The Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide

Stefan Wolpers is a Professional Scrum Trainer at Scrum.org, Agile Coach, and Scrum Master, specializing in guiding agile transformations through practices like Scrum, LeSS, Kanban, Lean Startup, and professional product management. He’s a licensed Agile Fluency™ Team Diagnostic facilitator with a history of senior leadership roles. His agile coaching focuses on scaling product delivery for fast-growing, venture-capital-backed startups as well as transitioning existing teams in established enterprises. Stefan curates the widely-followed "Food for Agile Thought" newsletter, engaging 50,000+ global Agile enthusiasts. He shares insights on Age-of-Product.com, hosts a vibrant Slack community of 18,000+ agile practitioners, and has authored e-books on agile themes, garnering over 100,000 downloads.

• Foreword by Dave West xvForeword by Janna Bastow xviiPreface xixIntroduction xxv   Chapter 1. Scrum Master Anti-Patterns 1Introduction 1The Scrum Master According to the Scrum Guide 2Possible Reasons Why Scrum Masters Leave the Path 2Anti-Patterns from Acting as an Agile (Line) Manager 5Scrum Master Anti-Patterns by Scrum Events 15The Sprint Planning 15The Sprint 17The Daily Scrum 20The Retrospective 22Food for Thought 26Conclusion 26   Chapter 2. Product Owner Anti-Patterns 29Introduction 29The Role of the Product Owner According to the Scrum Guide 30Product Backlog and Refinement Anti-Patterns 31Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns 40Sprint Anti-Patterns 42Product Owner Anti-Patterns during the Daily Scrum 46Sprint Review Anti-Patterns 50Food for Thought 52Conclusion 52   Chapter 3. Scrum Developer Anti-Patterns 55Introduction 55The Role of the Developers in Scrum 56Developer Anti-Patterns by Scrum Events 56Sprint Anti-Patterns 56Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Developers 66Anti-Patterns during the Daily Scrum 68Developer Anti-Patterns Concerning the Sprint Review 75Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns of Developers 76Anti-Patterns at the Product Backlog Level 77Food for Thought 81Conclusion 81   Chapter 4. Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns 83Introduction 83Common Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns 84Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns at the Organizational Level 84Sprint Anti-Patterns of the IT Management 96Incentivized Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns 98Stakeholder Anti-Patterns at Scrum Event Level 104Product Backlog and Refinement Anti-Patterns 105The Daily Scrum 105Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of Stakeholders 106The Sprint Review 106The Sprint Retrospective 107Food for Thought 108Conclusion 108   Chapter 5. Sprint Anti-Patterns 109Introduction 109The Purpose of the Sprint 109Sprint Anti-Patterns 111Sprint Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 111Sprint Anti-Patterns of the Developers 112Sprint Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Master 113Sprint Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 113Sprint Anti-Patterns of the IT Management 118Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of Stakeholders 121Food for Thought 123Conclusion 124   Chapter 6. Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns 125Introduction 125Preparing the Sprint Planning 127Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns 127Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Developers 127Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 132Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 134Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Master 138Food for Thought 139Conclusion 140   Chapter 7. Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns 141Introduction 141The Purpose of the Daily Scrum According to the Scrum Guide 142Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns 143Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 143Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Developers 146Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 150Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Master 150Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Stakeholders 151Food for Thought 154Conclusion 155   Chapter 8. Sprint Review Anti-Patterns 157Introduction 157The Scrum Guide on the Sprint Review 158Sprint Review Anti-Patterns 159Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 159Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 162Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of the Developers 165Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of the Stakeholders 167Food for Thought 174Conclusion 175   Chapter 9. Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns 177Introduction 177The Scrum Guide on the Sprint Retrospective 178Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns 179Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 179Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Master 187Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns of the Organization 191Food for Thought 194Conclusion 195   Chapter 10. Product Backlog and Refinement Anti-Patterns 197Introduction 197The Product Backlog According to the Scrum Guide 198Common Product Backlog Anti-Patterns 200General Product Backlog Anti-Patterns 200Product Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 207Product Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Developers 209Product Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 211Food for Thought 212Conclusion 213   Chapter 11. Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns 215Introduction 215Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns 216Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 217Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Developers 220Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 225Food for Thought 228Conclusion 228   Chapter 12. Increment Anti-Patterns 229Introduction 229The Purpose of the Increment According to the Scrum Guide 230Increment Anti-Patterns 231Increment Anti-Patterns by the Scrum Team 231Increment Anti-Patterns of the Stakeholders or the Organization 240Food for Thought 242Conclusion 242   Chapter 13. Product Goal Anti-Patterns 245Introduction 245The Purpose of the Product Goal According to the Scrum Guide 246Product Goal Anti-Patterns 247Product Goal Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 247Product Goal Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 251Product Goal Anti-Patterns of the Organization 254Food for Thought 257Conclusion 257   Chapter 14. Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns 259Introduction 259How to Create Sprint Goals 260Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns 261Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 262Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns Induced by the Organization 267Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns by the Developers 269Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns by the Product Owner 271Food for Thought 272Conclusion 272   Chapter 15. Definition of Done Anti-Patterns 273Introduction 273Creating a Successful Definition of Done 275Definition of Done Anti-Patterns 277Definition of Done Anti-Patterns of the Developers 278Definition of Done Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 281Definition of Done Anti-Patterns of the Organization 289Definition of Done Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 290Food for Thought 291Conclusion 291   Appendix A. How to Sabotage Scrum Masters and Product Owners at an Organizational Level 293   Appendix B. Toolbox 305   Index 369