Dellenny details how GitHub Copilot’s Scrum Assistant agent can automate and enhance Agile ceremonies, guiding development teams through daily standups, sprint planning, and more with AI-driven workflow support.

How to Activate and Use the Scrum Assistant Agent in GitHub Copilot

Agile teams are always seeking ways to streamline their rituals and automate repetitive work. With GitHub Copilot’s built-in Scrum Assistant agent, AI-driven facilitation can now be integrated directly into your standups, retros, and planning sessions.

What Is the Scrum Assistant Agent?

The Scrum Assistant agent is an AI-powered feature in GitHub Copilot, designed to act like a virtual Scrum Master for developer teams. Its capabilities include:

  • Drafting user stories and acceptance criteria
  • Tracking and summarizing daily standups
  • Flagging blockers or impediments
  • Assisting with backlog grooming
  • Preparing retrospective summaries
  • Recommending sprint goals

This agent functions inside Copilot Chat and Copilot Workspace, making it easy for teams to interact with and automate project rituals within their chosen development environment.

How to Activate the Scrum Assistant Agent

Some features may be in progressive rollout. If you don’t see the Scrum Assistant, follow these steps:

1. Join the Copilot Workspace Beta (If Required)

  • Visit GitHub Copilot features.
  • Request access to Copilot Workspace, or enable preview features in your GitHub account settings.

2. Enable Agents in Copilot Chat

  • Open Copilot Chat in VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, or via GitHub.com.
  • Use the agents menu or prompt bar to select Scrum Assistant from available agents.
  • Optionally provide context like your project name, sprint cadence, or backlog data.

Once activated, you can interact with the agent on a daily basis.

Using the Scrum Assistant for Agile Rituals

Examples of Practical Prompts

Daily Standup:

@ScrumAssistant update my standup: I worked on the login feature yesterday, today I'm fixing OAuth bugs, and I'm blocked by missing test credentials.

Result: Copilot logs your progress and identifies blockers for the team.

Drafting User Stories:

@ScrumAssistant write a user story for adding password reset to the mobile app.

Result: Generates a formatted user story with acceptance criteria.

Backlog Grooming:

@ScrumAssistant review these tasks and suggest priorities.

Result: Analyzes tasks and recommends grooming actions.

Sprint Retro Summary:

@ScrumAssistant summarize team feedback from the last sprint and highlight areas to improve.

Result: Actionable retro summary for your next session.

Pro Tips for Maximizing Value

  • Provide context: Mention your team’s name, sprint goal, or project board for more relevant suggestions.
  • Embrace markdown: Use structured lists and headers—Copilot handles them well.
  • Chat integration: Some setups allow Scrum Assistant to post updates to Slack or Teams.
  • Iterative collaboration: Follow up with prompts like “Expand this user story” or “Generate follow-up tasks.”

By embedding this agent in your pipeline, Agile teams can reduce meeting friction, accelerate planning, and improve clarity—focusing more energy on delivering real value.

Written by Dellenny. For source and related posts, visit Dellenny.

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