[nihil75]

Yes, it's working for us, but not without cost.

It's a good way to set expectations for what will be/is to be delivered in a Sprint, and limits going off-piste in too many directions while not delivering functionality (which is a problem for creative/broad-skillset developers at times).

It also limits the impact/waste in case the requirements change - you only worked two weeks in the wrong direction. (and they say changing requirements is the biggest problem in software projects since ever)

However, I find that it often reduces developers to mindless drones, just trying to satisfy acceptance criteria without thinking about the big picture. (You know you're there when Refinement meetings are very quiet and the Architect does most of the talking).

As for estimation/scoring - I find that estimating "complexity" is nonsense. Treating points as "days" is more realistic and leads to better time management from everyone.

[nihil75]

Oh and standups are not that bad!

We keep it small, team level (6 people), and they last 15 minutes.

No pressure to describe anything - you can say "I'm still working on that thing" and that's that..

Honestly it's more of a social thing, especially while remoting, and a chance to share thoughts and offer assistane.

[Graffur]

Where does the architect sit in the scrum team?

[nihil75]

Outside/above it, but he's present in Refinement meetings of multiple scrum teams (as per SAFe Agile).