The Agile Daily Standup - AgileDad Scrum Theatre and the Agile Illusion
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Oct 20, 2025 Imagine a flawless stand-up with no blockers—sounds great, right? But what if it's just Scrum Theatre, a performance masked as real Agile practice? The discussion tackles the difference between genuine collaboration and superficial updates. Lee emphasizes the importance of raising impediments immediately and focusing on real commitments. He urges teams to assess backlog value and make retrospectives actionable. Ultimately, it’s about moving beyond rituals to embrace authentic Agile practices for real progress.
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Perfect Stand-Ups Can Be An Illusion
- A seemingly perfect stand-up where everyone reports no blockers is likely an illusion of agility.
- Lee Henson calls this phenomenon "Scrum Theatre," where appearance replaces real collaboration.
CSM With Ken Schwaber Shaped Perspective
- Lee Henson recounts taking his first CSM class from Ken Schwaber in 2003 as background for his perspective.
- He uses that history to contrast authentic Scrum with today's "Scrum Theatre."
Ask About Commitments, Not Busy Work
- Ask what each person committed to yesterday and whether they finished it instead of asking what they worked on.
- Focus on commitments to reveal progress and accountability during daily scrums.