We started this Scrum foundation series explaining we see four underlying concepts of the Scrum framework. In the past series of mails we covered the three pillars of Empiricism, the Scrum Values, and Self-Management.
A self-managing team is taking decisions about who does what, when, and how. This ensures the team can move forward without unnecessary waiting time. If we want to improve on that, and to support the team taking ownership, having the needed skills within the team is another step.
👉 Cross-functional, meaning the team internally has all skills needed to successfully complete their goals.
Growing cross-functionality = growing skills = raising mastery = higher motivation = higher effectivity.
During each of the Scrum Events, and throughout the Sprint itself, the Scrum Team should have all necessary skills in order to reach its objectives.
Let’s have a look at the Daily Scrum.
Reminder: the objective of the Daily Scrum is for the Developers to inspect their progress towards the Sprint Goal, and adapt their plan - their Sprint Backlog - as needed to reach this objective. Where are we today? What is the next best thing to work on today? What risks do we see that might prevent us to reach our goals? What can we do about these today?
Next to skills for being an awesome team player such as listening, speaking up, giving and receiving feedback, etc. what is expected more specifically for the Daily Scrum?
Without even trying to being exhaustive, here are a skills / experiences I would expect the team to use:
- Focus: keep the eye on the target. What is most important to deal with today?
- Risk aware: what actions do we need to take up today to prevent risks catching fire?
- Listening: what is the meaning behind the words of my teammates? Hear more than the words, understand the real message.
- Be concise: we have 15 minutes. What is key for all my teammates to understand? What can we discuss outside the Daily Scrum with part of the team?
- Decision-making: What do we take up today? What not?
These are just a few examples of skills that are put in action during a Daily Scrum.
☝️ It is not a matter of who in the team has the skills, as long as together the team has the skills needed.
Summary:
Cross-functional is about having all skills within the team to create value each Sprint.
In order to accomplish the purpose of the Daily Scrum, the Scrum Team needs specific skills that have to do with monitoring and control activities.
Prompt:
Together with your Scrum Team, evaluate which skill improvements the team would benefit from to make your Daily Scrum events more effective.
I hope you find value in these short posts and if you are looking for more clarifications, feel free to take contact.
If you want to take a deeper dive into the core concepts we are covering in this blog series, then surely check out our Professional Scrum MasterY workshop. We have some scheduled in the coming period.
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