Scrum and XP from the Trenches present an overview of real-life implementation and key lessons learned.
Summary
Title: Scrum and XP from the Trenches
Author: Henrik Kniberg
Themes: Technology, Management, Business, Agile, Kanban, Scrum
Year: 2015
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1329224272, 9781329224278
Pages: 184
As an overview of how one Swedish company implemented Scrum and XP for over a year, this book provides a down-to-earth account of how they continuously improved their process.
It was under Henrik Kniberg's leadership that they experimented with a variety of teams, sprint lengths, definitions of done, formats for product backlogs, sprint backlogs, testing strategies, demo methods, and ways to synchronize multiple Scrum teams.
They also experimented with XP practices, including continuous build, pair programming, test-driven development, and how to combine these with Scrum.
For teams seeking investment funding, good Scrum execution is increasingly important.
Scrum is a time-boxed, iterative system that emphasizes teamwork and regular progress reviews.
XP is a software development methodology that emphasizes frequent deliveries, continuous testing, and customer involvement.
My Book Highlights:
"... This is the first time I’ve seen a development methodology (sorry Ken, a framework) work right off the book. Plug'n play. All of us are happy with it – developers, testers, and managers. It helped us get out of a tough situation and has enabled us to maintain focus and momentum despite severe market turbulence and staff reductions. I shouldn’t say I was surprised but, well, I was. After initially digesting a few books on the topic Scrum seemed good but almost too good to be true (and we all know the saying “when something seems too good to be true...”). So I was justifiably a bit skeptical. But after doing Scrum for a year I’m sufficiently impressed (and most people in my teams as well) that I will probably continue using Scrum by default in new projects whenever there isn’t a strong reason not to..."
"... But after doing Scrum for a year I’m sufficiently impressed (and most people in my teams as well) that I will probably continue using Scrum by default in new projects whenever there isn’t a strong reason not to..."
By using Scrum and XP together, teams can gain the benefits of both methodologies, such as the ability to prioritize tasks and deliver results quickly while also maintaining a focus on teamwork and regular progress reviews.
The book provides real-world examples and case studies from the author's experience implementing Scrum and XP in different organizations and teams.
The book covers the challenges and pitfalls teams might encounter when implementing Scrum and XP and offers practical solutions to overcome them.
The book shows that Scrum and XP can be used together to deliver high-quality software on time, within budget, and with high customer satisfaction.
Kniberg's book provides an overview of how his company implements Agile in its software development process.
There are many great ideas and details that can only be found in a book written by someone who has actually practiced.
Chapters of the Book:
INTRO
Disclaimer
Why I wrote this
But what is Scrum?
HOW WE DO PRODUCT BACKLOGS
Additional story fields
How we keep the product backlog at a business level
HOW WE PREPARE FOR SPRINT PLANNING
HOW WE DO SPRINT PLANNING
Why the product owner has to attend
Why quality is not negotiable
Sprint planning meetings that drag on and on...
Sprint planning meeting agenda
Defining the sprint length
Defining the sprint goal
Deciding which stories to include in the sprint
How can the product owner affect which stories make it to the sprint?
How does the team decide which stories to include in the sprint?
Why we use index cards
Definition of “done”
Time estimating using planning poker
Clarifying stories
Breaking down stories into smaller stories
Breaking down stories into tasks
Defining time and place for the daily scrum
Where to draw the line
Tech Stories
Bug tracking system vs product backlog
A sprint planning meeting is finally over!
HOW WE COMMUNICATE SPRINTS
HOW WE DO SPRINT BACKLOGS
Sprint backlog format
How the taskboard works
Example 1 – after the first daily scrum
Example 2 – after a few more days
How the burndown chart works
Taskboard warning signs
Hey, what about traceability?!
Estimating days vs. hours
HOW WE ARRANGE THE TEAM ROOM
The Design Corner
Seat the team together!
Keep the product owner at bay
Keep the managers and coaches at bay
HOW WE DO DAILY SCRUMS
How we update the taskboard
Dealing with latecomers
Dealing with “I don’t know what to do today”
HOW WE DO SPRINT DEMOS
Why do we insist that all sprints end with a demo
Checklist for sprint demos
Dealing with “undemonstrable” stuff
HOW WE DO SPRINT RETROSPECTIVES
Why do we insist that all teams do retrospectives
How we organize retrospectives
Spreading lessons learned between teams
To change or not to change
Examples of things that may come up during retrospectives
SLACK TIME BETWEEN SPRINTS
HOW WE DO RELEASE PLANNING AND FIXED PRICE CONTRACTS
Define your acceptance thresholds
Time estimate the most important items
Estimate velocity
Put it together into a release plan
Adapting the release plan
HOW WE COMBINE SCRUM WITH XP
Pair programming
Test-driven development (TDD)
Incremental design
Continuous integration
Collective code ownership
Informative workspace
Coding standard
Sustainable pace / energized work
HOW WE DO TESTING
You probably can’t get rid of the acceptance test phase
Minimize the acceptance test phase
Increase quality by putting testers in the Scrum team
Increase quality by doing less per sprint
Should acceptance testing be part of the sprint?
Sprint cycles vs acceptance test cycles
Don’t outrun the slowest link in your chain
Back to reality
HOW WE HANDLE MULTIPLE SCRUM TEAMS
How many teams to create
Synchronized sprints – or not?
Why we introduced a “team lead” role
How we allocate people to teams
Specialized teams – or not?
Rearrange teams between sprints - or not?
Part-time team members
How we do Scrum-of-Scrums
Interleaving the daily scrums
Firefighting teams
Splitting the product backlog – or not?
Code branching
Multi-team retrospectives
HOW WE HANDLE GEOGRAPHICALLY DISTRIBUTED TEAMS
Offshoring
Team members working from home
SCRUM MASTER CHECKLIST
Beginning of sprint
Every day
End of sprint
PARTING WORDS
RECOMMENDED READING
In conclusion, "Scrum and XP from the Trenches" is a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding how Scrum and XP can be used together to deliver high-quality software on time, within budget, and with high customer satisfaction.
The author, Henrik Kniberg, provides real-world examples and case studies that make it easy to understand and apply the concepts to your own team.
By understanding how to overcome common challenges and pitfalls, teams can successfully implement Scrum and XP to achieve the best results. It's a must-read for anyone looking to take their Agile journey to the next level.
Henrik Kniberg is a coach and consultant at Crisp. Henrik's background is a mix of development and management, and his passion is applying Lean and Agile principles to help debug, optimize, and refactor companies. Henrik is the author of Scrum and XP from the Trenches and Kanban & Scrum, making the most of both, and a popular keynote speaker at conferences worldwide. Henrik lives in Stockholm with his wife and four kids, and in his "spare time" plays bass and keyboard with two local bands.
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