I am in the process of gaining different certifications levels as an Agile trainer, consultant and coach. This is a two-year process that I began in August of this year (2008). Mainly, Agile project methodology is used in an IT (Information Technology) environment. When I attended my first certification seminar (to be certified as a ScrumMaster - Scrum is one of many Agile methods) I immediately saw this method as a valuable and applicable tool to be used in Management. I immediately contacted a good client and friend of mine in Slovakia who agreed to test it on his team of managers. Below is a record of our efforts.
SCRUM PROJECT - SLOVAKIA
Scrum Product Owner – Partners Group
Ing. Tomáš Škvarenina
MANAGING DIRECTOR
PARTNERS GROUP SK s.r.o.
e-mail: tomas.skvarenina@partnersgroup.sk
The Project
Jim's Preamble
I am very new to the Agile Project methodology having just been certified as a ScrumMaster. Regardless of my newness to Agile, I am not new to project management and the numerous methods available in the marketplace. I own and operate a successful international training and consulting business. I work with the top financial services companies around the world. My clients include ING, AIG, China Life, Aviva and Rosgosstrakh, among a few.
I was immediately attracted to Agile - Scrum. I believe it can be easily applied in a non-technology environment. I believe many of my clients could see the value of it and apply it with training and coaching. I immediately considered my existing client base and looked for a suitable team upon which to test my theory. I found one and began the process.
September 2, 2008 – Tuesday
While working in Slovakia, I approached the Managing Director, Tomas Škvarenina of the Partners Group. One evening I met with Tomas and over dinner explained the concept of Agile and in particular Agile - Scrum. Tomas is the managing director of a large multi-level sales organization selling financial products in Slovakia. I have been working with his company for the past 3 years, training managers.
Tomas is one of the top managers and a very capable, insightful and intelligent individual. I have been coaching Tomas over the past year. Prior to arriving in Slovakia I had just become certified as a ScrumMaster. As I said I was excited about the concept and felt it had application with my clients around the world. The majority of my clients are in the financial services industry. They are advisors, managers or leaders in that industry.
Tomas became very interested in the Agile concepts. Through our discussions I introduced my idea. The idea is that I believe that Agile - Scrum will fit very well in the sales and marketing industry assisting senior management and teams to deliver on their objectives.
He immediately saw the application as well. We decided in early September he would launch the concept within his team of directors. I coached him on the concepts, the risks and rewards of applying the Agile - Scrum methodology.
Here is my first e-mail to Tomas on September 2, 2008 …
Hi bud!
It was a pleasure to spend time with you this afternoon. You will continue to do well. I wish you success.
Good luck with Agile - Scrum! Here is a book ... about Agile ... Agile Project Management with Scrum by Ken Schwaber. Please order it.
Warm regards,
Jim
Here is my follow-up on September 9 …
Hi bud!
How was the launch and how did they respond to the idea. Any problems we need to discuss? When you have a moment, please let me know!
Warm regards,
Jim
September 18, 2008 – Thursday – Sprint #1
Tomas held a planning meeting to build his Product Backlog list. He met with the team and discussed in detail each item on the list.
Another e-mail from me on September 20 …
Hello Tomas!
I hope you are well and business is growing as expected. I am happy to be home for a bit and working on my books and Agile certification process.
I was wondering if your were able to launch our Agile - Scrum process and how did it go? Your project has now become a very important part of my certification process. When you have a moment, please share your thoughts.
Warm regards,
Jim
September 22, 2008 – Monday
He launched his first 7 day sprint.
September 23, 2008
He e-mailed me that he already had difficulty on day 2 because some team members were not committed as much as he would like and that they came to the scrum team meeting unprepared to work.
Here is his e-mail …
Hi Jim,
Sorry to keep you waiting so long, but emailing is not one of my favourite activities (it’s quicker through the cell phone J).
I started first scrum team of 6 people (representing 70% of my turnover) on this Monday 22nd of September (planning has been done on Thursday 18th). That means we have two days behind us and there are already first things being brought up on the surface.
First of all, everybody has problem to hold on to their plan (me as well).
Also the need of a focus is being shown as very significant and knowing that the next day we have to meet and tell the rest of us the results is helping it a lot.
Right now I know already, that to fulfill my goals I´ll have to finish really very strong at the end of the week. The summary will be done on Sunday 28th so I´ll let you know more.
Till that time I asked my colleagues to send me their feedback during the scrum team, so they don´t forget them before we come to summarize it at the end. This way I ´ll have plenty material to work with for the future.
If it´s OK this way please let me know.
Take care
Your slovakian friend
Tomas
Here is my response …
Hi Tomas!
Sounds like a very typical Scrum experience. Your first few scrums will be difficult and will not work perfectly. Expect difficulties! But if you persevere and keep doing the scrums in one or two week segments, you and the team will get better, more effective and accomplish more in less time. Please keep them focused and don't let them give up. Everywhere in the world where they do Agile - Scrum - the first few scrums are difficult. Don't forget you are changing their behaviours.
Backlog List
Please tell me exactly what you had on the list of things to do? Did they decide what they would do or did you direct them? Remember, you build the list, and they decide what they feel they can accomplish and they commit to whatever they decide.
Daily Scrum
Remember it is a stand-up meeting lasting no more than 15 minutes. No excuses, just state what they have accomplished or not accomplished and any obstacles. Problem solving happens outside the meeting, one on one, you and the individual. Getting them to send in a report before hand is okay, but don't give them more things to do ... hopefully the e-mail to you before hand does not become a project unto itself.
Reflection meeting - Sept. 28th, 1-2 hours
Plan for this meeting - what was a accomplished, what worked, what did not work, what have we learned, what can we apply in the future?
I know this is time consuming for you to e-mail me, but I really need the information for this is a significant test of scrum outside the IT and pure project management. Please keep me informed. I am counting on you!
Thanks my friend!
Warm regards,
Jim
Here is my second response on the same day – September 23 …
Hi Tomas!
Here are some tools for you to use in your scrum.
(I sent him the Scrum Rules Reference Sheet and Reference Card)
Enjoy,
Jim
Note - I will be back in Slovakia October 3 -17 and I will spend time with Tomas and his Scrum Team.
October 4th - Saturday
Meeting #1
I met with Tomas at 7 am to discuss the results of his first Sprint and any problems he was facing.
His sprint went like most first time users of the methodology. Here are his comments.
- velocity – people over committed their time – in reality they did not have all the time they committed available
- planning and organization – some team members had difficulty organizing themselves to meet their commitments
- some members objected to the daily scrum meeting – they felt they were giving up some of their independence
- their daily scrum meeting tended to be 3 minutes long and many members sat down during the meeting
- they felt the 3 minute meeting was a waste of time
- on the top four items from the project backlog list the results were 120%, 100%, 70% and 40% delivery on the objectives
- He was disappointed with the results
I did not offer advice at this meeting. I only gathered facts and impressions.
Meeting #2
I then met with the six-person scrum team from 8 am to 10:15 am to review their results, ask questions and coach the team. This is a young team with an average age of 24.
Their feedback about their first scrum was as follows.
- it helped me focus on the most important activities
- I put a lot more value on my time
- one of the team members who is a manager tried to do a scrum on some of his team members, they fought him on the daily scrum meetings – they felt it was too intrusive into their daily job and their sense of independence
- it helped me work on my goals
- I found my panning and organization is weak
- they stated this Scrum was only one of many things they had to do in their daily activities
- they felt planning is critical and the first planning meeting was not well understood
- it was difficult to focus on their goals and be held accountable
- I don’t feel I am growing as fast as other team members
- the planning helped me develop in my career
- we need to encourage each other
- previously I left everything to the last moment, this helps me focus in smaller time frames
- weekly planning accomplished a lot more
- I am too impatient, I want results more quickly
- They felt they needed 2-3 days to plan and organize before they started another scrum
Based on their feedback I then began to coach and guide this team. My guidance fell into four areas; the purpose of Scrum, the Planning meeting, The Daily Scrum meeting and the Retrospectives meeting.
The Purpose of Scrum
I emphasized the importance and value of scrum as a tool and process to help the manager become more effective as they manager their business in the financial services industry. I feel Scrum is very similar to some principles I have always applied when I was a manager in the industry. As well, it supports the principle of being clear about expectations and inspection of what you expect on a daily basis. I emphasized Scrum will help the manager make better use of their time and gain greater results on a more regular basis. I encourage them not to take a break at this point, between scrums. If they were having trouble with planning or organization then they should add that activity as a project on to the backlog list and solve it as a team.
The Planning Meeting
I explained the roles of the Product owner, ScrumMaster and Team member in the scrum.
We spent a fair bit of time determining how the Product owner develops the backlog list and how outside realities can get placed on the list. A few examples may be the company needs the financial managers and managers to sell a new product or change a methodology, this may result in a few items being added to the list. This team is having trouble with planning and organization, therefore it seemed appropriate to add this problem to the backlog list. The poor economic situation in the world can cause items to be added to the list. I also empowered the team members to present ideas to the product owner to determine if they could be added to the backlog list.
We then talked about what must happen in the planning meeting. We discussed the following.
- The review and understanding of the backlog list.
- The importance of determining the true velocity of the team.
- That the velocity of each person may differ from person to person.
- That if the individual time commitment to the scrum is too low, the scrum master will meet with the team member to discuss this problem
- That with each new scrum, the team will get better in their ability to better meet their commitment to items on the list
- The team members must treat their commitments to items on the list more seriously – they must keep their commitments
The Daily Sprint
We talked about how the daily scrum must happen. I suggested that for any list item that had a numerical goal that their draw a simple line chart in the planning meeting, then during the daily scrum each member of the team adds their numbers to show they are moving towards the numerical goal. We also discussed the three questions that must be answered in the daily meeting.
- what did you accomplish
- what did you not accomplish - what were the obstacles
- what are you working on next
We discussed the need to stand up, to be brief but to fully answer each of the three questions. We discussed the ScrumMasters role in solving those obstacles that can be solved, after the daily scrum meeting.
The Retrospectives Meeting
We discussed the importance and value of the retrospectives meeting. This is a time to fully understand what was accomplished, what worked really well, what did not work and what may need to be changed. The importance of this meeting is to take best practices, things learned and apply them to the next scrum.
Specific Comments
In answer to some of their specific questions I offered the following advice.
- do not try to do your own scrum with your team. Wait until you really understand the scrum methodology and have mastered its techniques. Maybe at some point you can do a scrum with your team
- do not take breaks between scrums as we need to maintain momentum and gain experience with scrum
- if many of the team members are having the same problem, like planning and organization, then add that problem to the backlog list and solve it as a team
- be patient with scrum, over time you will become more effective and gain greater results.
- I told Tomas that in the future someone else can take on the ScrumMaster role.
Next Steps
On Monday, October 6th this team will launch another sprint. I feel they have a much better understanding of scrum, are better prepared, organized and committed to the next scrum. I will communicate with the ScrumMaster during the week as I am in the area and I will meet with him at the conclusion of this scrum.
October 5th – Sunday
I sent the following email to Tomas who is the Product owner and ScrumMaster
Hi Tomas!
Here are my notes on the meeting yesterday.
October 4th - Saturday
Meeting #1
I met with you at 7 am to discuss the results of your first Scrum and any problems you were facing.
Your scrum went like most first time users of the methodology. Here are your comments.
(the content of this e-mail continued as above)
Next Steps
On Monday, October 6th this team will launch another sprint. I feel they have a much better understanding of scrum, are better prepared, organized and committed to the next sprint. I will communicate with you during the week as I am in the area and I will meet with you at the conclusion of this sprint. We can meet on Sunday, October 12, if that is convenient for you!
Warm regards and thank you for your hard work,
Jim
E-mail send Oct. 7
Hi Tomas!
Launching of your 2nd scrum. I was wondering how your second planning meeting and your revised daily scrum went? Do you see a greater commitment of the team members? Are they more focused? Any comments? Any issues I can help with?
Warm regards,
Jim
October 12 – Sunday
Tomas and I met and we reviewed the 2nd Sprint.
Tomas’s Comments:
Tomas made a wonderful analogy about Scrum and Sprints. He said if you took a computer apart you would still have all the parts necessary for a computer but it would not work. Scrum and sprints allow you to put the parts in order so that the computer works well. In every team you have the necessary parts to achieve the goals, but they must be put in order to achieve the goal.
Planning meeting
- new feelings
- previously I did my planning in my head, now I do it out loud and everyone is beginning to understand my objectives
- we are now focusing on clients, rather than the structure or enterprise
- we built a much better backlog list
- personally I am much better organized
- used my day timer much more effectively
- team was much more careful in their commitments to the backlog list
- we took the plan from paper to computer
Daily Sprint meeting
- every day each member felt greater commitment to themselves and to the plan
- all were more serious
- only one person under promised and under delivered
- lots of e-mails and MSW were sent back and forth during the day
- I saw the team spirit growing
Retrospectives
- I was unhappy for the team had four objectives and they had the following results – Obj. #1 – 79% reached, #2 – 74%, #3 – 75%, #4 – 96%
- He was expecting more from the team
My comments
- your team is progressing as it should
- In reality if the 6th member of the team had delivered they would have reached all goals
- What did you do when you as the ScrumMaster found Rado (the 6th member of your sprint was not delivering – during the daily sprint meetings?
- Tomas relied – nothing!
- It is the ScrumMasters job to solve obstacles like Rado’s lack of delivery
A Question from Tomas
Tomas - (Tomas is the Product Owner and ScrumMaster) How do we handle a team member who under-promises and then under-delivers on the objectives they take on in a scrum. This team member's commitment of time was very low. They committed less than fellow members. All members fundamentally do the same job and have the same time available. Then during the daily scrum it became obvious they were not putting in the effort. In the retrospective meeting everyone met the majority of their commitments but this person.
Jim - When you saw this person was not meeting his objectives, what did you do or say? What were the obstacles?
Tomas - He said they were not feeling well, and they were not organized
Jim - What did you do about this person's lack of organization?
Tomas - I was busy and had little time to assist them. I have another question, how do I make the team members feel responsible or shame them when they do not meet their commitments?
My Response:
Jim - Well we may have a few solutions or options. (I commented that I would check with Mishkin Berteig - my mentor and coach)
1. You might need to have someone else act as the ScrumMaster so your team gets the support it needs
2. If you are the ScrumMaster, then you or someone else may need to spend time with this problem individual to help them organize themselves
3. Spend time with them to ensure they are realistic and fair in their commitments to the Scrum
4. Remove them from the team and find someone else who can help can contribute
5. Do not act like a director of this team, it is not your job to criticize the team members
6. Allow the team to comment on this person's performance in the Retrospectives meeting
Another Question from Tomas
What to do about the team member who feels micro managed?
My response
You as the ScrumMaster need to determine why the team member is saying this. This response can be caused by a number of things:
- difficulties meeting their commitments
- attending the daily sprint
- being held accountable
- fear of letting down the team
October 14
I met with Tomas at the Vienna airport to discuss his recent sprint and his plans for future sprints. He and four of his team were leaving for a conference in Mexico and a personal trip to New York. I was leaving for Canada.
His most recent sprint went very well, except he was still having trouble with one of his team member who continued not to deliver on their commitments. I asked him what he planned to do about it. He decided and I agreed, that this person should be removed from the team. Otherwise he is pleased with the growth and development of the team. It is not perfect but he can see growth.
Next sprint is planned for November 10 launch.
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