The Daily Standup

3 Powerful Questions I Love Asking My Team ~ Ro Fernandezhttps://blog.novatools.org/3-powerful-questions-i-love-asking-my-team-and-why-you-should-too-ccb05111ad2f1) 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?How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

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 = TeamsO = OutcomesP = ProductHow to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

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.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

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. How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Why We Killed Scrum Sprints ForeverWhen 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...How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Do Your User Stories End in a Coffee Break? - Mike CohnEver 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.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Avoid Getting Good at AgileI know the agile universe has been around for a long time. You may have even been using agile concepts since XP or Scrum in the mid-90s, I get it. But if you were to line up every single person in your whole country that works at all the organizations, large or small, and ask them how well they understood what it means to be agile, what do you think you’d find?How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Vocal Training Exercises That You Can DoIt is AMAZING the things that we can do with our voice.. Please listen and learn some tips to help you use this tool to the best of its capability. How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Dolly Parton Can Improve Your Teamwork... - Mike CohnWould you like to get a check from Dolly Parton for $500? I would.
In an effort to reduce the number of students who dropped out of high school in her home county, she promised all 7th and 8th grade students she would give them each $500 if they graduated from high school.
She added a catch: They’d only receive the money if a buddy they chose also graduated.
Dolly’s Buddy Program reduced high school dropouts from 35% to 6%.
She clearly understood the importance of accountability to one another: a student contemplating dropping out may not when they factor in the financial impact on their buddy.
I wish Dolly Parton would make a similar offer to teams. The best teams understand that they succeed (or fail) together.
No one benefits when the programmers finish coding on the last day of an iteration, and leave testers no time to test.
When shared accountability pervades a team, people help each other. Programmers may write more unit tests if they know testers will be challenged. Or they may execute some tests themselves.
If testers are concerned that programmers may not finish, they can help by identifying earlier and sharing the edge cases that programmers may overlook.
There’s always something you can do to help your coworkers. Beyond helping out in a pinch, here are some practices that help a team succeed together:
 

• Small backlog items that flow through the process more smoothly
• Small, frequent handoffs to reduce waiting
• Close collaboration to improve communication
• Overlapping work to avoid leaving too much testing until the end
• Daily scrum meetings to encourage accountability to one another

Fostering an attitude that everyone succeeds together may not get you a $500 check from Dolly Parton, but it will help you succeed with agile.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/