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To measure the success of Scrum teams and the effectiveness of the Scrum Master, we use several key metrics and indicators:
Velocity: This measures how much work the team completes in a sprint (usually 2-4 weeks). It's a count of story points or tasks. Consistent velocity over time means the team is stable and performing well.
Sprint Goal Success: We check if the team meets its sprint goals. Achieving these goals regularly indicates good planning and execution.
Burndown Charts: These charts show the amount of work remaining in a sprint. A smooth downward trend means the team is on track.
Cycle Time: This measures how long it takes to complete a task from start to finish. Shorter cycle times suggest the team is efficient.
Team Satisfaction: We gather feedback from team members about their happiness and engagement. High satisfaction usually means a healthy team environment.
Stakeholder Feedback: We also gather feedback from stakeholders (like customers or managers) to see if they are happy with the product and the team's work.
Impediments Resolved: We track how quickly and effectively the Scrum Master resolves issues that block the team's progress. The fewer the unresolved impediments, the more effective the Scrum Master is.
By looking at these metrics, we can understand how well the team is performing and how effective the Scrum Master is in supporting the team. If the metrics show positive trends, it means both the team and the Scrum Master are likely doing a good job.
As per Tuckman's model there are 4 stages of high- performing teams.
1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing
Given the question, I could relate to one of my experience where as a Scrum Master I was getting a Storming team, where all my developers were great at their individual work but there was lack of teamwork and communication within the team. There were lot of conflicts and teamwork was always a little of a challenge for them.Â
So, what firstly I had to gain their their confidence and connected with each of them to understand the problem. And then, slowly in every possible meeting would do a fun team building games e.g.: human knots, blind drawing etc.Â
Next, once I could see changes in their interactions which got better within few days, coached them about how team work can only help each other grow personally and professionally. Since they were still in second stage of Tuckman's there were still conflicts but I could see that we as a team were able to resolve most of them.
Then, again coached them about the importance of Agile manifestos and one of the scrum ceremonies' i.e. Sprint Retrospectives. In the beginning, would ask them to write their feedbacks anonymously and then eventually ending up with the improvement points. In later stages, there were open discussions about the issues, improvement items etc. which needed to be taken cared of.
Coming back to the question, as a Scrum Master, I could see a great difference and increase in the velocity and capacity(since now people were motivated to come to office and work with the team). Escaped defects were getting lesser in later sprints. And initially, there were lot of improvement points created as an output of the retrospective but one or none were being implemented and then the implementation of improvements got increased. Finally, the team were coming up with nominal improvement points and as team we were able to resolve them as well.
As a SM, I tried to show them empathy, was an active listener and used persuasiveness while communicating to them which helped them to open up to me and then coached them as and when required about Scrum, teamwork and manifestos. And as a team player, worked with them on my improvement areas as well. This not only helped me in improving my processes but gave them the insights that everyone needs improvements.
Hope this justifies your question. Please let me know if any key points were missed.
@shrijamahadevan , a very well-crafted response! I would have appreciated response on overarching services of Scrum Master to Scrum Team, Product Owner and Organization.
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