Stefan Wolpers

CORE

Agile Coach at Berlin Product People GmbH

Berlin, DE

Joined Oct 2015

https://age-of-product.com

About

Professional Scrum Trainer with Scrum.org, agile coach, and Scrum Master based in Berlin. Stefan also curates the weekly ”Food for Agile Thought” newsletter on best posts on agile practices, product management, and innovation—with 35,000-plus subscribers. (See @AgeOfProduct.) Also, he hosts the Hands-on Agile Slack community with more than 12,000 peers.

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Reputation:	7048
Pageviews:	1.6M
Articles:	102
Comments:	15

Expertise

Methodologies

Articles
Comments

Articles

Scrum Anti-Patterns GPT

Scrum Anti-Patterns GPT: Find out how an early draft of the Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide book performs as a custom-made GPT.

February 26, 2024

· 1,323 Views · 1 Like

Dysfunction Mapping

Discover the concept of dysfunction mapping, a tool developed over years of trial and error aimed at a way to find, theme, and solve organizational dysfunction.

February 13, 2024

· 1,847 Views · 1 Like

Getting Hired as a Scrum Master or Agile Coach

In this article, discover four simple steps of proactive research to avoid disappointment as you consider a new Scrum Master or Agile Coach job.

February 7, 2024

· 3,594 Views · 2 Likes

Could a Scrum GPT Challenge Scrum Masters?

This article answers if Scrum Masters change from essential practitioners to a niche role.

January 24, 2024

· 1,881 Views · 1 Like

Sunsetting Scrum Masters

In this article, discover the signs that a Scrum Master's journey is coming to a close and learn how to detect them.

January 16, 2024

· 2,471 Views · 5 Likes

Humble Planning: Maarten Dalmijn at the 57th Hands-On Agile Meetup

Maarten introduces the concept of humble planning and why it’s crucial for succeeding with an Agile way of working and building products of exceptional value.

January 8, 2024

· 2,280 Views · 2 Likes

Successful Scrum Masters

Do you match the seven success criteria?

December 11, 2023

· 2,806 Views · 2 Likes

A Guide to Missing Sprint Goals

Why succeed when you can fail?

December 4, 2023

· 3,802 Views · 7 Likes

The Scrum Trap

In this article, take a look at what practices and tools for collaboration and team building are not helpful when used with Scrum.

November 27, 2023

· 2,126 Views · 4 Likes

Escaping the Feature Factory

Refocusing from output to income. The feature factory fate is not inevitable; there is hope to avoid becoming a mere cog in the machinery. Learn how!

November 21, 2023

· 2,008 Views · 2 Likes

Overcoming Product Backlog Management Traps

During the 54th Hands-on Agile meetup, David Pereira shared tried and tested practices to avoid the feature factory fate.

November 13, 2023

· 1,895 Views · 1 Like

The Illusion of Velocity

In this article, I explore the pitfalls of ‘The Illusion of Velocity’ in Agile contexts, peeling back the layers of traditional metrics as leadership tools.

November 6, 2023

· 3,341 Views · 1 Like

Scrum Team Failure

This is the third of three articles analyzing the 183 anti-patterns from the upcoming Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide book. Let's dive in!

October 30, 2023

· 3,191 Views · 3 Likes

Saying No as a Product Owner or Product Manager

In this post, learn how to maintain a harmonious balance between driving Product Goals and nurturing professional relationships with your stakeholders.

October 23, 2023

· 2,244 Views · 3 Likes

An Agile Coach’s Guide To Storytelling [Video]

In this interview, Bob Galen shares his experience coaching an Agile coach struggling to connect with a development manager.

October 16, 2023

· 3,252 Views · 3 Likes

Should We Change Scrum?

Or is it blasphemy to tweak the "immutable" framework to accommodate our teams’ and organizations’ needs?

October 10, 2023

· 4,767 Views · 7 Likes

Minimum Viable Library Part 3: Agile Leadership Edition

Explore a series of carefully curated collections of essential books, newsletters, podcasts, and tools to elevate your Agile expertise.

October 2, 2023

· 2,305 Views · 3 Likes

Lost in Communication and Collaboration

Learn more about ineffective collaboration at the stakeholder level, often resulting in an unsuited reporting system based on misaligned metrics.

September 26, 2023

· 2,210 Views · 3 Likes

Wild West to the Agile Manifesto [Video]

Wild West to the Agile Manifesto — Jim Highsmith on the evolution of agile product development at the 52. Hands-on Agile Meetup.

September 25, 2023

· 1,948 Views · 2 Likes

Resistance to Agile Transformations

Stakeholders often revert to resistance to Agile transformations: Learn about ten reasons and five proven practices to help.

September 11, 2023

· 2,270 Views · 4 Likes

SAFe®: Despised, Yet Successful?

In this article, learn more about SAFe® and discover nine reasons for this unexpected development, from risk management to evolution.

August 28, 2023

· 2,048 Views · 2 Likes

Minimum Viable Library 2: Product Owner Edition

Explore a series of carefully curated collections of essential books, newsletters, podcasts, and tools to elevate your Agile expertise.

August 21, 2023

· 2,692 Views · 4 Likes

Adherence to Legacy Systems, Processes, and Practices

The first article in this series will address communication and collaboration issues at the team and organizational levels.

August 14, 2023

· 1,516 Views · 1 Like

The Minimum Viable Library for Scrum Masters

Explore a series of carefully curated collections of essential books, newsletters, podcasts, and tools to elevate your Agile expertise.

August 7, 2023

· 1,936 Views · 2 Likes

Scrum Anti-Patterns Taxonomy

In this article, find out more about the big picture of why Scrum fails at a personal, cultural, structural, or organizational level.

August 4, 2023

· 5,588 Views · 2 Likes

Product Discovery for Agile Teams

Scrum Tools, Part 2: From Design Thinking to Lean UX to User Story Mapping.

August 1, 2023

· 2,918 Views · 2 Likes

Health Checks for Agile Teams

From Spotify to The Liberators to Self-Made: This article explores eight self-assessments to get you started with continuous improvement.

July 17, 2023

· 2,570 Views · 1 Like

The Expensive Folly of the Oversized Product Backlog

Learn about an oversized product backlog’s negative impact on innovation, your Scrum team’s ability to create value, and your relationship with stakeholders.

July 10, 2023

· 2,262 Views · 2 Likes

The Uncomfortable Truth of Scaling ‘Agile’

Merely implementing one of several frameworks for scaling Agile from the team level to the whole organization won’t fix agility issues without an Agile mindset shift.

July 3, 2023

· 3,615 Views · 4 Likes

Useless Agile Metrics

Useless agile metrics have the potential to derail any agile transformation. Learn more about how to identify and avoid bad metrics.

June 26, 2023

· 5,303 Views · 5 Likes

Comments

The Uncomfortable Truth of Scaling ‘Agile’

Jul 08, 2023 · Stefan Wolpers

Thanks for the Kudos! Best, Stefan

The Three Daily Scrum Questions Won’t Die

Mar 08, 2023 · Stefan Wolpers

I agree, Alan. As so often, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

A ChatGPT Job Interview for a Scrum Master Position

Jan 10, 2023 · Stefan Wolpers

I would like to train a support chatbot to help with everyday questions when no other support, for example, from the community is available. Also, I would be interested in a sparring partner to get a better understanding about a specific topic or thought.

20 Sprint Planning Anti-patterns

Apr 27, 2022 · Stefan Wolpers

Explain what?

How to Sabotage a Scrum Master

Dec 16, 2021 · Stefan Wolpers

https://age-of-product.com/scrum-anti-patterns/

Scrum: 16 Stand-up Anti-Patterns

Aug 18, 2020 · Stefan Wolpers

"Valet" — I like the coining!

Scrum: 16 Stand-up Anti-Patterns

Aug 17, 2020 · Stefan Wolpers

I was referring to the moment when people wait in-line to share with others. The newer version of the article can be found here: https://age-of-product.com/stand-up-anti-patterns/

27 Sprint Anti-Patterns Holding Back Scrum Teams

Jun 05, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

Thanks for the kudos! You might be interested in downloading the Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide (free PDF) as well. Next post in the coming week is the sprint retrospective.

Scrum: 16 Stand-up Anti-Patterns

Apr 13, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

What makes you believe that? Could you be more elaborate?

Agile Metrics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Jan 08, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

I disagree, your opinion contradicts my experience as shared in the post.

Agile Metrics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Jan 07, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

And how is that helping the team to get better?

Agile Metrics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Jan 06, 2017 · Stefan Wolpers

You're referring to these “72% accomplished” metric?

10 Proven Stakeholder Communication Tactics During an Agile Transition

Aug 04, 2016 · Stefan Wolpers

Totally agree, particularly on sprint review part. On some projects, they feel more like an extended version of the daily reporting routine — aka daily scrum –. And I am as well still searching for the golden key… :)

10 Proven Stakeholder Communication Tactics During an Agile Transition

Aug 03, 2016 · Stefan Wolpers

Tobias, I agree. Anything that you would add?

How to Run User Tests Successfully: The ‘Why’ Question

May 10, 2016 · Stefan Wolpers

Ouch! Thanks for pointing at it! #fixed