Author: oNabu Team

Teach the Product Owner & Developers How to Write Effective User Stories

Teams that master Scrum know that the key to success lies in the timely and increasingly refined breakdown of work on the Product Backlog. They prefer Sprint Backlogs with small (functional) items instead of just a few large ones, as smaller items improve flow and reduce the risk of failing the sprint.

To illustrate, instead of completing the first layer of the cake, we aim to complete a slice of the cake. With this strategy, value can be delivered rather than waiting for functional silos to complete their layers. To achieve this, we can introduce the User Story format and work with the Acceptance Criteria technique. This allows the Scrum Team to easily understand who needs the value, why they need it, and what they require.

Why is it important?

The purpose of the Scrum Team is to create Increments with each Sprint and validate their assumptions along the way. By breaking down large requirements into smaller, valuable stories, the Scrum Team can deliver small parts of the requirements and gather feedback from their users. This will gradually increase the team’s agility.

• As a Scrum Master you can use the Elephant Carpaccio Ecerciese to teach the whole team on how to get better on this topic.
• You can watch the video Stop Feeling Overwhelmed: Split User Stories in 2 Steps.
• You can watch the video 5 User Stpry Tips You Must Know.
• You can try to formulate your requirements as in the below example.

AS A <>

I WANT <>

SO THAT <>

And the criteria you need to see to call it done:

• You can read the article 10 Powerful Strategies To Break Down Product Backlog Items in Scrum.

You can read the article The Humanizing Work Guide to Splitting User Stories. 

How AI and Agile Can Supercharge Scrum Techniques: Your Ultimate Time-Saver

In the world of business, time is everything. Agile way of working, particularly Scrum, is designed to help teams stay focused, work collaboratively, and deliver high-quality results in quick, iterative bursts called “Sprints”. But as the pressure to deliver faster while maintaining quality increases, there’s a new game-changer emerging—Artificial Intelligence (AI). By weaving AI into Scrum practices, teams can save huge amounts of time, allowing them to focus on what really matters: building high-quality solutions that meet customer needs.

93% of surveyed organizations by State of Agile Report, reported that Agile practices (including Sprint Goals) help teams focus better on value delivery. One of the most immediate ways AI can be effective for the Scrum Team is enhancing productivity and collaboration. Typically, Sprint Planning’s most crucial point is Sprint Goal which AI fosters better alignment towards Sprint Goal seamlessly, ensuring team stays on the same page without getting drained with bottlenecks. Additionally, AI reduces the cognitive load of repetitive tasks, such as updating progress, monitoring dependencies, or generating reports, by automating these processes. This allows team members to focus on high value activities, ensuring the sprint progresses efficiently and effectively toward its objectives and strategic KPI’s.

AI also brings real-time efficiency to tracking progress and decision-making. Scrum relies heavily on metrics like burndown charts, velocity, and backlog health to gauge progress and identify potential bottlenecks. While these metrics are essential, tracking them manually is often tedious and time-consuming. AI-powered tools can continuously monitor these metrics and automatically update them in real-time, giving Scrum Masters, Product Owners and team members immediate insights into how the sprint is progressing. AI can even alert the team to deviations early on, allowing them to make adjustments before small issues turn into bigger problems. With the Reporting feature we try to give real time data of your teams’ progress rather than bogged down in manual tracking and monitoring.

One of the most impactful areas where AI saves time is in the Sprint Retrospectives. After each sprint, Scrum teams gather for Retrospectives to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve. This is a crucial part of the Scrum framework and teams spend 40 hours/month on retrospectives in total more than 150 hours which can be time-consuming and sometimes subjective. Teams often rely on memory or personal opinions to identify patterns, which can lead to missed insights. Teams that actively track action items from retrospectives in real time are more likely to make incremental improvements, resulting in a 20-25% improvement in sprint efficiency over time. As oNabu team who works with Scrum framework as well we inspired from our missing points and created AI Retro Agent to ensure Retrospectives are more objective, data feedbacked which helps teams identify root causes of problems more quickly and accurately without wasting time. This results in more effective retrospectives and speeds up the process of implementing improvements with AI generated Retro Reports with actionable insights.

In conclusion, integrating AI into Scrum isn’t just a nice to have it’s a game-changing time-saver that can completely transform the way teams operate. By automating essential tasks like Sprint Planning, tracking progress, and Retrospectives, AI frees up valuable time for teams to focus on collaboration, innovation, and delivering real value to customers. At oNabu we embraced AI since technology continues to evolve, its role in Scrum will only grow, making it an indispensable tool for teams that want to work smarter, not harder, and achieve faster, more efficient results in today’s competitive development world.

What is it?

Sprint is about to be completed, and now is the time for a retrospective to look back at what has happened and find out what needs to be improved.

Lets dig down with the team about the things that you’ve Liked, Learned, Lacked or Longed For.

Don’t forget, the team might talk about the below topics and not about the product itself

• Behaviors
• Tools
• Team Policies
• Processes & Scrum’s Events

A common pattern for retrospective facilitation can be, 

• Ice Breaker
• Revealing the thoughts
• Finding Actions
• Giving Kudos

Why it is important?

Scrum Team gathers feedback each and every Sprint. One for the Product that is being created at the Sprint Review and one for the Team at the Sprint Retrospective.

Liked Learned & Lacked technique focuses on the Team’s current state and tries to find out what needs to be adapted without creating confusion and ensuring transparency in every team member’s eyes.

How can I do it?

• You can check the mural template out and create a copy.
• You can ask the team how they feel. Let them show their states by dragging the orange balls to the related smileys to create a team emotion chart.
• You can talk about if you see any patterns in the emotions chart. – Seems like we’re all tired/happy, etc.
• You can let the team talk if anybody needs to state something.
• You can drag the team to the bottom area, and let them pick a number, hide the number card, and let the team member answer the question below. 
• Next, a team member selects a card and answers a question. This session continues until all the team members answer at least one question – You might want to change questions as you like. 
• You can drag the team to the 4Ls area and explain What we Liked, What we Learned, What we Lacked, and What we Longed for.
• You can set the timer, give 5 minutes, enable the Private mode (this keeps authors anonymous), and explain to the team that they need to state clear and understandable sentences.
• After the time box has finished, you can ask the team if they need more time, and if so, wait a bit more. You can finish with ending the private mode.
• You can let the team read the stickies and try to organize the stickies into groups. There will be duplicates or similar stickies relating to the same things.
• You can start to talk about the groups (larger ones can be the first ones since they have more data in them) and ask if anybody wants to elaborate.
• You can ask what needs to be done to improve this.
• You can try to form an actionable commitment sentence. – We’re going to work/understand better, etc. is not going to work out, ask for How are you going to do that, how will you know when if we’ve achieved it, etc
• You can gather the Actions on the Blue stickies on the right-hand sight and let the team order them. 
• You can warn the team to keep an eye on the focus and don’t let them commit to all of the items.
• After getting Objectives and Key Results from every team member about the commitments, you can move on to the Kudos part.
• You might want to start a Private mode if you have a shy team. If not, people might want to go vocal and say what they feel and give kudos to any team member about anything they want. You can let them hear what needs to be said or read whatever has been written about the kudos.
• Thank everyone, and ask how this session was.

What is it?

Prioritization is the process of determining which tasks or features should be addressed first based on their value and impact. For a Product Owner, this involves making decisions about which items in the Product Backlog should be tackled ahead of others. The focus should be on prioritizing items that deliver the greatest value to end-users or stakeholders, align with business goals, address technical risks or dependencies, and meet regulatory compliance requirements. Features or tasks that significantly enhance user satisfaction, contribute to strategic business objectives, mitigate potential risks, or fulfill legal obligations should be given precedence.

Why it is important?

An objective prioritization ensures that the Scrum Team focuses on delivering the most valuable and impactful features first, maximizing the return on investment (ROI). Prioritization helps in concentrating the efforts efficiently on tasks that have the highest benefit. It also ensures that the product aligns with both customer needs and business objectives, enhancing its relevance and competitiveness. Moreover, effective prioritization aids in managing risks by addressing critical issues and dependencies early, thereby reducing the likelihood of encountering major problems later in the project.

How can I do it?

To effectively prioritize, it is crucial to understand the value and impact of each backlog item. This involves working closely with stakeholders to assess and quantify the value each task or feature brings. 

To effectively manage and prioritize Product Backlog, several techniques can be employed.

• MoSCoW method categorizes tasks into Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, and Won’t Have, helping teams focus on essential features first.
• Eisenhower Matrix differentiates tasks based on urgency and importance, guiding immediate actions versus long-term planning.
• Value vs. Effort Matrix assesses tasks by their benefits and the resources required, ensuring high-value, low-effort tasks are prioritized.
• WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) calculates the cost of delay relative to job size to prioritize tasks that deliver the most value efficiently. 

Each technique provides a unique perspective to ensure that the most critical and beneficial tasks are addressed effectively.

Additionally, regularly seeking feedback from users, adapting to market changes, and maintaining a collaborative approach with the team and stakeholders are essential. Clear communication about the rationale behind prioritization decisions helps in managing expectations and building trust among all parties involved.

MoSCoW method

The MoSCoW method categorizes tasks into four groups:

• Must Have: Essential features or tasks that are non-negotiable for the project to succeed.
• Should Have: Important but not critical items that can be deferred if necessary.
• Could Have: Nice-to-have features that are desirable but not essential.

Won’t Have: Items that are agreed upon as out of scope for the current project phase.

Eisenhower Matrix

Eisenhower Matrix helps prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance:

• Urgent and Important: Tasks that need immediate attention and are crucial for project success.
• Important but Not Urgent: Tasks that are important but can be scheduled for later.
• Urgent but Not Important: Tasks that require immediate action but don’t significantly impact overall goals.

Not Urgent and Not Important: Low-priority tasks that can be eliminated or delegated.

Value vs. Effort Matrix

A Chapter in the context of Agile tribes/domains is a group of individuals who share a similar skill set or functional expertise and work across different teams within the organization.

Examples of Chapters include the Front-End Chapter, consisting of all front-end developers who may be distributed across various product teams but come together to share knowledge, best practices, and to set standards in their area of expertise. 

Similarly, a UI/UX Chapter would include designers and user experience professionals, while Sales or Marketing Chapters would gather respective professionals.

These Chapters provide a platform for members to focus on their specific skill development, independent of the product or project they are working on. 

They facilitate the sharing of knowledge, tools, and techniques relevant to their field, and often are responsible for setting and maintaining professional standards and processes in their domain.

Chapters are essential in Agile organizations for fostering professional development and ensuring a consistent level of expertise and practice across the organization or tribe/domain. They act as centers of excellence, where members can share knowledge, develop skills, and collaboratively establish standards and best practices within their specialty. This communal learning and standard-setting are vital for maintaining a high quality of work and ensuring a unified approach to challenges and processes. 

Without Chapters, an organization faces the risk of inconsistent practices and varying quality standards across teams. This inconsistency can lead to integration challenges, inefficiencies, and a decline in the overall quality of outputs. Additionally, the absence of Chapters may result in knowledge silos and a lack of coordinated professional development. This can hinder the organization’s ability to stay abreast of industry advancements and adapt to evolving market demands. 

In essence, Chapters are not just forums for skill enhancement; they are critical for aligning individual professional growth with the strategic objectives of the organization, thereby ensuring a cohesive and competent workforce.

Establishing Chapters within an Agile organization involves a strategic approach, tailored to the specific needs and context of the tribe’s products or value streams. The process of setting up these Chapters typically follows several key steps. It is highly recommended that you gather all tribe members together and hold a workshop to establish the Chapters, select their Chapter Leads and regular execution & feedback loops. Following topics should be covered in such a workshop:

In work environments, teams face constant pressure to deliver value quickly while maintaining high quality. This is where Kanban proves invaluable. As a visual management tool, Kanban helps teams optimize workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and create smoother, more predictable processes. It’s not just about managing tasks—Kanban focuses on continuously improving efficiency, increasing transparency, and providing a clearer understanding of team capacity and work progress.

However, introducing such a framework can often feel daunting without a structured approach. This is where STATIK(System Thinking Approach to Introducing Kanban) comes into play. Designed to help teams understand their current processes and make informed decisions about how to introduce or improve Kanban, STATIK offers a repeatable and human-centered method to create meaningful improvements in how work gets done.

STATIK is an iterative approach that helps teams understand their existing processes. It’s often described as a repeatable (and human) way to start using Kanban or to improve an existing Kanban implementation. The full form, “System Thinking Approach to Introducing Kanban,” can be translated as “A Systems Thinking Approach to Introducing Kanban.” Despite Kanban being part of the name, this technique can be applied even if you are using another methodology (e.g., Scrum).

The term “iterative,” as mentioned in the introductory sentence, refers to its repeatable nature. You can periodically review the status to make adjustments accordingly.

STATIK is a powerful tool for exploring all the services a team offers, their workflows, and how well they align with their goals and customer expectations. By employing a systems thinking approach, teams are encouraged to view their processes holistically with the aim of improving the flow of value delivered to customers.

Kanban practices address the “how” of the work, but without a clear “why,” they can feel aimless. STATIK helps discover this “why.” We ask ourselves, “Why should we implement Kanban?” while simultaneously aiming to gain a shared understanding of the processes we will later map to a Kanban board.

Collaboratively Establishing OKRs: A Workshop Guide for Scrum Teams

In an increasingly complex work environment, aligning team goals is essential for achieving success. This workshop is designed to collaboratively establish the initial Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for your team or project, fostering a clear understanding and ownership of the exciting goals that everyone aspires to achieve.

 What is it?

This is a workshop aimed at collaboratively establishing the initial Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for a team or project to create a clear understanding and ownership of the big and exciting goals that the entire team aspires to achieve.

Scrum team and the stakeholders are invited to participate.

Why is it important?

 Why to use OKRs?

One of the initial challenges when forming Scrum teams is that all team members often have different goals. In such cases, the big picture does not become transparent within the team, and everyone finds it difficult to collaborate and align towards a common goal. 

The OKR approach, compared to setting KPIs, is more inspiring and exciting, allowing the setting of goals and measurable key results that highlight the big picture. It encourages setting short-term goals (~3 months) and offers a flexible approach to changing conditions. It also allows teams to regularly review and update their goals to more challenging ones when necessary.

Conducting an OKR workshop with the participation of all team members and stakeholders ensures alignment, collaboration, and synergy. It strengthens the buy in of team members about the objectives and leads to organizational success by establishing clear objectives and fostering a commitment to achieving them.

Teams become enabled to establish the connection between their work and the company’s main strategies. When they feel how their work contributes, their sense of ownership and the effort they put towards that goal can increase. Therefore, conducting this OKR setting process together as a workshop with stakeholders and the team is valuable.

Since the Product Owner needs to make an opening to align the team and stakeholders with the vision during the workshop, onboard the Product Owner about OKRs before the workshop. Ensure that the Product Owner comes to the workshop prepared regarding the vision by conducting a brainstorming session with them beforehand.

You can see the “How?” section which offers ready-to-use artifacts you can easily apply with oNabu Subscription.

Defining the Vision and Goal for Successful Agile Transformation

In any Agile transformation, having a clear vision is essential to guide the team and ensure alignment across all levels. Why is vision important? Vision provides direction, while well-defined goals offer measurable steps toward achieving that future state. Without a shared understanding of where you’re headed, it becomes harder to make decisions and drive meaningful change. Leaders play a crucial role in shaping this vision, helping teams to focus and align their efforts. Whether you’re leading a small team or a large-scale transformation, defining your vision and goals is the first step toward ensuring long-term success and organizational impact.

One of the oNabu advisors and Scrum Master of our team Umut Arısoy created implementable advice for Vision and Goal of Your Transformation.

What is it?

Try to imagine the future state of your working ecosystem on your own. (We know that might be hard in the beginning…)

Facilitate a visioning session with your stakeholders to ensure that you’re on the same page.

Define short and long term goals (A north star metric may be helpful).

Why is it important ?

The basic differentiator of a Leader is having a clear vision about the future state of a context. Since you will be the person to drive or to guide this change, having a vision or at least knowing about the vision would make things easier for you and for the people in your charge. It would be much easier to say “No” to requests that are nonsense or not contributing to your vision or goals once you have a picture for the future state. Bare in mind that goals can change whereas changing the vision means pivoting from your starting point and may point you to solving another question

You can see the “How?” section which offers ready-to-use artifacts you can easily apply with oNabu Subscription.

In an Agile team / organization / environment, collaboration is key. Agile is a team sport where communication, joint decision making and shared responsibility are the cornerstones of success. If any member of the team has a doubt about speaking up, then you might be aiming lower than your full potential obviously. 

Get up, stand up, and speak up for your team!

In today’s work, most stories, tasks require more than one skill and often more than one person to mark the work as “DONE”. Even though sometimes we stumbleupon on cross-skilled people, like full stack developers who can deal with a project / product from start to finish, they are hard to find. However the focus here isn’t on being a multi-skilled individual; instead, it’s about being part of a high-performing cross-functional team.

So how do you become a contributing member of such a team? More importantly, how do you foster an environment where everyone feels empowered to speak up and participate fully?

Deniz Uludağ, one of the advisors of oNabu, highlighted the importance of creating a roadmap for empowering Speak-Up Culture. As leaders, it’s crucial to understand how to nurture such a culture.

What is Speak-Up Culture?

Speak Up Culture is the key ingredient for high performance teams and learning organisations. It is a social climate where people can ask questions, share their ideas, concerns and mistakes without fear of humiliation, and/or punishment. People feel included, safe to learn, safe to contribute and safe the challenge the status quo.

Speak Up Culture does not mean we can say whatever we like in a way we prefer. Speak up Culture necessitates Radical Candor in which we challenge directly while we care for people. This is the culture that creates a learning organization for innovation and growth.

Amy.C.Edmondson (2019) The Fearless Organisation & Scott.K (2017) Radical Candor

Why Does it Matter?

Google has made a research called Project Aristotle, including 180 teams and 37000 people to understand what makes a perfect high performance team over a span of 2 years. As Google is good at finding through data, they did not find a common pattern until they focus on psychological safety, inspired by the Amy. C Edmondson’s Work published in 1999.

Google has obtained the same result as Amy C. Edmondson. Of course, there were some other indicators of a high performance team but psychological safety was in the first place.

Patrick Lencioni, spoke about the same ingredients but according to his observations of dysfunctions. In his book, 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, he clearly explains that lack of trust causes fear of conflict, and in order results in lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results.

It is important to observe teams, and hear what is said and beyond. If some of these are your observations in Agile events and when you are with teams:

• Deep silence,
• Mostly one or two people speaking up and lack of discussions about different ideas,
• Errors not visible or not discussed,
• Fake positive atmosphere altogether but gossiping behind the scene,
• People complaining about others but not giving feedback to each other,
• Not at all risk taking, preference to stay in comfort zone,
• Too much impression management and politics,
• Blaming, Drama triangles….
• People are unhappy and not motivated,
• etc.

It is time to invest in Speak Up Culture. Because these behaviors are obstacles to high performance teams.

You can see the “How?” section which offers ready-to-use artifacts you can easily apply with oNabu Subscription.

To prepare a Speak Up Culture roadmap, you need to focus on Teams and Leaders and the Organisation. Speak Up Culture flourishes firstly in team level and supported at organisational level. In an organisation, there may be variant levels of psychological safety at different teams. Your steps to construct a Speak Up Culture Roadmap will be: