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Scrum 2021: Getting You Started as Scrum Master or Product Owner

December 28, 2020

As 2020 comes to an end, you are probably considering how to further your career as a Scrum Master or Product Owner in 2021. Maybe, I can support you in that regard with a set of six articles that proved to be the most popular in 2020. They range from Product Owner and Scrum Master interview questions to a variety of Scrum anti-patterns and how to deal with them to the Scrum Guide Reordered 2020, the easiest way to understand patterns and concepts of the new Scrum Guide 2020. All articles feature free ebooks that delve into the problems and provide hands-on advice on how to solve them. Good luck with Scrum 2021!

TL;DR: Scrum 2021 — Getting You Started as Scrum Master or Product Owner

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Feb 3, 2021:  Hands-on Agile #29: Scrum Guide 2020 — Reloaded

Most Popular Posts of 2020 for Scrum Master and Product Owners

71 Product Owner Interview Questions to Avoid Imposters

If you are looking to fill a position for a Product Owner in your organization, you may find the following 71 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are derived from my fourteen years of practical experience with XP and Scrum, serving both as Product Owner and Scrum Master and interviewing dozens of Product Owner candidates on behalf of my clients.

So far, this free Product Owner interview guide has been downloaded more than 7,000 times.

Learn more: 71 Scrum Product Owner Interview Questions to Avoid Agile Imposters.

27 Sprint Anti-Patterns Holding Back Scrum Teams

Welcome to the Sprint anti-patterns article from our series on Scrum anti-patterns, covering not just the three Scrum roles, but also the stakeholders as well as the IT management.

So far, the free corresponding Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide has been downloaded more than 11,000 times.

Learn more: 27 Sprint Anti-Patterns Holding Back Scrum Teams.

Product Owner Anti-Patterns — 31+2 Ways to Improve as a PO

If you are working as a Product Owner, there is—very likely—room for improvement. This list of some of the most common Product Owner anti-patterns might be a starting point. Hence, if you recognize some anti-patterns in your daily work, why don’t you ask the rest of the Scrum Team for support? The Product Owner anti-patterns list is a good starting point for a retrospective.

Learn more: Product Owner Anti-Patterns — 31+2 Ways to Improve as a PO.

47 Scrum Master Interview Questions to Identify Suitable Candidates

Scrum has proven time and again to be the most popular framework for software development. Given that software is eating the world, a seasoned Scrum Master is nowadays in high demand. And that demand causes the market-entry of new professionals from other project management branches, probably believing that reading one or two Scrum books will be sufficient. Which makes any Scrum Master interview a challenging task.

If you are looking to fill a position for a Scrum Master (or agile coach) in your organization, you may find the following 47 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are derived from my fourteen years of practical experience with XP as well as Scrum, serving both as Product Owner and Scrum Master as well as interviewing dozens of Scrum Master candidates on behalf of my clients.

So far, this Scrum Master interview guide has been downloaded more than 18,000 times.

Learn more: 47 Scrum Master Interview Questions to Identify Suitable Candidates.

Scrum Master Anti-Patterns — 20 Signs Your Scrum Master Needs Help

The reasons why Scrum Masters violate the spirit of the Scrum Guide are multi-faceted. They run from ill-suited personal traits and the pursuit of individual agendas to frustration with the team itself.

Read on and learn in this post on Scrum anti-patterns how you can identify if your Scrum Master needs support from the team.

Learn more: Scrum Master Anti-Patterns — 20 Signs Your Scrum Master Needs Help.

Scrum Guide 2020 — The Development Team Is Dead; Long Live the Scrum Team!

The Scrum Guide 2020 is available now: Change is coming to make Scrum more accessible and inclusive beyond software development. Learn more about the changes, download the brand new and free Scrum Guide 2020 Reordered to spot patterns quickly, and join the Scrum community discussion.

So far, the Scrum Guide Reordered has been downloaded more than 6,000 times.

Learn more: The Scrum Guide Reordered — understand the Scrum Guide’s patterns and concepts.

Conclusion: Scrum 2021 — Getting You Started as Scrum Master or Product Owner

Despite the pandemic and a new Scrum Guide, Scrum will be Scrum in 2021, too. I find this continuity helpful as it allows us to reflect on challenges and problems more thoroughly. 2021 is not about reinventing the wheel or chasing the next shiny “Agile” object. 2021 is about showing up, embrace what is ahead of us, and get your hands dirty while fixing it.

How are you planning to get started in 2021? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.

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Scrum 2021 — Related Posts

71 Scrum Product Owner Interview Questions to Avoid Agile Imposters

Product Owner Anti-Patterns — 31 Ways to Improve as a PO.

70 Scrum Master Theses.

47 Scrum Master Interview Questions to Identify Suitable Candidates.

The Scrum Guide Reordered — understand the Scrum Guide’s patterns and concepts.


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