Thread by @neil_killick

For questions about practices in #Scrum, there are only ever TWO answers. If the context of the question is about the framework itself, and thus the Scrum Guide explicitly answers it, then there's your answer. For all other questions, the answer is "it depends on the context".

For example, I just saw a question in a #Scrum Master group: "What is the role of the PO in daily standup?" A long thread of opinionated answers ensued. NO! If you're a Scrum Master, & you are using Scrum, the answer is simple - it's the "daily scrum", & it is for the developers.

"But sometimes it is very valuable to have the PO at the standup!", freshly minted CSM's cry. "They can share new bugs with the team, sign off stories and understand progress / get the team back on track". Sigh. NO! IT IS FOR THE DEVELOPERS. READ THE GUIDE!

Folks seem to argue as if the daily scrum is the only opportunity for the developers to interact with the PO. In a healthy #scrum team, the whole team collaborates on a continuous basis. Wanting to shove all interaction into the daily scrum is a symptom of a divided team.

The daily #scrum is specifically for the developers to talk about development activity, and align on the day's plan to move toward the sprint goal. Any other convos that need to be had within themselves (e.g. tech), or with the PO (or others) can be done outside of that meeting.

So back to the OT. I think this is one of the reasons folks struggle so badly with #scrum. They're basing how to do it on opinions, not the guide. The truth is - you will NEVER have a situation where everyone in a team agrees how to do everything in their process.

The solution to this is to follow the guide where explicit, and use the built-in inspection and adaptation of your process for the other stuff. If the whole team wants the PO at daily scrum, great! Again, a healthy scrum team refers to the guide and remains mindful of deviations.

But that is a specific decision in a specific context. It's never the "right" answer to say that the PO should be at the daily scrum. The guide is explicit about it being a meeting for the developers. But a healthy #scrum team is looking to be EFFECTIVE, not just to "do scrum".

So, a healthy #scrum team who wants the PO at the daily scrum would have them there, but still recognise that the meeting is for the developers (i.e. the PO, SM AND DEVELOPERS ALL RECOGNISE THIS). If there is disagreement, sticking with the guide seems a sensible approach to me.