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Scrum Guide 2020 vs 2017 Part 3: The Scrum Team (from a hardware perspective)​

Scrum Guide 2020 vs 2017 Part 3: The Scrum Team

Scrum Guide 2020 vs 2017 Part 3: The Scrum Team (from a hardware perspective)

Introduction

This will be a multiple part article. In this third post we will focus on the Team, Developers, Scrum Master and Product Owner. Coming articles will cover 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 most obvious update is that Development Team is replaced by Developers. It is now only one Scrum Team were everyone is focusing on one objective at a time. Instead of roles there are now defined groups of “accountabilities”: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers. It is what you do that matters, not who you are.

There is now an opening for that the same person take several groups of accountabilities. In our opinion this is a dangerous road. We are only humans and when pressured we will react instinctively and focus on what its most convenient for us.

We really like that an increment has changed from “potentially shippable” to “valuable and useful”. When you build highly complex products, it is not that useful to build working stuff every sprint, there must be time for validated learnings as well. We will go deeper into that when we discuss the artifacts of scrum in future articles.

“Servant-leader” has been changed to “leader that serves”. From what we can understand this is just changing of wording to avoid confusion, the way they are supposed to act is the same.

Impact on Hardware companies doing Scrum​

There is now mentioned that multiple teams should share the same Product Owner. In complex and integrated product development it is very hard to find one person that can understand all aspects and solely prioritize the common backlog. We recommend a cross-functional program team supporting multiple product owners instead.

Its also stated that multiple teams working on the same product must share the same definition of done. We find that in hardware the work each sprint varies so much that this is impractical. Instead, you can work cross-teams to create a common definition of quality and define good engineering practices that is a part of your everyday tasks.

Impact on Hardware companies about to implement Scrum

Since there are no “roles” defined anymore its easier to keep existing titles when transforming, e.g., you can be a Product Manager AND having accountability as a Product Owner. We will need to see where this ends up. Line managers the combines with product ownership risks mixing up their people managing role with product managing role, leaving the scrum master with unclear mandate.

It is also more open now how big a scrum team can be: “typically 10 or fewer people”. When you develop products that need a lot of competences (in a current example more the 20 competences were needed to deliver a product goal) and this tend to make the team larger. Be careful though if you go over 10 persons. It is a big risk that the team breaks down into sub-teams and that will hinder the team to take full accountability for their outputs, complicate their communication and create hierarchies. Instead, we recommend patterns where you invite guest specialist for a few sprints, having a supporting program team and work with competence development in a structured way to achieve T-shaping.

Changes between 2020 and 2017 version​

Source: http://scrumguides.org

Noteworthy things added

Noteworthy things removed

Scrum Team

The Scrum Guide 2020

The fundamental unit of Scrum is a small team of people, a Scrum Team. The Scrum Team consists of one Scrum Master, one Product Owner, and Developers. Within a Scrum Team, there are no sub-teams or hierarchies. It is a cohesive unit of professionals focused on one objective at a time, the Product Goal.

Scrum Teams are cross-functional, meaning the members have all the skills necessary to create value each Sprint. They are also self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how.

The Scrum Team is responsible for all product-related activities from stakeholder collaboration, verification, maintenance, operation, experimentation, research and development, and anything else that might be required. They are structured and empowered by the organization to manage their own work. Working in Sprints at a sustainable pace improves the Scrum Team’s focus and consistency.

The entire Scrum Team is accountable for creating a valuable, useful Increment every Sprint. Scrum defines three specific accountabilities within the Scrum Team: the Developers, the Product Owner, and the Scrum Master.

The Scrum Guide 2017

The Scrum Team consists of a Product Owner, the Development Team, and a Scrum Master. Scrum Teams are self-organizing and cross-functional. Self-organizing teams choose how best to accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others outside the team. Cross-functional teams have all competencies needed to ;accomplish the work without depending on others not part of the team. The team model in Scrum is designed to optimize flexibility, creativity, and productivity. The Scrum Team has proven itself to be increasingly effective for all the earlier stated uses, and any complex work.

Scrum Teams deliver products iteratively and incrementally, maximizing opportunities for feedback. Incremental deliveries of “Done” product ensure a potentially useful version of working product is always available.

Team Size

The Scrum Guide 2020

The Scrum Team is small enough to remain nimble and large enough to complete significant work within a Sprint, typically 10 or fewer people. In general, we have found that smaller teams communicate better and are more productive.

The Scrum Guide 2017

Optimal Development Team size is small enough to remain nimble and large enough to complete significant work within a Sprint. Fewer than three Development Team members decrease interaction and results in smaller productivity gains. Smaller Development Teams may encounter skill constraints during the Sprint, causing the Development Team to be unable to deliver a potentially releasable Increment. Having more than nine members requires too much coordination. Large Development Teams generate too much complexity for an empirical process to be useful. The Product Owner and Scrum Master roles are not included in this count unless they are also executing the work of the Sprint Backlog.

Multiple teams

The Scrum Guide 2020

If Scrum Teams become too large, they should consider reorganizing into multiple cohesive Scrum Teams, each focused on the same product. Therefore, they should share the same Product Goal, Product Backlog, and Product Owner.

[…]

If there are multiple Scrum Teams working together on a product, they must mutually define and comply with the same Definition of Done.

The Scrum Guide 2017

Multiple Scrum Teams often work together on the same product. One
Product Backlog is used to describe the upcoming work on the product. A
Product Backlog attribute that groups items may then be employed.

[…]

If there are multiple Scrum Teams working on the system or product release, the Development Teams on all the Scrum Teams must mutually define the definition of “Done”.

Developers

The Scrum Guide 2020

Developers are the people in the Scrum Team that are committed to creating any aspect of a usable Increment each Sprint.

The specific skills needed by the Developers are often broad and will vary with the domain of work. However, the Developers are always accountable for:

Creating a plan for the Sprint, the Sprint Backlog;

Instilling quality by adhering to a Definition of Done;

Adapting their plan each day toward the Sprint Goal; and,

Holding each other accountable as professionals.

The Scrum Guide 2017

The Development Team consists of professionals who do the work of delivering a potentially releasable Increment of “Done” product at the end of each Sprint. A “Done” increment is required at the Sprint Review. Only members of the Development Team create the Increment.

Development Teams are structured and empowered by the organization to organize and manage their own work. The resulting synergy optimizes the Development Team’s overall efficiency and effectiveness.

Development Teams have the following characteristics:

They are self-organizing. No one (not even the Scrum Master) tells the Development Team how to turn Product Backlog into Increments of potentially releasable functionality;

Development Teams are cross-functional, with all the skills as a team necessary to create a product Increment;

Scrum recognizes no titles for Development Team members, regardless of the work being performed by the person;

Scrum recognizes no sub-teams in the Development Team, regardless of domains that need to be addressed like testing, architecture, operations, or business analysis; and,

Individual Development Team members may have specialized skills and areas of focus, but accountability belongs to the Development Team as a whole.

Product Owner

The Scrum Guide 2020

The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team. How this is done may vary widely across organizations, Scrum Teams, and individuals.

The Product Owner is also accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes:

Developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal;

Creating and clearly communicating Product Backlog items;

Ordering Product Backlog items; and,

Ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood.

The Product Owner may do the above work or may delegate the responsibility to others. Regardless, the Product Owner remains accountable.

For Product Owners to succeed, the entire organization must respect their decisions. These decisions are visible in the content and ordering of the Product Backlog, and through the inspectable Increment at the Sprint Review.

The Product Owner is one person, not a committee. The Product Owner may represent the needs of many stakeholders in the Product Backlog. Those wanting to change the Product Backlog can do so by trying to convince the Product Owner.

The Scrum Guide 2017

The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product resulting from work of the Development Team. How this is done may vary widely across organizations, Scrum Teams, and individuals.

The Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog. Product Backlog management includes:

Clearly expressing Product Backlog items;

Ordering the items in the Product Backlog to best achieve goals and missions;

Optimizing the value of the work the Development Team performs;

Ensuring that the Product Backlog is visible, transparent, and clear to all, and shows what the Scrum Team will work on next; and,

Ensuring the Development Team understands items in the Product Backlog to the level needed.

The Product Owner may do the above work, or have the Development Team do it. However, the Product Owner remains accountable.

The Product Owner is one person, not a committee. The Product Owner may represent the desires of a committee in the Product Backlog, but those wanting to change a Product Backlog item’s priority must address the Product Owner.

For the Product Owner to succeed, the entire organization must respect his or her decisions. The Product Owner’s decisions are visible in the content and ordering of the Product Backlog. No one can force the Development Team to work from a different set of requirements.

Scrum Master

The Scrum Guide 2020

The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organization.

The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness. They do this by enabling the Scrum Team to improve its practices, within the Scrum framework.

Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization.

The Scrum Guide 2017

The Scrum Master is responsible for promoting and supporting Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. Scrum Masters do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory, practices, rules, and values.

The Scrum Master is a servant-leader for the Scrum Team. The Scrum Master helps those outside the Scrum Team understand which of their interactions with the Scrum Team are helpful and which aren’t. The Scrum Master helps everyone change these interactions to maximize the value created by the Scrum Team.

Service to the Team

The Scrum Guide 2020

The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including:

Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality;

Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done;

Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress; and,

Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox.

The Scrum Guide 2017

The Scrum Master serves the Development Team in several ways, including:

Coaching the Development Team in self-organization and cross-functionality;

Helping the Development Team to create high-value products;

Removing impediments to the Development Team’s progress;

Facilitating Scrum events as requested or needed; and,

Coaching the Development Team in organizational environments in which Scrum is not yet fully adopted and understood.

Service to the Product Owner

The Scrum Guide 2020

The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner in several ways, including:

Helping find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management;

Helping the Scrum Team understand the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items;

Helping establish empirical product planning for a complex environment; and,

Facilitating stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed.

The Scrum Guide 2017

The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner in several ways, including:

Ensuring that goals, scope, and product domain are understood by everyone on the Scrum Team as well as possible;

Finding techniques for effective Product Backlog management;

Helping the Scrum Team understand the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items;

Understanding product planning in an empirical environment;

Ensuring the Product Owner knows how to arrange the Product Backlog to maximize value;

Understanding and practicing agility; and,

Facilitating Scrum events as requested or needed.

Service to the Organization

The Scrum Guide 2020

The Scrum Master serves the organization in several ways, including:

Leading, training, and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption;

Planning and advising Scrum implementations within the organization;

Helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact an empirical approach for complex work; and,

Removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams.

The Scrum Guide 2017

The Scrum Master serves the organization in several ways, including:

Leading and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption;

Planning Scrum implementations within the organization;

Helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact Scrum and empirical product development;

Causing change that increases the productivity of the Scrum Team; and,

Working with other Scrum Masters to increase the effectiveness of the application of Scrum in the organization.

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