Agile, explained from the very first step.
Plain-English guides for people new to agile: what it means, how Scrum and Kanban work, how to run your first sprint and board, and how to build an agile career. Every guide links to its sources.
Articles
18 articles
What Agile Actually Means: A Beginner's Guide to the Basics
A plain-English introduction to agile: where the word came from, what the four values and twelve principles say, and how iterative, incremental delivery works.
Read · 6 min read →Agile BasicsAgile vs. Waterfall: How to Choose an Approach for Your Project
How waterfall and agile differ, what each fixes and lets flex, when each tends to fit, and five questions to help you choose, including a hybrid path.
Read · 6 min read →Agile BasicsWho's Who on an Agile Team: Product Owner, Scrum Master and More
Meet the people on a Scrum team: what the Product Owner, Scrum Master and Developers are accountable for, and where stakeholders and managers fit.
Read · 6 min read →Agile BasicsScrum Events for First-Timers: What Happens and How to Prepare
A step-by-step walk through your first Sprint: Sprint Planning, the Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Retrospective, with timeboxes and practical tips.
Read · 6 min read →Agile BasicsBacklogs, Boards and Increments: Agile Artifacts for Beginners
Learn the things agile teams look at every day: the product and sprint backlogs, task and kanban boards, the increment and the Definition of Done.
Read · 6 min read →Agile BasicsAgile Myths That Trip Up Beginners, and What's Actually True
Eight common agile myths, from no documentation and no planning to only for software, checked against the Agile Manifesto, the Scrum Guide and GAO.
Read · 6 min read →Getting StartedYour First Sprint: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough for New Teams
A practical walkthrough of a team's first Scrum sprint, from setting the length and drafting a Definition of Done to the review and retrospective.
Read · 6 min read →Getting StartedSetting Up Your First Kanban Board: Columns, WIP Limits, Policies
How to design a first Kanban board step by step, using the Kanban Guide's Definition of Workflow: work items, columns, WIP control, explicit policies and an SLE.
Read · 5 min read →Getting StartedBuilding Your First Product Backlog: A Starter Approach and Template
A step-by-step way to build a first product backlog: set a goal, capture items, write clear stories, order them and refine just enough, plus a simple template.
Read · 5 min read →Getting StartedIntroducing Agile to a Skeptical Team or Manager
How to win over doubtful colleagues and managers: listen first, start from a real problem, correct common myths with primary sources and run a small trial.
Read · 5 min read →Getting StartedAgile for a Team of One: Freelancers, Founders and Side Projects
How freelancers, solo founders and side-project builders can borrow agile ideas, from a personal Kanban board to weekly cycles, reviews and simple metrics.
Read · 5 min read →Getting StartedMeasuring Progress in Your First Three Months of Agile
A beginner's plan for measuring early agile progress: velocity and throughput basics, a month-by-month approach and the cautions that keep numbers honest.
Read · 5 min read →Agile Careers & CertificationsHow to Become a Scrum Master: Skills, Paths and First Steps
What a Scrum Master is accountable for under the Scrum Guide, the skills that matter, common routes into the role, where PSM and CSM fit and first steps to take now.
Read · 6 min read →Agile Careers & CertificationsHow to Become a Product Owner: Skills, Paths and Pitfalls
What the Scrum Guide makes a product owner accountable for, the skills and backgrounds that lead to the role, the main certifications and the mistakes new product owners can avoid.
Read · 6 min read →Agile Careers & CertificationsAgile Certifications Compared: PSM, CSM, PMI-ACP, ICAgile and SAFe
A side-by-side look at five agile certification families using each certifying body's own requirements, exam formats and renewal rules, plus how to choose between them.
Read · 6 min read →Agile Careers & CertificationsThe Agile Coach Career Path: From Team Member to Coach
How people typically grow from agile team member to Scrum Master, team coach and enterprise coach, with the skills, ICAgile and ICF credentials and habits each stage involves.
Read · 6 min read →Agile Careers & CertificationsAgile Job Interviews: What Interviewers Probe and How to Prepare
How structured interviews work, what to prepare for Scrum Master, product owner, developer and coach roles, how to build answers from real stories and what to ask employers.
Read · 6 min read →Agile Careers & CertificationsFrom Project Manager to Agile: How Traditional PMs Make the Move
Which project management skills carry over to agile work, what changes and what to unlearn, the roles PMs commonly move into and PMI resources built for the transition.
Read · 6 min read →Glossary
55 Agile and Scrum terms explained in a sentence or three, from backlog to WIP limit.