UK Scrum Academy

23/07/2025

What Are We Actually Storing - And Should It Be There At All?

What looks like collaboration can easily expose sensitive data especially in the public sector.

https://www.ukscrum.academy/post/is-it-safe-to-put-user-research-evidence-or-screenshots-into-a-collaboration-tool

Many Agile delivery teams rely on tools like Jira, Trello or Miro without fully considering where their data is hosted, or who can view, edit or export it.

21/07/2025

Where Is Our Project Data Being Stored - And Who Has Access To It?

Many Agile delivery teams rely on tools like Jira, Trello or Miro without fully considering where their data is hosted, or who can view, edit or export it. In government, these are not just technical details - they are legal and governance responsibilities.

Data residency determines where your service data is physically stored - UK, EU or elsewhere.
Access control governs who can access your backlog, boards or documentation, and under what conditions.

Even if your team only handles “project tracking” data, the presence of personal identifiers or sensitive context may bring your tool under scrutiny.

If your backlog is stored outside the UK or remains accessible to former suppliers, you could be exposing your organisation to avoidable risk - from breach of contract to failed audit.

In my latest article, I break down:

- What data residency and access control mean in practical terms
- Why delivery teams must treat them as part of tool selection
- The role of data controllers under UK GDPR
- Red flags and good practice for configuring collaboration tools

Read the full article here: https://www.ukscrum.academy/post/where-is-our-project-data-being-stored-and-who-has-access-to-tt

17/04/2024

𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 £𝟱𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗽/𝗮.

We are looking for Affiliate Partners. As an affiliate partner with UK Scrum Academy, you can earn generous commissions of 16.5%, equivalent to upwards of £50,000 annually. Visit the website for more information.

https://www.ukscrum.academy/become-our-affiliate-partner

Are you an Influencer, or do you have a network of professionals who could benefit from Agile Scrum training? If so, joining our Partner Programme could be your gateway to unlocking incredible earning potential whilst making a real difference in the world of business.

16/04/2024

We offer a range of discount programs designed to help your organisation save money whilst getting the training services you need to successfully apply Agile Scrum to your projects.

https://ukscrum.academy/corporate-and-educational-discounts

Whether you are a small business or a large corporation, we will work with you to determine the best discount rate for your corporation, taking into account factors such as the size of your business, budget and specific needs.

15/04/2024

𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗴 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴?

In practice, user stories in the Product Backlog can vary significantly in size and complexity. Although it is preferable to have items that are relatively uniform in size, it is quite common for some backlog items to grow quite large, resembling what we might refer to as 'epics'. It is essential to steer clear of allowing user stories to become so big they resemble epics. The Product Owner and the team should collaborate to break them down into smaller, more manageable work items during backlog refinement. This approach ensures a smoother Sprint Planning process whilst also enhancing predictability. By ensuring user stories are sized appropriately, the team will maintain clarity and focus, thus aiding better estimation and resource allocation. It also enables the team to select an achievable amount of work for the Sprint.

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12/04/2024

In our recent survey, we sought to uncover how professionals prefer to engage with learning opportunities. The results provided surprising and valuable insights into the evolving landscape of professional development.

A significant majority (57.9%) of respondents expressed a strong preference for in-person courses. This preference emphasises the value placed on face-to-face interaction. The inclination towards in-person courses highlights a desire for dynamic engagement and real-time collaboration.

The preference for in-person courses suggests a need for organisations to tailor their offerings to meet the demand for immersive learning experiences that drive enhanced outcomes. It is crucial however to recognise the value that both in-person and online formats bring, ensuring accessibility and flexibility for learners.

By understanding and adapting to learner preferences, organisations can deliver effective training that empowers professionals to thrive in today's fast-paced business environments. For our part, we have decided to stick exclusively to the in-person training format, at least for now.

12/04/2024

𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀?

Whilst Scrum offers numerous benefits such as flexibility, adaptability and customer focus, it also presents its fair share of challenges, especially for those new to Agile ways of working.

A common challenge (sometimes even for experienced teams) is the definition of a structured and well-defined Product Backlog. Lack of structure and ambiguity can prompt the addition of unnecessary features, prolonging project completion but more crucially may confuse the team, leading to delays and a compromise in the overall quality of the final product.

Accurate estimation of the work and management of dependencies in complex projects is another common challenge that can impede the team's ability to deliver on time and within budget.

The transition to Agile ways of working is also often a middle management initiative; a lack of executive support and a strong corporate culture not accustomed to the Agile mindset can be a difficult environment in which to implement Agile methods, consequently, the transformation fails due to employee resistance.

Agile: Why So Many Organisations Struggle To Make The Transition! You might also find this blog interesting: https://www.ukscrum.academy/post/agile-why-so-many-organisations-struggle-to-transition

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According to some studies, 70 to 80% of Agile transformations fail to meet their objectives or produce the desired outcomes.

08/04/2024

Learn how to apply Scrum to your projects, and how to work effectively within a Scrum team.

https://ukscrum.academy

31/03/2024

Scrum! Have you ever wondered how this distinctive name became associated with Agile practices?
https://www.ukscrum.academy/post/a-brief-history-the-origins-of-scrum

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Have you ever wondered how this distinctive name became associated with Agile practices?

31/03/2024

Agile Scrum as a Delivery Method – Essentials (C-ASDM) For Government and Public Sector.

Learn how to apply Scrum to your projects, and how to work effectively within a Scrum team.

www.ukscrum.academy

Learn how to apply Scrum to your projects and work effectively within a Scrum team.