Mastering Professional Scrum

Go from absolute beginner to passing your exam the first time with this comprehensive guide. Filled with real-world illustrations, this book has been revised to align with the most recent Scrum standards, empowering you to become a Scrum Expert! Key Features Go from absolute beginner to exam-ready with detailed explorations of Scrum use-cases Understand the different applications of agile concepts, and how to best apply them to your business Discover expert tips and work with real-world examples to pass the certification exam the first time Book DescriptionThis book demonstrates the real-world applications of Scrum in a variety of scenarios, all with practical examples. You’ll understand why the structure of your Scrum team matters, and how to create and manage sprint and product backlogs. Each chapter concludes with relevance to the exam, reinforcing what you’ve learned as you work through the book and making sure you have an edge when it comes to earning your certificate. The statements made and opinions expressed herein belong exclusively to Packt Publishing Ltd and are not shared by or represent the viewpoint of Scrum.org. This training does not constitute an endorsement of any product, service or point of view. Scrum.org makes no representations, warranties or assurances of any kind, express or implied, as to the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, availability or currency of the content contained in this presentation or any material related to this presentation. In no event shall Scrum.org, its agents, officers, employees, licensees or affiliates be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of profits, business information, or loss of information) arising out of the information or statements contained in the training. Any reliance you place on such content is strictly at your own risk.What you will learn Get to grips with Agile development and Scrum from the ground up Understand the roles and responsibilities within the Scrum team Discover how to conduct Scrum events and create Scrum artifacts Explore real-world scenarios and use cases for Scrum in action Develop an in-depth understanding of how to run a successful sprint to deliver results quickly Be fully prepared and able to pass your exam the first time Who this book is for Assuming no prior knowledge of Scrum, this book is for professionals who want to build a strong foundation in Scrum practices with the intention of passing the certification exam. If you're a product owner or project manager looking to stay relevant in an agile world, this book is essential to helping you become a Scrum expert.

The Professional Product Owner’s Guide to Maximizing Value with Scrum “This book presents a method of communicating our desires, cogently, coherently, and with a minimum of fuss and bother.” —Ken Schwaber, Chairman & Founder, Scrum.org The role of the Product Owner is more crucial than ever. But it’s about much more than mechanics: it’s about taking accountability and refocusing on value as the primary objective of all you do. In The Professional Product Owner, two leading experts in successful Scrum product ownership show exactly how to do this. You’ll learn how to identify where value can be found, measure it, and maximize it throughout your entire product lifecycle. Drawing on their combined 40+ years of experience in using agile and Scrum in product management, Don McGreal and Ralph Jocham guide you through all facets of envisioning, emerging, and maturing a product using the Scrum framework. McGreal and Jocham discuss strategy, showing how to connect Vision, Value, and Validation in ROI-focused agile product management. They lay out Scrum best-practices for managing complexity and continuously delivering value, and they define the concrete practices and tools you can use to manage Product Backlogs and release plans, all with the goal of making you a more successful Product Owner. Throughout, the authors share revealing personal experiences that illuminate obstacles to success and show how they can be overcome. Define success from the “outside in,” using external customer-driven measurements to guide development and maximize value Bring empowerment and entrepreneurship to the Product Owner’s role, and align everyone behind a shared business model Use Evidence-Based Management (EBMgt) to invest in the right places, make smarter decisions, and reduce risk Effectively apply Scrum’s Product Owner role, artifacts, and events Populate and manage Product Backlogs, and use just-in-time specifications Plan and manage releases, improve transparency, and reduce technical debt Scale your product, not your Scrum Use Scrum to inject autonomy, mastery, and purpose into your product team’s work Whatever your role in product management or agile development, this guide will help you deliver products that offer more value, more rapidly, and more often. Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

“Our job as Scrum professionals is to continually improve our ability to use Scrum to deliver products and services that help customers achieve valuable outcomes. This book will help you to improve your ability to apply Scrum.” –From the Foreword by Ken Schwaber, co-author of Scrum Mastering Professional Scrum is for anyone who wants to deliver increased value by using Scrum more effectively. Leading Scrum practitioners Stephanie Ockerman and Simon Reindl draw on years of Scrum training and coaching to help you return to first principles and apply Scrum with the professionalism required to achieve its transformative potential. The authors aim to help you focus on proven Scrum approaches for improving quality, getting and using fast feedback, and becoming more adaptable, instead of “going through the motions” and settling for only modest improvements. Whether you’re a Scrum Master, Development Team member, or Product Owner, you’ll find practical advice for facing challenges with transparency and courage, overcoming a wide array of common challenges, and continually improving your Scrum practice. Realistically assess your current Scrum practice, and identify areas for improvement Recognize what a great Scrum Team looks like and get there Focus on “Done”–not “sort-of-Done” or “almost-Done” Measure and optimize the value delivered by every Product Increment Improve the way you plan, develop, and grow Clear away wider organizational impediments to agility and professionalism Overcome common misconceptions that stand in the way of progress Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

For Scrum Teams and Agile Leaders who want to enable greater business agility, this book is a practical guide to overcoming challenges and maximising the benefits of Scrum, unlike books that are focused on basic understanding of the framework, or are too heavy on theory. Mastering Professional Scrum is based on years of training, coaching, and working with Scrum to deliver products across many industry sectors, from start-ups to multinationals all around the world. The book begins with an overview of why business agility matters and why Scrum works. Then the authors cover the situations that cause organisations to have to change the way they do things, and the challenges of a rapidly evolving marketplace. Adopting an approach that is based on high quality and fast feedback helps to manage risk and provide the flexibility to adapt to changing requirements and situations. The importance of professionalism in the industry is introduced. Many Scrum implementations have drifted from the framework and/or are going through the motions without the true spirit of professionalism and transformation. This common pitfall will be examined using a case study to be referenced throughout the book. The case study will be representative of where many existing Scrum Teams and organisations may find themselves - a team has been doing Scrum and has seen some benefits, but there are still many challenges that arise from both within the team and from pressures in the organisation and the market.

Escape “Zombie Scrum” and Get Real Value from Agile! “Professional Scrum and Zombie Scrum are mortal enemies in eternal combat. If you relax your guard, Zombie Scrum comes back. This guide helps you stay on your guard, providing very practical tips for identifying when you have become a Zombie and how to stop this from happening. A must-have for any Zombie Scrum hunter.” --Dave West, CEO, Scrum.org “Barry, Christiaan, and Johannes have done a magnificent job of accumulating successful experiences and sharing their inspiring stories in this very practical book. They don't shy away from telling it like it is, which is why their proposals are always as useful as they are grounded in reality.” --Henri Lipmanowicz, cofounder, Liberating Structures Millions of professionals use Scrum. It is the #1 approach to agile software development in the world. Even so, by some estimates, over 70% of Scrum adoptions fall flat. Developers find themselves using “Zombie Scrum” processes that look like Scrum, but are slow, lifeless, and joyless. Scrum is just not working for them. Zombie Scrum Survival Guide reveals why Scrum runs aground and shows how to supercharge your Scrum outcomes, while having a lot more fun along the way. Humorous, visual, and extremely relatable, it offers practical approaches, exercises, and tools for escaping Zombie Scrum. Even if you are surrounded by skeptics, this book will be the antidote to help you build more of what users need, ship faster, improve more continuously, interact more successfully in any team, and feel a whole lot better about what you are doing. Suddenly, one day soon, you will remember: that is why we adopted Scrum in the first place! Learn how Zombie Scrum infects you, why it spreads, and how to inoculate yourself Get closer to your stakeholders, and wake up to their understanding of value Discover why Zombie teams can't learn, and what to do about it Clear away the specific obstacles to real continuous improvement Make self-managed teams real so people can behave like humans, not Zombies Zombie Scrum Survival Guide is for Scrum Masters, Scrum practitioners, Agile coaches and leaders, and everyone who wants to transform the promises of Scrum into reality. Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

The Practical Guide to Optimizing Product Value through Better Teamwork with Scrum “Professional Scrum is hard, not because the ideas are hard, but because it requires persistence, focus, and dedication to not let the day-to-day realities get in the way. In this book, Peter, Uwe, and Kurt have provided a collection of materials to help the Scrum Team deliver value and feel happy doing it.” --Dave West, CEO and Product Owner, Scrum.org Teams and individuals find the rules of the Scrum Framework to be easy to describe but challenging to implement. The Professional Scrum Team helps you bring the Scrum Framework rules to life in your everyday work, optimizing both team and individual performance and creating more value. Three leading Scrum experts bring together proven practices based on decades of real-life experience participating in, leading, and supporting Scrum Teams. They introduce a team as it starts out with Scrum and follow it as it gains hard-won practical experience, gradually mastering the intense collaboration that Scrum demands. As you share the team's experience--facing and overcoming realistic challenges--you'll discover better ways to work together, enhance your practices, leverage tools, continuously improve, and deliver functionality in ever-shorter cycles. Understand how Scrum Teams work, collaborate, and promote transparency Explore common problems that lead less experienced Scrum Teams to give up Find your Scrum Team's best approach to solving complex adaptive problems Integrate DevOps practices with Scrum to improve effectiveness Productively and professionally resolve conflicts that arise from close collaboration Help your organization learn how to improve its results by better supporting its Scrum Teams This guide is for anyone who works with Scrum Teams or wants to become more effective as a Scrum Team member or leader. Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

This pocket guide to Scrum is the one book for everyone who wants to learn or re-learn about Scrum. The book describes the framework as it was designed and intended, with a strong focus on the purpose to the rules and adding an historical perspective to Scrum and the Agile movement. As the balance of society keeps shifting from industrial labor to digital work, complexity and unpredictability keep increasing. The need for agility through Scrum increases equally, in and beyond software and product development. This 3rd edition of Scrum - A Pocket Guide, while introducing some changes in terminology, more than ever offers the clarity and insights on Scrum that many organizations need, more than ever. It will help people and their organizations properly shape their Scrum, regardless of their domain or business. Scrum – A Pocket Guide is an extraordinarily competent book. It flows with insight, understanding, and perception. This should be the de facto standard handout for all looking for a complete, yet clear overview of Scrum without being bothered by irrelevancies. (Ken Schwaber, Scrum co-creator) The author, Gunther Verheyen, is a seasoned Scrum practitioner (2003). He has been employing Scrum since 2003. He was partner to Ken Schwaber and Director of the Professional Scrum series at Scrum.org. He is the founder of Ullizee-Inc and engages with people and organizations as an independent Scrum Caretaker on a journey of humanizing the workplace with Scrum.