business analysis role in scrum

Business Analysis Role in Scrum Events

In our previous blogs, we covered what Agile business analysis is and how business analysts add value in an Agile environment. In this final blog, we talk about how to leverage Business Analysis skills in each of the five Scrum Events. On this page: Scrum Events The Sprint Sprint Planning Daily Scrums Sprint Review Sprint …

Susan Heidorn, Ed.D., PMP, CBAP, HSDP, CSM, BRMP

Dr. Susan Heidorn, PMP, CBAP, HSDP, CSM, BRMP is the Director of Business Solutions for Watermark Learning in Minneapolis. Susan is an experienced consultant, facilitator, speaker, and trainer, with over 25 years of business experience. Susan directs programs in business analysis, business relationship management, and leadership, including developing and delivering courses and providing consulting. She has been a speaker at a number of IIBA® and PMI® conferences as well as local and regional organizations, boards, and private clients. She is a lifelong learner whose passion it is to guide people into achieving excellence in their personal and professional lives and works on creating positive impacts to the organization.

Beware Not all ScrumMaster Certifications are Equal

Beware – Not all ScrumMaster Certifications are Equal!

Deciding to earn a certification can be a stressful process – the application, the studying, even deciding which certification is right. If you are looking at earning a certification as a ScrumMaster, the options can be confusing. The two most recognized certifications for agile practitioners include Project Management Institute’s Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®) and Scrum …

Watermark Learning

This is the corporate source for Watermark Learning posts. Watermark delivers engaging and practical training and coaching in Business Analysis, Project Management, Agile & Scrum, Business Process Management, and Influencing Skills since 1992.

Tips to Spice Up Your Next Scrum Event

Tips to Spice Up Your Next Scrum Event

As you all know, Scrum events are prescribed by the Scrum methodology. These events enable transparency, inspection, and adaption, which are the three pillars of Scrum. In addition, they create structure and provide steady cadence. They are time-boxed to efficiently and effectively realize the events’ purpose. However, if you are like me, you may find …

Susan Heidorn, Ed.D., PMP, CBAP, HSDP, CSM, BRMP

Dr. Susan Heidorn, PMP, CBAP, HSDP, CSM, BRMP is the Director of Business Solutions for Watermark Learning in Minneapolis. Susan is an experienced consultant, facilitator, speaker, and trainer, with over 25 years of business experience. Susan directs programs in business analysis, business relationship management, and leadership, including developing and delivering courses and providing consulting. She has been a speaker at a number of IIBA® and PMI® conferences as well as local and regional organizations, boards, and private clients. She is a lifelong learner whose passion it is to guide people into achieving excellence in their personal and professional lives and works on creating positive impacts to the organization.

Questions from a Certified ScrumMaster Part 2

Questions from a Certified ScrumMaster Class – Part 2

I recently taught a Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM) class at Watermark Learning. Because our time in class is limited and our class backlog is full of activities, exercises, and simulations, I rarely have enough time to address all of the questions raised. Blogging, while limited in space, does allows me the opportunity to address these questions …

Mike Stuedemann, CST, CSM, CSPO, PMI-ACP, PMP

Innovative, servant leader with extensive IT experience and a passion for process improvement. Demonstrated leadership improving team performance in the midst of significant organizational change. Positive, team-oriented management style achieving results through systematic analysis, collaboration and strong project management.

Questions from a Certified ScrumMaster Part 1

Questions from a Certified ScrumMaster Class – Part 1

I recently taught a Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM) class at Watermark Learning. Our two-day class is packed full of real-world examples of how to apply Scrum to solve complex problems. Of course, there is never enough class time to work through the backlog of questions that students raise, and as a passionate Scrum practitioner, this nags …

Mike Stuedemann, CST, CSM, CSPO, PMI-ACP, PMP

Innovative, servant leader with extensive IT experience and a passion for process improvement. Demonstrated leadership improving team performance in the midst of significant organizational change. Positive, team-oriented management style achieving results through systematic analysis, collaboration and strong project management.

Words Matter Using the Right Agile Terminology

Words Matter: Using the Right Agile Terminology

As the Agile movement has become mainstream, common vocabulary associated with the philosophy has also become mainstream. However, as more and more people use these words, their meaning appears to occasionally drift. This is a common occurrence in movements like Agile as people co-op terms to appear in alignment with a philosophy without actually changing …

Mike Stuedemann, CST, CSM, CSPO, PMI-ACP, PMP

Innovative, servant leader with extensive IT experience and a passion for process improvement. Demonstrated leadership improving team performance in the midst of significant organizational change. Positive, team-oriented management style achieving results through systematic analysis, collaboration and strong project management.

Putting Your Product Backlog in Order

Putting Your Product Backlog in Order

Earlier versions of Scrum described prioritizing the Product Backlog based on development priority, but the current Scrum Guide just says that it is ordered in order to “best achieve goals and missions” (Scrum Guide, July 2013). Ordering the backlog is the responsibility of the Product Owner, who is also responsible for optimizing the value of the …

Marsha Hughes, CSM, CBAP, PMP

Marsha is a senior instructor and consultant for Watermark Learning, and has more than thirty years of experience in the software, technology, telecommunications, and Internet business sectors. She has numerous accomplishments in Agile methods, project management, business analysis, software development, methodology development, process improvement, and courseware development and training. She is a Certified Scrum Master and Professional, a Certified BA Professional, and a Certified PM Professional. She is also a contributor to the IIBA’s Agile Extension to the BABOK, and the agile perspective in version 3.0 of the BABOK.

Why Should the Business Care About Agile

Why Should the Business Care About Agile?

In mid-September, Mike Stuedemann, Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile Coach, hosted a webinar entitled, “Why Should the Business Care About Agile?” To listen to the webinar, please click here. While a number of questions were addressed during the webinar, the time-box did not allow all of the questions to be answered. This blog is an …

Mike Stuedemann, CST, CSM, CSPO, PMI-ACP, PMP

Innovative, servant leader with extensive IT experience and a passion for process improvement. Demonstrated leadership improving team performance in the midst of significant organizational change. Positive, team-oriented management style achieving results through systematic analysis, collaboration and strong project management.

Are Your Ready to Cook Up Some User Stories

Are You “Ready” to Cook Up Some User Stories?

“Ready” is a Scrum concept that applies to making sure that the Team has enough information about user stories to be able to implement them in an upcoming sprint. Roman Pilcher says that a “ready” story should be clear, feasible, and testable. I’m fond of analogies, and I think the concept of ready also applies …

Marsha Hughes, CSM, CBAP, PMP

Marsha is a senior instructor and consultant for Watermark Learning, and has more than thirty years of experience in the software, technology, telecommunications, and Internet business sectors. She has numerous accomplishments in Agile methods, project management, business analysis, software development, methodology development, process improvement, and courseware development and training. She is a Certified Scrum Master and Professional, a Certified BA Professional, and a Certified PM Professional. She is also a contributor to the IIBA’s Agile Extension to the BABOK, and the agile perspective in version 3.0 of the BABOK.

The Benefits of Short Iterations

The Benefits of Short Iterations

The Benefits of Short Iterations, or Why Time is Like Closet Space I’ve always used the maxim that time is like closet space – the more you have, the more you fill it up with stuff! (I recently moved to a smaller space and experienced this personally.) Something similar tends to happen with longer iterations …

Marsha Hughes, CSM, CBAP, PMP

Marsha is a senior instructor and consultant for Watermark Learning, and has more than thirty years of experience in the software, technology, telecommunications, and Internet business sectors. She has numerous accomplishments in Agile methods, project management, business analysis, software development, methodology development, process improvement, and courseware development and training. She is a Certified Scrum Master and Professional, a Certified BA Professional, and a Certified PM Professional. She is also a contributor to the IIBA’s Agile Extension to the BABOK, and the agile perspective in version 3.0 of the BABOK.