The Power of Scrum

Why should you love Scrum? Simple. Scrum is about empowering people.

I have to admit that I was surprised that Scrum was about people. I’m not sure why I was surprised—maybe the assumption that software is rooted in process—but that assumption isn’t quite right. Turns out, Scrum is anchored deep in humanistic thinking. It’s all about people and it felt good and restorative to learn about Scrum.

Let me backup a bit. If you’re not familiar with Scrum, then here’s some background. Scrum is one of many agile frameworks used by teams to manage their work. Agile refers to a set of principles and values shared by several methodologies, processes, and practices. Scrum, often referred to as the most popular agile framework, is used by cross-functional teams from a range of industries to deliver products in short cycles. So far, it doesn’t really scream “people,” does it?

Before taking the Certified ScrumMaster course, I was familiar with the guiding principles from the Agile Manifesto:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

Still, I really didn’t appreciate Scrum’s humanist approach until our excellent class instructor Rick Waters CST highlighted the five Scrum values and how a Scrum team’s success depends on these values. It was during this lesson that Scrum clicked for me. Below I’m highlighting these values, along with my thoughts in italics, in the hopes that more people can reflect on these ideas and rethink what’s working and not working in their day-to-day.

• Commitment

  Scrum teams work together as a unit. This means that scrum teams trust each other to follow through on what they say they are going to do. When team members aren’t sure how work is going, they ask.

  • For me, the word that jumps out is “trust”. But how often do we think about “trust” at work? Even if I often don’t express it to my teammates, it’s imperative that we “trust” each other. That trust is powerful and I’ll be more mindful of it on future teams.

• Courage

  Scrum teams must feel safe enough to say no, to ask for help, and to try new things. Teams must be brave enough to question the status quo when it hampers their ability to succeed.

  • It’s not easy to say “no” at work. But overpromising clients and overburdening teams can become a big problem. I’ve witnessed a lot of burnout and people stay silent because it’s hard to tell your boss that you have too much on your plate. Will they question your work ethic? Your drive? Will you get labeled as underperforming? In my career, I’ve seen the “courage” to speak up received multiple ways and with a range of outcomes. As a manager, I’ve always felt that people want to do a good job. And if they have the courage to question the status quo, then we should listen and find a solution.

• Focus

  Whatever scrum teams start they finish so teams are relentless about limiting the amount of work in process.

  • I take this to mean: work at a sustainable pace. In my agency experience, I haven’t been on many teams that can limit the amount of work on their plates, which goes back to courage. But isn’t this an amazing concept? Imagine the excellence that teams could achieve if they weren’t alternating from one task to the next all day? It sounds utopian but the side effects of non-sustainable work is burnout. This is going to paraphrase what Rick said in class but I agree: “We have to stop burning out people because quality drops and your quality employees quit when you could have taken your foot off the gas pedal.” We can avoid attrition by working at a sustainable pace, encouraging more focus, and boosting results at the same time.

• Openness

  Scrum teams consistently seek out new ideas and opportunities to learn. Teams are also honest when they need help.

  • I love when my teammates share a new design article or teach me a new trick about WordPress. On the flip side, I think this also relates back to trust. Being able to voice a concern or question is important and ultimately makes the team better.
    

• Respect

  Teams know that their strength lies in how well they collaborate and that everyone has a distinct contribution to make toward completing the work of the sprint. They respect each other’s ideas, give each other permission to have a bad day once in a while, and recognize each other’s accomplishments.

  • When a project ends, I often note how effectively we collaborated. But what I’m often overlooking is how well we respected each other. My favorite teams have been ones that respected each other’s ideas, allowed each other to have a crummy day, and celebrated our strengths.

I was truly surprised to learn how much Scrum embraces humanist values. While I often work to de-stress my teams and be a source of support, I’m confident that I can do better in the future by keeping these Scrum values in mind and striving to help those around me to speak up and grow.

Learn more about Scrum and become a certified ScrumMaster at Scrum Alliance. For a top-notch instructor, look for Rick Waters CST.