Practice vocabulary for Agile anti-patterns: cargo cult Scrum, zombie Scrum, fake Agile, and dysfunctional ceremonies.
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A consultant says 'This team is practicing cargo cult Scrum.' What does this phrase mean?
'Cargo cult Scrum' refers to teams that mimic the outward forms of Scrum (standups, sprints, retrospectives) without understanding why they exist — hoping the practices alone will produce results.
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Your Agile coach says 'The standup has become a status report.' Why is this an anti-pattern?
When standups become status reports to a manager, team members lose ownership and focus on impressing the boss rather than coordinating with each other. Scrum standups are for the team to synchronize and identify blockers.
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A team is described as practicing 'zombie Scrum.' What best describes their situation?
Zombie Scrum describes teams that mechanically follow Scrum events but lack engagement, collaboration, and drive to improve. They 'go through the motions' without the agile mindset.
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Someone says 'The sprint planning is a ceremony without substance.' What does 'ceremony without substance' mean in this context?
'Ceremony without substance' means the event is held to satisfy a process requirement but produces no real value — teams may sit through sprint planning without genuinely understanding what they're committing to.
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An executive announces 'We are doing Agile now' but continues to demand fixed scope, fixed dates, and fixed budget. This is often called what?
'Fake Agile' or 'Agile in name only' describes organizations that adopt Agile language and some ceremonies but retain a command-and-control structure, fixed requirements, and no real inspect-and-adapt culture.