Software Development: Accelerating Delivery Through Agile and DevOps Practices

Explores how Agile principles, technical leadership, and engineering excellence help teams manage unpredictability, adapt to change, and deliver …

The Definition of Done can evolve to improve quality but should not be weakened or vary per backlog item. Consistency ensures transparency and …

Explains technical debt in software development, its impact on teams, and practical strategies to identify, manage, and reduce it for long-term …

Learn how NKD Agility supports organisations in building engineering excellence through modern practices like performance engineering, testing in …

Explains the risks of the pick-n-mix branching anti-pattern in source control, its impact on code quality, and recommends feature branching and …

Explores how increasing deployment frequency, stable environments, and fast feedback loops improve software delivery, reduce time to market, and align …

Explains why Sprints are valuable even with continuous delivery, highlighting benefits for planning, feedback, communication, and predictability in …

Learn key practices for adopting modern source control and DevOps, including automation, release pipelines, and team collaboration to improve software …

Scrum alone does not cause project failure; lacking strong engineering practices and effective retrospectives leads to technical debt and poor Agile …

Explains how Scrum Sprints are primarily for planning, not fixed delivery, and discusses aligning delivery schedules, continuous deployment, and …

Learn how to use Kanban flow metrics in Scrum to improve value delivery, track progress, identify bottlenecks, and drive continuous improvement in …

Explains how managing and repaying technical debt improves software quality, delivery speed, and long-term value by addressing both known and unknown …

Explores how Agile teams can clarify and align on the true meaning of "done" to ensure quality, reduce rework, and meet leadership expectations …

Scrum Masters with deep knowledge and competence enable teams to deliver better products, drive business outcomes, and foster real improvement in …

Explores how early assumptions about competence led to Agile’s current skills gap, highlighting the need for continuous learning, better hiring, and …

Explores common DevOps challenges to rapid delivery, highlighting automation, feedback loops, mindset shifts, and compliance for achieving agile, …

Highlights the importance of promptly fixing software bugs instead of managing backlogs, arguing that unresolved defects harm product quality and team …

Explores why fixed best practices don't suit complex continuous delivery, highlighting adaptive approaches like audience-based delivery, testing in …

Covers key responsibilities, skills, and requirements for hiring a Scrum Master, including leadership, coaching, facilitation, and fostering effective …

Explores why special sprints like Sprint Zero or hardening sprints undermine Agile by delaying work, increasing risk, and reducing continuous delivery …

Learn what qualities to seek in an Agile coach, including technical expertise, business acumen, and the ability to engage both technical teams and …

Stop chasing hype. Discover why context-driven tech choices—not the latest stack—lead to real, sustainable value for your team and business.

Discover how Joanna’s technical expertise, clear teaching, and real-world Agile experience make her Scrum.Org classes at NKD Agility essential for …

Many Scrum Masters lack essential skills and experience, leading to poor agile outcomes. True competence requires deep knowledge, practical …

Explains how Kaizen’s continuous improvement principles enhance Scrum and Agile teams, with practical tips for retrospectives, workflow optimisation, …

Explains how DevOps and Agile work together to enable continuous delivery, rapid feedback, and customer value in software development and product …

Explores effective Agile transformation by empowering teams, improving collaboration, focusing on value delivery, and fostering continuous improvement …

Explains why Scrum Masters should not direct teams, emphasising self-organisation, shared responsibility, and the importance of team autonomy in Scrum …

Explores how lacking developer control over production, telemetry, and deployments undermines DevOps, leading to fragile automation and failed …

Learn three key Agile strategies: define clear completion criteria, avoid overcommitting in Sprints, and prioritise backlog refinement for better team …

Learn how effective Sprint planning boosts Agile team performance, with practical workshops, coaching, feedback, and adaptable methods for continuous …

Explores how true professionalism in Scrum enables Agile teams to deliver production-ready products, highlighting the importance of transparency, …

Learn what to look for when hiring an Agile coach, including key qualities like teaching, mentoring, and inspiring teams to adopt Agile practices and …

Explains how effective Scrum Masters empower teams through facilitation, support, and coaching, moving away from authority and micromanagement to …

Explores how teaching the reasons behind Agile practices boosts team engagement, collaboration, and continuous improvement, helping teams adapt and …

Learn how to achieve organisational agility by tailoring change to your unique context, building a guiding coalition, and engaging all stakeholders in …

Platform Engineering is the practice of designing, building, and maintaining internal platforms that enable developers to deliver value independently, …

Learn how to identify authentic agile practices, spot common myths, and understand cultural barriers that hinder true agility in modern software …

Incompetent Scrum Masters reduce team performance and ROI by lacking key skills. Learn how to measure their impact using innovation, usage, and …

Learn how tailored DevOps strategies help organisations assess current practices, streamline processes, ensure compliance, and boost software quality …

Explains why Story Points are subjective and unsuitable for comparing teams, and highlights objective metrics like throughput and value for measuring …

Explains how a Scrum Master empowers Agile teams by bridging business, technical, and organisational needs to boost effectiveness, collaboration, and …

Explores key challenges in adopting DevOps, including managing evolving risks and closing feedback loops, with strategies for rapid iteration, …

Explains why Scrum teams benefit more from Agile consultants than professional coaches, focusing on the need for technical guidance, mentoring, and …

Explores how to scale Scrum effectively by applying agile values, fostering professional teams, and adapting processes to fit unique organisational …

Explores how automation in testing, deployment, and validation streamlines development, reduces technical debt, and builds confidence for teams and …

Explores how frequent code deployments improve code quality, reduce technical debt, enable faster feedback, and support iterative, user-focused …

Explains Scrum’s four key value areas—current value, unrealised value, ability to innovate, and time to market—for data-driven product and …

Explores a developer’s transition to DevOps, highlighting key challenges: cultural change, toolchain automation, and continuous learning for effective …

Explains how evidence-based management uses reliable metrics and KPIs at team and organisational levels to drive better decisions, value delivery, and …

Explains how defining quality standards, acceptance criteria, and automation in software delivery leads to predictable outcomes, fewer bugs, and …

Guidance for new Scrum teams on building strong foundations, embracing empiricism, Scrum values, continuous learning, and the Scrum Master's role in …

Failing to deliver a usable product each agile iteration leads to lost trust, technical debt, poor adaptability, misaligned expectations, low morale, …

The US Department of Defence now requires agile, iterative software development, ending mandatory waterfall methods and influencing global government …

Unreleased features create hidden costs and risks. Regular software delivery reduces failure rates, rework, and missed opportunities, ensuring real …

Explores how breaking features into small experiments boosts software delivery, enabling teams to deliver more features, reduce risk, and improve …

Explores the difference between mechanical and Professional Scrum, highlighting the importance of values, principles, and technical excellence for …

Explores common misconceptions about Scrum Masters, clarifies their true accountabilities, and highlights the importance of principles, competence, …

Explores how practical use of Scrum fosters adaptability and resilience in teams, highlighting the value of flexibility over rigid rules in complex …

Explores how Scrum can align DevOps and software engineering teams by fostering transparency, feedback, and engineering excellence in Agile software …