Archive for General
Problems With a Release Plan
Posted by: | CommentsI work for a Fortune 500 company and we are implementing Scum. Within the Scrum framework you are to do a release plan. When working for a start-up company this was very straight forward because only one team was working on a product line and we could create a credible release plan. But in a large organization release planning for a team is much more complex. We have a product that has multiple teams and multiple product owners. At this time our release planning is not working. We have not had a successful release plan. Here are some of the reason I believe this is true:
1. The product owners are not empowered
The product owners do not really have control over the product. There are other stake holders that really are driving the product. Therefore the product owners are always reacting and are not able to set a true product road-map.
2. There is not one Product owner for the overall product
This person would handle the priorities for the product as a whole. Our product owners need direction and coordination from the lead product owner. This would help protect the individual product owners from all of the stake holders that are seeking to set priorities.
3. There is no vision for the product
There has to be an overall vision for the product. Why are we doing this product, what are our goals, etc.? This vision must be clear and concise. This vision is what we look to when the product owners set their priorities in the backlog and when there are conflicting priorities.
4. There is no vision for the periodic releases
Each release must have its own vision. What is the reachable goal for this release? How do we coordinate our teams to meet this release goal.
Without these basic fundamentals in place it is going to very hard for the product owners to create a credible release plan.
Are You Reading?
Posted by: | CommentsI believe that a college education’s purpose is to train you for a lifetime of learning. I myself have a liberal arts degree in biology and chemistry. My present occupation has little to do with my degree but my education helped to train me to learn.
Reading good authors is an inexpensive way to do self training. People are always amazed at how many books I own. A good friend of mine asked me how many linear feet of books shelves I have. I never considered that question before and the estimate I came up with is 250 linear feet of shelf space. Needless to say I am an avid reader.
This amount of shelf space has caused some friction with my wife. So now days I do not buy physical books if I do not have to. If I buy a book I try to get the Kindle version or the mobi version. I have readers for both. I read them on my TabletPC which is a slate form factor and on my iPod touch. It sure beats adding more book shelves and pleases my wife.
I have a subscription to safaribookonline. This is really a great technical resource. There are thousands of technical books available for you to browse or read. What is really great is the Rough Cuts section. This allows you to read books published by Addison-Wesley before they are released. In the last six months I have read all of the new Mike Cohn Signature books weeks or months before they were published.
I have listed some of my top books for Agile practitioners in the side bar of my blog. Please take a look at these books. I will be adding more books in the future.
As I always say “Leaders are readers and readers are leaders”.
Who Makes a Good ScrumMaster
Posted by: | CommentsWe have created 7 new Scrum team as we transition toward Agile in our business unit. Each of these teams has been assigned a ScrumMaster. Each of the ScrumMaster has been given some training. The teams have started using the techniques of Scrum such as a planning session, daily Scrum meeting, sprint demo and 3 week iterations. Some teams have started doing retrospective. But are we actually realizing the full benefits of Scrum?
The ScrumMaster plays a pivotal role in helping the team adopt the spirit of Agile. They need to bring the team to an understanding of why certain practices are important. I know for many years as I lead ScrumTeam I have failed in getting the team to understand why we use certain practices.
Here are some qualities of a good ScrumMaster:
- Be a listner.
They need to really understand the team. How are the team members relating to each other? Are they really working together? Do they respect each other? - Be a Team Coach
They take responsibility for the team’s adoption of Scrum. It is important to monitor the teams progress toward adopting the practices of Scrum. - Be a Team Member Coach
The team is made up of individuals. The ScrumMaster takes interest in each individual so that they can achieve their maximum potential. Each individual will accept the tenants of Scrum in varying degrees. We need to know where the individual is in their own adoption of Agile. - Be Humble
They are not doing this so we can enhance our personal resume and show everyone what we have done. We take pride in what the team is doing. It is what the team has accomplished that makes a difference. The ScrumMasters roll is that of a servant-leader. - Be Passionate About Agile
A good ScrumMaster really believes in what they are doing. They have an enthusiasm for Agile. They have been trained and are continuously doing self training in Agile. They want to do the best job they can. - Leave it to the Team
A good ScrumMaster does not make decisions for the team but lets the team make their decisions about the process. The ScrumMaster will train and guide the team but will not make decisions for the team.
There are other traits that are good but the ones I have listed I consider to be critical. Unfortunately I have not witnessed these qualities in most ScrumMaster I work with.
How a Team Thrives
Posted by: | CommentsIt is really exciting to see team meet their potential. This is one of the most gratifying experiences I have had as a ScrumMaster. What did make the team such a success? Here are some observations:
- The team was co-located in a large office. Our desks were around the perimeter of a very large and spacious room. This allowed for us to communicate freely.
- We were “isolated”. The team was located 200 miles from the corperate head quarters. The team was self organizing and knew what their objectives were.
- We could move fast. We were working for a startup company. There was less bureaucracy to have to deal with.
- We respected each other as team members. We had been laid off together froma previous employer and knew each other well.
- We were not afraid to try new ideas. Our team tried new technologies with impunity.
- There was no fear of failure. We were confident in our own skills and the company wanted us to try new ideas.
These factors help us to be a very productive team. We were always presenting new and exciting features with everyone of our sprints.
These are all critical factors in forming the team that is high performing.
Team Members as People
Posted by: | CommentsThere is a human side to being a ScrumMaster. So many times we forget about this. Do we as ScrumMasters really look at the members on our team as people or as objects. Now I know this seems like a silly question. You will say of course we do think of them as people. But is that really the case? Think about the following:
- Do you ever think of a member of the team as a problem that has to be fixed or do you really try to understand his or her reason for their behavior?
- Do you spend time learning about a team member’s hopes and aspirations?
- Do you know the names of their significant others?
- Are you really concerned with their professional and personal growth?
I know this may seem necessary because we are technical professional like dealing with one and zeros and not with the soft sciences. But as a leader it is important you really know the members on you team not about them. But I must warn you that you must be sincere in this venture. You must check you own attitudes about team members and make sure you are really concerned about them.
Product Owners
Posted by: | CommentsWhat does a product owner do? What is his or her responsibility? Who makes a good product owner?
These are all critical question when adopting Agile. The role of a product owner is unique to Agile. It is the combination of multiple roles.
An excellent new book is being published on the role of the product owner:
I have been reading the electronic version of this book and found it to be very informative. The chapter headings are:
- Understanding the Product Owner Role
- Envisioning the Product
- Working with the Product Backlog
- Planning the Release
- Collaborating in the Sprint Meetings
- Transitioning into the Product Owner Role
Roman Pichler, the author, does an excellent job of presenting the material. This book is another excellent addition to the Mike Cohn series.
The book will be available the middle of April.
Sit with the team
Posted by: | CommentsTeams are core to agile practices and a ScrumMaster plays a critical role in optimizing team execution. One of the common impediments that interfers with this is the team work area or lack thereof. Without a common workarea it is very difficult to really understand what is going on with a team. The daily standups are a very inadequate way of tracking team progress. So much more is learned when you hear the intra-team discussions. It is these informal times expose what is really going one with a team.
We as ScrumMaster need to keep in continuous touch with the team. It is imperative that we sit with our teams as much as possible. This is the only effective way you can be an effective gate keeper.
The Team and Company Culture – Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsTeams are powerful entities. They are much more powerful then just a group of individuals. This in itself can be a major deterrent in changing the culture. Once a team is formed, stays together for six or more months and becomes self-organizing it can become very influential.
It is very difficult for managers to ignore the requests of the team especially when it is very productive and working toward the corporate goals. It is interesting that teams usually request changes that will make them more productive. These changes such as a team work area, change in performance review procedures, setting goals and self-governance are actually better for the company.
But all of this runs contrary to most companies management hierarchy. How does one manage a self-organized work team? You don’t! Good teams need to be guided to where they should be going. The manager needs to make sure they do not go off track and provide the best environment for the team to excel. This leadership is very important for a team to function at optimal levels.
The Team and Company Culture – Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsDoes a company really believe that is team is more productive than individual contributors? Take a look at the how a company does performance reviews and compensation.
Most performance reviews focus on how the individual performed in the last year. After the review the individual is informed as to what their new compensation with be. Very little is considered about the team they are working on. The following are some of the issues this causes for a team:
- The individual’s performance is more important than the team’s performance.
- Individuals feel reluctant to share their knowledge with the team.
- The team is not rewarded for performing well.
In most companies the culture is based on the individual not the team. So the individual is concerned that they will not receive the appropriate recognition if contributing to the success of a team.
Team Building and Focus
Posted by: | CommentsWhen there is a lack of focus this is a lack of teamwork. When each developer has other projects to work on they are not working together.
In an Agile team it is critical that each member has the same vision and goal. Unless the team is first the team will not succeed. When team members are more concerned about their own individual gaols instead of team goals you have lost the team focus.
Unless we can all capture the same vision we will fail. Oh, we may get a product out the door but will it be the best product we could have produced if we were focus.
In order to produce quality team work and capture the vision we have to spend quantity time together. This means working side by side with each other for hours a day. Time spent together ends up creating a team works together well an helps keep them focused on the vision.