CONSCIRES AGILE PRACTICES

Scrum is not enough to revolutionize workplaces

By Bachan Anand / Filed under Agile, Collaboration, Scrum, Self Organization, WORK is GOOD / January 31st, 2012

How many of you have come across the adage, “We cannot solve a problem with the mind that created it”? If we look at a team, everything that is working (or not working) is due to the system and process – way of working – that was created by the collective minds of the company: the team members and the minds needed to create a product (may include the customer). Very often, it is difficult for those involved to objectively determine WHAT in the system is not working and WHY it is not doing so (and thus the adage, “We cannot solve a problem with the mind that created it”). This is why new mindsets like Scrum are introduced: so that they can objectively identify the inherent problems and loopholes in the system and propose appropriate solutions.

Scrum provides a clear framework for people to identify and articulate problems so that they can be solved. It creates a new approach to team work, product development, and organizational interaction; facets that have their foundation in Empiricism, Focus, Self-Organization, Collaboration, and Rhythm. Once we introduce this mindset to the team and the organization, the existing problems in the company show up and they do so with greater clarity so that the very people who created the system can now change it. So, the power is not with Scrum, but with the people. What Scrum does is that it gives them a new set of foundations and practices to grow, learn, and change their work environment for the better. For me, THIS is the gift of Scrum!

And yet, along my Scrum journey, working with varied teams and using Scrum at home, I have started wondering whether we need a greater change in the workplace itself. This is because I find that some people-related problems are a major cause for apathy and inefficiency at the work place. Some of these problems are: Employees not having a share in the input of the company’s vision (thereby making them feel isolated from the decision-makers), staff feeling no responsibility for the growth of the company (“why should I bother when I have no stake in it?”), and individuals not having the liberty to choose whom they want to work with.

Here are the areas where I believe a new approach to work would be beneficial in creating a truly liberating and creative work environment:

1. Each person in a team has input and ownership of the VISION, instead of the vision being owned by one person: COLLECTIVE VISION.
2. Financial ownership is in proportion to the effort and the ownership each person has on a team: CO-OWNING.
3. Team members choose whom they want to work with through a democratic process: SELF-FORMING.

Could this be the next step in the evolution of work from slavery, supervisors, managers, and micro-managers? Perhaps this is the next step to Interdependent Work Places, so that WORK is GOOD!

What would be a good name for such work-environments? “COLLABORATIVES”? “THE ART of WORKING”?

What if we leave it unnamed it so that it grows into whatever it wants to become…

Scrum Applicability: A Scenario

By Lalita / Filed under Scrum / January 17th, 2012

Conventionally, Scrum is used in software development. However, its simple and easy to understand framework allows it to be applicable to any walk of life. Indeed, it can even be applied to our non-professional lives! Here’s a scenario:

It’s the beginning of the Year, and I’m determined to shed those extra pounds. What’s more, I’ve promised myself a healthier me! I want to join a gym, but can’t afford to do so. However, my encouraging and large-hearted sister offers to pay for my membership. So, I join the local gym and I enlist the help of my SCRUM MASTER, the ultra-fit gym trainer. And, who’s the PRODUCT OWNER? My gym membership-paying-stakeholder-sister, of course!

MY PRODUCT: Losing 20lbs over the course of the next six months and maintaining that weight loss!

PRODUCT BACKLOG: Losing 20lbs in six months, a healthier diet, incorporate exercise into everyday life (such as climbing the stairs with my laptop in hand or riding the bicycle to my sister’s, who lives 8 blocks away).

SPRINT DURATION: 4 weeks

Sprint 1:
PLANNING MEETING: I have a chat with my trainer about how I could achieve my goals. Rather than telling me what to do, he gives me some literature to read on healthy weight loss and then asks me to create my own weight loss program (how many times a week I want to train for, what I think I should eat for breakfast, etc). If he feels I am pushing myself too hard such that it would be difficult to achieve my goals during the current sprint, he would suggest toning things down a little.

As I was the one who created the goals and decided how much I could do for each sprint, I felt more responsible to actually achieve what I had aimed for. Therefore, I would hesitate to either ‘cheat’ or create the excuse that my instructor is being too hard on me.

So, the goals for this sprint (AKA my SPRINT BACKLOG) are: Go to the gym 4 times/week, lose 4lbs, eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables everyday, cut out junk food.

DAILY STANDUP: I have a chat with my instructor at the end of each day. Excerpts from random days:

*Day 3- “I ran 2 miles on the treadmill in 35 minutes. I politely refused the bar of chocolate I was offered by my nephew.”

*Day 12- “I ran 2.8 miles on the treadmill in 35 minutes, and I ate a bowlful of salad before lunch and dinner. However, rather than walking or using my bicycle, I drove down to the local 7-11 Store!”

*Day 17- “I climbed all the way up to my office on the 4th floor, holding a fat-free strawberry smoothie and my laptop bag slung over my shoulder.” (Yeah!!!)

*Day 28- “I ran a whopping 4 miles in 35 minutes! I even received a few compliments about how good I’m looking of late! This motivated me to choose low-calorie pistachios as my mid-day snack, rather than the bag of chips I had earlier been craving for.”

As I have to actually voice what I had done each day during the Standup, I am taking stock of how I’ve been accomplishing my goals in increments. Voicing my impediments allows my ScrumMaster to see where and how I am struggling, and I am then given appropriate suggestions, which I apply.

At the REVIEW MEETING with my ScrumMaster and Product Owner, my weight, resting pulse rate, and strength levels are measured. During the RETROSPECTIVE, I openly introspect on how I could improve, for example, doing more weight training, actually drinking the stipulated 10 glasses of water/day! I then try to incorporate these points into my lifestyle for the next sprint.

Incorporating Scrum into my weight loss program promoted greater ownership and motivation. As I was the one who made the decisions and gave my own feedback, I felt more responsible for my weight loss and so this motivated me to push myself harder and achieve my goals.

Read about how fellow Conscires family member, Lisa Montano, incorporated Scrum in her kitchen in Baking with Scrum.

The Season for Scrum

By Lisa / Filed under Agile, Scrum / December 31st, 2011

My father has been retired for 25 years, but he is always very interested in hearing about the professional challenges I face, and the way that some of these issues are finally resolved by organizations. One of the comments I make to him is that I learn from Bachan every time I am with him, which is a rich reward to get out of a professional partnership. Bachan has shared feedback with me that I sometimes tell to our internal team “how”, rather than allowing team members to find their own solutions. So I have been trying to keep quiet more often, allowing the team to self-organize. This year I had the opportunity to work with my neighbors on an event and continue my Scrum practice.

My neighborhood has been planning a “Progressive Dinner”, where four families each host a different course, and the rest of the neighbors bring something to their chosen course. My part in the planning was to send out the email communications to the neighbors (plus I made Eclairs for the dessert committee). It turned out that everyone started funneling all of their communications through me. We eventually adapted our communication practice, as a result of a suggestion from another neighbor that we “Reply to All”, and I was taken out of the center of the communications (thank goodness!).

My dad (also my neighbor) called me many times a day during the week preceding the dinner asking me to help “fix” some of the issues that had arisen. I think he would have liked to shake me a few times, because each time he called, I gave him a typical Bachan response, which was, “Have you talked to your committee? What does your team think?” My father worked his entire career based on “work orders”, was very accustomed to following instructions to the last detail, and enjoyed the recognition he received for completing orders. When I robbed him of the opportunity to follow through on an instruction, he was irritated, disappointed, and more than a little disoriented with my approach.

During one of these conversations when he was getting particularly annoyed, I asked him, “Well, do you want to practice Scrum or not?” Of course he had never agreed to practice Scrum, and his expression was priceless when he realized why I was being “difficult”; at that moment he began to appreciate the stories I tell him at the end of the day. When I saw my father’s reaction to what I was saying, I felt a pang of empathy for some of the people who have undertaken the task of implementing Scrum in the workplace. To commit to such an undertaking takes a lot of trust, courage, and commitment to keep trying again and again, until the new way of working delivers the results they have been hoping for since the beginning.

So we had the Progressive Dinner last weekend; we had more than 40 people, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I will have to turn the screws just one more time, while our frustrations and celebration are still fresh, and do a virtual Retrospective with the “Perfection Game”, so we can remember what would have made our event Perfect, for next year!

The Micromanagement ‘Disease’

By Lalita / Filed under Agile, Scrum / December 6th, 2011

Definition:

Micromanagement is when a manager excessively monitors every little aspect of their subordinates’ work, thereby making those workers feel that the boss is ‘breathing down their necks’. The ‘control freak’ manager gets irritated when a subordinate makes decisions without consulting them even if those decisions are totally within that subordinate’s level of authority.¹

“For software engineering, in particular, micromanagement is especially pathological, and can be devastating to the enterprise.” ² Firstly, this is because programming involves solving problems and software engineers would prefer to choose the methodology for solving those problems. If they were instructed to just type out the code, their creativity and autonomy would be stifled, thereby encouraging them to seek employment elsewhere.²

Secondly, programming is a very complex and dynamic experience. Very often, a newer and better understanding of the problem renders modification to the code. “Managers don’t have time to internalize the amount of knowledge needed to execute on the engineering side in such a complex, changing environment.”²

Despite this,  there is a tendency for managers of large software firms to micromanage, as the company code base becomes larger and the risk to the company grows.²

Symptoms observed in the subordinates:

• The employees have begun realizing that the manager is not listening to their feedback. So, they begin to shut down and they stop making suggestions or being straightforward with them.³
• Disengagement—They do the basic work and that’s about it; they are no longer willing to go the extra mile for the benefit of the company.³
• Their apathy is contagious, thereby decreasing the overall productivity of other colleagues as well.³

Symptoms observed in the micromanagers:

• Micromanagers supervise or control every single task performed, regardless of its complexity or the workers’ familiarity with that task.
• They do not trust or believe in others’ capabilities.
• Micromanagers compulsively oversee the work of high-performing as well as poorly-performing employees.

Prognosis (what the future for those suffering from the micromanagement ‘disease’ looks like):

• “Micromanagement stifles manager–employee:
  -communication,
  -creativity,
  -productivity,
  -problem-solving,
  -flexibility,
  -trust,
  -feedback,
  -interest, and
  -openness.”³
• It also adversely affects company growth and goal attainment.³
• Due to excessive micromanagement, the company may lose many of its talented employees to other companies.

Treatment:

With the help of Scrum/Agile philosophy, the manager shifts from being a ‘controller’ to that of an ‘enabler’ who establishes priorities and eliminates impediments as they are identified.⁴

In contrast, the subordinates change from being ‘individuals reporting to bosses’ to  ‘members of an accountable, self-organising team’ that works in short cycles without any managerial interference.⁴

“Scrum is an effective way for managers to:

• iteratively evaluate features in development,
• to prioritize the next batches of work, and
• to manage the feature backlog.”²

However, there are some software professionals who feel that Scrum methodology like the Daily Stand-up, is actually synonymous with micromanagement. In defence of Scrum values, micromanagement refers to overly detailed management by the administration (and not the team).  “While the team micromanages its  every day actions on a daily basis, the administration micromanages the release content on the iteration level.”⁵

While writing software programs, bugs are often encountered and appropriate solutions to those bugs are devised. So, it makes immense sense that the team has a Daily Stand-up, thereby enabling it to discuss possible problems and improvements to the software program. Therefore, “when the team discusses their daily tasks, they are micromanaging for the benefit of the team and the organization as a whole.”⁵

Endnotes

1 “Self-Organisation and Transparency: Team Freedom or a Path to Micro-Management,” Give Thanks For Scrum 2011 Transparency and Micromanagement, accessed November 29, 2011, http://www.slideshare.net/dlefebvre1701/give-thanks-for-scrum-2011-transparency-and-micromanagement.

2 John Umbaugh, “Micromanagement in the Software Engineering Industry,” Yahoo Voices, accessed November 29, 2011, http://voices.yahoo.com/micromanagement-software-engineering-industry-6631104.html.

3 Kenneth E. Fracaro, “The Consequences of Micromanaging,” Contract Management July 2007: 4-8, accessed November 29, 2011, http://www.ncmahq.org/files/Articles/ECB0A_CM0707_C01.pdf.

4  Steve Denning, “Six Common Mistakes That Salesforce.com Didn’t Make,” Forbes, April 18, 2011, accessed December 01, 2011, http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/04/18/six-common-mistakes-that-salesforce-com-didnt-make/.

5 Vikas Hazrati, “Agile is Micromanagement,” Info Q, November 10, 2009, accessed December 01, 2011, http://www.infoq.com/news/2009/11/agile-micromanagement.

Baking with Scrum

By Lisa / Filed under Collaboration, Scrum / November 16th, 2011

I like to think that I entered the Scrum world through the “side door”, but really it is just one of the entry points for a well-integrated scrum practice. My journey to Scrum started with Literature, Accounting, and then as the “First Among Equals” or as we know it, the “Product Owner”. So in keeping with my track record of approaching Scrum in an “unconventional” way, I decided to practice some Scrum values during a baking project with my seven-year-old son. The product: pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing, topped with a solitary pecan. We dedicated some effort to planning: we read the recipe from beginning to end, pre-heated the oven, greased the cookie sheets, and got out all of the ingredients.

Then, we planned our Sprints:

Sprint 1: Measuring
Sprint 2: Mixing
Sprint 3: Spooning
Sprint 4: Baking
Sprint 5: Decorating

I was the ScrumMaster and James was the cross-functional team. Dad was the Product Owner. We inspected and adapted as we went. I provided the tools (measuring spoons, bowls, scale, ingredients, recipe) James scooped, cracked (eggs, yikes!), and poured. During the scooping, leveling, and pouring, I observed and provided reference back to the recipe and measuring implements, and James delivered a colorful variation on 1/2 cup, 1 tsp, and 4 oz.

Although our last step involved more sequencing than anything else, that delicious pumpkin aroma, and the cotton fluff of creamy white icing swirled on top was a testament to a collaboration, teamwork, and planning. We invited Dad to see the the product as we completed each Sprint, though he saved most of his enthusiasm for the Release Retrospective held at the end of the project. This recipe showed a remarkable improvement over our last baking day, with improved and more accurate measurement, cleaner pours, fewer spills, and no eggshells in the batter!

I hope you are able to envision the value of Scrum in your daily life, and an “unconventional” adoption of Scrum across your organization– inspect and adapt to improve the experience of the participants and the quality of your results. Here’s to a Thanksgiving Holiday filled with collaboration, vision, and communication among your family, friends, and colleagues.

P.S. Let me know if you’d like the recipe for pumpkin cookies!

- Lisa Montaño