為了使你的組織或團隊盡可能善用 Scrum,我們希望少提到「專案」交付,多重視在「產品」交付。將團隊放在產品或商業能力中間,能長久的創建穩定的團隊。Martin Fowler 在這裡說得非常好,他說:「…我們想要轉換為以產品為導向的世界觀,而非專案,專案是執行一段時間後停止;也能這麼說,『讓我們專注在更長久的事情上,並圍繞它組成一個產品團隊。』(we want to switch to a product-oriented view of the world where instead of projects that you spin up, run for a while and then stop; you instead say, ‘Let’s focus on things that are much more long-lasting and organize a product team around that.)」
Scrum is a prevalent framework used by many knowledge workers collaborating in teams. In the recent 16th State of Agile Report, 9 out of 10 teams are using Scrum as part of the transformation journey to adopt better ways of working. After years of reading Scrum Master job postings and working with Agile practitioners in companies, here are 10 things we would like to see less of:
Scrum values embody the spirit of Scrum. However, when Scrum has been imposed on a team, the focus is to have a group of people work together without recognition of the Scrum values. We prefer more emphasis on building a happy team that embodies the Scrum spirit and exhibits strong collaboration in a psychologically safe environment.
Please use the official term “Events” in the Scrum Guide, instead of using “Scrum ceremonies. The Events are not meant to be ritualistic in any way. They exist so that delivery risks can be mitigated, as well as for inspection and adaptation to be enabled.
We prefer using “Daily Scrum”, instead of “Daily Stand-up”. The 15 minutes that teams meet for identifying impediments to be addressed, sharing information, and determining their progress toward the goal is called the Daily Scrum. You do not necessarily have to stand up each time you do the Daily Scrum.
We suggest using “Product Backlog Refinement”, instead of using “backlog grooming”. Grooming has negative connotations in certain places. To avoid confusion, please stick to the official name for this activity.
Agile is about values and principles. We suggest reducing the number of times Agile is mentioned in terms of methodologies and practices. Start mentioning more about Scrum values. Without the mindset encompassing these values and principles, you will never see lasting change in your organization.
If you believe that a better way forward to adapt to change is for the team to be self-organizing, do not expect the Scrum Master to manage the team. Rather than dictate the what and how of the solutions, experienced Scrum Masters create the right environment for their team to collaborate, experiment and derive a conclusion from their findings. Several job postings expect the SM to manage the team or review the technical design. That sort of expectation is the opposite of giving autonomy and empowering teams.
To foster more effective leadership in your organization or teams, please refrain from asking SMs to be note-takers, event organizers, or anything that would distract the Scrum Master from doing their primary role, which is, to lead the team to higher levels of hyper-productivity and real business outcomes. It is better to be upfront during the hiring process that you want a Business Analyst or a Software Architect with a Scrum Master background rather than to sneak the responsibilities of a second job into the JD.
If you would like to achieve a more successful transformation, we suggest focusing less on just coaching teams, but to balance that with more inclusion of coaching leadership or executives. Important organizational changes to remove systemic impediments should include decision-makers with formal authority that can effect real change. This takes place through conversations. If you want to see accelerated change in your organization, allow SMs to have conversations with leadership.
To make your organization or teams make the best out of Scrum, we would like less mention of project delivery, and more recognition of product delivery. Center the teams around products or business capabilities that are long-lasting to create stable teams. Martin Fowler puts it very nicely here when he says, “…we want to switch to a product-oriented view of the world where instead of projects that you spin up, run for a while and then stop; you instead say, ‘Let’s focus on things that are much more long-lasting and organize a product team around that.’”
Lastly, instead of throwing out “continuous improvement” as a buzzword, think more about having the SM change and influence the culture within. SMs should support leaders to establish a desire for the entire organization to win and be awesome. Instead of helping the team to improve, think about how to enable faster feedback loops so that the company can adapt faster to change.
We believe it is important for HR, hiring managers, job posters, job interviewers, and people who are getting into Scrum to be more aware of this to facilitate a common language and less confusion when talking about Scrum. Moreover, this would enable Scrum Masters to be more effective in bringing about positive and sustainable change in your company by balancing the focus on the right things.
Extract: Kaitlyn Peng and I had a fruitful discussion on what frustrates us as Scrum Masters. From our experience in working with Scrum teams, we made an unordered list of our top 10 things that we would like to see less of.
From inconsistent terms to misplaced expectations, if you have experienced this, maybe it would be relatable. What are other things you would like to see less of?