scrum-master-role

Scrum Master Role

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The Scrum Master Role is crucial in Agile development, responsible for team facilitation, process enforcement, and removing impediments. Effective Scrum Masters possess communication, facilitation, and conflict resolution skills, exhibiting servant leadership, adaptability, and problem-solving traits. They empower teams, improve processes, and resolve conflicts. The role leads to Agile adoption, productivity enhancement, and risk mitigation, but challenges may include resistance to change, lack of authority, and time constraints.

Responsibilities of a Scrum Master

  • Team Facilitation: A Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating Scrum events, ensuring they are effective and purpose-driven. This includes orchestrating Daily Standups, Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective meetings. The Scrum Master ensures that these gatherings foster collaboration and contribute to achieving sprint goals.
  • Process Enforcement: Upholding the Scrum framework is a core duty. The Scrum Master ensures that the team comprehends and adheres to Scrum principles, values, and practices. This entails coaching and educating team members on Agile methodologies.
  • Impediment Removal: Identifying and eliminating obstacles that hinder the team’s progress is a primary task. The Scrum Master acts as a shield, shielding the team from distractions and impediments that may affect their focus and productivity. They work relentlessly to keep the path clear for the team to reach their sprint goals.

Skills and Characteristics of a Scrum Master

  • Servant Leadership: At the heart of the Scrum Master role is servant leadership. Scrum Masters lead by serving the team, fostering collaboration, and promoting self-organization. They put the needs of the team first, facilitating their growth and development.
  • Adaptability: In the ever-evolving landscape of Agile projects, adaptability is key. Scrum Masters must readily adjust to changing circumstances, project requirements, and team dynamics. Their ability to embrace change and guide the team through it is paramount.
  • Problem Solving: Agile environments are dynamic, and challenges can arise at any moment. Scrum Masters excel at problem-solving, analyzing issues, and finding innovative solutions to improve team performance. Their analytical skills are essential in addressing impediments and bottlenecks.

Use Cases for a Scrum Master

  • Team Empowerment: Scrum Masters empower teams to self-organize, collaborate, and achieve their goals autonomously. They create an environment where team members feel ownership and accountability for their work.
  • Process Improvement: Through retrospectives and continuous feedback, Scrum Masters facilitate process improvements. They work with the team to identify bottlenecks and areas for enhancement, guiding the team towards increased efficiency and productivity.
  • Conflict Resolution: Conflicts can disrupt team dynamics and hinder progress. Scrum Masters excel in conflict resolution, helping team members address issues and fostering a harmonious work environment.

Benefits of Having a Scrum Master

  • Agile Adoption: Scrum Masters play a pivotal role in accelerating Agile adoption within the organization. They act as change agents, promoting Agile principles and practices among teams and stakeholders.
  • Enhanced Productivity: With effective Scrum Masters at the helm, teams experience improved productivity and collaboration. Scrum Masters ensure that the team’s time and effort are invested wisely.
  • Risk Mitigation: Scrum Masters are adept at risk identification and mitigation. By addressing potential issues early and proactively, they reduce risks and pave the way for smoother project delivery.

Challenges Faced by Scrum Masters

  • Resistance to Change: Overcoming resistance to Agile practices and mindset changes can be a significant challenge. Scrum Masters need to navigate organizational cultures and individuals who may be reluctant to embrace change.
  • Lack of Authority: In the Scrum framework, Scrum Masters do not possess formal authority over team members. Instead, they rely on influence and servant leadership to guide the team. Balancing this lack of authority while driving results can be complex.
  • Time Constraints: Scrum Masters juggle multiple responsibilities, including facilitating events, coaching, and addressing impediments. Managing time constraints while ensuring that all aspects of the role are fulfilled is a perpetual challenge.

Case Studies

  • Team Facilitation:
    • Daily Standup Facilitation: The Scrum Master ensures that the daily standup meeting runs smoothly, asking team members for updates and helping them stay focused on the three questions.
    • Sprint Review Facilitation: During the sprint review, the Scrum Master guides the team in presenting the increment to stakeholders, facilitating discussions and gathering feedback.
  • Process Enforcement:
    • Sprint Backlog Management: The Scrum Master ensures that the sprint backlog is well-maintained, with user stories broken down and tasks assigned.
    • Scrum Framework Adherence: The Scrum Master keeps the team on track with Scrum principles, ensuring ceremonies like sprint planning and retrospectives are conducted effectively.
  • Impediment Removal:
    • Conflict Resolution: When team members have conflicts, the Scrum Master steps in to mediate and find solutions, ensuring that interpersonal issues don’t hinder progress.
    • Technical Obstacles: If there are technical challenges, such as integration issues, the Scrum Master works with the team to address them promptly.
  • Skills and Characteristics:
    • Servant Leadership: The Scrum Master leads by serving the team, assisting with tasks, and helping the team self-organize.
    • Adaptability: In a rapidly changing environment, the Scrum Master adapts to evolving requirements and emerging impediments.
    • Problem Solving: The Scrum Master analyzes issues like a backlog that’s growing too large and collaborates with the team to find solutions.
  • Use Cases:
    • Conflict Resolution: The Scrum Master facilitates a discussion when two team members have differing opinions on a technical approach.
    • Process Improvement: During a retrospective, the Scrum Master guides the team in identifying bottlenecks in their workflow and brainstorming process improvements.
    • Team Empowerment: The Scrum Master encourages team members to take ownership of their tasks and decisions, fostering self-organization.
  • Benefits:
    • Agile Adoption: By guiding teams through the adoption of Agile practices, the Scrum Master helps the organization become more Agile.
    • Enhanced Productivity: Effective Scrum Masters improve team productivity by removing impediments and promoting efficient processes.
    • Risk Mitigation: The Scrum Master’s proactive approach to impediment removal helps identify and mitigate risks early in the project.
  • Challenges:
    • Resistance to Change: Some team members may resist adopting Agile practices or changing their mindset.
    • Lack of Authority: Scrum Masters often lack formal authority over team members and must rely on influence.
    • Time Constraints: Balancing multiple responsibilities, such as facilitating meetings and addressing impediments, can be challenging.

Scrum Master Role Highlights

  • Crucial Role: The Scrum Master is vital in Agile development, responsible for facilitation, process enforcement, and impediment removal.
  • Responsibilities: Encompass Team Facilitation, Process Enforcement, and Impediment Removal.
  • Skills and Characteristics: Includes Servant Leadership, Adaptability, and Problem Solving for effective team support.
  • Use Cases: Involves Team Empowerment, Process Improvement, and Conflict Resolution.
  • Benefits: Yields Agile Adoption, Enhanced Productivity, and Risk Mitigation.
  • Challenges: Faces Resistance to Change, Lack of Authority, and Time Constraints challenges.

Related Frameworks, Models, or ConceptsDescriptionWhen to Apply
Scrum Framework– The Scrum Framework is an Agile methodology used to manage and deliver complex products iteratively and incrementally. The Scrum Framework consists of defined roles, events, artifacts, and rules. The Scrum Master is one of the key roles in Scrum, responsible for facilitating the Scrum process, removing impediments, and coaching the Scrum Team to improve productivity and effectiveness.– When adopting Agile methodologies like Scrum for product development or project management, or when seeking to improve team collaboration, adaptability, and delivery speed. – Applicable in industries such as software development, product management, and marketing to enable Agile practices and principles through Scrum Framework adoption and implementation.
Agile Principles and Values– Agile Principles and Values are the foundational beliefs and guiding principles that underpin Agile methodologies and practices. Agile principles emphasize customer collaboration, responding to change, and delivering value iteratively. The Scrum Master role embodies Agile principles by fostering transparency, inspecting and adapting processes, and promoting a culture of continuous improvement.– Throughout Agile transformations, projects, or initiatives in organizations seeking to embrace Agile principles and values or when promoting Agile culture, mindset, and practices. – Applicable in industries such as finance, healthcare, and education to drive organizational change, enhance collaboration, and deliver customer value using Agile principles and values.
Servant Leadership– Servant Leadership is a leadership philosophy where leaders prioritize the needs of others, empower teams, and facilitate their growth and success. The Scrum Master role embodies servant leadership principles by serving the Scrum Team, Product Owner, and organization, facilitating collaboration, removing obstacles, and enabling self-organization and continuous improvement.– When leading Agile teams or initiatives, fostering a culture of trust, accountability, and empowerment, or when seeking to develop leadership capabilities and drive organizational change. – Applicable in industries such as technology, healthcare, and manufacturing to build high-performing teams, promote employee engagement, and achieve business goals through servant leadership practices.
Coaching and Facilitation– Coaching and Facilitation are skills and techniques used by Scrum Masters to guide, mentor, and empower Agile teams and stakeholders. Scrum Masters act as coaches, providing guidance, support, and feedback to help teams understand and embrace Agile principles and practices. They also facilitate meetings, workshops, and ceremonies to ensure effective communication, collaboration, and decision-making.– Throughout Agile transformations, projects, or initiatives in organizations adopting Agile methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, or Lean, or when supporting teams and stakeholders in understanding and applying Agile principles and practices. – Applicable in industries such as software development, marketing, and HR to build Agile capabilities, enhance team performance, and drive organizational change through coaching and facilitation.
Conflict Resolution– Conflict Resolution is the process of addressing and resolving conflicts or disagreements that arise within Agile teams or between stakeholders. Scrum Masters play a crucial role in facilitating conflict resolution by fostering open communication, understanding different perspectives, and helping parties collaborate to find mutually beneficial solutions. Effective conflict resolution promotes trust, collaboration, and team cohesion.– When managing team dynamics, resolving interpersonal conflicts, or addressing issues that hinder team performance or productivity. – Applicable in industries such as project management, organizational development, and Agile coaching to build resilient teams, improve collaboration, and enhance organizational effectiveness through conflict resolution techniques.
Lean Thinking– Lean Thinking is a management philosophy that emphasizes delivering value to customers while minimizing waste and optimizing processes. Scrum Masters apply Lean thinking principles to identify and eliminate waste, streamline workflows, and continuously improve delivery processes. By embracing Lean principles, Scrum Masters help teams focus on delivering customer value efficiently and effectively.– Throughout Agile transformations, projects, or initiatives in organizations seeking to optimize processes, reduce waste, and improve efficiency and quality. – Applicable in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics to enhance operational excellence, drive continuous improvement, and deliver superior customer value using Lean thinking principles.
Agile Metrics and Feedback Loops– Agile Metrics and Feedback Loops are tools and techniques used to measure, monitor, and improve team performance and delivery outcomes in Agile projects. Scrum Masters leverage Agile metrics such as velocity, lead time, and cycle time to track progress, identify bottlenecks, and facilitate data-driven decision-making. They also establish feedback loops to gather input from stakeholders, inspect and adapt processes, and drive continuous improvement.– Throughout Agile projects, sprints, or iterations, or when monitoring team performance, project progress, and delivery metrics to identify areas for improvement and optimize delivery outcomes. – Applicable in industries such as software development, product management, and customer service to enhance agility, transparency, and responsiveness using Agile metrics and feedback mechanisms.
Agile Tools and Techniques– Agile Tools and Techniques are software tools, frameworks, and methodologies used to support Agile practices and collaboration within teams and across organizations. Scrum Masters leverage Agile tools such as Kanban boards, burndown charts, and retrospective tools to visualize work, track progress, and facilitate communication. They also use Agile frameworks and methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, and Lean to guide team activities and improve delivery effectiveness.– Throughout Agile projects, sprints, or iterations, or when managing team workflows, collaboration, and communication in distributed or co-located environments. – Applicable in industries such as software development, project management, and marketing to streamline processes, enhance visibility, and enable effective teamwork using Agile tools and techniques.
Agile Transformation and Scaling– Agile Transformation and Scaling involve adopting Agile methodologies and practices at the organizational level to drive cultural change, improve agility, and deliver value iteratively. Scrum Masters play a key role in Agile transformations by coaching teams, fostering Agile mindset and practices, and facilitating organizational change initiatives. They also contribute to scaling Agile frameworks such as SAFe, LeSS, or Scrum@Scale to align multiple teams and stakeholders and drive enterprise-wide agility.– Throughout Agile transformations, initiatives, or scaling efforts in organizations seeking to adopt Agile methodologies at scale or drive cultural change and innovation through Agile practices. – Applicable in industries such as banking, insurance, and government to transform organizational culture, increase adaptability, and deliver business value through Agile transformation and scaling initiatives.
Community of Practice (CoP)– Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of individuals who share a common interest or profession and come together to learn, collaborate, and exchange knowledge and experiences. Scrum Masters participate in Agile communities of practice to network with peers, share best practices, and enhance their Agile coaching and leadership skills. CoPs provide a supportive environment for Scrum Masters to learn from others, seek guidance, and stay updated on emerging Agile trends and practices.– Throughout Agile transformations, projects, or initiatives in organizations seeking to build Agile capabilities, foster a culture of learning and continuous improvement, or when developing Agile coaching skills and expertise. – Applicable in industries such as technology, healthcare, and education to promote knowledge sharing, peer learning, and professional development through Agile communities of practice and networking events.
Agile Mindset and Culture– Agile Mindset and Culture refer to the values, beliefs, and behaviors that characterize Agile organizations and teams. Scrum Masters cultivate an Agile mindset and culture by promoting collaboration, experimentation, and adaptability, and by challenging traditional ways of working. They champion Agile principles such as customer focus, self-organization, and continuous improvement, driving cultural change and fostering a supportive and empowering work environment.– Throughout Agile transformations, projects, or initiatives in organizations seeking to embed Agile values and principles into their culture or when promoting collaboration, innovation, and agility in teams and across the organization. – Applicable in industries such as software development, finance, and manufacturing to build resilience, responsiveness, and competitive advantage through Agile mindset and cultural transformation efforts.

Connected Agile & Lean Frameworks

AIOps

aiops
AIOps is the application of artificial intelligence to IT operations. It has become particularly useful for modern IT management in hybridized, distributed, and dynamic environments. AIOps has become a key operational component of modern digital-based organizations, built around software and algorithms.

AgileSHIFT

AgileSHIFT
AgileSHIFT is a framework that prepares individuals for transformational change by creating a culture of agility.

Agile Methodology

agile-methodology
Agile started as a lightweight development method compared to heavyweight software development, which is the core paradigm of the previous decades of software development. By 2001 the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was born as a set of principles that defined the new paradigm for software development as a continuous iteration. This would also influence the way of doing business.

Agile Program Management

agile-program-management
Agile Program Management is a means of managing, planning, and coordinating interrelated work in such a way that value delivery is emphasized for all key stakeholders. Agile Program Management (AgilePgM) is a disciplined yet flexible agile approach to managing transformational change within an organization.

Agile Project Management

agile-project-management
Agile project management (APM) is a strategy that breaks large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. In the APM methodology, each project is completed in small sections – often referred to as iterations. Each iteration is completed according to its project life cycle, beginning with the initial design and progressing to testing and then quality assurance.

Agile Modeling

agile-modeling
Agile Modeling (AM) is a methodology for modeling and documenting software-based systems. Agile Modeling is critical to the rapid and continuous delivery of software. It is a collection of values, principles, and practices that guide effective, lightweight software modeling.

Agile Business Analysis

agile-business-analysis
Agile Business Analysis (AgileBA) is certification in the form of guidance and training for business analysts seeking to work in agile environments. To support this shift, AgileBA also helps the business analyst relate Agile projects to a wider organizational mission or strategy. To ensure that analysts have the necessary skills and expertise, AgileBA certification was developed.

Agile Leadership

agile-leadership
Agile leadership is the embodiment of agile manifesto principles by a manager or management team. Agile leadership impacts two important levels of a business. The structural level defines the roles, responsibilities, and key performance indicators. The behavioral level describes the actions leaders exhibit to others based on agile principles. 

Andon System

andon-system
The andon system alerts managerial, maintenance, or other staff of a production process problem. The alert itself can be activated manually with a button or pull cord, but it can also be activated automatically by production equipment. Most Andon boards utilize three colored lights similar to a traffic signal: green (no errors), yellow or amber (problem identified, or quality check needed), and red (production stopped due to unidentified issue).

Bimodal Portfolio Management

bimodal-portfolio-management
Bimodal Portfolio Management (BimodalPfM) helps an organization manage both agile and traditional portfolios concurrently. Bimodal Portfolio Management – sometimes referred to as bimodal development – was coined by research and advisory company Gartner. The firm argued that many agile organizations still needed to run some aspects of their operations using traditional delivery models.

Business Innovation Matrix

business-innovation
Business innovation is about creating new opportunities for an organization to reinvent its core offerings, revenue streams, and enhance the value proposition for existing or new customers, thus renewing its whole business model. Business innovation springs by understanding the structure of the market, thus adapting or anticipating those changes.

Business Model Innovation

business-model-innovation
Business model innovation is about increasing the success of an organization with existing products and technologies by crafting a compelling value proposition able to propel a new business model to scale up customers and create a lasting competitive advantage. And it all starts by mastering the key customers.

Constructive Disruption

constructive-disruption
A consumer brand company like Procter & Gamble (P&G) defines “Constructive Disruption” as: a willingness to change, adapt, and create new trends and technologies that will shape our industry for the future. According to P&G, it moves around four pillars: lean innovation, brand building, supply chain, and digitalization & data analytics.

Continuous Innovation

continuous-innovation
That is a process that requires a continuous feedback loop to develop a valuable product and build a viable business model. Continuous innovation is a mindset where products and services are designed and delivered to tune them around the customers’ problem and not the technical solution of its founders.

Design Sprint

design-sprint
A design sprint is a proven five-day process where critical business questions are answered through speedy design and prototyping, focusing on the end-user. A design sprint starts with a weekly challenge that should finish with a prototype, test at the end, and therefore a lesson learned to be iterated.

Design Thinking

design-thinking
Tim Brown, Executive Chair of IDEO, defined design thinking as “a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” Therefore, desirability, feasibility, and viability are balanced to solve critical problems.

DevOps

devops-engineering
DevOps refers to a series of practices performed to perform automated software development processes. It is a conjugation of the term “development” and “operations” to emphasize how functions integrate across IT teams. DevOps strategies promote seamless building, testing, and deployment of products. It aims to bridge a gap between development and operations teams to streamline the development altogether.

Dual Track Agile

dual-track-agile
Product discovery is a critical part of agile methodologies, as its aim is to ensure that products customers love are built. Product discovery involves learning through a raft of methods, including design thinking, lean start-up, and A/B testing to name a few. Dual Track Agile is an agile methodology containing two separate tracks: the “discovery” track and the “delivery” track.

eXtreme Programming

extreme-programming
eXtreme Programming was developed in the late 1990s by Ken Beck, Ron Jeffries, and Ward Cunningham. During this time, the trio was working on the Chrysler Comprehensive Compensation System (C3) to help manage the company payroll system. eXtreme Programming (XP) is a software development methodology. It is designed to improve software quality and the ability of software to adapt to changing customer needs.

Feature-Driven Development

feature-driven-development
Feature-Driven Development is a pragmatic software process that is client and architecture-centric. Feature-Driven Development (FDD) is an agile software development model that organizes workflow according to which features need to be developed next.

Gemba Walk

gemba-walk
A Gemba Walk is a fundamental component of lean management. It describes the personal observation of work to learn more about it. Gemba is a Japanese word that loosely translates as “the real place”, or in business, “the place where value is created”. The Gemba Walk as a concept was created by Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System of lean manufacturing. Ohno wanted to encourage management executives to leave their offices and see where the real work happened. This, he hoped, would build relationships between employees with vastly different skillsets and build trust.

GIST Planning

gist-planning
GIST Planning is a relatively easy and lightweight agile approach to product planning that favors autonomous working. GIST Planning is a lean and agile methodology that was created by former Google product manager Itamar Gilad. GIST Planning seeks to address this situation by creating lightweight plans that are responsive and adaptable to change. GIST Planning also improves team velocity, autonomy, and alignment by reducing the pervasive influence of management. It consists of four blocks: goals, ideas, step-projects, and tasks.

ICE Scoring

ice-scoring-model
The ICE Scoring Model is an agile methodology that prioritizes features using data according to three components: impact, confidence, and ease of implementation. The ICE Scoring Model was initially created by author and growth expert Sean Ellis to help companies expand. Today, the model is broadly used to prioritize projects, features, initiatives, and rollouts. It is ideally suited for early-stage product development where there is a continuous flow of ideas and momentum must be maintained.

Innovation Funnel

innovation-funnel
An innovation funnel is a tool or process ensuring only the best ideas are executed. In a metaphorical sense, the funnel screens innovative ideas for viability so that only the best products, processes, or business models are launched to the market. An innovation funnel provides a framework for the screening and testing of innovative ideas for viability.

Innovation Matrix

types-of-innovation
According to how well defined is the problem and how well defined the domain, we have four main types of innovations: basic research (problem and domain or not well defined); breakthrough innovation (domain is not well defined, the problem is well defined); sustaining innovation (both problem and domain are well defined); and disruptive innovation (domain is well defined, the problem is not well defined).

Innovation Theory

innovation-theory
The innovation loop is a methodology/framework derived from the Bell Labs, which produced innovation at scale throughout the 20th century. They learned how to leverage a hybrid innovation management model based on science, invention, engineering, and manufacturing at scale. By leveraging individual genius, creativity, and small/large groups.

Lean vs. Agile

lean-methodology-vs-agile
The Agile methodology has been primarily thought of for software development (and other business disciplines have also adopted it). Lean thinking is a process improvement technique where teams prioritize the value streams to improve it continuously. Both methodologies look at the customer as the key driver to improvement and waste reduction. Both methodologies look at improvement as something continuous.

Lean Startup

startup-company
A startup company is a high-tech business that tries to build a scalable business model in tech-driven industries. A startup company usually follows a lean methodology, where continuous innovation, driven by built-in viral loops is the rule. Thus, driving growth and building network effects as a consequence of this strategy.

Minimum Viable Product

minimum-viable-product
As pointed out by Eric Ries, a minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort through a cycle of build, measure, learn; that is the foundation of the lean startup methodology.

Leaner MVP

leaner-mvp
A leaner MVP is the evolution of the MPV approach. Where the market risk is validated before anything else

Kanban

kanban
Kanban is a lean manufacturing framework first developed by Toyota in the late 1940s. The Kanban framework is a means of visualizing work as it moves through identifying potential bottlenecks. It does that through a process called just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing to optimize engineering processes, speed up manufacturing products, and improve the go-to-market strategy.

Jidoka

jidoka
Jidoka was first used in 1896 by Sakichi Toyoda, who invented a textile loom that would stop automatically when it encountered a defective thread. Jidoka is a Japanese term used in lean manufacturing. The term describes a scenario where machines cease operating without human intervention when a problem or defect is discovered.

PDCA Cycle

pdca-cycle
The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle was first proposed by American physicist and engineer Walter A. Shewhart in the 1920s. The PDCA cycle is a continuous process and product improvement method and an essential component of the lean manufacturing philosophy.

Rational Unified Process

rational-unified-process
Rational unified process (RUP) is an agile software development methodology that breaks the project life cycle down into four distinct phases.

Rapid Application Development

rapid-application-development
RAD was first introduced by author and consultant James Martin in 1991. Martin recognized and then took advantage of the endless malleability of software in designing development models. Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a methodology focusing on delivering rapidly through continuous feedback and frequent iterations.

Retrospective Analysis

retrospective-analysis
Retrospective analyses are held after a project to determine what worked well and what did not. They are also conducted at the end of an iteration in Agile project management. Agile practitioners call these meetings retrospectives or retros. They are an effective way to check the pulse of a project team, reflect on the work performed to date, and reach a consensus on how to tackle the next sprint cycle. These are the five stages of a retrospective analysis for effective Agile project management: set the stage, gather the data, generate insights, decide on the next steps, and close the retrospective.

Scaled Agile

scaled-agile-lean-development
Scaled Agile Lean Development (ScALeD) helps businesses discover a balanced approach to agile transition and scaling questions. The ScALed approach helps businesses successfully respond to change. Inspired by a combination of lean and agile values, ScALed is practitioner-based and can be completed through various agile frameworks and practices.

SMED

smed
The SMED (single minute exchange of die) method is a lean production framework to reduce waste and increase production efficiency. The SMED method is a framework for reducing the time associated with completing an equipment changeover.

Spotify Model

spotify-model
The Spotify Model is an autonomous approach to scaling agile, focusing on culture communication, accountability, and quality. The Spotify model was first recognized in 2012 after Henrik Kniberg, and Anders Ivarsson released a white paper detailing how streaming company Spotify approached agility. Therefore, the Spotify model represents an evolution of agile.

Test-Driven Development

test-driven-development
As the name suggests, TDD is a test-driven technique for delivering high-quality software rapidly and sustainably. It is an iterative approach based on the idea that a failing test should be written before any code for a feature or function is written. Test-Driven Development (TDD) is an approach to software development that relies on very short development cycles.

Timeboxing

timeboxing
Timeboxing is a simple yet powerful time-management technique for improving productivity. Timeboxing describes the process of proactively scheduling a block of time to spend on a task in the future. It was first described by author James Martin in a book about agile software development.

Scrum

what-is-scrum
Scrum is a methodology co-created by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland for effective team collaboration on complex products. Scrum was primarily thought for software development projects to deliver new software capability every 2-4 weeks. It is a sub-group of agile also used in project management to improve startups’ productivity.

Scrumban

scrumban
Scrumban is a project management framework that is a hybrid of two popular agile methodologies: Scrum and Kanban. Scrumban is a popular approach to helping businesses focus on the right strategic tasks while simultaneously strengthening their processes.

Scrum Anti-Patterns

scrum-anti-patterns
Scrum anti-patterns describe any attractive, easy-to-implement solution that ultimately makes a problem worse. Therefore, these are the practice not to follow to prevent issues from emerging. Some classic examples of scrum anti-patterns comprise absent product owners, pre-assigned tickets (making individuals work in isolation), and discounting retrospectives (where review meetings are not useful to really make improvements).

Scrum At Scale

scrum-at-scale
Scrum at Scale (Scrum@Scale) is a framework that Scrum teams use to address complex problems and deliver high-value products. Scrum at Scale was created through a joint venture between the Scrum Alliance and Scrum Inc. The joint venture was overseen by Jeff Sutherland, a co-creator of Scrum and one of the principal authors of the Agile Manifesto.

Six Sigma

six-sigma
Six Sigma is a data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating errors or defects in a product, service, or process. Six Sigma was developed by Motorola as a management approach based on quality fundamentals in the early 1980s. A decade later, it was popularized by General Electric who estimated that the methodology saved them $12 billion in the first five years of operation.

Stretch Objectives

stretch-objectives
Stretch objectives describe any task an agile team plans to complete without expressly committing to do so. Teams incorporate stretch objectives during a Sprint or Program Increment (PI) as part of Scaled Agile. They are used when the agile team is unsure of its capacity to attain an objective. Therefore, stretch objectives are instead outcomes that, while extremely desirable, are not the difference between the success or failure of each sprint.

Toyota Production System

toyota-production-system
The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an early form of lean manufacturing created by auto-manufacturer Toyota. Created by the Toyota Motor Corporation in the 1940s and 50s, the Toyota Production System seeks to manufacture vehicles ordered by customers most quickly and efficiently possible.

Total Quality Management

total-quality-management
The Total Quality Management (TQM) framework is a technique based on the premise that employees continuously work on their ability to provide value to customers. Importantly, the word “total” means that all employees are involved in the process – regardless of whether they work in development, production, or fulfillment.

Waterfall

waterfall-model
The waterfall model was first described by Herbert D. Benington in 1956 during a presentation about the software used in radar imaging during the Cold War. Since there were no knowledge-based, creative software development strategies at the time, the waterfall method became standard practice. The waterfall model is a linear and sequential project management framework. 

Read Also: Continuous Innovation, Agile Methodology, Lean Startup, Business Model Innovation, Project Management.

Read Next: Agile Methodology, Lean Methodology, Agile Project Management, Scrum, Kanban, Six Sigma.

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