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My house is over 100 years old. It’s known as a Queenslander because it’s built from weatherboard timber, it’s got a corrugated steel roof, wide verandas, shaded windows and high ceilings. We loved it when we bought it but it’s been moved, raised, flooded, extended and today a family of possum live in the roof. So my wife has a to-do list of repairs and enhancements she’d like to make — well, she’d like me to make. Small things, like oiling the squeaky door to my studio, and bigger stuff, like re-modelling the kitchen.
She’s the product owner. I’m the dev team. And that to-do list is our product backlog.
Planning poker is a team game for estimating work. It's often used by Scrum teams during backlog refinement workshops or sprint planning to estimate the size of product backlog items. In my Dynamics 365 projects, we play planning poker to estimate the complexity of our epics, user stories, chores, bugs and spikes.
In episode 9 of the Scrum Dynamics podcast, I interview Microsoft MVP Nick Doelman about his adoption of the Scrum framework for a large Dynamics 365 project in Canada. Hear how Nick was able to learn Scrum with just a little online training and lead his team to deliver a successful project for his client.
I also got to find out the origin story behind Nick’s @ReadyXRM handle on Twitter…
In this podcast episode, Dermot and I discuss sprints and the daily scrum events in a Scrum project.
What's the ideal sprint length when you're using Scrum on a Dynamics 365 project?
When is it a good idea to use special sprints like Sprint 0 or a hardening sprint?
Can you cancel a sprint?
What's the purpose of the daily scrum?
How can we run the daily scrum with remote teams?
In this episode, sponsored by Kingswaysoft, co-hosts Neil Benson and Dermot Ryan discuss the Development Team in a Scrum project implementing Dynamics 365.
Covered in this show:
The role of the Development Team in a Scrum project
What it means to be cross-functional and self-organizing
How many developers should be in your Dev Team
I recorded Scrum Dynamics episode 5 from the Dynamics 365 User Group Summit EMEA from my presentation ‘Success with Scrum for Dynamics 365’. In this presentation I share best practices from my Scrum projects implementing Dynamics CRM and 365 over the last ten years and share a case studey of my first project at Premier Medical Group.
We have a winner for the complimentary ticket to the D365UG Summit. Read on to find out who the winner is and how you can still claim a 10% discount on registration.
In Scrum Dynamics episode 6 Neil and Dermot discuss the role of the scrum master in a Dynamics 365 project using Scrum. We define the scrum master’s responsibilities and then debate what it takes to be a good scrum master on a Dynamics project. Let us know if you agree…
Welcome to episode three of Scrum Dynamics, the podcast series for Microsoft Dynamics 365 practitioners who want to use the Scrum framework for agile projects.
This episode is sponsored by Maplytics by Inogic.
In this episode, Neil Benson introduces the role of the Product Owner in Dynamics 365 projects.
Following on from the Introduction to User Roles, this second post in the series describes the user role modelling workshop and how to document user roles.
Learn about the three steps in the user role modelling workshop and what level of user role documentation I recommend for Dynamics 365 projects.
Welcome to episode two of Scrum Dynamics, the podcast series for Microsoft Dynamics 365 practitioners who want to use the Scrum framework for agile projects. This episode is sponsored by Ingenius.
In this episode, co-hosts Neil Benson and Dermot Ryan, introduce the Scrum framework’s events, roles, deliverables and the Scrum theory.
Download the Scrum Terms Worksheet to go along with this episode for a handy guide to all the Scrum terms you’ll hear in this show.
Understanding user roles is the first part to working with user stories in Dynamics 365 projects. This article introduces the user role concept and provides some examples. Get started here, and later we’ll cover how to define and model user roles for your project. Later we’ll discuss personas as an alternative to user roles.
This is the premiere episode of the Scrum Dynamics Podcast with Neil Benson and Dermot Ryan. This episode is sponsored by Maplytics by Inogic. If you have heard of Scrum or would like to use it in one of your Dynamics projects, you’re in the right spot.
What is Agile
What is Scrum
Using Scrum for packaged software vs custom development
Scrum vs Waterfall
Soft skill benefits of Scrum
Sustainable delivery
The role that management plays in Scrum
Budgeting for a Scrum project
In my Dynamics 365 projects, I describe most requirements as user stories and I organise stories using epics and themes. In this article, I share my definitions and examples of those terms…
In episode 8, Dermot and Neil answer podcast listeners questions about estimating technical debt, proiritizing dependent stories, emergent design, business analysts as part of the development team, and planning Scrum projects during the sales cycle.
This episode is sponsored by the D365UG. Find out how you can win a complimentary ticket to the D365UG Summit in Phoenix.
Customery is running a giveaway competition for a complimentary ticket to the D365UG Summit Phoenix 2018 conference. Read on to find out how you can enter and win. I hope to see you there!
Discover how you can send Dermot and Neil and voicemail message to have your question about Scrum for Dynamics 365 read out loud, and maybe even answered, on the Scrum Dynamics podcast.
ERP systems are complex and mission-critical and since the 1980s have been implemented using waterfall methodologies. But ERP customers and consultants are beginning to consider agile approaches. With Microsoft abandoning the Dynamics SureStep methodology, is it time for Dynamics ERP consultants to embrace Scrum?
Todd Mercer asked whether spikes, chores and bugs should be estimated and included in velocity tracking. In this article, I outline the approach that I take with my Scrum teams.
This article and the accompanying podcast episode introduces the role of the Product Owner in Dynamics 365 projects, including:
Download the Scrum Terms worksheet as a handy reference for all the Scrum terms you hear in the Introduction to Scrum for Dynamics 365 course as well as the Scrum Dynamics podcast.
Find out more about the new podcast episode I've launched with Dermot Ryan on the CRM Audio podcast network.
In Scrum Dynamics episode 11, I discuss using planning poker to estimating product backlog items. Planning poker is a team game for estimating work. It's often used by Scrum teams during backlog refinement workshops or sprint planning to estimate the size of product backlog items.