Breaking Down The Spotify Engineering Culture Model

The Spotify Engineering Culture Model is one of the most widely referenced frameworks for scaling Agile and creating autonomous, innovative teams. Originally popularized by Henrik Kniberg and Anders Ivarsson in their internal videos (now public), the model describes how Spotify organizes and empowers teams to deliver software at scale while maintaining a strong culture of innovation, speed, and flexibility.

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Become A Life Changer...

Do you have the power to change a life? Listen today and reveal the answer to this powerful question.

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Can We Do 100% Scrum And SAFe Simultaneously? - NOPE...

This question emerged during a recent Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master Advanced training in Germany 🇩🇪. Some time ago, the company started an Agile transformation and hired me to learn more about Scrum and how it could benefit them.

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3 Powerful Questions I Love Asking My Team ~ Ro Fernandez

https://blog.novatools.org/3-powerful-questions-i-love-asking-my-team-and-why-you-should-too-ccb05111ad2f

1) What would make you feel genuinely prepared?

2) If you had to describe how things are going… like a weather report… what would you say?

3) What would you do if you were in my position right now?

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I Have NEVER Used Scrum 100% - Take It From The TOP!

Fifteen years ago, I stumbled upon Scrum. It gave a name to many things I was already doing and introduced me to new working methods. But here’s the thing:
👉 I’ve never used Scrum 100%.
👉 I’ve never developed a product without using parts of Scrum.

For me, Scrum — or any framework — was never the goal. The goal was always to build high-quality products that deliver value to customers while enjoying the process.

Take it from the TOP

T = Teams

O = Outcomes

P = Product

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You Don’t Need Agile... YES You Do Need Agile!

When Agile was introduced many years ago, it gave software delivery an option to do things differently. From there, many offshoots have come from Agile that come from Agile that provide even more options for Software Delivery.

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Exploring How To Discuss Sensitive Topics From a Spiritual Approach

Learn how to have the tough conversations and express yourself while still being empathetic to those who think differently than you do.

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Why We Killed Scrum Sprints Forever

When I started my journey as a product manager, I went through every article, book, and video I could find about Scrum. Sprint planning, daily stand-ups, reviews, retrospectives — the whole shebang...

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Do Your User Stories End in a Coffee Break? - Mike Cohn

Ever write a user story that the team never finishes?
That’s a sign you’re dealing with an open story—one that doesn’t deliver a clear, finished result to the user.
Let’s fix that.
 

A closed user story is one where the user completes a meaningful goal.
Think: “Ah, I finished reviewing resumes. Time for a coffee break.”
Contrast that with this story:
“As a recruiter, I can manage the job ads I’ve placed.”
That’s not closed. Why?
Because “manage” never ends. You don’t manage something and then say, “Great! That’s done forever.”

For Here are some red flag words to watch out for:
 

• manage
• maintain
• administer
• configure
• monitor

• As a recruiter, I can review resumes so I can pass good candidates to the hiring manager.
• I can change the expiration date of an ad to keep it visible—or close it when we’re done.
• I can delete unqualified applications so the team doesn’t waste time.
• I can update ad descriptions to attract better candidates. Each one finishes with something tangible.

Closed Stories Let Users Take a Coffee Break
Red Flag Words to Watch
These words signal that your story might be too broad or too vague.
 How to Close Open Stories
Break “manage job ads” into stories with meaningful outcomes:
 
Each one earns that coffee break.
 Why Closed Stories Matter
Closed stories avoid misunderstandings. A vague story like “manage ads” might mean running reports to the product owner; the same story might mean UI tweaks to the team. That gap in understanding leads to rework.
And yes—open stories have a place as epics early in a project. But when it’s time to build, break them down into stories with clear outcomes.
That’s how teams build clarity—and succeed with agile.

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Limitations of the Sprint Retrospective...

Back in my Scrum days — yes, with 20+ years of experience, I am allowed to say that — I genuinely enjoyed facilitating Retrospectives. It was a perfect moment to pause and identify areas for improvement.

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