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Using Bruce Tuckman's Phases of Team Development to Help Your Team Grow and Advance: 2021 Update
04 January 2021
How to cite: Graffius, Scott M. (2021). Phases of Team Development. Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.13140/RG.2.2.22040.42246.
For permission requests, see below.
2021 Update
Teams go through phases of development, and Bruce Wayne Tuckman established a popular framework on the subject. According to Tuckman, all phases—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning—are necessary for teams to grow, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results. Scott M. Graffius developed a related custom illustration, Phases of Team Development, which he revises periodically. He released an updated version of the visual on January 4, 2021. This article features the new version of the Phases of Team Development illustration (shown above and below) along with a brief overview of the characteristics and strategies for each phase.
Five Phases of Team Development
1. Forming
Characteristics of Forming include displaying eagerness, socializing, generally polite tone, sticking to safe topics, being unclear about how one fits in, and some anxiety and questioning. Strategies for this phase include taking the ‘lead,’ being highly visible, facilitating introductions, providing the ‘big picture,’ establishing clear expectations, communicating success criteria, and ensuring that response times are quick.
2. Storming
Traits of Storming include resistance, lack of participation, conflict related to differences of feelings and opinions, competition, high emotions, and starting to move towards group norms. Strategies for this phase include requesting and encouraging feedback, identifying issues and facilitating their resolution, normalizing matters, and building trust by honoring commitments.
3. Norming
Features of Norming include an improved sense of purpose and understanding of goals, higher confidence, improved commitment, team members are engaged and supportive, relief—lowered anxiety, and starting to develop cohesion. Strategies for this phase include recognizing individual and team efforts, proving opportunities for learning and feedback, and monitoring the ‘energy’ of the team.
4. Performing
Characteristics of Performing include higher motivation, elevated trust and empathy, individuals typically deferring to the team's needs, effective production, consistent performance, and demonstrations of interdependence and self-management (also referred to as self-organization). Strategies for this phase include ‘guiding from the side’ (minimal intervention), celebrating successes, and encouraging collective decision-making and problem-solving.
5. Adjourning
Typical traits of Adjourning (also referred to as Transitioning or Mourning) include a shift to process orientation, sadness, recognition of team and individual efforts, and disbanding. Strategies for this phase include recognizing change, providing an opportunity for summative team evaluations (which may go by ‘lessons learned,’ post-project review, retrospective, or another label), providing an opportunity for individual acknowledgments, and celebrating the team's accomplishments—which may involve a party and possibly an ‘after-party.’
The illustration summarizes the above information—and it shows how performance fluctuates as teams move through each phase. This information may be helpful for looking at your team.
Downloadable High-Resolution Versions of 'Phases of Team Development' Illustration
High resolution versions of the updated Phases of Team Development image are available at the following links: here for the JPG file and here for the PNG file. For permission requests, contact the email address noted in the image.
Bibliography
Select list of publications
- Alford, J. (2019, April 11). Our Co-Production Journey: From Sandpits to Bird Boxes. London, United Kingdom: Imperial College London.
- Bennett, M., Gadlin, H., & Marchand, C. (2018). Collaboration Team Science: Field Guide. Rockville, MD: National Institutes of Health.
- Couture, N. (2016, October 27). A Note About Teams. CIO. Boston, MA: International Data Group (IDG).
- Daly, L. (2002). Identify Your Project Management Team’s Level of Development and Facilitate It to Success. Paper presented at Project Management Institute Annual Seminars and Symposium, San Antonio, TX. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
- Deloitte (2017). Digital Era Technology Operating Models, Volume 2. New York, NY: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.
- Finkelstein, S. (2017, October 29). Why Companies Should Hire Teams, Not Individuals. The Wall Street Journal. New York, NY: The Wall Street Journal.
- Forbes (2018, April 23). How to Fast-Track Any Team to Success. Forbes. New York, NY: Forbes.
- Forbes (2012, October 27). How the iPad Mini is Defining Tim Cook’s Apple. Forbes. New York, NY: Forbes.
- Glover, P. (2012, March 13). Team Conflict: Why It’s a Good Thing. Fast Company. New York, NY: Mansueto Ventures.
- Graffius, Scott M. (2021). Phases of Team Development. Los Angeles, CA: Scott M. Graffius. Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.13140/RG.2.2.22040.42246.
- Jovanovic, M., Mesquida, A., Radaković, N., & Mas, A. (2016). Agile Retrospective Games for Different Team Development Phases. Journal of Universal Computer Science, 22: 1489-1508.
- Kane, G. C. (2014, October 7). Why Your Company is Probably Measuring Social Media Wrong. MIT Sloan Management Review. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan Management Review.
- KPMG (2017). The Digital Fund, Season 2. Amstelveen, Netherlands: KPMG International.
- Madden, D. (2019, May 19). The Four Stages of Building a Great Team – and the One Where Things Usually Go Wrong. Inc. Magazine. New York, NY: Inc. Magazine.
- Makar, A. (2011, July 13). Lessons Learned in Norming and Performing Team Development Phases. Louisville, KY: TechRepublic.
- Martinuzzi, B. (2012, June 8). Six Tips Guaranteed to Reduce Workplace Frustrations. New York, NY: American Express Company.
- Microsoft (2019, June 15). Is the Latest Technology the Key to Your Team’s Success, or is There Something Else? Microsoft Developer Support. Accessed at: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/premier-developer/is-the-latest-technology-the-key-to-your-teams-success-or-is-there-something-else. Redmond, WA: Microsoft.
- Mocko, G., & Linnerud, B. (2016). Measuring the Effects of Goal Alignment on Innovative Engineering Design Projects. International Journal of Engineering Education, 32: 55-63.
- Romanelli, M. (2019, September 11). Teamwork Accelerated. PM Times. Newmarket, Ontario, Canada: Macgregor Communications.
- Riggs, A. (2020, October 15). Why I Start All My Video Meetings with Collaborative Games (Spoiler: It’s Not Boredom). Amsterdam, the Netherlands: The Next Web (TNW).
- Rowley, D., & Lange, M. (2007). Forming to Performing: The Evolution of an Agile Team. IEEE Computer Society Proceedings. Agile 2007, 1: 408-414.
- Scrum Alliance (2020). Learning Objectives Examples. Denver, CO: Scrum Alliance.
- Sakpal, M. (2020, March 3. Learn How to Debunk These Five Restructuring Myths. Stamford, CT: Gartner, Inc.
- Stern, S. (2018, September 26). Is Your Team Working the Rory Underwood Way? Financial Times. London, United Kingdom: The Financial Times, a Nikkei Company.
- Telford, R. (2013, June 4). This is Where It Gets Interesting. Armonk, NY: International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation.
- Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental Sequence in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63: 384-399.
- Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of Small-Group Development Revisited. Group and Organizational Studies, 2 (4): 419-427.
- United States Army (2015). Innovative Learning: A Key to National Security. Washington, DC: United States Army.
- Watkins, M. D. (2016, June). Leading the Team You Inherit. Harvard Business Review. Brighton, MA: Harvard Business Publishing.
- World Health Organization (2012). Being an Effective Team Player. Accessed at: https://www.who.int/patientsafety/education/curriculum/course4_handout.pdf. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB has generated hundreds of millions of dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. He is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from Scott's books (Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions and Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change), workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a global top thought leader and influencer in three domains: Agile, Digital Transformation, and GovTech. His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com/bio.html.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
The short URL for this article is: bit.ly/teams-21
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking on Tech Team Leadership at IT | Pro Dev Connections 2020 Conference
23 November 2020
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🔥 Update: The conference recorded sessions and made the videos available to the public. The video for Scott's session is included at the end of this post.
Scott M. Graffius will speak on team leadership at the IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020 Conference. Normally conducted in-person in Athens, Greece, it will be a virtual event this year.
Scott's session will be on Saturday, December 12th at 5:30-6:15 p.m. local (Athens, Greece) Eastern European Standard Time (7:30-8:15 a.m. Pacific Standard Time).
Attendees of this session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.75 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 0.75 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 0.75 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020 Conference
IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020 is a tech conference serving the Greek technical communities — inclusive of autoexec.gr, azureheads.gr, sqlschool.gr, *ngThess, VMUG Greece, Ministry Of Testing, MS Learn, Thessaloniki.NET, Thessaloniki Software Testing and QA, Cloud Experts, and Hotelier ITPRO — and others around the world. Normally conducted in-person in Athens, Greece, it will be held as a virtual event on December 12-13, 2020. To learn more and register for the conference, visit itprodevconnections.gr.
Update on December 16, 2020
If you missed the event, recordings of sessions are now available on YouTube. Scott's talk is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0JVK99OLpE and the video is also shown below.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
🔥 Update: The conference recorded sessions and made the videos available to the public. The video for Scott's session is included at the end of this post.
Scott M. Graffius will speak on team leadership at the IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020 Conference. Normally conducted in-person in Athens, Greece, it will be a virtual event this year.
- Dates: December 12-13, 2020
- Location: Virtual (online from Athens, Greece)
- For details and to register for the conference, visit itprodevconnections.gr
Scott's session will be on Saturday, December 12th at 5:30-6:15 p.m. local (Athens, Greece) Eastern European Standard Time (7:30-8:15 a.m. Pacific Standard Time).
Attendees of this session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.75 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 0.75 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 0.75 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020 Conference
IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020 is a tech conference serving the Greek technical communities — inclusive of autoexec.gr, azureheads.gr, sqlschool.gr, *ngThess, VMUG Greece, Ministry Of Testing, MS Learn, Thessaloniki.NET, Thessaloniki Software Testing and QA, Cloud Experts, and Hotelier ITPRO — and others around the world. Normally conducted in-person in Athens, Greece, it will be held as a virtual event on December 12-13, 2020. To learn more and register for the conference, visit itprodevconnections.gr.
Update on December 16, 2020
If you missed the event, recordings of sessions are now available on YouTube. Scott's talk is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0JVK99OLpE and the video is also shown below.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking on Team Dynamics at UX Healthcare Europe Conference
16 November 2020
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UPDATE: CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS CANCELLED THIS EVENT
Scott M. Graffius will speak on team dynamics at the UX Healthcare Europe Conference. The event will bring together a diverse group of clinicians, technologists, and thought leaders linked by a commitment to help improve the health care experience — "Because better user experience can save lives." The conference will be a virtual event.
For more information and to register for the conference, visit https://uxhealthcare.co.
Attendees of this session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.50 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 0.50 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 0.50 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About UX Healthcare
The following includes excerpts from the UX Healthcare website.
We live in a world of constant change. Technology is evolving more rapidly than anyone would have ever thought. In healthcare, this change is generally not embraced as much as in other industries. Most healthcare systems weren’t designed for this world. UX Healthcare aims to make a difference, because better design is needed in the healthcare industry. From clinicians, healthcare insurances to hospital equipment manufacturers and others - the goal is to help healthcare around the world implement the best user experiences possible. For more information, visit the UX Healthcare website at https://uxhealthcare.co.
About UX Healthcare Europe Conference
The UX Healthcare Europe Conference will bring together a diverse group of clinicians, technologists, and thought leaders linked by a commitment to improve the health care experience. "Because better user experience can save lives." The conference will conducted as a virtual event. Originally scheduled for 10 December 2020, it was rescheduled to 21 January 2021. To learn more, visit https://uxhealthcare.co.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
UPDATE: CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS CANCELLED THIS EVENT
Scott M. Graffius will speak on team dynamics at the UX Healthcare Europe Conference. The event will bring together a diverse group of clinicians, technologists, and thought leaders linked by a commitment to help improve the health care experience — "Because better user experience can save lives." The conference will be a virtual event.
- Location: Virtual
- Conference schedule: https://uxhealthcare.co/schedule-video-conference-live-europe-2020/
- Profile on conference website: https://uxhealthcare.co/speaker/scott-graffius/
- Date: Thursday, January 21, 2021 (originally scheduled for Thursday, December 10, 2020)
- Scott's session in Pacific Standard Time: 7:10-7:40 a.m. PST
- Scott's session in Greenwich Mean Time: 3:10-3:40 p.m. GMT
For more information and to register for the conference, visit https://uxhealthcare.co.
Attendees of this session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.50 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 0.50 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 0.50 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About UX Healthcare
The following includes excerpts from the UX Healthcare website.
We live in a world of constant change. Technology is evolving more rapidly than anyone would have ever thought. In healthcare, this change is generally not embraced as much as in other industries. Most healthcare systems weren’t designed for this world. UX Healthcare aims to make a difference, because better design is needed in the healthcare industry. From clinicians, healthcare insurances to hospital equipment manufacturers and others - the goal is to help healthcare around the world implement the best user experiences possible. For more information, visit the UX Healthcare website at https://uxhealthcare.co.
About UX Healthcare Europe Conference
The UX Healthcare Europe Conference will bring together a diverse group of clinicians, technologists, and thought leaders linked by a commitment to improve the health care experience. "Because better user experience can save lives." The conference will conducted as a virtual event. Originally scheduled for 10 December 2020, it was rescheduled to 21 January 2021. To learn more, visit https://uxhealthcare.co.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Quoted in Publication of the National Academy of Sciences
10 November 2020
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Scott M. Graffius was quoted in a publication of the National Academy of Sciences.
The respective content is: “If you don’t collect any metrics, you’re flying blind. If you collect and focus on too many, they may be obstructing your field of view.” — Graffius, Scott M. (2016). Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.
Chris Hare Colin Giffen were the Technical Editors on Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions.
For details on the respective National Academy of Sciences publication, see the accompanying PDF.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
About the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).
As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors in the scientific field. Members of the National Academy of Sciences serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation" on science, engineering, and medicine. The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code.
Founded in 1863 as a result of an Act of Congress that was approved by Abraham Lincoln, the NAS is charged with "providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. … to provide scientific advice to the government 'whenever called upon' by any government department."
To learn more, visit the NAS website at http://nasonline.org.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius was quoted in a publication of the National Academy of Sciences.
The respective content is: “If you don’t collect any metrics, you’re flying blind. If you collect and focus on too many, they may be obstructing your field of view.” — Graffius, Scott M. (2016). Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.
Chris Hare Colin Giffen were the Technical Editors on Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions.
For details on the respective National Academy of Sciences publication, see the accompanying PDF.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
About the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).
As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors in the scientific field. Members of the National Academy of Sciences serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation" on science, engineering, and medicine. The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code.
Founded in 1863 as a result of an Act of Congress that was approved by Abraham Lincoln, the NAS is charged with "providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. … to provide scientific advice to the government 'whenever called upon' by any government department."
To learn more, visit the NAS website at http://nasonline.org.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking on Ensuring that Projects are Aligned with Strategic Objectives and Other Key Factors at California Inland Empire Chapter of Project Management Institute
06 November 2020
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Scott M. Graffius will present “10 Ways to Score and Prioritize Project Proposals Based on Multiple Factors, Including Strategic Alignment” at an event of the California Inland Empire Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMICIE Chapter). The session will occur on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. It will be Scott's third talk at the Chapter.
Everyone is welcome to attend (PMICIE membership is not required). To register, visit here.
Attendees of this session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.50 hours. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 1.50 professional development units (PDUs), under the Strategic and Business Management category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 1.50 Scrum educational units (SEUs), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
Description of Talk
How does your organization assess proposals for new projects? Is there a well-defined scoring and prioritization process — based on alignment with the business’ strategic objectives and other factors — to quickly and easily identify the objective value of each proposal (including how important it is relative to other initiatives)? If the answer is “no,” keep reading. If the answer is “yes,” you are likely to find practical information and examples in this talk to adapt and adopt to improve the process at your organization.
Benefits (Key Learning Objectives)
This talk will help you develop and enhance the contributions you make to your organization by being able to:
Audience
This session is designed to be of value to project, program, and portfolio managers; project, program, and portfolio management office staff; Center of Excellence staff; Scrum Masters, Product Owners, agile coaches, and other agile practitioners and staff; executives making decisions about organization strategy; functional managers; researchers; customers; and additional stakeholders.
References
The talk draws on the speaker’s first-hand experience, with his guidance supported by related standards, best practices, and recommendations from the Project Management Institute, IEEE, MIT, Harvard Business Review, Scrum Alliance, Deloitte, and others.
Speaker Bio
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the California Inland Empire Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The Project Management Institute - California Inland Empire (PMICIE) Chapter was chartered by the Project Management Institute in 2002. Based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, it is committed to the advancement of the project management profession. The Chapter provides its members with networking, training, and professional development opportunities. Its website is https://pmicie.org.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius will present “10 Ways to Score and Prioritize Project Proposals Based on Multiple Factors, Including Strategic Alignment” at an event of the California Inland Empire Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMICIE Chapter). The session will occur on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. It will be Scott's third talk at the Chapter.
- Description on PMICIE Chapter’s website
- Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2021
- Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time
- Location: Virtual
Everyone is welcome to attend (PMICIE membership is not required). To register, visit here.
Attendees of this session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.50 hours. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 1.50 professional development units (PDUs), under the Strategic and Business Management category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 1.50 Scrum educational units (SEUs), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
Description of Talk
How does your organization assess proposals for new projects? Is there a well-defined scoring and prioritization process — based on alignment with the business’ strategic objectives and other factors — to quickly and easily identify the objective value of each proposal (including how important it is relative to other initiatives)? If the answer is “no,” keep reading. If the answer is “yes,” you are likely to find practical information and examples in this talk to adapt and adopt to improve the process at your organization.
Benefits (Key Learning Objectives)
This talk will help you develop and enhance the contributions you make to your organization by being able to:
- Understand the benefits of scoring and prioritizing project proposals based on strategic alignment and other factors.
- Identify selection and prioritization criteria appropriate for your unique organization, leveraging the flexible framework and some or all of the 10 factors presented during the talk.
- Put the practical, actionable information presented to use. During the session, we will run an example project proposal through the process, step-by-step. You will receive a summary “cheat sheet” that you can reference as a guide to help implement or improve this process at your organization.
Audience
This session is designed to be of value to project, program, and portfolio managers; project, program, and portfolio management office staff; Center of Excellence staff; Scrum Masters, Product Owners, agile coaches, and other agile practitioners and staff; executives making decisions about organization strategy; functional managers; researchers; customers; and additional stakeholders.
References
The talk draws on the speaker’s first-hand experience, with his guidance supported by related standards, best practices, and recommendations from the Project Management Institute, IEEE, MIT, Harvard Business Review, Scrum Alliance, Deloitte, and others.
Speaker Bio
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the California Inland Empire Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The Project Management Institute - California Inland Empire (PMICIE) Chapter was chartered by the Project Management Institute in 2002. Based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, it is committed to the advancement of the project management profession. The Chapter provides its members with networking, training, and professional development opportunities. Its website is https://pmicie.org.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Four Ways to Improve Your Strategic Thinking Skills Today
16 October 2020
Follow @scottgraffius
Strategic thinking is often considered essential to an organization's successful performance. Some have even advocated for companies to develop the strategic thinking skills of their executives and other staff as a core competency. How can strategic thinking skills be developed? But first, here's a definition.
“Strategic thinking is a distinctive management activity whose purpose is to discover novel, imaginative strategies which can rewrite the rules of the competitive game; and to envision potential futures significantly different from the present. Furthermore, strategic thinking is specified as being conceptual, systems-oriented, directional (linking the future with the past), and opportunistic.”
— Ellen F. Goldman
In other words, strategic thinking is a process used to broaden an individual's perspective to achieve successful outcomes such as competitive advantage. And it can happen at every level of the organization; it's not just for executives.
Here are four specific things you can do to improve your strategic thinking skills.
1. Schedule Time for Strategic Thinking
You are investing in your success as well as that of the organization. Find the time to focus on strategic thinking. A tip is to place a recurring event on your calendar to reserve time for strategic thinking activities.
2. Monitor the Big Picture Including Trends
The default focus at most organizations is on what’s directly ahead. However, "peripheral vision"—including keeping sight of the big picture and industry trends—is essential for long-term success. Some tips follow. Keep abreast of industry organizations and publications. Build external networks to help you best scan the competitive landscape. Determine the unique perspective that your role provides, and define its favorable impact on the organization’s vision, mission, and/or strategic objectives.
3. Ask Questions to Uncover Patterns
Further to your mindfulness of the big picture and understanding of changes in the industry, you can put strategic thinking to work by asking yourself and others questions. A few examples follow. "What if _____?" questions are frequently effective in helping one "see around the corner." And variations such as "If _____, then _____?" often yield insights as well.
4. Embrace Uncertainty and Conflict
Strategic thinking involves envisioning the future and potential proactive ways the organization can change to remain competitive and successful. You should accept that the future is uncertain, and challenging assumptions by asking questions and other tactics may make some people uncomfortable. Remaining mindful of those aspects will help you stay the course in regularly practicing strategic thinking and securing the benefits summarized in this article.
Conclusion
By sharpening your strategic thinking skills, you benefit both yourself and your organization. It helps you make a greater contribution to the business—which may also support your advancement—and it helps the company enjoy greater competitive advantage and long-term success. So, start work on your strategic thinking skills today!
Bibliography
Atsmon, Yuval (2017, May 2). How to Unleash Your Strategic Thinking. Digital article. McKinsey & Company.
Bonn, Ingrid (2005, June). Improving Strategic Thinking: A Multilevel Approach. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 26 (5). DOI: 10.1108/01437730510607844.
Cowan, N. (2001, February). The Magical Number 4 in Short-Term Memory: A Reconsideration of Mental Storage Capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24 (1): 87-119.
Dixit, Avinash K. and Nelebuff, Barry J. (1993). Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
Goldman, Ellen F. (2007, Summer). Strategic Thinking at the Top. MIT Sloan Management Review, 48 (4): 75-81.
Graffius, Scott M. (2016). Thinking Strategically and Acting Tactically. Winnetka, CA: Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions.
Reynolds, K. (2013). Strategic Thinking for Today's Project Managers. Paper presented at PMI Global Congress 2013—North America, New Orleans, LA. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Syrett, Michael and Devine, Marion (2012). Managing Uncertainty: Strategies for Surviving and Thriving in Turbulent Times. London, United Kingdom: Profile Books.
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including Gartner, Cisco, RSA, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
The short link for this article is https://bit.ly/4-strategic.
This article was first published here. Later—on August 24, 2021—the article was posted to LinkedIn here as well.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Strategic thinking is often considered essential to an organization's successful performance. Some have even advocated for companies to develop the strategic thinking skills of their executives and other staff as a core competency. How can strategic thinking skills be developed? But first, here's a definition.
“Strategic thinking is a distinctive management activity whose purpose is to discover novel, imaginative strategies which can rewrite the rules of the competitive game; and to envision potential futures significantly different from the present. Furthermore, strategic thinking is specified as being conceptual, systems-oriented, directional (linking the future with the past), and opportunistic.”
— Ellen F. Goldman
In other words, strategic thinking is a process used to broaden an individual's perspective to achieve successful outcomes such as competitive advantage. And it can happen at every level of the organization; it's not just for executives.
Here are four specific things you can do to improve your strategic thinking skills.
1. Schedule Time for Strategic Thinking
You are investing in your success as well as that of the organization. Find the time to focus on strategic thinking. A tip is to place a recurring event on your calendar to reserve time for strategic thinking activities.
2. Monitor the Big Picture Including Trends
The default focus at most organizations is on what’s directly ahead. However, "peripheral vision"—including keeping sight of the big picture and industry trends—is essential for long-term success. Some tips follow. Keep abreast of industry organizations and publications. Build external networks to help you best scan the competitive landscape. Determine the unique perspective that your role provides, and define its favorable impact on the organization’s vision, mission, and/or strategic objectives.
3. Ask Questions to Uncover Patterns
Further to your mindfulness of the big picture and understanding of changes in the industry, you can put strategic thinking to work by asking yourself and others questions. A few examples follow. "What if _____?" questions are frequently effective in helping one "see around the corner." And variations such as "If _____, then _____?" often yield insights as well.
4. Embrace Uncertainty and Conflict
Strategic thinking involves envisioning the future and potential proactive ways the organization can change to remain competitive and successful. You should accept that the future is uncertain, and challenging assumptions by asking questions and other tactics may make some people uncomfortable. Remaining mindful of those aspects will help you stay the course in regularly practicing strategic thinking and securing the benefits summarized in this article.
Conclusion
By sharpening your strategic thinking skills, you benefit both yourself and your organization. It helps you make a greater contribution to the business—which may also support your advancement—and it helps the company enjoy greater competitive advantage and long-term success. So, start work on your strategic thinking skills today!
Bibliography
Atsmon, Yuval (2017, May 2). How to Unleash Your Strategic Thinking. Digital article. McKinsey & Company.
Bonn, Ingrid (2005, June). Improving Strategic Thinking: A Multilevel Approach. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 26 (5). DOI: 10.1108/01437730510607844.
Cowan, N. (2001, February). The Magical Number 4 in Short-Term Memory: A Reconsideration of Mental Storage Capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24 (1): 87-119.
Dixit, Avinash K. and Nelebuff, Barry J. (1993). Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
Goldman, Ellen F. (2007, Summer). Strategic Thinking at the Top. MIT Sloan Management Review, 48 (4): 75-81.
Graffius, Scott M. (2016). Thinking Strategically and Acting Tactically. Winnetka, CA: Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions.
Reynolds, K. (2013). Strategic Thinking for Today's Project Managers. Paper presented at PMI Global Congress 2013—North America, New Orleans, LA. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Syrett, Michael and Devine, Marion (2012). Managing Uncertainty: Strategies for Surviving and Thriving in Turbulent Times. London, United Kingdom: Profile Books.
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including Gartner, Cisco, RSA, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
The short link for this article is https://bit.ly/4-strategic.
This article was first published here. Later—on August 24, 2021—the article was posted to LinkedIn here as well.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius to Speak at Virtual Event of Los Angeles Chapter of the Project Management Institute
06 May 2020
Follow @scottgraffius
An earlier version of this story appeared on March 21, 2019. This version includes the update that Scott's talk will be a virtual event.
Scott M. Graffius will present "Getting (More) Benefits from Agile" at a virtual event of the Los Angeles chapter of the Project Management Institute. He will deliver practical information including top factors from successful Scrum implementations—based on his first-hand experience and 116 sources—which attendees can leverage to gain (more) benefits from agile.
⁃ Location: Virtual event
⁃ Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2020
⁃ Time: 5:30-7:15 p.m. Pacific Time
For more information and to register for the virtual event, visit bit.ly/agile-virtual.
This will be Scott's second talk at the chapter.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius is a technology leader, project management expert, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. His content has been used by corporations, governments, and universities.
Scott is a Principal Consultant and the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he helps clients strengthen their project management capabilities and realize their strategic objectives and business initiatives. The consultancy provides advisory, training, and facilitative consulting services related to governance and project, program, portfolio, and PMO management. The firm’s expertise spans agile, traditional waterfall, and hybrid approaches. While every engagement is unique, outcomes typically include getting more projects done, faster delivery time, improved on-budget performance, improved customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and more. Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ confidently backs its services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 9781533370242). It helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards from national and international competitions. Scott and Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, Informa, Innovation Management, the Dallas Business Journal, Computer Weekly, the PM World Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, NHD Podcast, Learning Solutions, Dr. Harold Kerzner’s Innovation Project Management, and additional media outlets and publications. The trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a list of awards, and more are available in the digital media kit.
His second title, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change (ISBN-13: 9781072447962), was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority.
Scott's content has been used by corporations, governments, and universities—including Cisco, RSA, Ford, LITE-ON Technology Corporation, Liberty Mutual Group, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, James Madison University, Santa Clara University, Brigham Young University, Texas A&M University, The Open University, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, and others.
Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries.
Scott has a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds seven professional certifications: Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM), Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL). He is a member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
He has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Scott was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI EMEA Congress 2019, and he served as a member of the review team for the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gathering—New York City 2020.
Scott regularly speaks at conferences and other events around the globe where he delights audiences with presentations on agile, traditional, and hybrid project, program, portfolio, and PMO management. He integrates content on professional standards, best practices, and his first-hand experience with successful implementations. Scott uses everyday language and vibrant custom visuals to make complex topics clear and understandable, and he provides audiences with practical information they can use. Appearances and testimonials are listed at the public speaker section of his website.
Scott resides in Los Angeles, California.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Los Angeles Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI-LA)
The Los Angeles chapter (PMI-LA) was chartered by the Project Management Institute in 1974. The chapter's vision is "PMI-LA will be recognized as a premier PMI chapter for the advancement of project management and a benchmark for other PMI chapters." Its mission is “To provide opportunities for individual growth in project management and increase corporate awareness of the project management profession.” For more on the PMI-LA, visit https://pmi-la.org. The chapter's hashtag is #PMILA.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
An earlier version of this story appeared on March 21, 2019. This version includes the update that Scott's talk will be a virtual event.
Scott M. Graffius will present "Getting (More) Benefits from Agile" at a virtual event of the Los Angeles chapter of the Project Management Institute. He will deliver practical information including top factors from successful Scrum implementations—based on his first-hand experience and 116 sources—which attendees can leverage to gain (more) benefits from agile.
⁃ Location: Virtual event
⁃ Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2020
⁃ Time: 5:30-7:15 p.m. Pacific Time
For more information and to register for the virtual event, visit bit.ly/agile-virtual.
This will be Scott's second talk at the chapter.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius is a technology leader, project management expert, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. His content has been used by corporations, governments, and universities.
Scott is a Principal Consultant and the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he helps clients strengthen their project management capabilities and realize their strategic objectives and business initiatives. The consultancy provides advisory, training, and facilitative consulting services related to governance and project, program, portfolio, and PMO management. The firm’s expertise spans agile, traditional waterfall, and hybrid approaches. While every engagement is unique, outcomes typically include getting more projects done, faster delivery time, improved on-budget performance, improved customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and more. Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ confidently backs its services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 9781533370242). It helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards from national and international competitions. Scott and Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, Informa, Innovation Management, the Dallas Business Journal, Computer Weekly, the PM World Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, NHD Podcast, Learning Solutions, Dr. Harold Kerzner’s Innovation Project Management, and additional media outlets and publications. The trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a list of awards, and more are available in the digital media kit.
His second title, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change (ISBN-13: 9781072447962), was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority.
Scott's content has been used by corporations, governments, and universities—including Cisco, RSA, Ford, LITE-ON Technology Corporation, Liberty Mutual Group, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, James Madison University, Santa Clara University, Brigham Young University, Texas A&M University, The Open University, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, and others.
Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries.
Scott has a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds seven professional certifications: Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM), Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL). He is a member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
He has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Scott was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI EMEA Congress 2019, and he served as a member of the review team for the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gathering—New York City 2020.
Scott regularly speaks at conferences and other events around the globe where he delights audiences with presentations on agile, traditional, and hybrid project, program, portfolio, and PMO management. He integrates content on professional standards, best practices, and his first-hand experience with successful implementations. Scott uses everyday language and vibrant custom visuals to make complex topics clear and understandable, and he provides audiences with practical information they can use. Appearances and testimonials are listed at the public speaker section of his website.
Scott resides in Los Angeles, California.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Los Angeles Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI-LA)
The Los Angeles chapter (PMI-LA) was chartered by the Project Management Institute in 1974. The chapter's vision is "PMI-LA will be recognized as a premier PMI chapter for the advancement of project management and a benchmark for other PMI chapters." Its mission is “To provide opportunities for individual growth in project management and increase corporate awareness of the project management profession.” For more on the PMI-LA, visit https://pmi-la.org. The chapter's hashtag is #PMILA.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
AGILE TRANSFORMATION Snags Additional Awards from BookAuthority; Trailer Updated
17 October 2019
Follow @scottgraffius
Soon after Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change was released earlier this year, BookAuthority named the ebook/Kindle format of the publication a winner in multiple categories, including Best Scrum Ebooks of All Time. Agile Transformation is also available in print, and BookAuthority recently honored the paperback as a winner in multiple categories, including Best Project Management Books of All Time. Thank you to BookAuthority for the recognition! The short (30-second) trailer for the book was updated to highlight the two awards listed above. Details and the refreshed trailer are available here: https://www.facebook.com/AgileTransformationBook/videos/450537145587506/. You’re invited to check them out.
About Agile Transformation
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company.
Scott M. Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, provides readers with practical information they can use to get benefits from the most popular agile framework, Scrum. It presents top practices from successful implementations based on Scott's hands-on experience and 116 diverse sources such as the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute, MIT, the IEEE, Gartner, and the Software Engineering Institute. The publication garnered 17 first place awards from national and international competitions. Scott and his book have been featured in Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, the PM World Journal, Learning Solutions, Innovation Management, and additional media publications.
In Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, Scott shares a behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The story is based on actual events and it's told from Scott's perspective as an agile coach. The transformation dramatically improved the way the organization works and delivers business value. New capabilities and practices enabled the enterprise to adapt to its changing environment, move faster, and drive innovation, which made it more competitive and prosperous.
Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change is available worldwide.
Available in 46 Countries (and Counting!)
Agile Transformation is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B07R9LJLPJ) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Transformation is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781072447962) in:
🇦🇷 Argentina from Mercado Libre
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au, Angus & Robertson, Booktopia, and Mighty Ape
🇧🇸 Bahamas from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇧🇲 Bermuda from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇩🇰 Denmark from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇪🇬 Egypt from Ubuy.com.eg
🇫🇯 Fiji from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇫🇮 Finland from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇮🇱 Israel from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇰🇼 Kuwait from Ubuy.com.kw
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Mighty Ape, Booktopia (via Australia), and Wordery (via UK)
🇵🇭 Philippines from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇶🇦 Qatar from Ubuy.com.qa and Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇸🇲 San Marino from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia from Ubuy.com.sa
🇸🇬 Singapore from Ubuy.com.sg and Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇰🇷 South Korea from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com and Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇹🇼 Taiwan from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇹🇷 Turkey from Ubuy.com.tr
🇺🇦 Ukraine from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Ubuy.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk and Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Books-A-Million, Better World Books, Powell’s, Walmart, Diesel Bookstore (Los Angeles, California), Skylight Books (Los Angeles, California), Hudson Booksellers/Hudson News at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), Vroman’s Bookstore (Pasadena, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), Compass Books/Books Inc. at SFO (San Francisco International Airport), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Kona Stories (Kona, Hawaii), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Bookworks (Albuquerque, New Mexico), Hudson Booksellers/Hudson News at Penn Station (New York, New York), McNally Jackson Independent Booksellers (New York, New York), Reiter’s Books/Students Book Company (Washington, DC), Titcomb’s Bookshop (East Sandwich, Massachusetts), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and others
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
About Author Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, speaker, and author. He is a Principal Consultant and the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he helps clients strengthen their project management capabilities and realize their strategic objectives and business initiatives. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private companies with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. Scott and his award-winning book on agile project management, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, Learning Solutions, Informa, Innovation Management, and additional media publications. His second title, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, was published in April 2019. BookAuthority named it one of the best new books on Scrum. Scott regularly speaks at conferences and other events around the world. Additional information is available in his bio.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About BookAuthority
BookAuthority curates the books recommended by the world's most successful CEOs, business leaders, and domain experts such as Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Sheryl Sandberg, and David Allen. Only the very best books are featured on BookAuthority. To keep BookAuthority's site objective and unbiased, ratings are calculated purely based on data. BookAuthority uses a proprietary technology to identify and rate the best nonfiction books, using dozens of different signals, including public mentions, recommendations, ratings, sentiment, popularity and sales history. BookAuthority does not accept requests to feature books, nor does BookAuthority conduct business with publishers or authors. BookAuthority has been featured on CNN, Forbes and Inc. The preceding information is based on content from BookAuthority.org.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Soon after Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change was released earlier this year, BookAuthority named the ebook/Kindle format of the publication a winner in multiple categories, including Best Scrum Ebooks of All Time. Agile Transformation is also available in print, and BookAuthority recently honored the paperback as a winner in multiple categories, including Best Project Management Books of All Time. Thank you to BookAuthority for the recognition! The short (30-second) trailer for the book was updated to highlight the two awards listed above. Details and the refreshed trailer are available here: https://www.facebook.com/AgileTransformationBook/videos/450537145587506/. You’re invited to check them out.
About Agile Transformation
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company.
Scott M. Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, provides readers with practical information they can use to get benefits from the most popular agile framework, Scrum. It presents top practices from successful implementations based on Scott's hands-on experience and 116 diverse sources such as the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute, MIT, the IEEE, Gartner, and the Software Engineering Institute. The publication garnered 17 first place awards from national and international competitions. Scott and his book have been featured in Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, the PM World Journal, Learning Solutions, Innovation Management, and additional media publications.
In Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, Scott shares a behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The story is based on actual events and it's told from Scott's perspective as an agile coach. The transformation dramatically improved the way the organization works and delivers business value. New capabilities and practices enabled the enterprise to adapt to its changing environment, move faster, and drive innovation, which made it more competitive and prosperous.
Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change is available worldwide.
Available in 46 Countries (and Counting!)
Agile Transformation is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B07R9LJLPJ) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Transformation is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781072447962) in:
🇦🇷 Argentina from Mercado Libre
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au, Angus & Robertson, Booktopia, and Mighty Ape
🇧🇸 Bahamas from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇧🇲 Bermuda from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇩🇰 Denmark from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇪🇬 Egypt from Ubuy.com.eg
🇫🇯 Fiji from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇫🇮 Finland from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇮🇱 Israel from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇰🇼 Kuwait from Ubuy.com.kw
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Mighty Ape, Booktopia (via Australia), and Wordery (via UK)
🇵🇭 Philippines from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇶🇦 Qatar from Ubuy.com.qa and Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇸🇲 San Marino from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia from Ubuy.com.sa
🇸🇬 Singapore from Ubuy.com.sg and Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇰🇷 South Korea from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com and Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇹🇼 Taiwan from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇹🇷 Turkey from Ubuy.com.tr
🇺🇦 Ukraine from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Ubuy.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk and Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Books-A-Million, Better World Books, Powell’s, Walmart, Diesel Bookstore (Los Angeles, California), Skylight Books (Los Angeles, California), Hudson Booksellers/Hudson News at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), Vroman’s Bookstore (Pasadena, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), Compass Books/Books Inc. at SFO (San Francisco International Airport), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Kona Stories (Kona, Hawaii), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Bookworks (Albuquerque, New Mexico), Hudson Booksellers/Hudson News at Penn Station (New York, New York), McNally Jackson Independent Booksellers (New York, New York), Reiter’s Books/Students Book Company (Washington, DC), Titcomb’s Bookshop (East Sandwich, Massachusetts), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and others
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Book Depository (via Australia/UK)
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
About Author Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, speaker, and author. He is a Principal Consultant and the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he helps clients strengthen their project management capabilities and realize their strategic objectives and business initiatives. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private companies with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. Scott and his award-winning book on agile project management, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, Learning Solutions, Informa, Innovation Management, and additional media publications. His second title, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, was published in April 2019. BookAuthority named it one of the best new books on Scrum. Scott regularly speaks at conferences and other events around the world. Additional information is available in his bio.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About BookAuthority
BookAuthority curates the books recommended by the world's most successful CEOs, business leaders, and domain experts such as Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Sheryl Sandberg, and David Allen. Only the very best books are featured on BookAuthority. To keep BookAuthority's site objective and unbiased, ratings are calculated purely based on data. BookAuthority uses a proprietary technology to identify and rate the best nonfiction books, using dozens of different signals, including public mentions, recommendations, ratings, sentiment, popularity and sales history. BookAuthority does not accept requests to feature books, nor does BookAuthority conduct business with publishers or authors. BookAuthority has been featured on CNN, Forbes and Inc. The preceding information is based on content from BookAuthority.org.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
BookAuthority Names "Agile Transformation" One of the Best Scrum Ebooks of All Time
05 July 2019
Follow @scottgraffius
Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change was initially offered only in ebook format. Soon after it was released, BookAuthority named Agile Transformation as one of the best *new* ebooks on Scrum! BookAuthority gave it an additional award. It's now on the list of the best Scrum ebooks of *all time.* Details on the award are available here. Thank you BookAuthority!
For those who prefer the visual and tactile experience of physical books, a paperback version of Agile Transformation was added and is also available.
Grab a copy of Agile Transformation in ebook or paperback -
● In the United States: bit.ly/at-us
● Outside the United States: bit.ly/intl-links
#Agile #AgileProjectManagement #AgileTransformation #AgileTransformationBook #AgileCoach #Author #Book #Business #Change #ChangeManagement #Entertainment #IT #ITManagement #InformationTechnology #Innovation #Leadership #Management #PMO #Product #ProjectManagement #ProjectMgmt #Scrum #Success #Tech #Technology #Transformation
About Agile Transformation
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company.
Scott M. Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, provides readers with practical information they can use to get benefits from the most popular agile framework, Scrum. It presents top practices from successful implementations based on Scott's hands-on experience and 116 diverse sources such as the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute, MIT, the IEEE, Gartner, and the Software Engineering Institute. The publication garnered 17 first place awards from national and international competitions. Scott and his book have been featured in Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, the PM World Journal, Learning Solutions, Innovation Management, and additional media publications.
In Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, Scott shares a behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The story is based on actual events and it's told from Scott's perspective as an agile coach. The transformation dramatically improved the way the organization works and delivers business value. New capabilities and practices enabled the enterprise to adapt to its changing environment, move faster, and drive innovation, which made it more competitive and prosperous.
Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change by Scott M. Graffius is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
Get your copy today!
About Author Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, speaker, and author. He is a Principal Consultant and the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he helps clients strengthen their project management capabilities and realize their strategic objectives and business initiatives. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private companies with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. Scott and his award-winning book on agile project management, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, Learning Solutions, Informa, Innovation Management, and additional media publications. His second title, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, was published in April 2019. BookAuthority named it one of the best new books on Scrum. Scott regularly speaks at conferences and other events around the world. Additional information is available in his bio.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About BookAuthority
BookAuthority curates the books recommended by the world's most successful CEOs, business leaders, and domain experts such as Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Sheryl Sandberg, and David Allen. Only the very best books are featured on BookAuthority. To keep BookAuthority's site objective and unbiased, ratings are calculated purely based on data. BookAuthority uses a proprietary technology to identify and rate the best nonfiction books, using dozens of different signals, including public mentions, recommendations, ratings, sentiment, popularity and sales history. BookAuthority does not accept requests to feature books, nor does BookAuthority conduct business with publishers or authors. BookAuthority has been featured on CNN, Forbes and Inc. The preceding information is based on content from BookAuthority.org.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change was initially offered only in ebook format. Soon after it was released, BookAuthority named Agile Transformation as one of the best *new* ebooks on Scrum! BookAuthority gave it an additional award. It's now on the list of the best Scrum ebooks of *all time.* Details on the award are available here. Thank you BookAuthority!
For those who prefer the visual and tactile experience of physical books, a paperback version of Agile Transformation was added and is also available.
Grab a copy of Agile Transformation in ebook or paperback -
● In the United States: bit.ly/at-us
● Outside the United States: bit.ly/intl-links
#Agile #AgileProjectManagement #AgileTransformation #AgileTransformationBook #AgileCoach #Author #Book #Business #Change #ChangeManagement #Entertainment #IT #ITManagement #InformationTechnology #Innovation #Leadership #Management #PMO #Product #ProjectManagement #ProjectMgmt #Scrum #Success #Tech #Technology #Transformation
About Agile Transformation
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company.
Scott M. Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, provides readers with practical information they can use to get benefits from the most popular agile framework, Scrum. It presents top practices from successful implementations based on Scott's hands-on experience and 116 diverse sources such as the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute, MIT, the IEEE, Gartner, and the Software Engineering Institute. The publication garnered 17 first place awards from national and international competitions. Scott and his book have been featured in Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, the PM World Journal, Learning Solutions, Innovation Management, and additional media publications.
In Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, Scott shares a behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The story is based on actual events and it's told from Scott's perspective as an agile coach. The transformation dramatically improved the way the organization works and delivers business value. New capabilities and practices enabled the enterprise to adapt to its changing environment, move faster, and drive innovation, which made it more competitive and prosperous.
Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change by Scott M. Graffius is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
Get your copy today!
About Author Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, speaker, and author. He is a Principal Consultant and the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he helps clients strengthen their project management capabilities and realize their strategic objectives and business initiatives. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private companies with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. Scott and his award-winning book on agile project management, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, Learning Solutions, Informa, Innovation Management, and additional media publications. His second title, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, was published in April 2019. BookAuthority named it one of the best new books on Scrum. Scott regularly speaks at conferences and other events around the world. Additional information is available in his bio.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About BookAuthority
BookAuthority curates the books recommended by the world's most successful CEOs, business leaders, and domain experts such as Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Sheryl Sandberg, and David Allen. Only the very best books are featured on BookAuthority. To keep BookAuthority's site objective and unbiased, ratings are calculated purely based on data. BookAuthority uses a proprietary technology to identify and rate the best nonfiction books, using dozens of different signals, including public mentions, recommendations, ratings, sentiment, popularity and sales history. BookAuthority does not accept requests to feature books, nor does BookAuthority conduct business with publishers or authors. BookAuthority has been featured on CNN, Forbes and Inc. The preceding information is based on content from BookAuthority.org.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story | Part Eight
15 April 2019
Follow @scottgraffius
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the final installment of the eight-part story. If you haven't already read the earlier parts, you can find them here:
Part Eight: The Success
By adopting an agile mindset and providing improved engagement, collaboration, transparency, and adaptability via Scrum's values, roles, events, and artifacts, the results were excellent. After one sprint, satisfaction ratings for the Development Team and stakeholders were higher than the target. After three sprints, the output of the Scrum Team became consistent and predictable, satisfaction increased even further, and all of the seven goals mentioned earlier were achieved. Here's an overview:
🎯 Goal 1
🎯 Goal 2
🎯 Goal 3
🎯 Goal 4
🎯 Goal 5
🎯 Goal 6
🎯 Goal 7
The EVP, Scrum Team, and stakeholders declared the pilot a success and they made this implementation of Scrum the preferred approach for the development and delivery of products and services going forward.
In addition to achieving the goals summarized above, the agile transformation also supported the organization's efforts to innovate and drive their competitive advantage. It became more successful. As the business grew, so has the number of Scrum teams. Originally numbering one, the division presently has six Scrum teams.
This concludes Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story. The agile transformation experience was the inspiration for Scott M. Graffius’ book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. The publication helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, continuous improvement, and more. The book has garnered 17 first place awards and credit is shared with Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, the technical editors on the publication. Scott and Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, the Dallas Business Journal, the PM World Journal, Learning Solutions, Innovation Management, and additional media publications. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, and a detailed list of awards are in the digital media kit. The book is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Strand Books, Harvard Book Store, Books-a-Million, The Booksmith, Hudson Booksellers, Savoy Bookshop & Café, Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc., Books & Books - Miami, University Press Books - Berkeley, and other retailers, distributors, and partners in the United States and around the world.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the final installment of the eight-part story. If you haven't already read the earlier parts, you can find them here:
- Part One: The Call;
- Part Two: The Goals;
- Part Three: The Environment;
- Part Four: The Options;
- Part Five: The Pilot – Vision, Roadmap and Release Plan, and Product Backlog;
- Part Six: The Pilot – Sprint Planning and Sprint Execution; and
- Part Seven: The Pilot – Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective.
Part Eight: The Success
By adopting an agile mindset and providing improved engagement, collaboration, transparency, and adaptability via Scrum's values, roles, events, and artifacts, the results were excellent. After one sprint, satisfaction ratings for the Development Team and stakeholders were higher than the target. After three sprints, the output of the Scrum Team became consistent and predictable, satisfaction increased even further, and all of the seven goals mentioned earlier were achieved. Here's an overview:
🎯 Goal 1
- Source: This goal was identified by the EVP (executive vice president)
- Desired outcome: Develop and deliver products and services faster than 6-12 months
- Result: The goal was achieved (with the agile transformation, delivery occurred as often as every two weeks)
🎯 Goal 2
- Source: This goal was identified by the EVP
- Desired outcome: Improve the satisfaction of the Scrum Team
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 3
- Source: This goal was identified by the EVP
- Desired outcome: Improve the satisfaction of the stakeholders
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 4
- Source: This goal was identified by the Scrum Team (Scrum Master, Product Owner, and the Development Team)
- Desired outcome: Meet or exceed the expectations of management
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 5
- Source: This goal was identified by the Scrum Team
- Desired outcome: Deliver valuable products/services
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 6
- Source: This goal was identified by the stakeholders
- Desired outcome: For stakeholders or their representatives to be more involved in requirements
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 7
- Source: This goal was identified by the stakeholders
- Desired outcome: Get useable products delivered more frequently than 6-12 months
- Result: The goal was achieved (with the agile transformation, delivery occurred as often as every two weeks)
The EVP, Scrum Team, and stakeholders declared the pilot a success and they made this implementation of Scrum the preferred approach for the development and delivery of products and services going forward.
In addition to achieving the goals summarized above, the agile transformation also supported the organization's efforts to innovate and drive their competitive advantage. It became more successful. As the business grew, so has the number of Scrum teams. Originally numbering one, the division presently has six Scrum teams.
This concludes Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story. The agile transformation experience was the inspiration for Scott M. Graffius’ book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. The publication helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, continuous improvement, and more. The book has garnered 17 first place awards and credit is shared with Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, the technical editors on the publication. Scott and Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, the Dallas Business Journal, the PM World Journal, Learning Solutions, Innovation Management, and additional media publications. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, and a detailed list of awards are in the digital media kit. The book is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Strand Books, Harvard Book Store, Books-a-Million, The Booksmith, Hudson Booksellers, Savoy Bookshop & Café, Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc., Books & Books - Miami, University Press Books - Berkeley, and other retailers, distributors, and partners in the United States and around the world.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story | Part Seven
09 April 2019
Follow @scottgraffius
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the seventh installment of the eight-part story. If you haven't already read the earlier parts, you can find them here:
Part Seven: The Pilot – Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective
The Scrum team—Product Owner, Scrum Master, and the Development Team—and I discussed techniques for the sprint review. The event is sometimes referred to as the sprint demo. The timebox (not to exceed duration) in hours for the meeting was calculated as:
Participants included the Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team, and stakeholders. All of the stakeholders (the executives mentioned in earlier parts of the story) were invited to and attended the sprint review. At the session, the Product Owner welcomed attendees and communicated the agenda. He pointed out the sprint goal, which was displayed on the wall in the meeting room. Next, the Development Team listed the work that was committed to the sprint. They then listed the work that was completed and the work that was not completed. For each completed story/feature, the Development Team demonstrated the "done" working functionality and answered questions. Stakeholders were invited to interact with the "done" working functionality and they did so. Then the entire group reviewed the product backlog and collaborated on what to do next. The Product Owner incorporated feedback into the Product Backlog. It involved adding new items to the backlog and/or re-prioritizing existing items. After the sprint review, the Scrum Master incorporated any feedback related to problems into the impediments backlog.
The Scrum Master and I discussed techniques for the sprint retrospective event. The timebox in hours for the meeting was calculated as:
At the sprint retrospective, the Development Team identified what went well, what didn't go well, and improvements to be implemented in the upcoming sprint—an example of inspection and adaptation. For improvements to be implemented, each member of the Development Team wrote their top one, two or three suggestions on sticky notes. Each idea got its own sticky note. Then the Development Team grouped the sticky notes into categories/themes, and they discussed the items and voted to determine the top one (initially limited to one, later it was raised to two) for adaptation and improvement. The Development Team committed to the change and the Scrum Master recorded the information.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story concludes with Part Eight: The Success.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the seventh installment of the eight-part story. If you haven't already read the earlier parts, you can find them here:
- Part One: The Call;
- Part Two: The Goals;
- Part Three: The Environment;
- Part Four: The Options;
- Part Five: The Pilot – Vision, Roadmap and Release Plan, and Product Backlog; and
- Part Six: The Pilot – Sprint Planning and Sprint Execution.
Part Seven: The Pilot – Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective
The Scrum team—Product Owner, Scrum Master, and the Development Team—and I discussed techniques for the sprint review. The event is sometimes referred to as the sprint demo. The timebox (not to exceed duration) in hours for the meeting was calculated as:
- 1
- multiplied by the number of weeks in the upcoming sprint (2 in this case),
- which equaled 2 hours for the event.
Participants included the Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team, and stakeholders. All of the stakeholders (the executives mentioned in earlier parts of the story) were invited to and attended the sprint review. At the session, the Product Owner welcomed attendees and communicated the agenda. He pointed out the sprint goal, which was displayed on the wall in the meeting room. Next, the Development Team listed the work that was committed to the sprint. They then listed the work that was completed and the work that was not completed. For each completed story/feature, the Development Team demonstrated the "done" working functionality and answered questions. Stakeholders were invited to interact with the "done" working functionality and they did so. Then the entire group reviewed the product backlog and collaborated on what to do next. The Product Owner incorporated feedback into the Product Backlog. It involved adding new items to the backlog and/or re-prioritizing existing items. After the sprint review, the Scrum Master incorporated any feedback related to problems into the impediments backlog.
The Scrum Master and I discussed techniques for the sprint retrospective event. The timebox in hours for the meeting was calculated as:
- 0.75
- multiplied by the number of weeks in the upcoming sprint (2 in this case),
- which equaled 1.50 hours for the event.
At the sprint retrospective, the Development Team identified what went well, what didn't go well, and improvements to be implemented in the upcoming sprint—an example of inspection and adaptation. For improvements to be implemented, each member of the Development Team wrote their top one, two or three suggestions on sticky notes. Each idea got its own sticky note. Then the Development Team grouped the sticky notes into categories/themes, and they discussed the items and voted to determine the top one (initially limited to one, later it was raised to two) for adaptation and improvement. The Development Team committed to the change and the Scrum Master recorded the information.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story concludes with Part Eight: The Success.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story | Part Five
31 March 2019
Follow @scottgraffius
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the fifth installment of the eight-part story. If you haven't already read the earlier parts, you can find them here:
Part Five: The Pilot – Vision, Roadmap and Release Plan, and Product Backlog
We advanced to the pilot—which included doing many things differently. Examples follow.
The Product Owner and I discussed techniques on developing a product vision statement. He opted to use the template attributed to Geoffrey Moore. The Product Owner created a draft of the vision and sent it with a request for feedback to the stakeholders. After receiving feedback, the Product Owner revised and finalized the product vision. He wrote the statement on oversize paper and posted it in a prominent location where the Scrum Team (Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team) and stakeholders could easily see it.
The Product Owner and I then discussed techniques on creating and maintaining a product roadmap/release plan. He opted for a simple table with four rows and four columns. The rows included:
For the columns, there was one for each quarter of the year. Similar to what was done with the product vision, the Product Owner sent the plan with a request for feedback to the stakeholders. After receiving feedback, the Product Owner revised and the plan, wrote it on oversize paper, and posted it next to the product vision statement.
Aspects of team formation were covered already. The new Scrum team totaled 11 people. All were co-located and 100% allocated to the project.
The Product Owner and I discussed techniques on developing and maintaining the product backlog. He opted to employ a simple table format with six columns:
To help with user stories, the Product Owner often referenced the INVEST (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable) model developed by Bill Wake. For priority, the Product Owner initially used the MoSCoW method (Must have, Should have, Could have, or Won't have). Later, the Product Owner found the business value/risk method (where each item is rated as high or low in two dimensions—business value and risk, ...) to be the most beneficial, and the Product Owner continues to use that approach today. In a session facilitated by the Scrum Master, the Product Owner presented the user stories to the Development Team, and participants provided story points (using physical cards for the exercise) for estimates of complexity of each item. Later, the team tried t-shirt sizing—S, M, L, and XL designations—for estimates of complexity, but they decided to return to story points.
Previously, sprints were four weeks in length. Now the team was using the shorter duration of two weeks. A key benefit was that the Scrum value of focus was improved.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story continues with Part Six: The Pilot — Sprint Planning and Sprint Execution.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the fifth installment of the eight-part story. If you haven't already read the earlier parts, you can find them here:
Part Five: The Pilot – Vision, Roadmap and Release Plan, and Product Backlog
We advanced to the pilot—which included doing many things differently. Examples follow.
The Product Owner and I discussed techniques on developing a product vision statement. He opted to use the template attributed to Geoffrey Moore. The Product Owner created a draft of the vision and sent it with a request for feedback to the stakeholders. After receiving feedback, the Product Owner revised and finalized the product vision. He wrote the statement on oversize paper and posted it in a prominent location where the Scrum Team (Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team) and stakeholders could easily see it.
The Product Owner and I then discussed techniques on creating and maintaining a product roadmap/release plan. He opted for a simple table with four rows and four columns. The rows included:
- Name (the title of the product or major release),
- Goal (the reason for creating it),
- Features (a high-level list of features), and
- Estimated number of sprints.
For the columns, there was one for each quarter of the year. Similar to what was done with the product vision, the Product Owner sent the plan with a request for feedback to the stakeholders. After receiving feedback, the Product Owner revised and the plan, wrote it on oversize paper, and posted it next to the product vision statement.
Aspects of team formation were covered already. The new Scrum team totaled 11 people. All were co-located and 100% allocated to the project.
The Product Owner and I discussed techniques on developing and maintaining the product backlog. He opted to employ a simple table format with six columns:
- ID#,
- User story/description,
- Category (he decided on four types: feature, bug, technical debt, and other),
- Story point estimate for complexity,
- Priority based on business value, and
- Status.
To help with user stories, the Product Owner often referenced the INVEST (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable) model developed by Bill Wake. For priority, the Product Owner initially used the MoSCoW method (Must have, Should have, Could have, or Won't have). Later, the Product Owner found the business value/risk method (where each item is rated as high or low in two dimensions—business value and risk, ...) to be the most beneficial, and the Product Owner continues to use that approach today. In a session facilitated by the Scrum Master, the Product Owner presented the user stories to the Development Team, and participants provided story points (using physical cards for the exercise) for estimates of complexity of each item. Later, the team tried t-shirt sizing—S, M, L, and XL designations—for estimates of complexity, but they decided to return to story points.
Previously, sprints were four weeks in length. Now the team was using the shorter duration of two weeks. A key benefit was that the Scrum value of focus was improved.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story continues with Part Six: The Pilot — Sprint Planning and Sprint Execution.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius to Speak at Los Angeles Chapter of the Project Management Institute
21 March 2019
An updated version of this story appears here.
Scott M. Graffius will present "Getting (More) Benefits from Agile" at the Los Angeles chapter of the Project Management Institute. He will deliver practical information including top factors from successful Scrum implementations—based on his first-hand experience and 116 sources—which attendees can leverage to gain (more) benefits from agile. This will be Scott's second talk at the chapter. The session will be held in Santa Clarita, California on June 2, 2020. In early 2020, additional information including the time and venue for the talk will be shown at http://scottgraffius.com/publicspeaker.html.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and award-winning author.
Scott is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks. Business results include improved responsiveness to business needs, faster delivery and time-to-market, upgraded on-budget performance, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. For infographics and additional resources, visit http://Exceptional-PMO.com.
A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. The publication has garnered 17 first place awards. The credit is shared with Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, the technical editors on the book. Scott and Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Dallas Business Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, Innovation Management, and additional media outlets. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com.
Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He holds six professional certifications: Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL). He is a member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Within the IEEE, Graffius is a member of the Computer Society, the Consumer Electronics Society, the Broadcast Technology Society, the Internet of Things Community, and the Consultants Network.
Scott regularly speaks at conferences and other events in the United States and internationally where he delights audiences with presentations on agile, traditional, and hybrid project, program, portfolio, and PMO management. He integrates and includes professional standards, best practices, and his first-hand experience with successful implementations. Scott uses everyday language and vibrant visuals to make complex topics clear and understandable, and he provides audiences with practical information they can use. His upcoming and past appearances are listed at http://scottgraffius.com/publicspeaker.html.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Los Angeles Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI-LA)
The Los Angeles chapter (PMI-LA) was chartered by the Project Management Institute in 1974. The chapter's vision is "PMI-LA will be recognized as a premier PMI chapter for the advancement of project management and a benchmark for other PMI chapters." Its mission is “To provide opportunities for individual growth in project management and increase corporate awareness of the project management profession.” For more on the PMI-LA, visit https://pmi-la.org. The chapter's hashtag is #PMILA.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story | Part Two
13 March 2019
Follow @scottgraffius
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the second installment of the eight-part story. If you haven't already read the first post, you can find it here: Part One: The Call.
Part Two: The Goals
Highlights related to the goals follow.
The executive vice president (EVP) identified his top three desired outcomes:
I individually met with and carefully listened to each member of the Scrum Team. There were recurring themes. We then met as a group and I asked them to identify their top two or three goals. They discussed the matter, voted, and decided on these:
I individually met with executives from different departments (the stakeholders). In every case, they related that things were OK with the earlier traditional/waterfall approach, but that things were worse now. The stakeholders indicated that, with the earlier approach, someone on the project team worked with their group to gather requirements, and around 6-12 months later the results were deployed. However, it was reported that with the then-current approach, the projects' purpose and requirements were not understood, and that what was produced was unusable. The goals of the stakeholders were:
Here's a recap of everyone's goals. The EVP wants the development and delivery of products and services to be faster than 6-12 months, improved satisfaction of the Scrum Team, and improved satisfaction of stakeholders. The Scrum Team wants to meet or exceed expectations of management, and deliver valuable products. The stakeholders want (themselves or via their representatives) to be more involved in requirements/user stories and get useable project-delivered products more frequently than every 6-12 months.
Everyone permitted their goals to be shared with others. After discussing the subject with the EVP, I wrote the goals on oversize paper and posted it in a common area proximate to the Scrum Team and accessible to the stakeholders.
Highlights on the environment, roles, and practices—primarily focused on the Scrum Team—follow.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story continues with Part Three: The Environment.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the second installment of the eight-part story. If you haven't already read the first post, you can find it here: Part One: The Call.
Part Two: The Goals
Highlights related to the goals follow.
The executive vice president (EVP) identified his top three desired outcomes:
- Accelerate the development and delivery of products and services—to be faster than the earlier baseline of 6-12 months,
- Improve the satisfaction of the Scrum Team—to be the same or better than it was earlier with the traditional/waterfall approach, and
- Improve the satisfaction of stakeholders—to also to be the same or better than it was earlier with the traditional/waterfall approach.
I individually met with and carefully listened to each member of the Scrum Team. There were recurring themes. We then met as a group and I asked them to identify their top two or three goals. They discussed the matter, voted, and decided on these:
- Meet or exceed the expectations of management, and
- Deliver valuable products.
I individually met with executives from different departments (the stakeholders). In every case, they related that things were OK with the earlier traditional/waterfall approach, but that things were worse now. The stakeholders indicated that, with the earlier approach, someone on the project team worked with their group to gather requirements, and around 6-12 months later the results were deployed. However, it was reported that with the then-current approach, the projects' purpose and requirements were not understood, and that what was produced was unusable. The goals of the stakeholders were:
- For them or their representatives to be as—or more—involved as earlier with the traditional/waterfall approach, and
- Get a usable product as often as—or more frequently than—earlier with the traditional/waterfall approach.
Here's a recap of everyone's goals. The EVP wants the development and delivery of products and services to be faster than 6-12 months, improved satisfaction of the Scrum Team, and improved satisfaction of stakeholders. The Scrum Team wants to meet or exceed expectations of management, and deliver valuable products. The stakeholders want (themselves or via their representatives) to be more involved in requirements/user stories and get useable project-delivered products more frequently than every 6-12 months.
Everyone permitted their goals to be shared with others. After discussing the subject with the EVP, I wrote the goals on oversize paper and posted it in a common area proximate to the Scrum Team and accessible to the stakeholders.
Highlights on the environment, roles, and practices—primarily focused on the Scrum Team—follow.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story continues with Part Three: The Environment.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story | Part One
08 March 2019
Follow @scottgraffius
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the first installment of the eight-part story.
Part One: The Call
The assistant to the executive vice president (EVP) of technology for a division of a global entertainment company contacted me by phone. I was told that I was referred by someone who knew me and thought I would be a good fit for contract work. A one-hour consultation with the EVP was scheduled for the next day. I then received an email with several attachments including a non-disclosure agreement which needed to be executed and brought to the meeting.
I brought the documents to the session. The EVP explained that his division of the company was experiencing an alarming trend of problems with project management. He reported that deliverables were not meeting expectations, there was a marked decline in satisfaction, and—this was characterized as "the straw that broke the camel's back"—a highly skilled and very well-respected team member quit, citing the problems as her reason for departure.
After an hour with the EVP, we agreed to extend the meeting (initially, my complimentary consult) an additional hour (billable time). I learned that this division of the company previously used a traditional plan-driven/waterfall approach for development and delivery. The EVP explained that things worked reasonably well then and that they were "close enough" to being on-scope, on-budget, and on-time that team members and stakeholders were satisfied.
The EVP explained, however, that he wanted to adopt a model (Scrum) employed by some of the other divisions of the company. The EVP said that he conducted a search for a value-added reseller (VAR) to help his group move to agile. A VAR-partner of a popular software solution was selected, and the VAR transitioned the group to Scrum. Reportedly, very few problems surfaced during the VAR's contractual engagement, which ended two weeks into the first sprint (then, the duration for sprints was four weeks). Many problems surfaced subsequently, however. The VAR had been gone for two months at the time of my meeting with the EVP.
The EVP asked me to make things right. I explained that change depends on many people and multiple factors and that a specific end result could not be guaranteed. I suggested, however, that I'd be honored to work with his group in the first step—an assessment—which would help inform the subsequent work of foundational planning. The objectives of the assessment include working closely with the EVP, the Scrum Team and stakeholders to understand their goals—and the environment, roles and practices. He asked me when I could start. I asked him when he needed me, and he replied "immediately." I agreed to start the next day.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story continues with Part Two: The Goals.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the first installment of the eight-part story.
Part One: The Call
The assistant to the executive vice president (EVP) of technology for a division of a global entertainment company contacted me by phone. I was told that I was referred by someone who knew me and thought I would be a good fit for contract work. A one-hour consultation with the EVP was scheduled for the next day. I then received an email with several attachments including a non-disclosure agreement which needed to be executed and brought to the meeting.
I brought the documents to the session. The EVP explained that his division of the company was experiencing an alarming trend of problems with project management. He reported that deliverables were not meeting expectations, there was a marked decline in satisfaction, and—this was characterized as "the straw that broke the camel's back"—a highly skilled and very well-respected team member quit, citing the problems as her reason for departure.
After an hour with the EVP, we agreed to extend the meeting (initially, my complimentary consult) an additional hour (billable time). I learned that this division of the company previously used a traditional plan-driven/waterfall approach for development and delivery. The EVP explained that things worked reasonably well then and that they were "close enough" to being on-scope, on-budget, and on-time that team members and stakeholders were satisfied.
The EVP explained, however, that he wanted to adopt a model (Scrum) employed by some of the other divisions of the company. The EVP said that he conducted a search for a value-added reseller (VAR) to help his group move to agile. A VAR-partner of a popular software solution was selected, and the VAR transitioned the group to Scrum. Reportedly, very few problems surfaced during the VAR's contractual engagement, which ended two weeks into the first sprint (then, the duration for sprints was four weeks). Many problems surfaced subsequently, however. The VAR had been gone for two months at the time of my meeting with the EVP.
The EVP asked me to make things right. I explained that change depends on many people and multiple factors and that a specific end result could not be guaranteed. I suggested, however, that I'd be honored to work with his group in the first step—an assessment—which would help inform the subsequent work of foundational planning. The objectives of the assessment include working closely with the EVP, the Scrum Team and stakeholders to understand their goals—and the environment, roles and practices. He asked me when I could start. I asked him when he needed me, and he replied "immediately." I agreed to start the next day.
Agile Transformation at an International Media Conglomerate: Based on a True Story continues with Part Two: The Goals.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Content from "Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions" Featured in Article from Learning Solutions
24 February 2019
Content from Scott M. Graffius' Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions appeared in Three Reasons That eLearning Fails—and How to Fix Them, published in Learning Solutions. Here's an excerpt from the article by Dan Belhassen:
"Process improvement experts from Peter Drucker ("What's measured improves") to Scott M. Graffius ("If you don't collect any metrics, you're flying blind") agree that measuring key metrics, and focusing on improving them, is critical to actually achieving desired results."
The article is available online here: https://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/3-reasons-that-elearning-fails-and-how-to-fix-them/.
About Author Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and award-winning author. He is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks. Business results include upgraded responsiveness to business needs, faster delivery and time-to-market, improved on-budget performance, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products at astounding speed with rapid adaptation to change and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards. Scott and his publication have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, the Dallas Business Journal, the PM World Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, Innovation Management, and additional media outlets. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com. Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇪 Belgium from Amazon.fr
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Amazon.fr
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇼 Aruba from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇸 Bahamas from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇩🇰 Denmark from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇯 Fiji from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇱 Israel from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇲 Jamaica from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇵🇪 Peru from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇭 Philippines from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇸🇬 Singapore from OpenTrolley Bookstore
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇺🇦 Ukraine from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
"Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions" Featured in Presentation at DX Summit
15 February 2019
I’m pleased to have had content from Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (bit.ly/scrumone) featured by Eeshita Grover, Senior Manager at Cisco, in her presentation at DX Summit. The conference serves customer experience and digital marketing leaders tackling voice of the customer, machine learning and AI, big data and analytics, optimization, and digital experience challenges.
Eeshita Grover’s talk was on November 14, 2018 and her presentation (https://www.slideshare.net/DXSummit/building-a-uex-strategy-for-inproduct-selfhelp-eeshita-grover) included 14 slides. Slide 13 featured content from the book:
“If you don’t collect any metrics, you’re flying blind. If you collect and focus on too many, they may be obstructing your field of view.”
— Scott M. Graffius, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
About Author Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and award-winning author. He is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks. Business results include upgraded responsiveness to business needs, faster delivery and time-to-market, improved on-budget performance, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products at astounding speed with rapid adaptation to change and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards. Scott and his publication have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, the Dallas Business Journal, the PM World Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, Innovation Management, and additional media outlets. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com. Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇪 Belgium from Amazon.fr
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Amazon.fr
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇼 Aruba from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇸 Bahamas from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇩🇰 Denmark from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇯 Fiji from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇱 Israel from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇲 Jamaica from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇵🇪 Peru from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇭 Philippines from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇸🇬 Singapore from OpenTrolley Bookstore
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇺🇦 Ukraine from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius to Speak at California Inland Empire Chapter of Project Management Institute
28 January 2019
Scott M. Graffius will present "How to Deliver Your Projects with Faster ROI, Competitive Advantage, and Additional Benefits Using Agile Scrum" at the California Inland Empire chapter of the Project Management Institute. The session will provide attendees with a vibrant and highly visual presentation of Scrum, the most popular agile development and delivery framework for products and services. Scott will cover the roles, responsibilities, tools, and techniques unique to Scrum—spanning from vision through release—based on best practices and top factors from successful implementations. Attendees will be presented with practical information they can use. This will be Scott's second talk at the chapter. The session will be held in Murrieta, California on Saturday, February 16, 2019. For more information and to register for the event, visit here.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and award-winning author.
Scott is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks. Business results include improved responsiveness to business needs, faster delivery and time-to-market, upgraded on-budget performance, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. For infographics and additional resources, visit http://Exceptional-PMO.com.
A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. The publication has garnered 17 first place awards. The credit is shared with Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, the technical editors on the book. Scott and Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Dallas Business Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, Innovation Management, and additional media outlets. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com.
Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He holds six professional certifications: Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL). He is a member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the IEEE Computer Society, the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, the IEEE Internet of Things Community, and the IEEE Consultants Network.
Scott regularly speaks at conferences and other events in the United States and internationally where he delights audiences with presentations on agile, traditional, and hybrid project, program, portfolio, and PMO management. He integrates and includes professional standards, best practices, and his first-hand experience with successful implementations. Scott uses everyday language and vibrant visuals to make complex topics clear and understandable, and he provides audiences with practical information they can use. His upcoming and past appearances are listed at http://scottgraffius.com/publicspeaker.html.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Project Management Institute California Inland Empire (PMICIE) Chapter
The PMICIE—chartered by the Project Management Institute in 2002—is based in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The chapter is committed to the advancement of the project management profession. It provides its members with networking, training, and professional development opportunities. The website for the chapter is https://pmicie.org.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Impact Mapping Strategic Planning Technique
27 December 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Impact mapping—introduced by Gojko Adzic—is a collaborative and visual strategic planning technique for business. This article provides a concise overview of the process, and it includes real-world examples. Four major steps follow. For simplicity, most examples are listed in the singular (such as one goal). However, multiples (such as several goals) may be used.
Step 1: Answer “Why?”
First the goal is established. The focus should be on important strategic objectives—which may include increasing revenue, decreasing costs, product development, or other categories. To ensure a clear shared understanding, it is suggested that the goal is SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This example is not SMART: “Increase revenue.” But this version is SMART: “Increase revenue by 10% over the next 30 days.”
Step 2: Answer “Who?”
Next, the people who can help (or be a hinderance) in achieving the goal are identified. Such people may be referred to as actors or personas. Actors are someone or something that “acts” on or with the system—such as a customer. Personas are fictitious characters that represent user types—such as Developer Dave. It is suggested that the people are as specific as possible. For the goal of “Increase revenue by 10% over the next 30 days,” examples of Who include (a) Existing Customer and (b) Prospective Customer.
Step 3: Answer “How?”
In this step, the impacts that need to be had on the actors/personas—for them to help achieve the goal (or minimize/avoid them being a hinderance)—are identified. Continuing on the example from steps 1-2, an impact for the Existing Customer is to (a) refer more friends and (b) have a larger order dollar value.
Step 4: Answer “What?”
The deliverable which is hoped to create the impact on the actors/personas to achieve the goal is identified in this step. Said differently, What is the deliverable related to the How in the prior step. Continuing on the example from steps 1-3, deliverables for Refer More Friends include (a) discount code and (b) referral bounty.
Recap and Putting the Results to Use
The impact map is a visual artifact, developed collaboratively while answering the four questions: “Why (Goal)?,” “Who (Actor/Persona)?,” “How (Impact)?,” and “What (Deliverable)?” The exercise may reveal considerable items for consideration. Everything does not need to be implemented, however. It is suggested that the entries are prioritized (such as determining the shortest path) and that the most important work is done.
The illustration above incorporates some of the examples from this article. As shown, the shortest path involves providing a discount code related to existing customers referring more friends. In this case, that’s the work that should be done (at least done first).
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Impact mapping—introduced by Gojko Adzic—is a collaborative and visual strategic planning technique for business. This article provides a concise overview of the process, and it includes real-world examples. Four major steps follow. For simplicity, most examples are listed in the singular (such as one goal). However, multiples (such as several goals) may be used.
Step 1: Answer “Why?”
First the goal is established. The focus should be on important strategic objectives—which may include increasing revenue, decreasing costs, product development, or other categories. To ensure a clear shared understanding, it is suggested that the goal is SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This example is not SMART: “Increase revenue.” But this version is SMART: “Increase revenue by 10% over the next 30 days.”
Step 2: Answer “Who?”
Next, the people who can help (or be a hinderance) in achieving the goal are identified. Such people may be referred to as actors or personas. Actors are someone or something that “acts” on or with the system—such as a customer. Personas are fictitious characters that represent user types—such as Developer Dave. It is suggested that the people are as specific as possible. For the goal of “Increase revenue by 10% over the next 30 days,” examples of Who include (a) Existing Customer and (b) Prospective Customer.
Step 3: Answer “How?”
In this step, the impacts that need to be had on the actors/personas—for them to help achieve the goal (or minimize/avoid them being a hinderance)—are identified. Continuing on the example from steps 1-2, an impact for the Existing Customer is to (a) refer more friends and (b) have a larger order dollar value.
Step 4: Answer “What?”
The deliverable which is hoped to create the impact on the actors/personas to achieve the goal is identified in this step. Said differently, What is the deliverable related to the How in the prior step. Continuing on the example from steps 1-3, deliverables for Refer More Friends include (a) discount code and (b) referral bounty.
Recap and Putting the Results to Use
The impact map is a visual artifact, developed collaboratively while answering the four questions: “Why (Goal)?,” “Who (Actor/Persona)?,” “How (Impact)?,” and “What (Deliverable)?” The exercise may reveal considerable items for consideration. Everything does not need to be implemented, however. It is suggested that the entries are prioritized (such as determining the shortest path) and that the most important work is done.
The illustration above incorporates some of the examples from this article. As shown, the shortest path involves providing a discount code related to existing customers referring more friends. In this case, that’s the work that should be done (at least done first).
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
"Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions" Quoted by Informa Middle East
14 December 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Content from Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (Scott M. Graffius, author; Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, technical editors) is quoted in a piece by Informa Middle East. Informa is a leading Dubai-based company offering business intelligence, academic publishing, and services in event management.
A red arrow in the accompanying image (a higher resolution version is available here) points out the quote. You can read the Informa article by Anishka Abraham—which includes what to do and avoid with metrics—here: https://www.informa-mea.com/blog/7-mistakes-to-avoid-when-measuring-innovation/.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and award-winning author. He is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks. Business results include upgraded responsiveness to business needs, faster delivery and time-to-market, improved on-budget performance, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets. Additional information is available at: http://Exceptional-PMO.com/who_we_are/bio.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products at astounding speed with rapid adaptation to change and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards. Scott and his publication have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, the Dallas Business Journal, the PM World Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, Innovation Management, and additional media outlets. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com. Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇪 Belgium from Amazon.fr
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Amazon.fr
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇼 Aruba from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇸 Bahamas from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇩🇰 Denmark from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇯 Fiji from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇱 Israel from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇲 Jamaica from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇵🇪 Peru from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇭 Philippines from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇸🇬 Singapore from OpenTrolley Bookstore
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇺🇦 Ukraine from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Content from Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (Scott M. Graffius, author; Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, technical editors) is quoted in a piece by Informa Middle East. Informa is a leading Dubai-based company offering business intelligence, academic publishing, and services in event management.
A red arrow in the accompanying image (a higher resolution version is available here) points out the quote. You can read the Informa article by Anishka Abraham—which includes what to do and avoid with metrics—here: https://www.informa-mea.com/blog/7-mistakes-to-avoid-when-measuring-innovation/.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and award-winning author. He is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks. Business results include upgraded responsiveness to business needs, faster delivery and time-to-market, improved on-budget performance, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets. Additional information is available at: http://Exceptional-PMO.com/who_we_are/bio.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products at astounding speed with rapid adaptation to change and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards. Scott and his publication have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, the Dallas Business Journal, the PM World Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, Innovation Management, and additional media outlets. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com. Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇪 Belgium from Amazon.fr
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Amazon.fr
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇼 Aruba from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇸 Bahamas from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇩🇰 Denmark from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇯 Fiji from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇱 Israel from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇲 Jamaica from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇵🇪 Peru from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇭 Philippines from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇸🇬 Singapore from OpenTrolley Bookstore
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇺🇦 Ukraine from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
"Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions" Quoted in Innovation Management
23 November 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (Scott M. Graffius, author; Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, technical editors) was quoted by Julia Myllylä in her article which appears in Innovation Management. This Swedish-based publication has the mission to provide relevant, inspiring and actionable knowledge to businesses and individuals looking to increase their innovation capabilities.
The quote from Agile Scrum—“If you don’t collect any metrics, you’re flying blind. If you collect and focus on too many, they may be obstructing your field of view.”—is located at point 5 of the article. It was published on November 20, 2018, and you can read it here: http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2018/11/20/7-mistakes-to-avoid-when-measuring-innovation/.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and award-winning author. He is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks. Business results include upgraded responsiveness to business needs, faster delivery and time-to-market, improved on-budget performance, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets. Additional information is available at: http://Exceptional-PMO.com/who_we_are/bio.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products at astounding speed with rapid adaptation to change and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards. Scott and his publication have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, the Dallas Business Journal, the PM World Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, and additional media outlets. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com. Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇪 Belgium from Amazon.fr
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Amazon.fr
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇼 Aruba from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇸 Bahamas from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇩🇰 Denmark from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇯 Fiji from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇱 Israel from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇲 Jamaica from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇵🇪 Peru from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇭 Philippines from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇸🇬 Singapore from OpenTrolley Bookstore
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇺🇦 Ukraine from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (Scott M. Graffius, author; Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, technical editors) was quoted by Julia Myllylä in her article which appears in Innovation Management. This Swedish-based publication has the mission to provide relevant, inspiring and actionable knowledge to businesses and individuals looking to increase their innovation capabilities.
The quote from Agile Scrum—“If you don’t collect any metrics, you’re flying blind. If you collect and focus on too many, they may be obstructing your field of view.”—is located at point 5 of the article. It was published on November 20, 2018, and you can read it here: http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2018/11/20/7-mistakes-to-avoid-when-measuring-innovation/.
About Scott M. Graffius
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and award-winning author. He is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks. Business results include upgraded responsiveness to business needs, faster delivery and time-to-market, improved on-budget performance, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets. Additional information is available at: http://Exceptional-PMO.com/who_we_are/bio.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products at astounding speed with rapid adaptation to change and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards. Scott and his publication have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, the Dallas Business Journal, the PM World Journal, BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly, and additional media outlets. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com. Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇪 Belgium from Amazon.fr
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Amazon.fr
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇼 Aruba from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇸 Bahamas from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇩🇰 Denmark from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇯 Fiji from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇱 Israel from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇲 Jamaica from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇵🇪 Peru from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇭 Philippines from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇸🇬 Singapore from OpenTrolley Bookstore
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇺🇦 Ukraine from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
The Holiday Nice List: 11 Gifts to Impress
15 November 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
The Holiday Nice List: 11 Gifts to Impress is a carefully curated list of highly rated items for all budgets.
Note: Values are the list price. The online price may be lower in some cases. This article contains affiliate links that may provide ScottGraffius.com earnings on purchases originating from them.
1. LinkOn Multi-Adapter Cable
This cable is useful for anyone who has to charge USB-C, MicroUSB, and Lightning devices at the same time. $11.99, Amazon
2. Rocketbook Erasable Notebook
How it works: Write, scan, send, and reuse. Like magic. $34.00, Amazon
3. Fire TV Stick 4K with All-New Alexa Voice Remote, Streaming Media Player
The most powerful 4K streaming media stick with a new Wi-Fi antenna design optimized for 4K Ultra HD streaming, with more storage for apps and games than any other 4K streaming media stick. $49.99, Amazon
4. Tile Pro
We all lose things. The Tile Pro helps us get them back quickly. $59.99, Amazon
5. Nightingale Sleep System
The compact Nightingale is the perfect white noise machine for home for on the go. $149.99, Amazon
6. Zero Halliburton Profile Deluxe Backpack
Designed for the business person on the go. The backpack is made of strong and high-density Condura nylon that keeps electronics safe while one travels. The leather handle is ergonomically designed for comfort while holding. Each detail reflects the Zero Halliburton philosophy. $275.00, Amazon
7. Bose SoundLink Revolve+ Portable & Long-Lasting Bluetooth 360 Speaker
The best-performing portable speaker from Bose. Delivers Deep, loud, jaw-dropping sound with True 360-degree coverage. $299.00, Amazon
8. Bose QuietComfort 35 (Series II) Wireless Headphones, Noise Cancelling
QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones II are the best from Bose. They’re engineered with world-class noise cancellation and direct access to Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant for simple voice control on the go. $349.00, Amazon
9. U-Turn Orbit Special Turntable
Expressive and uncompromised playback. Beautiful hardwood bases. $479.00, Amazon
10. Sonos Play:5
Sonos’ biggest speaker—ideal for large rooms and wide open spaces—produces pristinely rich sound to impress even the most discerning audio enthusiast. $499.99, Amazon
11. Zero Halliburton Geo Black Aluminum 3.0 24” Suitcase
Rugged yet refined, the Geo Aluminum 3.0 suitcase is the pinnacle of style, innovation and craftsmanship. The 24-inch Geo Aluminum travel case is made from durable, anodized aluminum and styled with a modern interpretation of Zero Halliburton’s iconic double-ribbed design. For extra security, the bag is fastened with a sturdy piano hinge and draw-bolt latches with two TSA-approved combination locks. A neoprene gasket seal around the zippers offer an airtight closure. $796.00, Amazon
And, if a gift card makes more sense … Amazon offers them in the following popular denominations:
• $25.00
• $50.00
• $100.00
Happy Holidays!
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
The Holiday Nice List: 11 Gifts to Impress is a carefully curated list of highly rated items for all budgets.
Note: Values are the list price. The online price may be lower in some cases. This article contains affiliate links that may provide ScottGraffius.com earnings on purchases originating from them.
1. LinkOn Multi-Adapter Cable
This cable is useful for anyone who has to charge USB-C, MicroUSB, and Lightning devices at the same time. $11.99, Amazon
2. Rocketbook Erasable Notebook
How it works: Write, scan, send, and reuse. Like magic. $34.00, Amazon
3. Fire TV Stick 4K with All-New Alexa Voice Remote, Streaming Media Player
The most powerful 4K streaming media stick with a new Wi-Fi antenna design optimized for 4K Ultra HD streaming, with more storage for apps and games than any other 4K streaming media stick. $49.99, Amazon
4. Tile Pro
We all lose things. The Tile Pro helps us get them back quickly. $59.99, Amazon
5. Nightingale Sleep System
The compact Nightingale is the perfect white noise machine for home for on the go. $149.99, Amazon
6. Zero Halliburton Profile Deluxe Backpack
Designed for the business person on the go. The backpack is made of strong and high-density Condura nylon that keeps electronics safe while one travels. The leather handle is ergonomically designed for comfort while holding. Each detail reflects the Zero Halliburton philosophy. $275.00, Amazon
7. Bose SoundLink Revolve+ Portable & Long-Lasting Bluetooth 360 Speaker
The best-performing portable speaker from Bose. Delivers Deep, loud, jaw-dropping sound with True 360-degree coverage. $299.00, Amazon
8. Bose QuietComfort 35 (Series II) Wireless Headphones, Noise Cancelling
QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones II are the best from Bose. They’re engineered with world-class noise cancellation and direct access to Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant for simple voice control on the go. $349.00, Amazon
9. U-Turn Orbit Special Turntable
Expressive and uncompromised playback. Beautiful hardwood bases. $479.00, Amazon
10. Sonos Play:5
Sonos’ biggest speaker—ideal for large rooms and wide open spaces—produces pristinely rich sound to impress even the most discerning audio enthusiast. $499.99, Amazon
11. Zero Halliburton Geo Black Aluminum 3.0 24” Suitcase
Rugged yet refined, the Geo Aluminum 3.0 suitcase is the pinnacle of style, innovation and craftsmanship. The 24-inch Geo Aluminum travel case is made from durable, anodized aluminum and styled with a modern interpretation of Zero Halliburton’s iconic double-ribbed design. For extra security, the bag is fastened with a sturdy piano hinge and draw-bolt latches with two TSA-approved combination locks. A neoprene gasket seal around the zippers offer an airtight closure. $796.00, Amazon
And, if a gift card makes more sense … Amazon offers them in the following popular denominations:
• $25.00
• $50.00
• $100.00
Happy Holidays!
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
“Agile Scrum" Guide Nabs Silver Medal from Readers' Favorite International Book Awards
31 August 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ had consulting engagements with a division of a global entertainment business. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with that client was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is an update on the book.
Agile Scrum won the silver medal in the Business/Finance category at the 2018 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards. A press release from Scott is located here and the news is presented below as well.
★★★★★
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions by Scott M. Graffius helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products at astounding speed with rapid adaptation to change and continuous improvement which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. Reactions to the book have been incredibly positive. The latest accolade comes from the 2018 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards (https://readersfavorite.com/2018-award-contest-winners.htm), which awarded Agile Scrum with the silver medal in the Business/Finance category. With thousands of entries ranging from New York Times bestsellers to works from first-time self-published authors, the program is one of the largest book competitions. Graffius will be presented with the silver medal on stage at a gala in Miami, Florida on Saturday, November 17, 2018.
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, author, and international speaker. He is the Founder and CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a management consulting firm. Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Book
A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com. Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇪 Belgium from Amazon.fr
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Amazon.fr
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇼 Aruba from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇸 Bahamas from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇩🇰 Denmark from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇯 Fiji from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇱 Israel from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇲 Jamaica from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇵🇪 Peru from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇭 Philippines from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇸🇬 Singapore from OpenTrolley Bookstore
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇺🇦 Ukraine from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
About Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions
Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ (http://Exceptional-PMO.com) helps organizations achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives via world-class project management. The firm provides expert advisory, training, and facilitative consulting services related to project, program, portfolio, and PMO management in agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ had consulting engagements with a division of a global entertainment business. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with that client was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is an update on the book.
Agile Scrum won the silver medal in the Business/Finance category at the 2018 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards. A press release from Scott is located here and the news is presented below as well.
★★★★★
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions by Scott M. Graffius helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products at astounding speed with rapid adaptation to change and continuous improvement which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. Reactions to the book have been incredibly positive. The latest accolade comes from the 2018 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards (https://readersfavorite.com/2018-award-contest-winners.htm), which awarded Agile Scrum with the silver medal in the Business/Finance category. With thousands of entries ranging from New York Times bestsellers to works from first-time self-published authors, the program is one of the largest book competitions. Graffius will be presented with the silver medal on stage at a gala in Miami, Florida on Saturday, November 17, 2018.
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, author, and international speaker. He is the Founder and CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a management consulting firm. Scott is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Book
- Title: Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
- Author: Scott M. Graffius
- Technical Editors: Chris Hare and Colin Giffen
- Formats: Paperback and ebook, both in full color
- Pub Date: April 5, 2016 (paperback), May 20, 2016 (ebook)
- Publisher: CreateSpace (paperback), Amazon Digital Services (ebook)
- Price: Paperback $34.99 US, ebook $19.99 US
- Pages: 156
- ISBN-13: 978-1533370242 (paperback)
- ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY (ebook)
A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, a detailed list of awards and more are available at https://AgileScrumGuide.com. Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
Agile Scrum is offered in ebook/Kindle format (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) in:
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Amazon.de
🇧🇪 Belgium from Amazon.fr
🇧🇷 Brazil from Amazon.com.br
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein from Amazon.de
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Amazon.de
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Amazon.fr
🇳🇱 Netherlands from Amazon.nl
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Amazon.com.au
🇸🇲 San Marino from Amazon.it
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Amazon.de
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com
🇻🇦 Vatican City from Amazon.it
Agile Scrum is sold in paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) in:
🇦🇼 Aruba from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇺 Australia from Amazon.com.au
🇦🇹 Austria from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇧🇸 Bahamas from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇧🇪 Belgium from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇨🇦 Canada from Amazon.ca
🇨🇿 Czech Republic from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇩🇰 Denmark from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇯 Fiji from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇫🇮 Finland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇫🇷 France from Amazon.fr
🇩🇪 Germany from Amazon.de
🇬🇷 Greece from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇭🇺 Hungary from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇸 Iceland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇮🇳 India from Amazon.in
🇮🇪 Ireland from Amazon.co.uk
🇮🇱 Israel from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇮🇹 Italy from Amazon.it
🇯🇲 Jamaica from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇯🇵 Japan from Amazon.co.jp
🇱🇺 Luxembourg from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇲🇽 Mexico from Amazon.com.mx
🇲🇨 Monaco from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇳🇱 Netherlands from bol.com
🇳🇿 New Zealand from Fishpond.co.nz, Amazon.com (via USA), and Booktopia.com.au (via Australia)
🇳🇴 Norway from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇵🇪 Peru from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇭 Philippines from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇸🇬 Singapore from OpenTrolley Bookstore
🇿🇦 South Africa from Loot.co.za
🇰🇷 South Korea from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇪🇸 Spain from Amazon.es
🇸🇪 Sweden from Adlibris.com
🇨🇭 Switzerland from Bokus.com (via Sweden)
🇺🇦 Ukraine from The Book Depository (via UK/Australia)
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates from Amazon.ae
🇬🇧 United Kingdom from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell's, and The Book Depository
🇺🇸 United States of America from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, Books-a-Million, Diesel Bookstore (Santa Monica, California), Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach, California), Warwick’s (La Jolla, California), The Booksmith (San Francisco, California), University Press Books (Berkeley, California), Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc. (San Francisco, California), University of Arizona Bookstore (Tucson, Arizona), Strand Books (New York, New York), Hudson Booksellers (New York, New York), Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Savoy Bookshop & Café (Westerly, Rhode Island), Books & Books (Miami, Florida), and others
🇻🇳 Vietnam from U-buy.vn
Get your copy today!
About Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions
Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ (http://Exceptional-PMO.com) helps organizations achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives via world-class project management. The firm provides expert advisory, training, and facilitative consulting services related to project, program, portfolio, and PMO management in agile, traditional, and hybrid development and delivery frameworks.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
“Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions” Wins First Place in Business at Pacific Book Awards
24 May 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ had consulting engagements with a division of a global entertainment business. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with that client was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is an update on the book.
Agile Scrum won first place in the Business category at the 2018 International Pacific Book Awards. A press release from Scott M. Graffius, the author of the book, is located here. Additionally, the text from the release is presented below.
Los Angeles, CA — Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (Scott M. Graffius, author; Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, technical editors) won first place in the Business category of the 2018 International Pacific Book Awards. The annual program is sponsored by Pacific Book Review—a literary review outlet, and a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the National Education Association. The competition was open to English-language books in print, e-book, and audiobook formats worldwide. The judging panel included professionals with expertise in the categories over which they presided, as well as experts from the fields of editing, reviewing, and publishing. Books were evaluated on innovation, originality, and readability. Results will be announced to booksellers, publishers, public and academic librarians, wholesalers, distributors, and agents through the sponsor's site, Publishers Weekly, and additional outlets.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices engage sequential development, while agile models involve iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to best meet their business needs—and successfully manage projects, innovate, and prosper at astounding speed.
Scott released Agile Scrum to provide those interested or involved in innovation, product development, project management, software development or technology management with a roadmap to implement Scrum, the most popular agile framework. It helps technical and non-technical teams deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Reactions to Agile Scrum have been incredibly positive. Earlier honors include 16 first place wins from national and international competitions: the 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards (for Business-General, and also for Technology), 2016 London Book Festival (for Business), Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards (for Business), 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards (for Informational), 2016 New Apple Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Independent Press Award (for Technology), 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival (for Business), 2017 Bookvana Awards (for Green/Conscious Business), 2017 Book Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Best Book Awards (for Business Reference), 2017 New York City Big Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (for Science & Technology), 2017 Human Relations Indie Book Awards (for Workplace), and the 2018 Florida Book Festival (for Business).
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and author. He founded and is CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, an Inc. Verified Business, which helps organizations better solve their problems and capitalize on opportunities via world-class project management related services. Results include more consistent realization of business outcomes, faster delivery speed, improved on-budget performance, higher satisfaction, and more. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum. He is a former vice president of a provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet including social networking and internet access. Before that, Scott worked in organizations with businesses ranging from advanced technology products and services to business services, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, and entertainment. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Book
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
Specs are detailed at AgileScrumGuide.com.
Review copies of Agile Scrum are available to members of broadcast, print or online media. Visit bit.ly/REVIEW-COPY.
Visit AgileScrumGuide.com to learn more about the book. For information on the Pacific Book Review and their international awards program, visit pacificbookreview.com.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ had consulting engagements with a division of a global entertainment business. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with that client was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is an update on the book.
Agile Scrum won first place in the Business category at the 2018 International Pacific Book Awards. A press release from Scott M. Graffius, the author of the book, is located here. Additionally, the text from the release is presented below.
Los Angeles, CA — Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (Scott M. Graffius, author; Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, technical editors) won first place in the Business category of the 2018 International Pacific Book Awards. The annual program is sponsored by Pacific Book Review—a literary review outlet, and a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the National Education Association. The competition was open to English-language books in print, e-book, and audiobook formats worldwide. The judging panel included professionals with expertise in the categories over which they presided, as well as experts from the fields of editing, reviewing, and publishing. Books were evaluated on innovation, originality, and readability. Results will be announced to booksellers, publishers, public and academic librarians, wholesalers, distributors, and agents through the sponsor's site, Publishers Weekly, and additional outlets.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices engage sequential development, while agile models involve iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to best meet their business needs—and successfully manage projects, innovate, and prosper at astounding speed.
Scott released Agile Scrum to provide those interested or involved in innovation, product development, project management, software development or technology management with a roadmap to implement Scrum, the most popular agile framework. It helps technical and non-technical teams deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Reactions to Agile Scrum have been incredibly positive. Earlier honors include 16 first place wins from national and international competitions: the 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards (for Business-General, and also for Technology), 2016 London Book Festival (for Business), Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards (for Business), 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards (for Informational), 2016 New Apple Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Independent Press Award (for Technology), 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival (for Business), 2017 Bookvana Awards (for Green/Conscious Business), 2017 Book Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Best Book Awards (for Business Reference), 2017 New York City Big Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (for Science & Technology), 2017 Human Relations Indie Book Awards (for Workplace), and the 2018 Florida Book Festival (for Business).
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and author. He founded and is CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, an Inc. Verified Business, which helps organizations better solve their problems and capitalize on opportunities via world-class project management related services. Results include more consistent realization of business outcomes, faster delivery speed, improved on-budget performance, higher satisfaction, and more. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum. He is a former vice president of a provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet including social networking and internet access. Before that, Scott worked in organizations with businesses ranging from advanced technology products and services to business services, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, and entertainment. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Book
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
- Australia,
- Brazil,
- Canada,
- France,
- Germany,
- India,
- Italy,
- Japan,
- Mexico,
- the Netherlands,
- Spain,
- the United Kingdom, and
- the United States.
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
- Amazon,
- Barnes & Noble,
- Strand Books,
- Harvard Book Store,
- Books-a-Million,
- The Booksmith,
- Hudson Booksellers,
- Savoy Bookshop & Café,
- Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc.,
- Books & Books - Miami,
- University Press Books - Berkeley,
- and other retailers and partners in the United States and around the world.
Specs are detailed at AgileScrumGuide.com.
Review copies of Agile Scrum are available to members of broadcast, print or online media. Visit bit.ly/REVIEW-COPY.
Visit AgileScrumGuide.com to learn more about the book. For information on the Pacific Book Review and their international awards program, visit pacificbookreview.com.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
The Importance of Managing Work in Progress (WIP) in Scrum Projects
29 April 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Take a look at the results at the end of a sprint on a Scrum project. There are two scenarios. Both have the same user stories with the same story points for each:
Scenario A
Here are some details on A:
A is summarized as:
Scenario B
Here are some details on B:
B is summarized as:
What Counts
Scrum requires teams to build an increment of functionality during every sprint. Only work meeting the Definition of Done (DoD) is counted as complete, demonstrated at the sprint review meeting, and is potentially shippable.
There were two scenarios. Both had the same user stories with the same story points for each, and the same amount of work hours performed. Yet the outcomes were dramatically different. In A, 2 user stories were done--and are to be demonstrated at the sprint review meeting, and are potentially shippable. In B, 5 user stories were done--and are to be demonstrated at the sprint review meeting, and are potentially shippable. B is the better scenario.
A possible explanation for the differences between the two situations is that the Scrum team in B may have done a better job of limiting Work in Progress.
To learn more about agile/Scrum, check out the award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. You're invited to visit the digital press kit, watch the trailer, and pick up a copy of the publication. It’s offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Take a look at the results at the end of a sprint on a Scrum project. There are two scenarios. Both have the same user stories with the same story points for each:
- User story 1: 13 story points
- User story 2: 8 story points
- User story 3: 3 story points
- User story 4: 5 story points
- User story 5: 1 story point
- User story 6: 3 story points
- User story 7: 1 story point
Scenario A
Here are some details on A:
- User story 1: 70 hours of work performed, 5 hours of work remaining
- User story 2: 51 hours of work performed, no work remaining (and it meets the Definition of Done [DoD])
- User story 3: 45 hours of work performed, 13 hours of work remaining
- User story 4: 29 hours of work performed, no work remaining (and it meets the DoD)
- User story 5: 3 hours of work performed, 2 hours of work remaining
- User story 6: 30 hours of work performed, 17 hours of work remaining
- User story 7: 4 hours of work performed, 1 hour of work remaining
A is summarized as:
- 232 hours of work was performed, and 38 hours of work remains
- 2 user stories were done, and 5 user stories were not completed
Scenario B
Here are some details on B:
- User story 1: 75 hours of work performed, no work remaining (and it meets the DoD)
- User story 2: 51 hours of work performed, no work remaining (and it meets the DoD)
- User story 3: 58 hours of work performed, no work remaining (and it meets the DoD)
- User story 4: 29 hours of work performed, no work remaining (and it meets the DoD)
- User story 5: 5 hours of work performed, no work remaining (and it meets the DoD)
- User story 6: 14 hours of work performed, 33 hours of work remaining
- User story 5: no work performed, and five hours of work remaining
B is summarized as:
- 232 hours of work was performed, and 38 hours of work remains
- 5 user stories were done, and 2 user stories were not completed
What Counts
Scrum requires teams to build an increment of functionality during every sprint. Only work meeting the Definition of Done (DoD) is counted as complete, demonstrated at the sprint review meeting, and is potentially shippable.
There were two scenarios. Both had the same user stories with the same story points for each, and the same amount of work hours performed. Yet the outcomes were dramatically different. In A, 2 user stories were done--and are to be demonstrated at the sprint review meeting, and are potentially shippable. In B, 5 user stories were done--and are to be demonstrated at the sprint review meeting, and are potentially shippable. B is the better scenario.
A possible explanation for the differences between the two situations is that the Scrum team in B may have done a better job of limiting Work in Progress.
To learn more about agile/Scrum, check out the award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. You're invited to visit the digital press kit, watch the trailer, and pick up a copy of the publication. It’s offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
- Australia,
- Brazil,
- Canada,
- France,
- Germany,
- India,
- Italy,
- Japan,
- Mexico,
- the Netherlands,
- Spain,
- the United Kingdom, and
- the United States.
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
- Amazon,
- Barnes & Noble,
- Strand Books,
- Harvard Book Store,
- Books-a-Million,
- The Booksmith,
- Hudson Booksellers,
- Savoy Bookshop & Café,
- Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc.,
- Books & Books - Miami,
- University Press Books - Berkeley,
- and other retailers and partners in the United States and around the world.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Are Agile and Scrum Limited to Technology Projects or Technology Industries?
22 April 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive. Traditional development and delivery frameworks are often ineffective. In contrast, Scrum is a value-driven agile approach which incorporates adjustments based on regular and repeated customer and stakeholder feedback. And Scrum's built-in rapid response to change leads to substantial benefits such as fast time-to-market, higher satisfaction, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Agile and Scrum were once the sole domain of software development. However, the benefits and results have not gone unnoticed by others. Practices are being adopted by additional departments and industries. Examples follow.
In summary, agile and Scrum are used broadly. For more information on agile/Scrum, pick up a copy of the award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. For more information on the publication, and to connect:
References:
(1) Scrum Alliance (2017). The State of Scrum Report. Westminster, CO: Scrum Alliance, Inc.
(2) Hardy, Q. (2016, November 25). "The New Workplace is Agile, and Nonstop. Can You Keep Up?" The New York Times, page B1.
(3) Rigby, D. K., Berez, S., Caimi, G., and Noble, A. (2016). Bain Brief: Agile Innovation. Boston, MA: Bain & Company.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive. Traditional development and delivery frameworks are often ineffective. In contrast, Scrum is a value-driven agile approach which incorporates adjustments based on regular and repeated customer and stakeholder feedback. And Scrum's built-in rapid response to change leads to substantial benefits such as fast time-to-market, higher satisfaction, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Agile and Scrum were once the sole domain of software development. However, the benefits and results have not gone unnoticed by others. Practices are being adopted by additional departments and industries. Examples follow.
- The State of Scrum Report(1) revealed that 21% of Scrum projects are run by departments outside of Technology such as Marketing, Finance, and Sales.
- An article published in The New York Times(2) noted agile's use in diverse industries—with examples ranging from a museum in Sydney, Australia, to an automobile dealership in Maine.
- A business brief(3) illustrated how varied businesses—including John Deere, NPR, and Mission Bell Winery—employed agile.
In summary, agile and Scrum are used broadly. For more information on agile/Scrum, pick up a copy of the award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. For more information on the publication, and to connect:
- Digital press kit https://AgileScrumGuide.com
- Trailer https://vimeo.com/178858753
- Video channel https://vimeo.com/channels/AgileScrumGuide
- Amazon https://amzn.to/2fVA3lW
- Twitter https://twitter.com/AgileScrumGuide
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AgileScrumGuide/
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/AgileScrumGuide/
- Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/AgileScrumGuide/
References:
(1) Scrum Alliance (2017). The State of Scrum Report. Westminster, CO: Scrum Alliance, Inc.
(2) Hardy, Q. (2016, November 25). "The New Workplace is Agile, and Nonstop. Can You Keep Up?" The New York Times, page B1.
(3) Rigby, D. K., Berez, S., Caimi, G., and Noble, A. (2016). Bain Brief: Agile Innovation. Boston, MA: Bain & Company.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
“Agile Scrum" Business and Technology Guide Recognized by Shelf Unbound Competition
06 April 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Today, Shelf Unbound named Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions a Top 100 Indie Book. A press release from Scott M. Graffius, the author of the book, is located here. Additionally, the text from the release is provided below.
Los Angeles, CA — Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (Scott M. Graffius, author; Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, technical editors) was named one of the Notable 100 independently published books. The awards program is sponsored by Shelf Unbound, an international review magazine which connects readers with the best books from independent publishers. The contest was open to English-language works in digital and print formats from small press, academic press, and self-published authors. Editors of Shelf Unbound judged the entries, and the top hundred books are included in the Notable 100. The news is featured on page 90 of the April/May issue of Shelf Unbound magazine.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices engage sequential development, while agile models involve iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to best meet their business needs—and successfully manage projects, innovate, and prosper at astounding speed.
Scott released Agile Scrum to provide those interested or involved in innovation, product development, project management, software development or technology management with a roadmap to implement Scrum, the most popular agile framework. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Reactions to Agile Scrum have been incredibly positive. Earlier honors include 16 first place wins from national and international competitions: the 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards (for Business-General, and also for Technology), 2016 London Book Festival (for Business), Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards (for Business), 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards (for Informational), 2016 New Apple Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Independent Press Award (for Technology), 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival (for Business), 2017 Bookvana Awards (for Green/Conscious Business), 2017 Book Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Best Book Awards (for Business Reference), 2017 New York City Big Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (for Science & Technology), 2017 Human Relations Indie Book Awards (for Workplace), and the 2018 Florida Book Festival (for Business).
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and author. He founded and is CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, an Inc. Verified Business, which helps organizations better solve their problems and capitalize on opportunities via world-class project management related services. Results include more consistent realization of business outcomes, faster delivery speed, improved on-budget performance, higher satisfaction, and more. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum. He is a former vice president of a provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet including social networking and internet access. Before that, Scott worked in organizations with businesses ranging from advanced technology products and services to business services, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, and entertainment. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Book
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
Review copies of Agile Scrum are available to members of broadcast, print or online media. Visit http://bit.ly/REVIEW-COPY.
Visit AgileScrumGuide.com to learn more about the publication. For more information on Shelf Unbound and their awards program, visit shelfmediagroup.com.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Today, Shelf Unbound named Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions a Top 100 Indie Book. A press release from Scott M. Graffius, the author of the book, is located here. Additionally, the text from the release is provided below.
Los Angeles, CA — Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (Scott M. Graffius, author; Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, technical editors) was named one of the Notable 100 independently published books. The awards program is sponsored by Shelf Unbound, an international review magazine which connects readers with the best books from independent publishers. The contest was open to English-language works in digital and print formats from small press, academic press, and self-published authors. Editors of Shelf Unbound judged the entries, and the top hundred books are included in the Notable 100. The news is featured on page 90 of the April/May issue of Shelf Unbound magazine.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices engage sequential development, while agile models involve iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to best meet their business needs—and successfully manage projects, innovate, and prosper at astounding speed.
Scott released Agile Scrum to provide those interested or involved in innovation, product development, project management, software development or technology management with a roadmap to implement Scrum, the most popular agile framework. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Reactions to Agile Scrum have been incredibly positive. Earlier honors include 16 first place wins from national and international competitions: the 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards (for Business-General, and also for Technology), 2016 London Book Festival (for Business), Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards (for Business), 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards (for Informational), 2016 New Apple Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Independent Press Award (for Technology), 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival (for Business), 2017 Bookvana Awards (for Green/Conscious Business), 2017 Book Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Best Book Awards (for Business Reference), 2017 New York City Big Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (for Science & Technology), 2017 Human Relations Indie Book Awards (for Workplace), and the 2018 Florida Book Festival (for Business).
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and author. He founded and is CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, an Inc. Verified Business, which helps organizations better solve their problems and capitalize on opportunities via world-class project management related services. Results include more consistent realization of business outcomes, faster delivery speed, improved on-budget performance, higher satisfaction, and more. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum. He is a former vice president of a provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet including social networking and internet access. Before that, Scott worked in organizations with businesses ranging from advanced technology products and services to business services, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, and entertainment. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Book
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
- Australia,
- Brazil,
- Canada,
- France,
- Germany,
- India,
- Italy,
- Japan,
- Mexico,
- the Netherlands,
- Spain,
- the United Kingdom, and
- the United States.
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
- Amazon,
- Barnes & Noble,
- Strand Books,
- Harvard Book Store,
- Books-a-Million,
- The Booksmith,
- Hudson Booksellers,
- Savoy Bookshop & Café,
- Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc.,
- Books & Books - Miami,
- University Press Books - Berkeley,
- and other retailers and partners in the United States and around the world.
Review copies of Agile Scrum are available to members of broadcast, print or online media. Visit http://bit.ly/REVIEW-COPY.
Visit AgileScrumGuide.com to learn more about the publication. For more information on Shelf Unbound and their awards program, visit shelfmediagroup.com.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
"Agile Scrum" Receives 5-Star Review from Literary Titan
16 March 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Today, Literary Titan bestowed their highest rating of 5 stars to the business and technology book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. A press release from Scott M. Graffius, the author of the book, is located here. Additionally, the text from the release is provided below.
"AGILE SCRUM: YOUR QUICK START GUIDE WITH STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS" BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS RECEIVES 5-STAR REVIEW FROM LITERARY TITAN
Los Angeles, CA — Literary Titan bestowed their highest rating of five stars to the business and technology book by Scott M. Graffius, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. Literary Titan is an organization comprised of professional editors, writers, and professors; and they review English-language fiction and non-fiction works from around the world. Here's an excerpt from their review of Agile Scrum: "Unlike other books on the market, this one offers an informal look at Scrum without losing its practicality. The tone is conversational thus does not feel like a textbook, and it provides numerous examples and insight into real-world implementations of Scrum. I would recommend this to anyone looking to change their project management framework or work out knots in their current system. Scott M. Graffius delivers an in-depth understanding of the subject matter and instills the same in the reader."
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products, and most methodologies fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices engage sequential development, while agile models involve iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to best meet their business needs—and successfully manage projects, innovate, and prosper at astounding speed.
Scott released Agile Scrum to provide those interested or involved in innovation, product development, project management, software development or technology management with a roadmap to implement Scrum, the most popular agile framework. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Reactions to Agile Scrum have been incredibly positive. Earlier honors include 16 first place wins from national and international competitions: the 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards (for Business-General, and also for Technology), 2016 London Book Festival (for Business), Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards (for Business), 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards (for Informational), 2016 New Apple Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Independent Press Award (for Technology), 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival (for Business), 2017 Bookvana Awards (for Green/Conscious Business), 2017 Book Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Best Book Awards (for Business Reference), 2017 New York City Big Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (for Science & Technology), 2017 Human Relations Indie Book Awards (for Workplace), and the 2018 Florida Book Festival (for Business).
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is a technology leader, project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and author. He founded and is CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, an Inc. Verified Business, which helps organizations better solve their problems and capitalize on opportunities via world-class project management related services. Results include more consistent realization of business outcomes, faster delivery speed, improved on-budget performance, higher satisfaction, and more. A fantastic agile transformation experience with a client in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum. He is a former vice president of a provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet including social networking and internet access. Before that, Scott worked in organizations with businesses ranging from advanced technology products and services to business services, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, and entertainment. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries. Scott lives in Los Angeles, California.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Book
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
Note for Editors: Review copies of this award-winning book are available to credentialed journalists upon request. Visit bit.ly/REVIEW-COPY.
Visit AgileScrumGuide.com to learn more about the author and the publication. For more information on Literary Titan, visit literarytitan.com.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Today, Literary Titan bestowed their highest rating of 5 stars to the business and technology book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. A press release from Scott M. Graffius, the author of the book, is located here. Additionally, the text from the release is provided below.
"AGILE SCRUM: YOUR QUICK START GUIDE WITH STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS" BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS RECEIVES 5-STAR REVIEW FROM LITERARY TITAN
Los Angeles, CA — Literary Titan bestowed their highest rating of five stars to the business and technology book by Scott M. Graffius, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. Literary Titan is an organization comprised of professional editors, writers, and professors; and they review English-language fiction and non-fiction works from around the world. Here's an excerpt from their review of Agile Scrum: "Unlike other books on the market, this one offers an informal look at Scrum without losing its practicality. The tone is conversational thus does not feel like a textbook, and it provides numerous examples and insight into real-world implementations of Scrum. I would recommend this to anyone looking to change their project management framework or work out knots in their current system. Scott M. Graffius delivers an in-depth understanding of the subject matter and instills the same in the reader."
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products, and most methodologies fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices engage sequential development, while agile models involve iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to best meet their business needs—and successfully manage projects, innovate, and prosper at astounding speed.
Scott released Agile Scrum to provide those interested or involved in innovation, product development, project management, software development or technology management with a roadmap to implement Scrum, the most popular agile framework. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage.
Reactions to Agile Scrum have been incredibly positive. Earlier honors include 16 first place wins from national and international competitions: the 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards (for Business-General, and also for Technology), 2016 London Book Festival (for Business), Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards (for Business), 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards (for Informational), 2016 New Apple Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Independent Press Award (for Technology), 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival (for Business), 2017 Bookvana Awards (for Green/Conscious Business), 2017 Book Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Best Book Awards (for Business Reference), 2017 New York City Big Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (for Science & Technology), 2017 Human Relations Indie Book Awards (for Workplace), and the 2018 Florida Book Festival (for Business).
About the Author
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is a technology leader, project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and author. He founded and is CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, an Inc. Verified Business, which helps organizations better solve their problems and capitalize on opportunities via world-class project management related services. Results include more consistent realization of business outcomes, faster delivery speed, improved on-budget performance, higher satisfaction, and more. A fantastic agile transformation experience with a client in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's book, Agile Scrum. He is a former vice president of a provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet including social networking and internet access. Before that, Scott worked in organizations with businesses ranging from advanced technology products and services to business services, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, and entertainment. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets, as well as experience spanning 20 countries. Scott lives in Los Angeles, California.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Book
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
- Australia,
- Brazil,
- Canada,
- France,
- Germany,
- India,
- Italy,
- Japan,
- Mexico,
- the Netherlands,
- Spain,
- the United Kingdom, and
- the United States.
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
- Amazon,
- Barnes & Noble,
- Strand Books,
- Harvard Book Store,
- Books-a-Million,
- The Booksmith,
- Hudson Booksellers,
- Savoy Bookshop & Café,
- Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc.,
- Books & Books - Miami,
- University Press Books - Berkeley,
- and other retailers and partners in the United States and around the world.
Note for Editors: Review copies of this award-winning book are available to credentialed journalists upon request. Visit bit.ly/REVIEW-COPY.
Visit AgileScrumGuide.com to learn more about the author and the publication. For more information on Literary Titan, visit literarytitan.com.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
"Agile Scrum" — Update on 19 February 2018
19 February 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
This is an overview and update on the award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, by Scott M. Graffius.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most methodologies fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to best meet their business needs and effectively manage projects.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Agile Scrum helps the reader:
This guide is for those interested or involved in innovation, project management, product development, software development or technology management.
For those already using Scrum, the book can serve as a reference on practices for consideration and potential adaptation.
Reactions to the book have been incredibly positive. Honors to date include 16 first place awards in national and international competitions.
Additional awards—along with reviews and more—are listed in the digital media kit at AgileScrumGuide.com.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
This is an overview and update on the award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, by Scott M. Graffius.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most methodologies fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to best meet their business needs and effectively manage projects.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Agile Scrum helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework—Scrum
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage
This guide is for those interested or involved in innovation, project management, product development, software development or technology management.
- It's for those who have not yet used Scrum
- It's also for people already using Scrum, in roles such as Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Development Team members (business analysts, solution and system architects, designers, developers, testers, etc.), customers, end users, agile coaches, executives, managers, and other stakeholders
For those already using Scrum, the book can serve as a reference on practices for consideration and potential adaptation.
Reactions to the book have been incredibly positive. Honors to date include 16 first place awards in national and international competitions.
- First Place Winner, Business-General Category, 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards
- First Place Winner, Technology Category, 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards
- First Place Winner, Business Category, 2016 London Book Festival
- First Place Winner, Business Category, Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards
- First Place Winner, Informational (Business) Category, 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards
- First Place Winner, Technology Category, 2016 New Apple Book Awards
- First Place Winner, Technology Category, 2017 Independent Press Award
- First Place Winner, Technology Category, 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards
- First Place Winner, Business Category, 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival
- First Place Winner, Green/Conscious Business Category, 2017 Bookvana Awards
- First Place Winner, Technology Category, 2017 Book Excellence Awards
- First Place Winner, Business Reference Category, 14th Annual Best Book Awards
- First Place Winner, Technology Category, 2017 New York City Big Book Awards
- First Place Winner, Science & Technology Category, 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards
- First Place Winner, Workplace Category, 2017 Human Relations Indie Book Awards
- First Place Winner, Business Category, 2018 Florida Book Festival
Additional awards—along with reviews and more—are listed in the digital media kit at AgileScrumGuide.com.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
- Australia,
- Brazil,
- Canada,
- France,
- Germany,
- India,
- Italy,
- Japan,
- Mexico,
- the Netherlands,
- Spain,
- the United Kingdom, and
- the United States.
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
- Amazon,
- Barnes & Noble,
- Strand Books,
- Harvard Book Store,
- Books-a-Million,
- The Booksmith,
- Hudson Booksellers,
- Savoy Bookshop & Café,
- Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc.,
- Books & Books - Miami,
- University Press Books - Berkeley,
- and other retailers and partners in the United States and around the world.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Receives Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) Advanced Designation from Scrum Alliance
08 February 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Today, I received the Certified Scrum Professional® (CSP®) advanced designation from the Scrum Alliance®. It's based on having fulfilled 70 or more hours of approved education/training, already holding recognized Scrum credential(s) (CSM® and CSPO® in my case), and documented successful professional experience with agile/Scrum in the last five years (my engagements with a fantastic client in the entertainment business—the inspiration for my book—contributed towards it). I'm proud to share this news.
The updated, long-length format of my bio is below.
★★★★★
Scott M. Graffius is a technology leader, project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and author.
He founded and is CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, an Inc. Verified Business (https://www.inc.com/profile/exceptional-solutions), which helps organizations achieve their strategic objectives and boost business results through world-class project management. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid frameworks. Business results are significant. Examples include strategically aligned initiatives, faster delivery and time-to-market, improved on-budget delivery, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. Visit Exceptional-PMO.com.
Scott is a former vice president of a provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet including social networking and internet access. Before that, he worked in organizations with businesses ranging from advanced technology products and services to business services, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, and entertainment. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international customer markets, as well as international experience spanning 20 countries.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a focus in Human Factors. Scott has six certifications: Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL). He is a member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the IEEE Computer Society, the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, the IEEE Consultants Network, and the IEEE Internet of Things Community.
Scott has been active in the development of professional global standards through engagements with the Project Management Institute. He was a member of PMI standards team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Select recent examples include contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, contributor and reviewer of The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI Global Congress 2016, and judge for the PMI 2015 Professional Education Provider of the Year Award.
He wrote Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions to provide those interested or involved in innovation, project management, product development, software development or technology management with an authoritative roadmap to easily and quickly implement Scrum, the most popular agile project management and delivery framework. Reactions to the book have been incredibly positive. Honors include 16 first place wins from national and international competitions: the 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards (for Business-General, and for Technology), 2016 London Book Festival (for Business), Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards (for Business), 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards (for Informational), 2016 New Apple Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Independent Press Award (for Technology), 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival (for Business), 2017 Bookvana Awards (for Green/Conscious Business), 2017 Book Excellence Awards (for Technology), 14th Annual Best Book Awards (for Business Reference), 2017 New York City Big Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (for Science & Technology), 2017 Human Relations Indie Book Awards (for Workplace), and the 2018 Florida Book Festival (for Business). See the press kit at AgileScrumGuide.com.
Scott resides in Los Angeles, California.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Today, I received the Certified Scrum Professional® (CSP®) advanced designation from the Scrum Alliance®. It's based on having fulfilled 70 or more hours of approved education/training, already holding recognized Scrum credential(s) (CSM® and CSPO® in my case), and documented successful professional experience with agile/Scrum in the last five years (my engagements with a fantastic client in the entertainment business—the inspiration for my book—contributed towards it). I'm proud to share this news.
The updated, long-length format of my bio is below.
★★★★★
Scott M. Graffius is a technology leader, project management expert, consultant, international speaker, and author.
He founded and is CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, an Inc. Verified Business (https://www.inc.com/profile/exceptional-solutions), which helps organizations achieve their strategic objectives and boost business results through world-class project management. The consultancy provides project, program, portfolio, and PMO management services inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid frameworks. Business results are significant. Examples include strategically aligned initiatives, faster delivery and time-to-market, improved on-budget delivery, higher customer and stakeholder satisfaction, and greater competitive advantage. Visit Exceptional-PMO.com.
Scott is a former vice president of a provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet including social networking and internet access. Before that, he worked in organizations with businesses ranging from advanced technology products and services to business services, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, and entertainment. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international customer markets, as well as international experience spanning 20 countries.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a focus in Human Factors. Scott has six certifications: Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL). He is a member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the IEEE Computer Society, the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, the IEEE Consultants Network, and the IEEE Internet of Things Community.
Scott has been active in the development of professional global standards through engagements with the Project Management Institute. He was a member of PMI standards team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Select recent examples include contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, contributor and reviewer of The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI Global Congress 2016, and judge for the PMI 2015 Professional Education Provider of the Year Award.
He wrote Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions to provide those interested or involved in innovation, project management, product development, software development or technology management with an authoritative roadmap to easily and quickly implement Scrum, the most popular agile project management and delivery framework. Reactions to the book have been incredibly positive. Honors include 16 first place wins from national and international competitions: the 5th Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards (for Business-General, and for Technology), 2016 London Book Festival (for Business), Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards (for Business), 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards (for Informational), 2016 New Apple Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Independent Press Award (for Technology), 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (for Technology), 2017 Pacific Rim Book Festival (for Business), 2017 Bookvana Awards (for Green/Conscious Business), 2017 Book Excellence Awards (for Technology), 14th Annual Best Book Awards (for Business Reference), 2017 New York City Big Book Awards (for Technology), 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (for Science & Technology), 2017 Human Relations Indie Book Awards (for Workplace), and the 2018 Florida Book Festival (for Business). See the press kit at AgileScrumGuide.com.
Scott resides in Los Angeles, California.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Using Bruce Tuckman's Phases of Team Development
29 January 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
🔥 Scott M. Graffius released an updated version of his Phases of Team Development illustration. You can see it here.
Teams go through stages of development, and Bruce Tuckman established a popular framework on the subject. According to Tuckman, all phases—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning—are necessary for the team to grow, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results. This article provides a brief overview of the model, including descriptions and strategies for each phase.
1. Forming
Characteristics of Forming include questioning, socializing, displaying eagerness, focusing on group identity and purpose, and sticking to safe topics. Strategies for this phase include taking the 'lead,' providing clear expectations and consistent instructions, and quick response times.
2. Storming
Traits of Storming include resistance, lack of participation, conflict, competition, high emotions, and moving towards group norms. Strategies for this stage include normalizing matters and encouraging leadership.
3. Norming
Features of Norming include reconciliation, relief, lowered anxiety, members are engaged and supportive, and developing cohesion. Strategies for this phase include recognizing individual and group efforts, providing learning opportunities and feedback, and monitoring the 'energy' of the group.
4. Performing
Characteristics of Performing include demonstrations of interdependence, healthy system, ability to effectively produce as a team, and balance of task and process orientation. Strategies for this stage include celebrating, 'guide from the side' (minimal intervention), encouraging group decision-making and problem-solving, and providing opportunities to share learning across teams.
5. Adjourning
Traits of Adjourning include a shift to process orientation, sadness, and recognition of team and individual efforts. Strategies for this phase include recognizing change, providing an opportunity for summative team evaluations, and providing an opportunity for acknowledgments.
The illustration summarizes the above information—and it shows how performance fluctuates as teams move through each phase. This information may be helpful for looking at your team.
High resolution versions of the Phases of Team Development image are available here (.jpg file) and here (.png file). Permission requests: contact the email address noted in the image.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
🔥 Scott M. Graffius released an updated version of his Phases of Team Development illustration. You can see it here.
Teams go through stages of development, and Bruce Tuckman established a popular framework on the subject. According to Tuckman, all phases—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning—are necessary for the team to grow, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results. This article provides a brief overview of the model, including descriptions and strategies for each phase.
1. Forming
Characteristics of Forming include questioning, socializing, displaying eagerness, focusing on group identity and purpose, and sticking to safe topics. Strategies for this phase include taking the 'lead,' providing clear expectations and consistent instructions, and quick response times.
2. Storming
Traits of Storming include resistance, lack of participation, conflict, competition, high emotions, and moving towards group norms. Strategies for this stage include normalizing matters and encouraging leadership.
3. Norming
Features of Norming include reconciliation, relief, lowered anxiety, members are engaged and supportive, and developing cohesion. Strategies for this phase include recognizing individual and group efforts, providing learning opportunities and feedback, and monitoring the 'energy' of the group.
4. Performing
Characteristics of Performing include demonstrations of interdependence, healthy system, ability to effectively produce as a team, and balance of task and process orientation. Strategies for this stage include celebrating, 'guide from the side' (minimal intervention), encouraging group decision-making and problem-solving, and providing opportunities to share learning across teams.
5. Adjourning
Traits of Adjourning include a shift to process orientation, sadness, and recognition of team and individual efforts. Strategies for this phase include recognizing change, providing an opportunity for summative team evaluations, and providing an opportunity for acknowledgments.
The illustration summarizes the above information—and it shows how performance fluctuates as teams move through each phase. This information may be helpful for looking at your team.
High resolution versions of the Phases of Team Development image are available here (.jpg file) and here (.png file). Permission requests: contact the email address noted in the image.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Potentially Shippable Product Increment and Minimum Viable Product Approach
22 January 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Potentially Shippable Product Increment
Scrum requires teams to build an increment of functionality during every sprint, and the increment must be potentially shippable because the Product Owner might decide to release it at the end of the sprint.
Minimum Viable Product Approach
The product increment may or may not be marketable. However, a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach is sometimes used to help test marketable ideas. MVP is a product release strategy which can be used in Scrum (or another framework). The term was created by Frank Robinson, and popularized by Steve Blank and Eric Ries.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (http://bit.ly/scrumone) says:
"The MVP has just those features considered sufficient for it to be of value to customers, and allow for it to be shipped or sold to early adopters. Customer feedback will inform future development of the product."
Here are a few examples of then-startups use of an MVP:
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Potentially Shippable Product Increment
Scrum requires teams to build an increment of functionality during every sprint, and the increment must be potentially shippable because the Product Owner might decide to release it at the end of the sprint.
- The product increment is the sum of all backlog items completed during the current sprint
- Potentially shippable is defined by a state of confidence or readiness
- Shipping is a business decision: shipping may or may not occur at the end of the sprint (new functionality may be accumulated via multiple sprints before being shipped)
Minimum Viable Product Approach
The product increment may or may not be marketable. However, a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach is sometimes used to help test marketable ideas. MVP is a product release strategy which can be used in Scrum (or another framework). The term was created by Frank Robinson, and popularized by Steve Blank and Eric Ries.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (http://bit.ly/scrumone) says:
"The MVP has just those features considered sufficient for it to be of value to customers, and allow for it to be shipped or sold to early adopters. Customer feedback will inform future development of the product."
Here are a few examples of then-startups use of an MVP:
- Facebook: The first product (originally called Thefacebook) tested traction of students connecting with their college/class and posting messages. Other features—built on the initial success—came later.
- Groupon: It launched with a WordPress site and PDFs emailed to early subscribers. The test proved successful, and the company subsequently built its voucher system and backend.
- Spotify: The initial product was simple desktop app, tested in a closed beta. The MVP proved to be of interest to consumers, and more features followed.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Product Backlog Ordering Technique: Factoring Business Value and Risk
16 January 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Scrum is the most popular agile project development and delivery framework. In Scrum, the product release backlog (sometimes referred to as the product backlog) is a list of features, user stories, bugs to be fixed, and/or other requirements. The Product Owner is the ultimate holder of the backlog. The Product Owner prioritizes items, and different methods can be employed to help accomplish that work. This brief article focuses on the technique of factoring business value and risk.
Each item in the product release backlog would be rated as either high or low in two dimensions: business value and risk. It is suggested that high business value, high-risk items are worked on first. While that may seem counterintuitive, the earlier this work is done, the sooner the team will move to mitigate the issues and unknowns—leading to a higher quality product. If there's a failure, it will occur early and relatively inexpensively.
An ordering of priorities is illustrated above, and it follows:
1. High business value, high risk.
2. High business value, low risk.
3. Low business value, low risk.
4. Low business value, high risk.
Alternatively, other prioritization methods—such as the MoSCoW ranking model— may be used. MoSCoW will be highlighted in a subsequent article.
This content is an abridged excerpt from the award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, available in paperback and ebook formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scrum is the most popular agile project development and delivery framework. In Scrum, the product release backlog (sometimes referred to as the product backlog) is a list of features, user stories, bugs to be fixed, and/or other requirements. The Product Owner is the ultimate holder of the backlog. The Product Owner prioritizes items, and different methods can be employed to help accomplish that work. This brief article focuses on the technique of factoring business value and risk.
Each item in the product release backlog would be rated as either high or low in two dimensions: business value and risk. It is suggested that high business value, high-risk items are worked on first. While that may seem counterintuitive, the earlier this work is done, the sooner the team will move to mitigate the issues and unknowns—leading to a higher quality product. If there's a failure, it will occur early and relatively inexpensively.
An ordering of priorities is illustrated above, and it follows:
1. High business value, high risk.
2. High business value, low risk.
3. Low business value, low risk.
4. Low business value, high risk.
Alternatively, other prioritization methods—such as the MoSCoW ranking model— may be used. MoSCoW will be highlighted in a subsequent article.
This content is an abridged excerpt from the award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, available in paperback and ebook formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
- Australia,
- Brazil,
- Canada,
- France,
- Germany,
- India,
- Italy,
- Japan,
- Mexico,
- the Netherlands,
- Spain,
- the United Kingdom, and
- the United States.
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
- Amazon,
- Barnes & Noble,
- Strand Books,
- Harvard Book Store,
- Books-a-Million,
- The Booksmith,
- Hudson Booksellers,
- Savoy Bookshop & Café,
- Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc.,
- Books & Books - Miami,
- University Press Books - Berkeley,
- and other retailers and partners in the United States and around the world.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.