussed in a previous post the differences between Scrum Alliance and Scrum.org. Personally I have done most of my certification with Scrum.org. This is because you can attempt their exams without having to attend a training course (meaning you can self study which reduces cost), but also because there certificates don’t expire. However, several of my friends and colleagues have gone down the Scrum Alliance route and have found their approach very valuable too.

Over the next three weeks I’m going to talk about the PSM exams, what they entail and what to expect.

The Professional Scrum Master 1 (or PSM-I for short) is the intermediate level exam from Scrum.org (there isn’t a foundation one). You take it by buying a token through their website for $150 USD (or provided I believe if you attend one of their Training Courses).

If you pass the exam you are allowed to display the badge on your website

The exam consists of 80 True/False and Multiple Choice questions and you have an hour to complete it. You’ll probably use most of the time, especially if you check your answersbut shouldn’t feel the seconds ticking down on you.

In terms of content almost all of the questions are based on your knowledge and understanding of the scrum guide. Before you take the exam you should read it thoroughly (multiple times) and make sure you understand the concepts there.

I would also highly recommend looking at the Learning Path and Open Exam. Make sure you consistently get 100% on the open exam before you sit the test, it really is a very good resource.

The pass mark is 85% and you will almost always get your result immediately. You will also get a score breakdown which shows which areas you did very well in and which areas you may want to study further (guess what I revised before moving onto PSM-II).

The breakdown from my PSM-I

You also get the option to download badges (as above) and certificates (as below) and a link for anyone to validate your achievement.

Scrum.org keep a count of how many people have passed their certification and as you can see it’s a very popular exam. Definitely a nice one to have on your CV if you work with scrum teams.

I do hope this has been of some help, please do get in touch if you have any questions or leave a message below if you have any advice for anyone thinking of taking the exam.