Alley’s core company values of quality, transparency and accountability closely align with the values of Scrum and, more broadly, the principles of agile software development. However, recent events have led us to consider how the practice of Scrum also supports our community values – radical candor, psychological safety, asynchronous communication, diversity, and inclusion.

One of the easiest ways to answer the question of productivity is relatively simple: Make work visible. How? Try a manual burndown chart. Here’s how.

For all of us to play the same song, everyone needs to have a good understanding of Scrum. Scrum certification is the way to ensure that that happens.

Working remotely means we’ve had to be intentional about ensuring designers canconnect, talk shop, and spur each other on creatively. Here’s how.

At Alley, we’ve built a culture of collaboration where designers and developers see each other as true partners instead of adversaries.

Being a scrum master, I often worry if velocity looms too large for me. From project forecasting to sprint planning to team retrospectives, velocity metrics are up in my grill more than bratwurst at a Green Bay Packers tailgate. Even from a “book learnin’” standpoint, velocity is front and center: “The Scrum Master is accountable for the Velocity … of the Team.” That big V Velocity is really intimidating! But does velocity warrant such verbal (and mental) emphasis?

John Ragozzine, Director of Agile Process, and Agile Process Leader Ken Medley launched a new podcast Two Scrums Up this month, available for download and subscribing in all the places you’d expect, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify!