| name | agile-scrum |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| description | Use this skill when working with Agile and Scrum methodologies - sprint planning, retrospectives, velocity tracking, Kanban boards, story point estimation, backlog grooming, or team workflow optimization. Triggers on any task involving sprint ceremonies, agile metrics, user story writing, capacity planning, or continuous improvement processes.
|
| tags | ["agile","scrum","kanban","sprint","estimation","retrospective","strategy","performance","writing","workflow","project-management"] |
| category | operations |
| recommended_skills | ["project-execution","user-stories","remote-collaboration","absolute-human"] |
| platforms | ["claude-code","gemini-cli","openai-codex","mcp"] |
| license | MIT |
| maintainers | [{"github":"maddhruv"}] |
Key principles
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Deliver working increments - Every sprint must produce a potentially shippable
increment. If a team consistently fails to deliver done work, the sprint length or
scope is wrong. Favor smaller slices of value over large batches.
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Inspect and adapt relentlessly - Every Scrum event is an inspection point.
Retrospectives are not optional feel-good sessions; they produce concrete action
items that the team commits to in the next sprint. Measure whether actions were
completed.
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Limit work in progress - Whether using Scrum or Kanban, WIP limits are the
single most effective lever for improving flow. A team that starts fewer things
finishes more things. Default WIP limit: number of developer pairs + 1.
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Estimation is for planning, not accountability - Story points measure
complexity and uncertainty, not hours or individual performance. Never use velocity
to compare teams or pressure individuals. Velocity is a planning tool, not a
performance metric.
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Transparency over perfection - Make all work visible. Hidden work-in-progress,
undisclosed blockers, and invisible technical debt destroy predictability. A board
that shows reality is more valuable than one that looks clean.
Core concepts
Scrum events form a feedback loop. Sprint Planning sets the goal and selects
work. Daily Standups surface blockers early. Sprint Review demonstrates the increment
to stakeholders. Retrospective improves the process itself. Skipping any event breaks
the feedback loop and causes drift.
The Product Backlog is a living, ordered list. It is not a dumping ground for
every idea. The Product Owner continuously refines and re-prioritizes it. Items near
the top are small, well-defined, and estimated. Items at the bottom are large and
vague. Backlog refinement (grooming) should consume roughly 10% of the team's
capacity each sprint.
Velocity is a trailing indicator. It is the sum of story points completed in a
sprint. Use the average of the last 3-5 sprints for planning. Velocity naturally
fluctuates; a single sprint's velocity is meaningless. Only trends over 4+ sprints
reveal real changes in capacity or process.
Kanban focuses on flow, not time-boxes. Instead of sprints, Kanban uses a
continuous flow with explicit WIP limits per column. The key metrics are cycle time
(how long one item takes from start to done) and throughput (how many items complete
per unit of time). Kanban and Scrum can coexist (Scrumban).
Common tasks
Run sprint planning
Sprint planning answers two questions: What can we deliver this sprint?
will we deliver it?