Be Agile… in a right way

I’m sure most of you already have implemented some hybrid way of project (and org structure), mostly known as “Agile”. Following some principles, some not. If you have “sprints”, a whiteboard on the wall with some sticky notes, or you’re planning to test and deliver your software without waiting for the end of the line, keep reading.

Which is your concept of Sprint Planning?

The worst mistake you can do here is to only do follow up on the tasks. It’s a huge waste of time. It’s even worse if you’re “creating the tasks” in the same meeting, just as a ritual procedure. Completely meaningless.

Sprint Planning is the opportunity when the Product Owner can expose his point of view about which should be the direction of the project. Backlog items should exist and must be already designed before that meeting because they will be prioritized on it. That involves acceptance criteria, goals, deliverables, expected docs, etc.

It’s painful to realize that most teams fail on this. Most Sprint Plannings are a boring 1-hour-long weekly standup.