Overview

Google, IBM & Meta Certificates — All 10,000+ Courses at 40% Off

One annual plan covers every course and certificate on Coursera. 40% off for a limited time.

This course features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. Struggling Scrum teams often face hidden challenges—unclear goals, poor collaboration, ineffective backlog management, and misaligned roles. This course helps you diagnose what’s going wrong and provides practical strategies to restore agility, improve team alignment, and drive better outcomes. You’ll learn how to identify common Scrum dysfunctions, strengthen team collaboration, and implement frameworks like OKRs to guide meaningful progress. The course begins by helping you evaluate the current health of your Scrum team and understand why Scrum initiatives frequently fail. You will analyze common pitfalls such as blindly following best practices, unclear goals, trust issues, and the damaging effects of micromanagement. Through practical exercises, you’ll assess team performance and implement proven techniques to improve alignment and collaboration. Next, the course revisits Scrum’s core values and demonstrates how they can guide better decision-making and team culture. You’ll explore ways to optimize the Product Backlog, clarify the Product Owner’s responsibilities, and address issues such as multiple backlogs or unclear product vision. Along the way, hands-on exercises will help you refine sprint retrospectives, backlog prioritization, and stakeholder communication. The course is designed for Scrum Masters, Agile coaches, developers, product managers, and team leaders who want to improve the effectiveness of their Scrum teams. Beginners with a basic understanding of Agile concepts can benefit, while experienced practitioners will gain actionable techniques for troubleshooting real-world Scrum challenges. By the end of the course, you will be able to diagnose common Scrum failures, strengthen Scrum roles and responsibilities, improve backlog management and sprint processes, and implement practical strategies to restore team alignment, productivity, and value delivery.

Syllabus

Introduction

In this module, we will introduce you to the course and provide an overview of the steps to enhance your Scrum team's performance. You'll also explore why Scrum fails in many organizations and begin assessing your team's current challenges to identify improvement areas.

Understanding Why Scrum Goes Wrong

In this module, we will dive into the underlying issues that often lead Scrum teams to fail. We'll explore the danger of rigidly adhering to "best practices" and the importance of clear, meaningful goals for team success, alongside practical solutions for team trust-building.

Reaffirming Scrum Values

In this module, we will explore the core Scrum values and how revisiting them can resolve issues within your team. We'll show you how these values can serve as a decision-making tool and help improve team cohesion through targeted retrospectives.

Optimizing the Product Backlog

In this module, we will discuss the importance of a well-maintained Product Backlog for team success. We’ll guide you through the process of merging multiple backlogs and resolving common PBI issues to ensure clear priorities and actionable work for your team.

Clarifying the Role of the Product Owner

In this module, we will clarify the essential role of the Product Owner in Scrum and explore how to strengthen this role for improved Scrum outcomes. You'll learn how to avoid common pitfalls and map out effective communication with stakeholders.

Developer Dynamics in Scrum

In this module, we will focus on enhancing developer contributions within Scrum teams. You’ll explore strategies to foster essential skills, improve collaboration, and build stronger accountability and team spirit to boost overall effectiveness.

Addressing Other Scrum Challenges

In this module, we will tackle other common Scrum challenges, including management resistance and dysfunctions in Sprint Planning. We'll provide actionable solutions to make your Scrum ceremonies more effective and ensure better team alignment and execution.

Conclusion & Key Takeaways

In this final module, we will recap the main lessons from the course and provide you with actionable takeaways. You’ll walk away with a clear plan for improving your Scrum team's performance and sustaining long-term success.