The 5 best resources in the Scrum Master Learning Path
In preparing for the PSM III certification, I went through the entire Scrum Master Learning Path — every article, video and white paper. I highly recommend any professional Scrum Master or Delivery Manager to do the same, regardless of whether they are taking the exam or not. It brings together many of the best articles on the practicalities of delivering Scrum. It is great specifically for professionals looking for deeper insight beyond PSM I and the Scrum Guide.
I wanted to share with you my 5 favourite articles and videos from this learning path. In all of these cases, these resources help to link the theory to practical implementations you can use as a Scrum practitioner.
- Empiricism is an Essential Element of Scrum — Mark Noneman
Whilst Empiricism is the central component of Scrum, it can be hard to turn this concept into practical action. I think the thermostat analogy used in this video from Mark Noneman is a nice introduction as a way of thinking about empiricism as a concept, and as a method to teach the concept to others.
2. Visualising Scrum Values — Steve Trapps
We all understand that the Scrum Values are important: we need to have teams with commitment, openness, respect, courage and focus. But how do we measure and track our progress against these values? This article shows a really simple framework for gauging our success towards Scrum Values and tracking it over time. A brilliant tool.
3. Characteristics of a Great Scrum Team — Barry Overeem
Barry Overeem has numerous entries in the Scrum Master Learning path, all of extremely high quality. This article does a great job of answering a question we should always ask when trying to set up new teams — ‘what does good look like?’
4. The Daily Scrum is NOT a status meeting — Stephanie Ockerman
The daily scrum event is one of the most overlooked in Scrum, but is critical to the overall success of any scrum implementation. Here, Stephanie Ockerman tackles the key misconception of treating the daily scrum as a status meeting. A good reminder of the right behaviours to encourage.
5. Myth 2: The Sprint Backlog Cannot Change During the Sprint — Barry Overeem
This article from Barry Overeem focussed on the sprint backlog initially, but in fact is a great definition of why we have sprints and their purpose. It’s a great guide to get teams back on track who are fixating on delivering the tickets specified at the start of the sprint.
These are my five most useful articles and videos in the Scrum Master Learning Path. Please reach out if you have other recommendations for great resources on Scrum!
