Question 1

Agile Coaching

Accepted Answer

A coaching intervention that is focused on helping teams, leaders and organizations to improve their ability to gracefully change / adapt to changing needs, may be identified as Agile Coaching.

Question 2

Technical Debt

Accepted Answer

Technical debt is the incomplete work that must be addressed to bring the product to the expected quality and functionality.

Technical Debt could be intentional as well as unintentional.

Intentional Tech Debt is a result of decisions made during product development that emphasize speed over the product quality.

When developers are rushed, they may cut corners and pay less attention to quality - the resulting product may have incomplete work / activities.

For example: lack of refactoring, not fixing known issues / defects, incomplete or ignored unit testing, etc.

Unintentional Tech Debt is a result of slopiness, lack of technical competence, bad design decisions, etc.

Having Technical Debt lowers the User Experience and also increase the cost of ownership.

Also see: Living Without Tech Debt

Question 3

Scrum of Scrums (SoS)

Accepted Answer

A techinque to coordinate work and dependencies across multiple Scrum teams. A member from each team joins a short daily sync up to discsus dependencies, impediments and opportunities to collaborate among various teams.

See also: Daily Scrum

Question 4

PDCA

Accepted Answer

Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) is an iterative problem solving framework developed around 1950s by Edward Deming.

PDCA is used to improve processes, products, and services, by improving upon quality, reliability, productivity, and effectiveness. PDCA is an improvement cycle, and is also known as dynamic improvement.

Plan: Involves gathering data, defining the issue, and identifying potential solutions.

The PDCA cycle is repeated until the desired improvement is achieved.

Question 5

Lean Coffee

Accepted Answer

Imagine yourself in a dynamic Scrum team, where open communication and collaboration are essential for success. That's where the Lean Coffee technique comes in, bringing a touch of magic to your discussions. It all begins with each team member jotting down their thoughts and ideas on colorful sticky notes. These notes are then organized and prioritized using a group voting system, ensuring everyone's voice is heard.

Now comes the exciting part: the conversations! Each topic is given its moment in the spotlight, with a fixed time frame set by the team per topic. This ensures a fair balance, preventing any one person or topic from dominating the stage. By embracing this iterative approach, you dive deep into the most relevant and valuable topics, uncovering hidden gems along the way.

But it doesn't stop there. Lean Coffee empowers your team to make the most of their precious meeting time, channeling their energy into focused discussions that truly matter. This technique brings out the best in your team, fostering a sense of togetherness and shared purpose. So let the Lean Coffee aroma fill the room, and watch as your Agile team flourishes with each sip of conversation.

Question 6

Blocker

Accepted Answer

Blocker is anything that blocks the team from making progress.

Please also see Impediment.

Question 7

Scrum Artifacts

Accepted Answer

A Scrum team needs access to shared information in order to effectively perform its activities and Inspect the information.

Scrum Artifacts are designed to maximize transparency of key information. Thus, everyone inspecting them has the same basis for adaptation.

The three Scrum Artifacts represent work or value:

Product Backlog
Sprint Backlog
Increment

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

Question 8

Sprint Retrospective

Accepted Answer

The Sprint Retrospective is one of the prescribed Scrum Event - an opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint.

The Team may inspect their processes, communication and interactions among people, and tools used to identify opportunities to simplify processes, automate steps, reduce any waste, reduce hand-offs etc.

The result of the Sprint Retrospective is improved effectiveness of the Scrum Team and better quality product/solutions.

The end of the retrospective marks the end of the Sprint.

Question 9

Complex System

Accepted Answer

A complex system is a collection of interdependent parts, modules, and/or variables. A perfect understanding of individual parts does not automatically convey a perfect understanding of the whole system's behaviour.

The state of a complex system can't be predicted due to the reason that it's parts dynamically change and every change influences the state of other parts and the overall system.

Is your work environment Obvious, Complicated, Complex or Chaotic?

Please analyze your current work environment, and identify which of these variables change in your work environment?

Customer Needs
Technology
Talent/People
Competition
Organizational Goals
Marketplace
Government Regulation
All of the Above

If you answered All of the above (or many of the above) your work environment is Complex.

Question 10

Antipattern

Accepted Answer

An antipattern is solution applied to a particular problem that is considered harmful or undesirable, but is used on a regular basis.

An antipattern can be applied to a process, product design, company policy of an org, etc. A key characteristic of antipatterns is that they are used in situations where other, better, alternatives exist.

Antipatterns can include such practices as over-engineering, reinventing the wheel, establishing too many dependencies, overcomplicating the situation and adding more complexity to a situation.

Question 11

Coaching

Accepted Answer

Coaching is a form of development intervention in which a coach, supports a learner or a coachee in achieving a specific personal or professional goal.

The coach provides a structure, accountability and space within which the coachee's wisdom emerges and capability grows to:

clarify a problem they like to solve/address,
identify possible solutions to try, and
take action to address the matter.

Providing answers, opinions, and telling others what to do is NOT coaching.

Unlike a mentor, a coach doesn't need to be an expert in the field in which a coachee aims to excel.

See also: The Scrum Master as a Coach

Question 12

Product Vision

Accepted Answer

Product Vision is a high-level, aspirational statement that articulates the long-term direction and purpose of a product. It provides a clear and inspiring picture of what the product is meant to accomplish, who it is intended for, and benefits it provides to the customers.

A well-defined product vision helps build a shared understanding, align teams, and provide clarity on the desired outcomes for the product.

The importance of Product Vision lies in its ability to inspire, motivate, and guide the product team throughout the product development cycle. It serves as a North Star, helping to keep the team focused on what truly matters and ensuring that everyone is working towards the same goals. It also helps to align stakeholders and customers around a shared vision for the product, which can improve communication, reduce conflicts, and increase the chances of success.

The Product Goal is a specific, relatively short-term, and measurable objective that helps the team make progress towards that vision. It guides the team to focus on delivering incremental value.

Examples of Product Vision:

The Amazon Kindle: "To provide customers with the best possible reading experience on a digital device." The Kindle's product vision is centered around delivering a superior reading experience that replicates the experience of reading a physical book as closely as possible, with features like a glare-free display, long battery life, and access to a vast library of e-books.
Google Maps: "To organize the world's geographic information and make it universally accessible and useful." Google Maps' product vision reflects its mission to provide users with accurate and detailed maps that help them navigate the world around them, with features like turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates, and user-generated reviews.
Netflix: "To become the world's leading internet television network, offering a wide range of TV shows and movies to our members." Netflix's product vision centers around providing users with a vast library of high-quality streaming content that they can access anytime, anywhere, with features like personalized recommendations, ad-free viewing, and offline downloads.
Tesla Model S: "To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy by creating the safest, most compelling car ever produced." The Model S's product vision reflects Tesla's commitment to promoting clean energy and reducing carbon emissions, with features like a high-performance electric drivetrain, advanced safety features, and a sleek, futuristic design.

Question 13

Scrum Events

Accepted Answer

Scrum combines four formal events within a containing event, the Sprint. (That makes total 5 Scrum Events)

Four formal Scrum Events are:

Sprint Planning
Daily Scrum
Sprint Review
Sprint Retrospective

Scrum Events are a formal opportunity to inspect and adapt the Scrum artifacts. Missing any event(s) results in lost opportunities to inspect and adapt.

Events are used in Scrum to create regularity and to minimize the need for meetings not defined in Scrum.

Scrum events are designed to provoke change

Question 14

Evidence Based Management

Accepted Answer

Evidence-based Management refers to a decision-making approach that relies on objective and verifiable evidence, data, and research to inform and guide managerial actions and choices within an organization.

By using rigorous analysis and empirical evidence, this approach seeks to minimize biases and subjectivity, leading to more informed and effective decision-making.

It emphasizes the integration of scientific findings and real-world factual data to optimize organizational processes, enhance performance, and achieve desired outcomes.

Also see: Empiricism

Question 15

Lean Waste

Accepted Answer

Lean waste is a type of waste that relates to non-value added activities in processes, communication, information sharing, product features etc.

Any non-value add activities that a team undertakes, is a lean waste and such waste is detrimental to any organizaiton, as it creates delays in value creation and increases cost.

8 Types of Lean Wastes are:

Work-In-Progress, Inventory, Partially Done Work
Over Production, Extra Features
Extra Processing, Relearning
Transportation, Handoffs
Delays
Task Switching, Motion
Defects
Unused Talent

Also see: Lean Thinking

Question 16

Agility

Accepted Answer

Agility is an ability to gracefully adapt to changing needs.

In a dynamic and changing environment many variable such as: Customer's Needs, Technology, Market Conditions, Competition may change requiring a team / product / organization respond to these changes to stay relevant in the market.

Question 17

Continuous Integration

Accepted Answer

Continuous Integration (CI) is a software development practice where developers integrate their work frequently during the day and automatically, rather than waiting for the end of every development cycle.

Continuous integration is a continuous, automated, and integrated software build and test cycle that merges source code from participating programmers to produce an executable that is ready to be tested.

Question 18

Framework

Accepted Answer

A framework could be a collection of guidelines, rules and elements that provide a structure and boundary but not the prescription to achieve something.

For Example: The game of Chess (a framework) offers:

The chess board (8x8 squares)
The chess pieces (Material)
The rules about how each piece is placed, how each piece moves across the board

A chess player gets to decide their strategy, which piece they move and where, how they secure their king and how they use their queen. The game of the Chess doesn't prescribe any of this.

Question 19

Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

Accepted Answer

A performance indicator is a quantifiable measure of performance over time for a specific strategic objective.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are performance indicators most critical to an organization.

KPIs provide goals for teams to work towards, milestones to gauge progress, and insights that help employees across the organization make effective decisions. From sales and marketing to finance and HR, KPIs help every area of the business move forward at the strategic and operational level.

Question 20

Self-Management

Accepted Answer

When a team is empowered to decide who does what, when, and how - it can be termed as a Self-Managing Team. The self-managing team is responsible and accountable for all or most aspects / decisions of planning, producing and delivering value.

To enable people or teams in an organization to self-manage, the structure of the organization /and the team must be relatively flat. The team must be shielded from hierarchy. People must have the needed empowerement to make necessary decisions related to their work.

Some of the well known large-scale Organizations that are successfully operating and growing based on the principles of Self-Management:

Morning Star (Tomato Processor, USA)
Buurtzorg (Healthcare, The Netherlands, Worldwide)
Semco Group (Manufacturing, Brazil)
Patagonia (Outdoor Apparel, USA)
Haier Group (Consumer Durables, Appliances, China)