Facilitating Professional Scrum Teams: Improve Team Alignment, Effectiveness and Outcomes (The Professional Scrum Series)

Unlock the true power of collaboration within Scrum Teams and beyond with this practical guide packed with tips, tools, and real-life scenarios to elevate your facilitation skills. Scrum requires healthy collaboration, not just between the members of the Scrum Team, but also between the Scrum Team and its stakeholders to gather feedback and input. Collaboration is the heart of thriving Scrum Teams, but most available resources on collaboration focus solely on meeting formats and neglect to show how Scrum Teams truly harmonize their efforts and make informed decisions effectively. This book bridges the gap by not only providing effective facilitation techniques but also delving into the how and why of facilitation--all geared toward improving effectiveness, achieving impactful outcomes, and helping Scrum Teams work through challenges. Obtain tools and insights for Scrum Teams to better facilitate team interactions to leverage group diversity. Learn from real-world scenarios that illustrate common Scrum Team challenges and how they can be overcome with effective and timely facilitation. Discover comprehensive facilitation approaches accompanied with effective guidance on when to use them, how they can be combined, and how they can help to achieve desired outcomes. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents Foreword Foreword Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction Purpose of This Book Facilitation as a Complementary Practice to Scrum Who Should Read This Book How This Book Is Organized How to Read This Book Chapter 1 Facilitating Alignment The Scrum Team Figuring Out How They Want to Work Together Forming a Team Working Agreement Try This! Ideate and Organize Worst Possible Ideas Affinity Mapping The Scrum Team That Aligns with Its Stakeholders to Deliver Value Know Your Stakeholders and When You Need Them Try This! Strategies for Interacting with Various Stakeholders Stakeholder Mapping Decision Matrices How Long Has It Been...? Facilitate Early and Continuous Feedback The Scrum Team Aligning on a Vision Aligning the Scrum Team on the Product Vision Try This! Describe Desired Future Outcomes Tomorrow’s Headlines Elevator Pitch Product Vision Box Roman Pichler’s Product Canvas Keys to Facilitating Alignment Scrum Team Collaboration over Cooperation Build Empathy Between the Scrum Team and Its Stakeholders Make It Inclusive Conclusion Chapter 2 Facilitating Sprint Planning The Scrum Team Struggling to Agree to a Single Sprint Goal Crafting a Sprint Goal When the Scrum Team Has Competing Priorities Try This! Converging on a Single Cohesive Sprint Goal Stakeholder Invite Powerful Questions to Uncover the Next Most Important Outcome 1-2-4-All Follow Up 1-2-4-All with a Gallery Walk and the Selection of a Sprint Goal The Sprint Goal Template The Team Member Who Pushes the Team to Overcommit Creating a Sprint Forecast Collaboratively Try This! Making Better-Informed Decisions as a Team Uncovering Everyone’s Point of View What Does the Data Say? Facilitate the Discussion Toward the Next Most Important Thing to Start Next The Team Members Who Don’t Know Where to Start Create an Initial Plan for How the Work Will Get Done Try This! Decompose Product Backlog Items and Create an Initial Plan Breakdown into Tasks Visualize Tasks Keys to Facilitating an Effective Sprint Planning Prepare Inputs Take a Goal-Oriented Approach Encourage Pull, Don’t Push Leave Space for the Developers to Plan Do Just Enough Planning Conclusion Chapter 3 Facilitating the Daily Scrum The Daily Scrum Where Everyone Provides a Status Update Approaching the Daily Scrum as a Team Plan for the Day Try This! Use Questions and Visuals to Drive Focused Discussion The Three Questions Team-Based Questions Walking the Board Work in Progress and Work Item Age The Daily Scrum Where Developers Dive into Problem-Solving Mode Keeping the Daily Scrum Focused and Concise Try This! Focus the Conversation Take It Offline ELMO The Scrum Team Acting as a Group of Individuals Aligning Around the Sprint Goal at the Daily Scrum for Cohesion Try This! Bring Everyone Back to the Purpose The Fourth Question in the Daily Scrum Absentees or Late Comers to the Daily Scrum Respecting the Daily Scrum Try This! Leverage the Scrum Values and Team Agreements Use the Scrum Value of Respect as a North Star Enable Consistency and Accessibility Keys to Facilitating an Effective Daily Scrum Focus on the Sprint Goal Keep It for the Developers Manage Time Effectively Enable Transparency and Visualization Use a Participative Facilitation Format Conclusion Chapter 4 Facilitating Team Dynamics The Scrum Team Members Stuck on Their Own Ideas Understanding Group Dynamics Try This! Navigating Scrum Teams Through Participatory Decision-Making Sample Techniques to Use in the Divergent Zone Silent Writing Crazy 8s Sample Techniques to Use in the Groan Zone Active Listening Paraphrase Sample Techniques to Use in the Convergent Zone Pros and Cons Six Thinking Hats® The Scrum Team with Growing Conflict Between Two Team Members Understanding Conflict and People’s Needs Try This! Facilitate the Building of Empathy and Understanding Needs Take a Break Empathy Mapping Personal Mapping Team Member User Manual Empathy Buddy Exercise Using Feelings and Needs Cards Explore and Support Diversity of Working Styles The Scrum Team with Weak Decision-Making Making Clear Decisions Try This! Decision-Making Rules and Techniques Decision Rules Decision-Making Techniques Roman Voting Fist of Five Feedback Frames Dot Voting Keys to Facilitating Team Dynamics Build Team Empathy Help Groups Navigate Conflicting Perspectives Powerful Questioning Conclusion Chapter 5 Facilitating Product Backlog Refinement The Scrum Team Experimenting with Daily Product Backlog Refinement Facilitation of Refining the Product Backlog Try This! Tips for Product Backlog Refinement Refine the Product Backlog Collaboratively Focus Conversation on Why and What; Postpone How The Stakeholders Who Want It All Keeping the Product Backlog Lean and Focused on Valuable Outcomes Try This! Lead Conversations Toward Outcomes Using Evidence and Empiricism Facilitate the Development of Product with a Lean UX Canvas Thirty-Five Buy a Feature When the User Experience Is Forgotten Keeping the User Front and Center Try This! Facilitating User-Centric Product Backlog Refinement The Experience Now-Next-Later Roadmap Story Mapping The Scrum Team That Is Obsessed with Estimating Focusing on Valuable Conversations That Lead to Shared Understanding Try This! Doing Just Enough Sizing to Get Product Backlog Items to Ready Wall Estimating Right Sizing Keys to Facilitating Effective Product Backlog Refinement Facilitate for Collaboration Perfection Is the Enemy of Good Enough Make Decisions Transparent in the Product Backlog Facilitate Space for Ongoing Stakeholder Collaboration Conclusion Chapter 6 Facilitating the Sprint Review The Sprint Review with Little Stakeholder Participation Gathering Valuable Feedback at the Sprint Review Try This! Stakeholder Engagement through Contribution Invite the Right Stakeholders and Engage Them Before the Sprint Review Facilitate Making Connections and Share Expectations Put Your Stakeholders in the Driver’s Seat During Sprint Review Chartwriting Perfection Game and What? So What? Now What? The Sprint Review Where Nothing Is Done Helping Stakeholders Understand the Purpose of the Sprint Review Try This! Stakeholder Collaboration over Stakeholder Attendance Transparency of Done and Undone Make Challenges Transparent Risks and Their Impact on Longer-Term Forecasts Keys to Facilitating an Effective Sprint Review Create a Learning Space Enable Interaction and Collaboration Engage the Right Stakeholders at the Right Time Focus on Goals and Value Create a Healthy Space for Every Voice Consider the Wider Market Conclusion Chapter 7 Facilitating the Sprint Retrospective The Scrum Team Playing the Blame Game Keeping the Sprint Retrospective Constructive Try This! Regrouping and Adjusting Perspectives The Prime Directive Stepping Out of the Content and Reflecting on the Process The How Might We Question Format The Team Members Who Believe Nothing Will Change Getting Value out of the Sprint Retrospective Try This! Challenge the Scrum Team to Own Improvement Circles of Concern, Influence, and Control Delegation Poker The Scrum Team That Thinks There’s Nothing Left for Them to Improve Challenging Scrum Teams That Have Reached a Plateau Try This! Leverage Different Perspectives to Pursue Awesomeness White Elephant Definition of Awesome and Improvement Boards The Scrum Team Dealing with a Major Change Dealing with Profound Challenges Try This! Taking Steps toward Resiliency and Improvement The Check-In Conversation Café Discovering the Art of the Possible Root Cause Analysis The Scrum Master Focusing the Retrospective on Fun Serve the Needs of the Team Try This! Help Participants Connect to the Purpose and Create Their Own Agenda Connect to the Purpose Lean Coffee Keys to Facilitating an Effective Sprint Retrospective Clarify Involvement as a Facilitator and Participant Create Positive Energy Don’t Ignore the Elephant in the Room Protect the Health of the Team Facilitate for the Scrum Team to Get Creative Frame Change as Experiments Conclusion Chapter 8 Facilitating Beyond a Single Scrum Team The Scrum Teams Whose Members Could Be Sharing Knowledge Communicating and Sharing Knowledge across the Organization Try This! Facilitate Learning across the Organization Communities of Practice Lunch and Learn Sessions Retrospectives at All Levels The Scrum Teams Without a Say on Their Team Membership Organizing and Structuring Multiple Scrum Teams Try This! Support Scrum Teams to Organize Themselves Establish Boundary Conditions Facilitate Self-Managing Team Formation Visualize and Reflect on Dependencies as an Ongoing Concern The Chaotic Customer Review Preparing for a Large Meeting Try This! Decentralized Large Meetings The Science Fair/Science Expo World Café Gallery Walk Shift and Share Making Insights Transparent to All Graphic Recording Keys to Facilitating beyond a Single Scrum Team Planning and Preparation for Big Groups Strong Communication and Connection to Objectives Clear Summarization Provide Reflection, Feedback, and Parking Lot Spaces Facilitate Organizational Communication Apply Facilitation Principles but Adapt Facilitation Techniques Conclusion Conclusion Moving Forward Getting Started Watching for Common Facilitation Mistakes Trying to Design the Perfect Session Mismanaging Time and Expectations Navigating Group Dynamics Improving as a Facilitator Appendix A: Facilitation Principles Participative Purposeful Process Transparency Healthy Appendix B: Adapting for Virtual Communication and Collaboration Tools Keep It Simple Introduce the Tools Consider Having a Cohost Virtual Meeting Etiquette Be Inclusive and Respectful of Individuals’ Needs Minimizing Virtual Meeting Fatigue Caused by Cameras Being On Reduce Screen Window Size Participants Turn Off Self View Incorporate Periods of Audio Only Keep Sessions Short Break Down Content and Activities Take Regular Breaks Respect People’s Time Create Space for Connection Sharing with the Whole Group Making Decisions Virtually The Power of Silence Take It to the Team! Hybrid Facilitation Appendix C: Facilitation Checklist Preparation Outcome and Objectives Facilitation Approach Scheduling and Communicating Facilitation Box (In Person Meetings) Facilitation Space and Equipment Follow-Up Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z