Beginning Scrum with Self Organisation

So the moment has come. The one everyone has been waiting for… the one blog post that will solve ALL your problems, and can magically summarise in bullet point form what it is you need to do in order to “just get Scrum to work” in your team. Well if that’s the case, then unfortunately ladies and gentlemen, this is not that blog post. However short and summarised this following post might be, its definitely not the all-in-one answer, but hopefully in this series of blog posts, I’ll be able to share with you, key information which can help you along your way to creating that fantastic team everyone else at the water cooler is talking about.

So following on from my previous post about “Some agile Scrum Notes“, where I touched on how tools can impede progress, in this post I’ll address the second point in my series of lessons learnt, where I share some ideas on how to help adoption of scrum via what I like to call “tough love“.

One of the biggest obstacles in trying to introduce Scrum is getting one’s head around the concept of “self organisation“. The mystical idea that a team is capable of managing, organising and operating itself without the interference of any upper micro-management. And believe it or not, this is the foundation of a scrum team.

“WHAT?!….” – I hear you say – “How is it possible for my team to know what they need to do? There would be complete chaos without my direction and constant checking up on them every two hours. They would most certainly fail if I were to leave them to their own devices!” Now chances are, if you’re reading this, and the last line just stuck a chord, you’re in the right place, because things clearly need to change.

Martine had a simple solution to this dilemma. Break your leg – literally. Shocked? Yeah, so was I! The point being made was, if you’re that involved in your team where they are dependant on you, then take a long break away from them, even if it means breaking your leg. By doing so, you force the team to not look to you, but to instead look to themselves and their team mates for support. Babying a team, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t help, but only stifles team autonomy. However if you give them the freedom to  stand on their own two feet, you are in fact empowering them to work as a unit, and they’ll be glad for it because, the communication and team collaboration that this fosters, is a very important aspect towards team effectiveness and productivity.

Just providing the team with the capacity to act on their own independence isn’t quite enough though. I’ve experienced in the past, that another important factor in order for scrum to really work properly, is the make up of the team. And no, I’m not saying you need to rush out and purchase some mascara and some lipstick! I’m saying that the team should ideally be made up of the correct type of individuals. These individuals typically display a keen interest in continuous learning, and who are always looking for better ways to do things. This is what scrum is all about, continually improving. However,more often than not, this is often a luxury to be able to hand pick the individuals on a team, and this is why I accentuated the phrase “should ideally“. Its not compulsory, but it definitely helps.

Another point Martine raised, and even made me have my own “aaahhh” moment, was:  Scrum, albeit it a process/framework, is not going to solve your productivity problems unless it is underpinned by a solid technical practise or set of practises. For e.g adopting an XP practise along with Scrum will give you the productivity you need. Think about it. Without any solid technical practises to execute, utilising scrum is just a process without a driver. Invest the time to get these underpinning practises right, and you’ll notice the benefits almost immediately.

So to sum up, the best way to get your team acting like a team, is for any controlling forces to back away. Let the team find its own way of operating together, and you’ll also find thet they’ll begin to talk to each other more. Encourage more talking and less IM/e-mail style communication, and the team can only become better.

In my next post, I’ll talk about the importance of having your Product owner, at your disposal, as much as you can afford to, without having to physically move into their home!