Scrum Guide 2020 vs 2017 Part 2: Empericism and Values (from a hardware perspective)
Introduction
This will be a multiple part article. In this second post we will focus on how Emperisim an Values is explained in the updated guide. Coming articles will cover The Scrum Team, Events and Artifacts.
At MEQIFY we have long experience of applying Scrum and other agile frameworks outside of the pure software industry. We have developed specific expertise and good practices for usage of Scrum in Hardware. We are now co-authoring this series to give you our collective insights on the effect on manufacturing companies and Hardware design companies.
At the bottom of the page you will find links to the full comparison and related articles.
Highlights
The new guide is much more humble. Methods and practices have now been replaced with the statement that the framework is always evolving, i.e emergent (a clear nod to Dave Snowden’s great work with the Cynefin framework). When Scrum is moving more and more outside the traditional Software and IT paradigm, success with new and alternative methods and practices emerge. We have for many years in many different contexts inspected and adapted different ideas. We are confident that we have found good practices that increase your success when implementing Scrum in the world of hardware.
We love that it is now so clear WHY Inspect-Adapt-Transparency is a philosophy where all the three parts are equally important (we have highlighted it for you below).
Our experience is that the transparency part if often missed. It is not enough just to be open. If you really believe in the importance of transparency, it is up to you as the sender of the message to encode it in a way that a receiver can understand. A common pattern used to try to solve this is “Information cascading”. This is a an anti-pattern! As a sender you put all the pressure on the receiver to analyse the message and translate it to the next layer. Too many layers make the message unclear (if you have ever played Viskleken / Chinese whisper / Telephone you already know this).
It is also a very slow process and since you inspect-adapt fast the information gets old as well. A sprint review is an example of this, the information frequent, fresh and interactive. Other successful patterns we have seen is to flatten the information hierarchy and make the information easily updated and available with a pull principle (e.g. Wiki).
Impact on Hardware companies doing Scrum
One thing that has been removed, which we would like to take back is the importance of a common language. Just as with the information hierarchy problem above, this makes the message hard to understand for the receiver. In multi-domain-teams (that we are big fans of and highly recommend!) it takes a while to get the Scrum Team members to talk in a way that makes them understand each other on a deeper level. The problems arise when you scale and have multiple teams and multiple hierarchies. The general problem must be ddressed on a management level.
Impact on Hardware companies about to implement Scrum
Scrum values have not changed and are more relevant than ever. One thing we would like emphasized in the next revision is that these values are just as important for people outside the scrum team. We see a danger with this when scaling scrum. When one-process-fits-all frameworks are implemented, there is a risk that these values are forgotten and the leadership behaviours does not change. They only get new letters on their business cards.
Do not forget that Scrum is designed to provoke change, so be prepared for that already before you start. Trust us, with increased transparency, your first scrum teams will uncover existing problems in a sometimes brutal fashion.
One successful pattern at Saab Aerospace is that every day one top level manager dedicates half their day in trying to solve Scrum team impediments, whatever they may be.
Changes between 2020 and 2017 version
Transparency
The emergent process and work must be visible to those performing the work as well as those receiving the work. With Scrum, important decisions are based on the perceived state of its three formal artifacts. Artifacts that have low transparency can lead to decisions that diminish value and increase risk.
Transparency enables inspection. Inspection without transparency is misleading and wasteful.
Inspection
The Scrum artifacts and the progress toward agreed goals must be inspected frequently and diligently to detect potentially undesirable variances or problems. To help with inspection, Scrum provides cadence in the form of its five events.
Inspection enables adaptation. Inspection without adaptation is considered pointless. Scrum events are designed to provoke change.
Adaption
If any aspects of a process deviate outside acceptable limits or if the resulting product is unacceptable, the process being applied or the materials being produced must be adjusted. The adjustment must be made as soon as possible to minimize further deviation.
Adaptation becomes more difficult when the people involved are not empowered or self-managing. A Scrum Team is expected to adapt the moment it learns anything new through inspection.
Scrum Values
Successful use of Scrum depends on people becoming more proficient in living five values:
Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage
The Scrum Team commits to achieving its goals and to supporting each other. Their primary focus is on the work of the Sprint to make the best possible progress toward these goals. The Scrum Team and its stakeholders are open about the work and the challenges. Scrum Team members respect each other to be capable, independent people, and are respected as such by the people with whom they work. The Scrum Team members have the courage to do the right thing, to work on tough problems.
These values give direction to the Scrum Team with regard to their work, actions, and behavior. The decisions that are made, the steps taken, and the way Scrum is used should reinforce these values, not diminish or undermine them. The Scrum Team members learn and explore the values as they work with the Scrum events and artifacts. When these values are embodied by the Scrum Team and the people they work with, the empirical Scrum pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation come to life building trust.
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