Any Scrum Master or Agile Coach who understands teamwork will begin a new engagement with a period of observation. You don’t come in with a predefined plan.
After working with dozens and dozens of teams there is one event that, within 30 seconds, will help inform the level of understanding within the team. And that’s the daily conversation, typically referred to as the Standup.
If, at that first standup I observe, I see the Scrum Master displaying the taskboard I know a status report is coming.
The Purpose of Standup/Daily Scrum/Daily Kanban
The difficulty is people are more used to delivering a status update. They believe it’s expected of them. So you wind up with a dump of how busy they all were.
I cannot count the times every person in a standup says something to the effect of “And yesterday I was in Sprint Planning …”. We know. We were there too.
Simply put, the purpose of this daily conversation is for the team to create a plan of attack for the day. Future looking, not rear view mirror stuff.
To do this they must examine the work in progress from the work item level perspective. They need to arrange pairing & swarming for the day. They need to alert others of expected completion to get feedback. They need to ask questions of work that is underway. They need to discuss unblocking items that are stuck.
This is a planning and coordination conversation.
Why the Taskboard Approach Fails
Reviewing the taskboard at Standup reinforces the practice of working as individuals. Typically the Scrum Master will call on each individual to answer some questions. They may even filter the taskboard as each individual talks.
While someone is presenting their status look around at the rest of the team. Are they paying attention, looking for opportunities to assist or contribute?
Or, as is far more common, are they simply being quiet while waiting for their turn to provide their status updates? If the team is remote, they are also likely off camera multi-tasking while listening for their name.
A daily status report likely will provide little useful information related to the purpose of the event. They are not talking about what they plan to finish today. They are not coordinating with others to further work on items. They are not pairing up or swarming and finding ways to work as a team.
Instead, the focus is on what each individual has been doing. Past tense, not future tense.
They are not planning.
The Team Should Facilitate/Own Standup
This is the first event that I coach Scrum Masters, and Flow Managers using Kanban, to hand off to the team. The conversation is for the team. They should own it.
Initially teams may not know how to own the event. Teach them. Better yet, show them. As you transition ownership, ask for volunteers to help co-facilitate. Discuss the real goals of the event. Gently course correct as needed.
You’re building in them leadership skills, developing those muscles. Encourage acts of leadership at all levels. That might take a while to learn, be patient.
Many teams are eager to own their ways of working. Let them but guide them. This is a step towards “working yourself out of a job” that many Scrum Master proclaim as a goal but rarely do.
A more nuanced change is that the team members need to be talking to each other, not to the Product Owner or Scrum Master. A Scrum Master displaying a taskboard sets them up as the receiver of updates. Team members facilitating the conversation refocuses the event on the team.
Three Approaches That Work
To have an effective planning conversation, you need to change the perspective. Make the cards talk, tell the story from the value creation perspective.
Here are two different approaches to standup and one change in how the team works.
The first approach is Walking the Board. The idea behind this approach is for the team to discuss getting work that is nearly complete to done. Start at the column/state closest to Done and work “backwards”, right to left. Discuss completing the items, working together to finish them.
A more detailed explanation, my article on Medium:
The second approach is the Aging WIP Standup. Similar to Walk the Board, focus on the work items themselves. Start with the work item that has been in WIP the longest, then work backwards to the newest item.
The goal is to get lagging work items moving. The longer items are on the board the more likely they will become blocked.
More on this approach, my article on Medium:
Another technique is for the team to no longer need to have a daily team meeting. To achieve this the team needs to be interacting throughout the day. Practices include Pair Programming, Swarming or Ensemble Programming.
Groups form to work as a single unit on a work item. They regroup as work items finish. They may join an existing group to assist completing another work item or start a new item. Talk about this as part of the team Working Agreement.
The main point is that the team is talking and working together throughout the day. So there is no need for a once a day team connect to plan the day. They are continually adapting and replanning throughout the day.
What these techniques have in common is that planning the day is the goal. The focus is on finishing work that is in progress. Examine work items from the value transformation perspective. What will the team do today to transform this bit of work and move it through the workflow?
Not everyone needs to speak in the Standup. It’s not a status report. It’s not about ensuring everyone is busy. That will feel different for people at first. Keep practing. Talk to finishing the work items already started, make a verbal plan for the day.
Stop starting, start finishing.
Until next time!
