Any imposed process, explicit (e.g. you must do standups) or implicit (e.g. you must do #agile) is likely to result in anything ranging from low performance to dysfunction. 1/
High performance comes from imposing enabling constraints (e.g. ensure we have a shippable product at all times, ensure we have a frequent feedback loop with the customer, ensure you are continuously improving), not process. 2/
Tell the team they can create whatever process they want, and that you will help remove any roadblocks. But take the constraints seriously, and make the team accountable to them. Show me the software! Show me how we're incorporating feedback! Show me how you're improving! 3/
Sometimes management backs away in a move filled with genuine good intent. But in doing so they fail to send consistent messages of what outcomes they are expecting, and performance ebbs. Take the enabling constraints seriously, and the team's accountability for meeting them. 4/
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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!
Trying a new angle for teaching story slicing, one of the biggest struggles for teams attempting #agile ways of working and arguably the most important practice to understand, given we are trying to deliver value to customers in very short cycles. Read on if you are interested.
The way I see it, there are 3 levels of story slicing, each of which is beneficial and necessary to be able to deliver shippable increments consistently in 2 wks or less. I am currently calling them Capability Slicing, Functional Slicing and Implementation Slicing. What are they?
Capability Slicing is the narrowing of a broader capability* into more precise ones, each independently valuable and implementable and, by necessity, smaller in potential scope.
*The story of enabling a human being to achieve something they cannot currently achieve