Kanban: Only 3 Simple Steps
Scrum Gathering London: Day 3
The Ins & Outs of Scrum
Hi all…
I am in the process of going through the Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) application. It requires much work, materials, and learning. I have been learning so much just by going through it. One thing that may also help those reviewing my application is a video of me training.
Enjoy and wish me luck in my application!
Plenty of organizations are using Scrum (an Agile method) to boost productivity and achieve early results for their clients. However, many get stuck in the outer shell of Scrum without focusing or even experiencing the soft gooey core. Let’s look at three pieces of Scrum to get us started.
Daily Scrum…
The shell of the Daily Scrum is a meeting that the entire team (Team, ScrumMaster, and Product Owner) has each day for 15 minutes and they stand for it.They also answer three questions which are: what did I do?, what will I do next?, and what are my obstacles? If a team or organization only focuses on the outer shell of the Daily Scrum then limited benefits will be achieved. However great benefits will be achieved f they are able to see the purpose of the Daily Scrum which is to connect the team daily to help all understand what is going on so that they can adjust their plans and help each other out to complete their goals. One way to observe if a team deeply understands and has internalized the purpose of the Daily Scrum is if this meeting is joyful, they are all engaged, and it is owned by the team.
Product Backlog…
The outer shell of the Product Backlog is an ordered list of ideas for the product. This could be just that, a list of work to be done that is ordered in some way. So what? What if this list was a living artifact that all team members and key stakeholders could see each and every day (preferably on a large wall) that they could have input and be able to start conversations? Wouldn’t that be much better? Think of how the second Product Backlog would help facilitate conversations, decisions, further understanding, and lead to better outcomes.
ScrumMaster…
The shell of the ScrumMaster is that he or she ensures that the team is functional and productive. This could that he schedules the meetings, makes sure that they happen, force the rules, and keeps the team together and talking. If you just do that, then you are managing the team. On the other hand, if you build capacity in the team for collaboration, aid in their ability to achieve there team goals early, and focus on the large goal of becoming a high-performance team then much better results will be achieved.
Why not go for the gold? Well it is much easier to read a Scrum book, attend a two-day training or go to a conference to make Scrum happen at your company. This might get you small quantitative results. Not so bad I guess. However, if you get leadership excited, bring in external support (experienced coaches), and view this Scrum “thing” as a tool for large transformational change then will more likely get large qualitative results. Go for the gold!
Re-posted from Agile Advice (with permission) on by Mike Caspar
Surgeon: So, we’re going to remove your appendix this week. The team is anxious to get rolling.
Patient : I’m pretty nervous. I don’t really know what to expect and I know I have all these other operations that need to get done for me to be totally healthy.
Surgeon : Don’t worry. We have a really good team. We also want to make sure you are 100% satisfied with the work we do. We know that you want to get some cosmetic work done in the future and you have other important surgeries to do, but for now, let’s focus on the appendix removal, OK ?
Patient : Sure
Surgeon : We want to make sure we have a common understanding of what you want from us. So, we’re going to ask you a few questions OK ?…Can I get the team in here ?
Patient : Sounds good.
(introductions).
Surgeon : Well, for this to be considered a successful operation, what kind of things are you looking for? I already know, that to me at least, successful means two things. 1- The appendix is out and 2 – you don’t die during the surgery. Well, actually, the not dying part is part of every surgery we’ll do for you. We’ll assume that every surgery needs you to live.
Patient : I’m glad you said that!!! Phew.. I feel better already. And ya, I agree, it would really be a drag to do the surgery and not end up with the appendix out. I agree with both of those things.
Surgeon : We need to put a caveat. If we start and see that it’s impossible to finish for some other reason, we’re going to abort the surgery. We won’t continue if we can’t be successful.
Patient : Yes, that makes sense.
Surgeon : So, we’re agreed then. Let’s go ahead and get you prepped.
Anesthetist : Not so fast, I need to speak. We want to make sure you don’t have any allergic reactions. Have you ever gone under? Do you have any allergies ?
Patient : I’ve been under before, and have had no problems.
Anesthetist : Great. Let me just record that on our surgery card. We’ll need to know that we can make adjustments as we go if something bad happens. Is that OK ?
Patient : Ya, whatever you need to do.. Go ahead and switch to another chemical if you need to. I’ll be happy if you don’t kill me and you’ve done what you can if you notice an allergic reaction.
Patient : Since I’m on the topic, I would like to have a very small scar and not a big one. I am willing to pay extra for a smaller scar and therefore, for me, I won’t be happy unless the scar is small.
Surgeon : Well, that will make the operation harder and we might need to put off some work where we were prepping for your next surgery until a future date. The reason is that you can only be under a limited amount of time. It won’t cost you more because the price of the surgery is fixed. You might have to give something else up later. Can you live with that ?
Patient : Yes, if I have a big scar, I won’t be happy. I am willing to pay the extra over the long run and maybe I’ll have something less done later. I really don’t want big scars as we move forward.
Surgical Resident : Hold on, that’s way too subjective.. What might be big to you could actually be a really small scar. What does a small scar mean?
Here are some examples. Which on of these is considered small enough for you?
(shows a batch of photos).
Patient : I’d like it to be at least this small. (picks one).
Surgical Resident : OK, the scar will be under 30 CM in length and 1 CM in width. Does everyone feel we can do this and this?
Everyone : Yes
Surgeon : Anything else?
Patient and the rest of the team : No.
Surgeon : Well, then, we’re a go. Now that we all know what will be considered acceptable and a sign of success, let’s get prepped tomorrow morning first thing…
Fade out…
Fade in.. .the day of the surgery…. (beginning of the Sprint)… the patient is rolled in…
Doctor : OK team, let’s quickly review our acceptance criteria… Patient Alive, deal with allergic reaction and the patient expects a scar of under 30 CM and 1 CM in side. I expect everyone on the team to help me make sure we meet these requirements. Can everyone agree before I cut?
Team : Yes.
(Surgery is moving forward)
Surgical Resident : Doctor, if you do that just a little differently, perhaps you will be able to shave a few millimeters off the size of the scar. What do you think ?
Surgeon : Great idea.. Thanks for that. Why don’t you hold onto the medical gizmo while I do the next cut. Sure, that will make it easier for both of us to do this together.
Anesthetist : Hey guys, hold on, let’s just talk about this. if you do that, his blood pressure will go up and you risk killing him.
Surgeon : Wow, thanks. I doubt we would kill him, but we’d probably have to do some extreme surgery which would definitely give him a huge scar. Let’s think about this.
(discussion takes place)
Team : Glad we figured out how to do that. We can safely do that without causing any risks to the patient in the future. Let’s go for it…
(surgery continues)
Surgical Resident : Hey Doc, we’re almost half way through the time for the drugs and allocated time for the surgery. Can we all agree about how much work is left so we don’t keep him under too long ? OK, we have about another 2 hours of work do here. We’re still good. No need to worry. Let’s update the surgical status board to say “surgery progressing appropriately” so his family knows everything is on track.
(surgery continues).
Surgeon : OK, let’s finish up. Anything missing ?
Surgical Resident : Yes, don’t forget to take out that sponge.
Surgeon and Anesthetist : Yikes!
Surgeon : Thanks for catching that.
Anesthetist : No kidding. That wouldn’t be very professional and people probably wouldn’t think we’re very good at what we did if we left stuff undone and had to come back and fix it later.
(surgery is finished successfully and the patient gets rolled out).
… fade out
… fade in…. patient in recovery and the team comes to check on him.
Surgeon : So, the surgery went really well. You’re obviously alive, your appendix is gone. Only one last thing…..
(the doctor removes the bandage and shows the patient the size of the scar).
Patient : Wow, that’s exactly what I asked you for. It hurts a lot, is that normal? I wasn’t expecting that!
Surgeon : Yes, that’s normal. Once the swelling goes down, it will be even smaller.
Patient : Thanks Doc.
Surgeon : Thanks to the team. Everyone really worked hard to make this happen.
Patient : Ya, thanks team.
Surgeon : Oh, by the way, we had to correct an adhesion we discovered while working. Not to worry, we didn’t charge you extra. We charge for the amount of time we spend doing the surgery. We just fixed it while we were in the area. (yes, I can see the malpractice lawyers cringing.. this is just a story). We knew it wouldn’t extend the amount of time for the surgery and we knew you would be happier with the results.
Patient : Thanks. The team is amazing!
Surgeon : Is there anything you didn’t like or any special comments you’d like to give the team for the next surgery?
Patient : Ya, I wish you would have warned me about how much it would hurt.
Surgeon (whole team nods) : Thanks for that. We’ll consider that in the future.
…. fade out ….
… fade in …. Medical Team room.
Surgeon : Well, that went very well.. any comments about what could have gone better?
(some discussion happens).
Surgeon : Great, we’re agreed then. For the next surgery and all the ones we do in the future, let’s have an open discussion with the patient ahead of time about the expected amount of pain so it doesn’t cause them alarm when they come out of surgery. It will be a better experience for them and improve our professionalism.
…. fade out….
Mike Caspar
Learn more about Mike Caspar: http://mike-caspar.blogspot.ca
Many of you already have read the Manifesto for Agile Software Development (aka the Agile Manifesto). However, are you using it daily or weekly with your team or organization?
Conside this… You are a grade 5 teacher of 30 children. You have just been opened to the idea that each child is noble and has their own specific needs. So what do you do? Try to incorporate this new learning into your teaching or disregard this new found truth?
The Agile Manifesto is just as powerful in aiding Agile teams to continuously learn, inspect and adapt, hold themselves to the high standard of truthfulness, and maintain high-performance results. Don’t you want this for your team(s)?
Let’s look at each of the four values that it describes.
“Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.” This seems easy yet it is deceptively difficult. It takes focused discipline to go have a face-to-face conversation when you receive a new email. It may be hard to build up strong people instead of buying the tool that your competitor is using.
- Practical advice: Pay attention to your desires to take the easy way out by sending an email or creating a new policy. Instead develop your listening skills by being in the moment and trying to truly understand your co-worker’s challenges or reality.
“Working software over comprehensive documentation.” This one is usually seen as either no documentation or becoming a coding cowboy. Neither is true!
-Practical advice: Focus on delivering real value to the customer by showing working/functional software that is written to solve the customer’s problems or needs. When writing documentation consider making the software so intuitive that not much is needed to explain in writing. This approach will help drive better software and make the end users happier.
“Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.” This one makes those who have client-facing roles very uncomfortable. Why? Because it basically points out that their jobs and their way of connecting with the client will need to change. It suggests that you will need to see the client as an ally in the relationship.
-Practical advice: Begin by showing the client a demo from the Agile team or discussing the benefits of collaborating with them. A client usually enjoys tremendously the ability to change their mind (or direction) throughout the life of the project or working relationship.
“Responding to change over following a plan.” This value can cause tremendous resistance because of our desire to permeate command and control. Plans change all the time and instead of trying to lock down a set of requirements we can be open and willing to allow opportunities to guide our work.
- Practical advice: This new way of working with clients empowers them through regular feedback (demos) and allows them to make mistakes and share learning without being penalized.
Now it’s your turn to look at yourself and your team and see how you are using the Agile Manifesto to become that much better in your work and your life. Good luck!
Read the entire manifesto: AgileManifesto.org
“I have been noticing something when talking with some fellow Agile coaches, and wanted to just pass along a “thought”.
“Almost three years ago we wrote a brief article about interruptions. In that article, we described four methods of dealing with interruptions. I would like to expand on those four methods and add three more to present a comprehensive set of options for organizations struggling with this.
Option One: Follow Scrum Strictly
The rules of Scrum are clear: if it isn’t part of the team’s work for a Sprint, then it shouldn’t be done. From the moment the team commits to work in Sprint Planning to the end of the Sprint with the Sprint Review, the team needs to be protected from interruptions. If an interruption is truly urgent enough to warrant the team’s attention mid-Sprint, then the Sprint can be canceled. This is a pretty extreme result however since it invalidates the team’s previous commitment”
Read the rest of the post at: http://www.agileadvice.com/2012/01/08/scrumxplean/seven-options-for-handling-interruptions-in-scrum-and-other-agile-methods/
Here is a post by Mike Caspar a fellow agile expert.
For many Agile Teams in large corporations, the teams are being confronted with “Review Season”. No matter how hard Scrum Masters, Coaches or Team members try and change the corporate culture in this regard, the team needs to SURVIVE.
There are many sources of material about why this is not a great practice for the building of high-performance teams, so I won’t get into that here. I’ve put some links at the bottom of this post if you want to read more.
The purpose of this post is to introduce an alternative approach that will allow the team to regularly reflect on its’ own progress (not just once a year, but when the team decides will work for them), and at the same time possibly (PLEASE read…OPTIONALLY) use that knowledge for their inevitable yearly review.
Do your teams do only the practices of Agile? Do you feel that there is something missing?
Well Adam Weisbart, a fellow Agile Coach, came up with a way to get a team thinking about the values and principles behind your Agile adoption or transformation. It is poster, that you can print, of the Agile Manisfesto – the spirit behind all the Agile methodologies including Scrum. So go to the link, print the poster and get your team to become that much better in Agile.
Here is the link: http://weisbart.com/agileposters/
While you are on Adam’s site give him a shout and check out some of the other things that he has to offer. He is a very creative and dynamic fellow.
