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Medium

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A Self-Guided Performance Assessment for Agile Delivery Teams

Teams often neglect to address failing builds and tests, lacking curiosity and follow-through into production.
This article proposes a self-guided performance assessment for agile delivery teams to evaluate how they work together.
Focusing on team dynamics and collaboration, the assessment aims to complement existing delivery performance metrics like DORA and Flow Metrics.
The framework encourages teams to assess themselves across key dimensions such as collaboration, planning, code quality, and operational readiness.
It provides reflection prompts and signs of struggle in various categories to help teams identify areas for improvement.
Teams are advised to use the tool during retrospectives, make it their own by customizing dimensions, and leverage metrics to enrich discussions.
The assessment promotes self-awareness, open conversations, and a focus on continuous improvement for high-performing teams.
Teams can decide their performance level and explore actionable insights to enhance their working dynamics.
This reflective framework serves as a resource for enhancing team cohesion, fostering trust, and strengthening overall capability.
By initiating intentional reflection, teams can adapt, improve, and succeed not just in meeting deadlines but in evolving together.
The focus is on enhancing team performance by considering not just the 'what' but also the 'how' of delivery.

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Scrum-Master-Toolbox

348

BONUS: Nesrine Changuel shares how to create emotionally connected, delightful products!

Nesrine Changuel shares insights on creating emotionally connected, delightful products based on her experience at companies like Skype, Spotify, Google Meet, and Chrome.
Delight in products goes beyond functionality to build emotional connections by anticipating user needs and delivering joy and surprise simultaneously.
Nesrine encourages organizations to be proactive in understanding user needs beyond complaints, which can lead to creating delightful experiences users may not explicitly request.
Understanding emotional demotivators like 'Zoom fatigue' can help in developing features that address unspoken needs, such as Google Meet's 'minimize self view' feature.
The Delight Grid Framework helps balance functional and emotional needs, prioritizing features that create deep delight by solving real problems while fostering emotional connections.
Nesrine recommends using customer journey maps to identify emotional highs and lows, enabling teams to amplify positive moments and transform negative experiences into delightful ones.
A real-world example shows how addressing emotional pain points, like bill-splitting anxiety, can turn negative experiences into delightful ones that enhance customer loyalty.
Creating a culture of delight requires a shared understanding and language across all teams, from marketing to engineering, to ensure alignment in creating emotionally connected experiences.
Nesrine Changuel specializes in designing emotionally connected, delightful products and introduces a framework for creating lovable tech experiences that drive user loyalty and differentiation.
Recommended readings include 'Emotional Design' by Don Norman, 'Designing for Emotion' by Aaron Walter, and 'The Lean Product Playbook' by Dan Olsen.

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Medium

214

Fewer Roles, Stronger Teams, Closer to the Customer

The author reflects on the distinction between product managers (PM) and product owners (PO) after consulting an AI for clarification, emphasizing the importance of simplicity in roles to stay close to the customer.
Based on the author's experience at Amazon, where there were no intermediaries between those framing the problem and those solving it, simplicity in roles embedded customer understanding into every position and decision-making process.
The article highlights that in enterprise and operations technology, overly splitting product roles can dilute ownership and weaken the connection to customer needs, suggesting that clear ownership should be prioritized over title proliferation.
The conclusion emphasizes the importance of fewer, stronger roles to maintain proximity to customers, encouraging digital and engineering leaders to focus on customer understanding, quality of products, and effective decision-making for organizational success.

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Dev

206

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Level Up Your Tech Game: The Essentials of Software Development

Software development is about solving real problems and creating delightful experiences for users.
The process begins with ideation, planning, and gathering requirements before diving into coding.
Design and architecture are crucial, involving decisions on tech stack, user experience, and modular code.
Testing, deployment, and continuous improvement are key steps to ensure quality and user satisfaction in software development.

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Medium

411

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What AI Knows and What Your Team Doesn’t

To enhance AI adoption in Agile teams, understanding overlaps and gaps between human insights and AI is crucial.
Utilizing the Johari Window model can strategically map collaboration between humans and AI in Agile teams.
The goal is to expand the 'Shared Known' quadrant, where AI leverages team insights and vice versa.
Integrating AI effectively into Agile teams involves understanding shared and hidden dimensions of knowledge.
Using Tuckman's Team Development Model helps plan AI integration based on team development stages.
Integrating AI into product management lifecycle involves leveraging AI for insights, creativity, validation, and customer engagement.
Successful AI integration empowers teams to adapt proactively based on behavioral models and synthesized feedback.
AI should not replace human product thinking but should be seen as a collaborative partner enhancing decision-making.
AI tools can aid in analyzing data throughout product lifecycle but may lack the nuanced understanding of human emotions or context.
The key is for product teams to leverage AI's capabilities while recognizing the importance of human judgment and empathy in product development.

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Scrum-Master-Toolbox

Carmen Jurado: Beyond the Backlog—How Great Product Owners Embrace Team Collaboration

Carmen Jurado emphasizes the importance of Product Owners standing with their teams and recognizing achievements as team efforts.
Exemplary Product Owners have a deep understanding of Agile methodologies, enabling them to support their teams effectively.
An anti-pattern discussed is the novice Product Owner who tries to handle everything independently, leading to challenges like an oversized backlog and lack of team engagement.
Global Agile Summit 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia, from May 18th – 20th, 2025, promises real-world Agile success stories and strategies for impact.

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Scrum

281

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Scrum isn’t the Goal—Your Goals are

Scrum is not about doing Scrum or being agile, but about achieving meaningful goals for yourself, your team, and your organization.
In professional Scrum, the focus is on intentional progress toward meaningful outcomes, not just hitting velocity targets.
Goals in Scrum should be clear, shared, and understood by both the team and key stakeholders to avoid drifting into busywork and maintaining collaboration and motivation.
Scrum serves as a mirror for organizational clarity and focus, with the goal always being about the customer or user, not the framework itself.

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Scrum-Master-Toolbox

Carmen Jurado: The Power of Constructive Feedback in Building Trust in Agile Teams

Success in agile teams involves creating an environment of vulnerability and open discussion about mistakes to build trust.
Carmen facilitated a discussion where a team member received constructive feedback after making a significant error, leading to increased trust among team members.
Team accountability and psychological safety are crucial for holding each other responsible, not just the Scrum Master.
Carmen recommends the 'Golden Apples' retrospective format to boost team morale and engagement through creative and competitive elements.

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Medium

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Burnup Chart

ZoneBurn is a new wearable-integrated platform claiming to help users burn fat from specific body areas using biometric feedback and customized routines.
The platform combines infrared heat data, heart rate variability, and resistance modeling for personalized workout adjustments.
The market potential is over $100 billion, with a competitor backed by Nike rumored to be testing a similar prototype.
The development team faces challenges with unvalidated SDK, noisy data, and technical limitations, aiming to impress partners and investors with a functional demo.

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Alvinashcraft

Dew Drop – April 30, 2025 (#4410)

Top links shared on Dew Drop for April 30, 2025 include various topics such as coding, Azure servers, Docker Desktop updates, Visual Studio 2022 release notes, Kubernetes updates, Blazor application enhancements, .NET MAUI usage, AI insights by Microsoft and Google, AI-powered security fixes, GitHub Copilot updates, and more.
The AI section covers Azure AI Foundry insights, OpenAI updates, AI accessibility, AI toolkits, and Microsoft's AI contribution, including enhancing customer experience with AI and creating custom chat AI.
In design, methodology, and testing, topics include app crash testing using REMO, hidden costs of inaccessible apps, and turning Figma designs into live apps.
Under mobile, IoT, and game development, updates on Cordova Android, Couchbase Lite for Ionic Capacitor, and sustainable solutions with Raspberry Pi are discussed.
The screencasts and videos section features topics on building GenAI apps with Azure Cosmos DB, Vibe Coding with Flutter, and emerging technologies that will shape the next decade.
In podcasts, Software Engineering Radio discusses the Tabnine AI Coding Assistant, while RunAs Radio explores modern work trends in 2025.
Community and event highlights include Pure Virtual C++ 2025, Google's treatment of employees post-layoffs, and significant events by Microsoft and Meta.
Database updates cover SQL Server 2022 bug fixes, vector search with Azure Cosmos DB, DuckDB integration practices, improvements in sp_QuickieStore, and SQL database restoration from backup files.
Miscellaneous updates feature Firefox tab groups, Windows user protection, and Firefox initiatives to manage tab overload.
Additional link collections with noteworthy content from the previous week and daily reading lists are also shared.
The article ends with a recommendation for the book 'Unity 2022 by Example' for building 2D and 3D games with AR, VR, and MR experiences.

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Scrum

318

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AI Steroids for Scrum Master: How to Get ChatGPT to Try (harder)

Answer Leveling is a technique to coax AI chatbots like ChatGPT into giving deeper, more interesting responses beyond their default answers.
Chatbots provide basic answers based on the perceived user expertise, typically at a beginner to intermediate level, unless signaled otherwise.
By utilizing Answer Leveling, users can prompt AI to provide more detailed, thoughtful responses, enhancing the depth of information and analysis received.
Different levels of prompts can lead to varied responses in terms of complexity and insights provided by the AI chatbot, from basic to advanced solutions.
Level 1 prompts elicit generic yet practical approaches to scenarios, such as defusing conflicts and promoting teamwork within a Scrum team.
Level 2 prompts encourage deeper exploration, focusing on underlying dynamics, systemic views, and strategies like Nonviolent Communication for conflict resolution.
Level 3 prompts challenge AI chatbots to suggest advanced techniques like working with inner team dynamics, archetypes, deep democracy, Gestalt therapy, and process work.
Answer Leveling can unlock insights into realms such as Jungian psychology, Gestalt Therapy, narrative transformation, and more, pushing the boundaries of AI responses.
This technique can be implemented for diverse queries, not limited to Scrum Master responsibilities, enhancing the quality and depth of AI-generated information.
Answer Leveling serves as a valuable tool for obtaining richer responses from AI chatbots by simply requesting more detailed answers without complex engineering.

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Scrum-Master-Toolbox

426

Carmen Jurado: Lean Change Management, How to Design Change with Those Affected

Carmen discusses the importance of communication and employee involvement in implementing change to avoid resistance and disengagement.
She advocates for early involvement of employees in the change process, suggesting that representatives participate in the design phase and provide feedback on change plans.
Carmen emphasizes the role of Scrum Masters in facilitating employee involvement and promoting co-creation of change through Lean Change Management.
A practical tip shared is to involve the biggest critics in the change design to transform them into co-creators of the solution.

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Alvinashcraft

Dew Drop – April 29, 2025 (#4409)

TechBash 2025 Early Bird registration is now open by TechBash Team.
General Availability of AWS SDK for .NET V4.0 by Norm Johanson.
ASP.NET Core OData Web API Template Preview Release by Samuel Wanjohi.
Protecting against indirect prompt injection attacks in MCP by Sarah Young & Den Delimarsky.
Modernizing .NET Future ready applications with .NET Conf: Focus on Modernization by Scott Hanselman, Chet Husk & McKenna Barlow.
Introducing Edge for Business security connectors by Arunesh Chandra.
Docker Desktop 4.40 introduces Model Runner to run LLMs locally expanding its AI capabilities by Craig Risi.
Visual Studio: Set the default file encoding by Mark Downie.
The null check that didn’t check for nulls by Oren Eini.
JetBrains AI Assistant: Smarter, More Capable, and a New Free Tier by Anna Maltseva.

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Scrum

134

Image Credit: Scrum

When Transparency Hurts: Scrum in Toxic Environments

In toxic environments, implementing Scrum can be challenging as resistance to change is high.
Some organizations resist agility, making it tough for Scrum Masters to instill change.
Getting fired isn't glorified, it could mean pushing too hard in an unready organization.
Scrum values like transparency face obstacles in toxic environments where they are undermined.
Transparency in toxic cultures may lead to concealment of issues for safety.
Scrum Masters must understand the human aspects of change, not just implement frameworks.
Challenging the heroic narrative, effective change requires understanding and building trust.
Scrum Masters need to reflect on their approach and impact to ensure they are aiding positive change.
Navigating toxic environments means coaching empathetically and celebrating small shifts.
Transparency should be about guiding towards a solution, not imposing truth aggressively.

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Scrum

444

Image Credit: Scrum

How OKRs and Scrum Work Together to Drive Strategic Execution

OKRs and Scrum can combine to create a powerful system that keeps organizations aligned, teams focused, and strategies moving forward.
OKRs focus on aligning goals across the organization, while Scrum provides a framework for executing the work needed to achieve those goals.
OKRs involve defining objectives and key results, working in execution cycles for clarity, while Scrum includes iterative and incremental approaches and autonomous teams.
Many organizations face challenges in executing strategy due to barriers like lack of clear communication, disconnect between strategy and work, and operational pressures.
OKRs help bridge the gap between strategy and execution through practices like joint creation, structured cycles, and outcome focus.
Scrum complements OKRs by building autonomous teams, making work visible and prioritized, adding structure to cycles, and fostering continuous improvement.
Scrum acts as a transmission belt connecting strategic goals to the real work, providing progress visibility and clarity on priorities for teams.
By integrating OKRs and Scrum, organizations can achieve real strategic outcomes, improve execution, and enhance overall effectiveness.

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