Software Testing Blog | Zenergy Technologies

Our Future AI Overlord’s Take on Agile

Our Future AI Overlord’s Take on Agile ChatGPT is one of those things I see popping up more and more in my newsfeed and various social media platforms. Out of morbid curiosity about the potential benevolence of our future AI overlords, I decided to see what it had to say about agile. I typed in the following prompt: “Briefly describe how to successfully implement an agile transformation.” I was pleasantly surprised by the AI’s response. Below are the five keys to a successful agile...

January 24, 2023 Agile

Agile Mindset: The Biggest Impediment to...

Agile Mindset: The Biggest Impediment to... The 2022 Agile Coaching Report sat in my inbox for almost two months until I finally reviewed it in detail a few days ago. Several areas were worthy of a deeper dive, but one particularly struck me. The report's preface reads: "Notably, coaches believe the biggest impact they are making is in shifting an organization towards an agile mindset and culture. Interestingly, they also find this to be the most challenging shift to make and one of the biggest...

September 19, 2022 Agile

Agile Mastery Begins with Personal Mastery

Are You the Ideal Candidate to Lead Agile Change? The concept of Agile tends to be overrun with buzzwords, but the key is truly about focusing on one thing--Having the right mindset. Before someone can become an agile master, it’s important for them to take a step back and determine if they are willing to become a leader of change.

December 15, 2021 Agile

Three Things Not to Worry about in your Digital Transformation

A common question for leadership is… What keeps you up at night? I hear it asked all the time. And the reactions run the gamut from thoughtful and deeply reflective to reactive and highly emotional. One of the common factors I nearly always hear is fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Which is why I wanted to share this article with leaders considering or engaging in a Digital Transformation. I’ll begin with three things that are often misconstrued and cause sleeplessness on the part of many...

May 6, 2021 Agile, agile leadership roles, Digital Transformation

Velocity: the Number’s not Important… the Learning Is

Back in 1996 I took up golf. I was terrible at it. Like most people who take up a new hobby, I spent a good bit of time (and money) trying to improve.

April 13, 2021 agile technique, Agile, agile leadership roles

Zombie Scrum Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them

What is Zombie Scrum? Example #1: Zombie Scrum Standup (Standup Led by the ScrumZombie) Example #2: Scrum Zombie and the Lack of Sprint Goals Example #3: Sprint Review and Retrospective Zombies That’s a Scrum Zombie Wrap! Once again, I have the pleasure of welcoming October. Soon it will be cooler and more colorful here in North Carolina. The holidays are coming, and many of my neighbors have already decorated for Halloween. I have been pondering what sort of ghoulish surprise I could...

October 20, 2020 Agile, being agile, backlog grooming, agile leadership roles, ScrumMaster, sprint planning

Agile Project Management Methodologies

There is some confusion around whatagileis versus what agile methodologies are, and often people lump them together.Agile is a mindset (not a methodology) that encompasses a set ofvalues and principlesthat were compiled by a group of software gurus in 2001. These values focus on customer collaboration, flexibility, a short iterative cycle, value delivery, people centricity, sustainability and simplicity, among other things.These values and principles are not to be confused with the...

August 25, 2020 agile methodology, Agile, being agile, agile project manager, ScrumMaster

What Do ScrumMasters Do Besides Facilitate Meetings?

When I first received my ScrumMaster certification, I regularly asked the senior ScrumMasters I worked with what I was supposed to do, besides facilitate Scrum events, enforce Scrum rules, and remove impediments. I tried to be a good ScrumMaster and worked with multiple teams, so I stayed busy, but I had heard that great ScrumMasters could only handle one team at a time. I didn’t understand what could take up that much time. As I gained more experience as a ScrumMaster I began reviewing...

July 20, 2020 Agile, agile leadership roles, ScrumMaster

Scrum Sprint for Quality: The Hare and the Agile Tortoise

The Hare and the Tortoise (or The Tortoise and the Hare, since that is what people told me it was called when I was young) is a fable attributed to Aesop, an ancient Greek storyteller. For those of you who are not familiar with it, a hare challenges a tortoise to a race. The hare, in his overconfidence, decides to take a nap when he gets close to the finish line. The tortoise plods along, eventually passing the hare, and wins the race. The moral of the story is:slow and steady wins the race.

June 23, 2020 agile methodology, agile technique, Agile, hardening sprints, scrum, shift left

Spring Cleaning: Agile Backlog Grooming

Spring Cleaning? Now is the perfect time foragilebacklog grooming. The sun is shining; the birds are singing. The tree leaves are back, along with people’s allergies, easily confused with COVID-19. Speaking of COVID-19, millions of people have been forced to stay home over the last few months, and many have started attacking home projects with a vengeance, because they have no place to go except for their local hardware store. Garages have been organized, along with closets, basements,...

May 12, 2020 Agile, backlog grooming, sprint planning, agile team roles, product owner

Category Archives: Agile