Strategies
Gartner Featured Content from Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
19 May 2020

The photo was taken during Gartner VP Cathleen Blanton’s session, IT Governance in Government: Secret Weapon or Most Dreaded Chore?, at the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo in Orlando, Florida on October 20, 2019.
The quote on metrics ("If you don’t collect any metrics, you’re flying blind. If you collect and focus on too many, they may be obstructing your field of view.") is from Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions ― Scott M. Graffius, Author; Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, Technical Editors.
The whole context of the presentation was on governance and decision-making. Cathleen conveyed that the idea for the slide pictured was that if you measure something that matters, you can use those metrics to drive better behavior through visibility and focus.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, PMP, ITIL, LSSGB is a project management expert, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He is a Principal Consultant and the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he helps clients strengthen their project management capabilities and realize their strategic objectives and business initiatives. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private companies with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. Scott is the author of two award-winning books on agile project management, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 978-1533370242) and Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change (ISBN-13: 978-1072447962). Scott's content has been used by businesses, governments, and universities—including Gartner, Cisco, RSA, Ford, LITE-ON Technology Corporation, Liberty Mutual Group, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, James Madison University, Santa Clara University, Brigham Young University, Texas A&M University, The Open University, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, and others. He regularly speaks at in-person and virtual online conferences and other events around the world. Additional information is available in Scott’s full bio at https://www.exceptional-pmo.com/who_we_are/bio.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive. There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
Scott M. Graffius' first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 978-1533370242), provides readers with practical information they can use to get benefits from the most popular agile framework, Scrum. It presents top practices from successful implementations based on Scott's hands-on experience and 116 diverse sources such as the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute, MIT, the IEEE, Gartner, and the Software Engineering Institute. The publication garnered 17 first place awards from national and international competitions. Scott and his book have been featured in Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, the PM World Journal, Learning Solutions, Innovation Management, and additional media publications. To learn more, visit https://agilescrumguide.com.
About Cathleen Blanton
Cathleen Blanton, Vice President at Gartner, is a member of their Public Sector Government team. She focuses on U.S. Federal agencies, covering strategic planning, governance, and ensuring IT enables businesses and mission value. Cathleen specializes in helping CIOs position themselves to partner with executive counterparts on the issues that help their organizations achieve outcomes in both efficiency and mission effectiveness. She takes an approach that is both pragmatic and tailored to organizations’ culture. For more information, visit https://www.gartner.com.
About Gartner IT Symposium│Xpo
Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo is billed as “the world's most important gathering of CIOs and IT executives.” The conference enables more than 9,000 attendees to shape the future of IT and business strategies. For details, visit https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/symposium-us.
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. They equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities today and build the successful organizations of tomorrow. To learn more, visit https://www.gartner.com.
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Agile Author Scott M. Graffius to Speak on Team Dynamics at Azure Community Conference 2020
05 November 2020

Scott M. Graffius, author of Agile Scrum and Agile Transformation, will speak on team dynamics at the Azure Community Conference 2020, a multi-track event running from November 24-26, 2020.
- Location: Virtual event
- Session information on conference website
- Pacific Standard Time: Tuesday, November 24th from 8:30-9:30 p.m. PST
- India Standard Time: Wednesday, November 25th from 10:00-11:00 a.m. IST
For more information and to register for the virtual event, visit https://www.azconf.dev/#home.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and international speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been featured and used by media outlets, publications, businesses, governments, and universities including Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, Innovation Project Management, MobileAppDaily, Gartner, Cisco, RSA, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, James Madison University, Santa Clara University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a global top thought leader and influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available here.
Follow @scottgraffius
About Agile Scrum
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
About Agile Transformation
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The award-winning book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world.
About the Azure Community Conference 2020
The Azure Community Conference (#AzConfDev) is a three-day multi-track conference running from November 24-26, 2020. It is aimed at Cloud and Web Developers working with open source and cloud native technologies on the Microsoft Stack. The event hosts technology experts from around the globe to educate, network, and share their expertise with attendees on:
- .NET/C#/ASP.NET/Developer Technologies (anything that runs on Azure);
- Front-end/Javascript Frameworks/UI/UX;
- DevOps and Cloud Native Technologies on Azure;
- Data, IoT, and Application Security;
- Life Hacks / Career & Work Skills; and
- Other developer-centric topics.
Usually conducted in-person in Bangalore, India, the event is virtual this year.
To learn more about the conference, visit https://www.azconf.dev/#home.
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Update on December 5, 2020
If you missed the live Microsoft Azure Community Conference 2020, recordings of the sessions are now on YouTube. The video of Scott's talk is shown below.
★★★★★
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Agile Project Management Author Scott M. Graffius Quoted in Publication of National Academy of Sciences
10 November 2020

Agile project management author and influencer Scott M. Graffius was quoted in a publication of the National Academy of Sciences.
The respective content is: “If you don’t collect any metrics, you’re flying blind. If you collect and focus on too many, they may be obstructing your field of view.” — Graffius, Scott M. (2016). Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.
Chris Hare and Colin Giffen were Technical Editors on Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions.
For details on the respective National Academy of Sciences publication, see the accompanying PDF.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Follow @scottgraffius
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
About the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine.
As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors in the scientific field. Members of the National Academy of Sciences serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation" on science, engineering, and medicine. The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code.
Founded in 1863 as a result of an Act of Congress that was approved by Abraham Lincoln, the NAS is charged with "providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. … to provide scientific advice to the government 'whenever called upon' by any government department."
To learn more about the NAS, visit their website at http://nasonline.org.
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The short URL for this article is: bit.ly/asg-nas
★★★★★
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- Read additional articles in our blog
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Agile Project Management Author Scott M. Graffius to Speak on Team Development at UX Healthcare Europe Conference
16 November 2020

Agile project management influencer and author, Scott M. Graffius, will speak on team dynamics at the UX Healthcare Europe Conference. The event will bring together a diverse group of clinicians, technologists, and thought leaders linked by a commitment to help improve the health care experience — "Because better user experience can save lives."
- Location: Virtual
- Conference schedule
- Profile on conference website
- Date: Thursday, January 21, 2021 (originally scheduled for Thursday, December 10, 2020)
- Scott's session in Pacific Standard Time: 7:10-7:40 a.m. PST
- Scott's session in Greenwich Mean Time: 3:10-3:40 p.m. GMT
For more information and to register for the event, visit https://uxhealthcare.co.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available here.
About UX Healthcare
The following includes excerpts from the UX Healthcare website.
We live in a world of constant change. Technology is evolving more rapidly than anyone would have ever thought. In healthcare, this change is generally not embraced as much as in other industries. Most healthcare systems weren’t designed for this world. UX Healthcare aims to make a difference, because better design is needed in the healthcare industry. From clinicians, healthcare insurances to hospital equipment manufacturers and others - the goal is to help healthcare around the world implement the best user experiences possible. For more information, visit the UX Healthcare website.
About UX Healthcare Europe Conference
The UX Healthcare Europe Conference will bring together a diverse group of clinicians, technologists, and thought leaders linked by a commitment to improve the health care experience. "Because better user experience can save lives." The conference will conducted as a virtual event on Thursday, January 21, 2021 (originally scheduled for Thursday, December 10, 2020). To learn more, visit https://uxhealthcare.co.
★★★★★
You're invited to:
- Read additional articles in our blog
- Visit our digital media kit
- See Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions on Amazon
And connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.


Agile Project Management Expert Scott M. Graffius to Speak on Team Leadership at Netherlands Chapter of Project Management Institute
04 January 2021

Agile project management expert, author, and influencer Scott M. Graffius will present "Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility" at a virtual event of the Netherlands Chapter of the Project Management Institute on Thursday, January 21, 2021. For more information and to register for the event, visit https://pmi-nl.nl/calendar?eventId=6953.
Scott's speaker reel video, and details on his speaking engagements, are available here.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and international speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Follow @scottgraffius
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
About Agile Transformation
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The award-winning book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world.
About the Netherlands Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The Netherlands Chapter of the Project Management Institute endeavors to deliver maximum value to its members and other stakeholders by providing an environment — inclusive of activities and events — supporting the development, certification, and networking of current and aspiring project, program, and portfolio management professionals. To learn more, visit the Chapter's website at https://pmi-nl.nl.
★★★★★
You're invited to:
- Read additional articles in our blog
- Visit our digital media kit
- See Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions on Amazon
And connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.


Agile Expert and Author Scott M. Graffius to Speak at IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020
23 November 2020

Scott M. Graffius — agile expert and author of two award-winning books, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions and Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change — will be presenting a session on team leadership at IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020. Normally conducted in-person in Athens, Greece, the conference will be a virtual event this year.
- Dates: December 12-13, 2020
- Location: Virtual (online from Athens, Greece)
- For details and to register for the conference, visit itprodevconnections.gr
Scott's session will be on Saturday, December 12th at 5:30-6:15 p.m. local (Athens, Greece) Eastern European Standard Time (7:30-8:15 a.m. Pacific Standard Time).
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and international speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available here.
Follow @scottgraffius
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The award-winning book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world.
About IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020 Conference
IT Pro | Dev Connections 2020 is a tech conference serving the Greek technical communities — inclusive of autoexec.gr, azureheads.gr, sqlschool.gr, *ngThess, VMUG Greece, Ministry Of Testing, MS Learn, Thessaloniki.NET, Thessaloniki Software Testing and QA, Cloud Experts, and Hotelier ITPRO — and others in the region and around the world. Normally conducted in-person in Athens, Greece, it will be held on December 12-13, 2020 as a virtual event. To learn more and register for the conference, visit itprodevconnections.gr.
★★★★★
You're invited to:
- Read additional articles in our blog
- Visit our digital media kit
- See Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions on Amazon
And connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.


2020 Updates to the Scrum Guide: 7 Key Changes, and Why There's No Impact to the Award-Winning Book Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
24 November 2020

Countless organizations and resources are vanguards of agile including Scrum. Many take guidance from the Scrum Guide, which is periodically revised. An updated version was released on November 18, 2020. This article highlights the key changes in the Scrum Guide. And it covers what impact — if any — those updates have on the award-winning publication, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions.
The update to the Scrum Guide includes seven key changes. They are:
- The update is less prescriptive. For example, it removed the implied requirement of questions during the Daily Scrum.
- Before, the Scrum Team was comprised of the Development Team (the people doing the work), Scrum Master, and Product Owner. Now, the Scrum Team is composed of developers (the people doing the work), the Scrum Master, and the Product Owner.
- The update introduces the Product Goal.
- More information on the Definition of Done, and the Sprint Goal. (The Product Goal is covered above.)
- Before, the Development Team was referred to as self-organizing. The update uses the term self-managing and it notes that developers should choose who, how, and what to work on.
- “Why?” was added to the sprint planning topics. So, there are now three: what, how, and why.
- Unnecessarily complex information was removed.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions notes: “This guide incorporates the values and principles of agile along with information on typical successful Scrum implementations and best practices.” With a bibliography referencing 116 sources, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions was deliberately based on a large and diverse range of sources for the better. Here's just one example among many. While the Scrum Guide was silent on velocity, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions covers the topic: “For example, velocity — the most popular metrics — is not used by some people. However, this guide covers velocity and other leading practices.”
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is definitively not a restatement of a solitary source such as the Scrum Guide. Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions was thoughtfully designed to be “a refreshingly clear and easy to follow guide” based on typical successful implementations and best practices from a multitude of sources.
So, what is the impact — if any — of changes to the Scrum Guide on Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions? That’s covered next. The scale of 0-10 is used, where 0 represents no impact and 10 indicates a significant impact.
Item 1: Less Prescriptive
- Scrum Guide: The update to the Scrum Guide is less prescriptive. For example, it removed the implied requirement of questions during the Daily Scrum.
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions: The book was already non-prescriptive. While it is centered on leading practices, it notes: “Every aspect does not need to be followed to the letter. Just as a value of agile is ‘individuals and interactions over processes and tools’ and a principle is ‘inspect and adapt,’ whatever approach you decide to use should be adjusted as appropriate to your unique circumstances.” That’s just one example.
- Impact: 0.
Item 2: The Team
- Scrum Guide: Before, the Scrum Team was comprised of the Development Team (the people doing the work), Scrum Master, and Product Owner. Now, the Scrum Team is comprised of developers (the people doing the work), the Scrum Master, and the Product Owner. Simply put, “Development Team” was changed to “developers.”
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions: This label change should not impact how a Scrum Team works together. (Note: while the change may have been an attempt to simplify matters, calling them something other than developers may have been even better. In Scrum, developers are defined as those who do the work. However, for many people, a technology developer/engineer immediately comes to mind.)
- Impact: Between 0 and 1.
Item 3: Product Goal
- Scrum Guide: The update introduces the Product Goal.
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions: The book already covers the Product Goal.
- Impact: 0.
Item 4: Definition of Done, and the Sprint Goal
- Scrum Guide: More information on the Definition of Done, and the Sprint Goal. (The Product Goal is covered above.)
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions: The book already suitably covers the Definition of Done (including seven examples, and more) and the Sprint Goal.
- Impact: 0.
Item 5: Self-Managing
- Scrum Guide: Before, the Development Team was referred to as self-organizing. The update uses the term “self-managing” and it notes that developers should choose who, how, and what to work on.
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions: The book already covers the who, how, and what to work on.
- Impact: 0.
Item 6: Added “Why?” to Sprint Planning
- Scrum Guide: “Why?” was added to the sprint planning topics. So, there are now three: what, how, and why.
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions: The book already covers the “why” via the sprint goal during sprint planning.
- Impact: 0.
7. Unnecessary complexities
- Scrum Guide: Unnecessarily complex information was removed.
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions: The book was conscientiously built to be “a refreshingly clear and easy to follow guide.” Unnecessary complexities were never included, so they don’t need to be removed.
- Impact: 0.
The updates to the Scrum Guide are helpful. However, as delineated above, they have no impact on the award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions.
Hailed as “a must-have” and “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully” and “a superbly written and presented guide that is applicable across a broad range of businesses from consumer products to high-tech,” award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions by author Scott M. Graffius is a refreshingly clear and easy to follow guide based on typical successful implementations and best practices from a multitude of sources. The 2020 updates to the Scrum Guide have no impact on Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. Several updates to the Scrum Guide involved adding information that was already provided by Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and international speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at: https://bit.ly/bio-smg.
Follow @scottgraffius
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
★★★★★
You're invited to:
- Read additional articles in our blog
- Visit our digital media kit
- See Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions on Amazon
And connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.


Scott M. Graffius to Speak at DevConf.CZ 2021
08 January 2021

Scott M. Graffius — agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author (Agile Scrum and Agile Transformation), and influencer — will present "But First, the Team!" at DevConf.CZ 2021. Now in its 13th year, the Red Hat sponsored conference will bring together developers, DevOps engineers, and other contributors to open source technologies. Usually conducted in-person in the Czech Republic, DevConf.CZ will be a virtual event in 2021. It will run from February 18-20. For more information and to register for the conference, visit https://www.devconf.info/cz/.
Attendees of Scott's session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.75 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 0.75 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 0.75 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Oracle Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com/bio.html.
Follow @scottgraffius
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The award-winning book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world.
About DevConf.CZ 2021
DevConf.CZ 2021 is the 13th annual, free, Red Hat sponsored conference for developers, admins, DevOps engineers, testers, and other contributors to open source technologies. The conference includes topics on Linux, middleware, virtualization, storage, cloud, mobile, tech leadership, and more. Usually conducted in-person in the Czech Republic, DevConf.CZ 2021 will be a virtual event this year, running from February 18-20. Visit https://www.devconf.info/cz/.
★★★★★
You're invited to:
- Read additional articles in our blog
- Visit our digital media kit
- See Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions on Amazon
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Scott M. Graffius to Speak at Microsoft Conference
01 December 2020

Scott M. Graffius — agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author (Agile Scrum and Agile Transformation), and thought leader — will present "Want Great IT? It Takes a Great Team!" at the M365 Saturday Coimbatore 2020 Conference. The virtual event will bring together IT professionals involved or interested in Microsoft Collaboration and Cloud technologies on Saturday, December 19, 2020. For more information and to register for the conference, visit spsevents.org/event/m365coimbatore2020.
Attendees of Scott's session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.75 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 0.75 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 0.75 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and keynote speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been used by businesses, governments, and universities, including: Gartner, Oracle Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a Top 20 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Agile. His full-length bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com/bio.html.
Follow @scottgraffius
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The award-winning book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world.
About M365 Saturday Coimbatore 2020
M365 Saturday Coimbatore will bring together Information Technology professionals to share best practices, lessons learned, and more related to Microsoft Collaboration and Cloud technologies. The conference will be held as a virtual event on Saturday, December 19, 2020. To learn more, visit spsevents.org/event/m365coimbatore2020.
★★★★★
You're invited to:
- Read additional articles in our blog
- Visit our digital media kit
- See Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions on Amazon
And connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.


Agile Project Management Author Scott M. Graffius to Speak at Event of PMI North Alabama Chapter
09 January 2021

Agile project management author (Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions and Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change) Scott M. Graffius will be speaking on team development and leadership at a virtual event of the North Alabama Chapter of the Project Management Institute on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 11:00-12:00 Central Time. Everyone is welcome to attend—membership in the Chapter is not required. To learn more and to register for the event, visit https://bit.ly/pmi-nac.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB has generated hundreds of millions of dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. He is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from Scott's books, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, James Madison University, Santa Clara University, Brigham Young University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a global top thought leader and influencer in three domains: Agile, Digital Transformation, and GovTech. His full-length bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com/bio.html.
Follow @scottgraffius
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Scott M. Graffius is the CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation experience and result with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott’s first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. It helps teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement—which supports innovation and drives competitive advantage. The book has garnered 17 first place awards an it has been featured by over 30 media outlets and publications. The book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world. To learn more, visit AgileScrumGuide.com.
About Agile Transformation
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits. Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. The award-winning book is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle formats in the United States and around the world.
About the North Alabama Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The North Alabama Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI-NAC) was initially formed in 1990 as the Tennessee Valley Chapter. Since its formation other PMI Chapters were formed in Birmingham, AL; Memphis, TN; Nashville, TN; Chattanooga, TN; and Knoxville, TN. In 2002, the Chapter was renamed the North Alabama Chapter to best reflect the area it serves. The PMI-NAC's mission is to provide leadership and value to members, communities and industries in north Alabama through the provision of information, professional development, and activities that advance the project management profession. To learn more, visit the Chapter's website at https://pmi-nac.org.
★★★★★
You're invited to:
- Read additional articles in our blog
- Visit our digital media kit
- See Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions on Amazon
And connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.

