Scrum Values

Scrum Values

Scrum values apply to all the team not just the Scrum Master or Product Owner and they are Values that can be effectively applied to Agile and traditional waterfall methods. When moving from waterfall to Agile there values are the first thing for the Scrum Master to get the agile team to buy into.

Focus

Team focus and Sprint goals are important responsibilities for the Scrum Master. The Scrum Master should remove impediments from the Team and protect the Scrum team members from external influence.

The Product Owner and Scrum Master should be responsible for ensuring a well groomed backlog which is both estimated and ordered and the team should be fully be focused on delivering the work committed to in the sprints.

Courage

The Team member must have the courage to speak out and ensure that their contribution is heard but with an openness other. The. Scrum Master needs to have the courage to negotiate with stakeholders and the Product Owner when it’s right to do so!

Whilst at the same time the Scrum team needs the courage to commit to as much work as possible within the Sprint whilst respecting the definition of done.

Openness

This is a core Scrum Value that makes Agile so much more effective than traditional management.

The Back log should be fully qualified and visible so that everyone is aware of what work is up and coming. The retrospective must be fully open with problems openly discussed

Commitment

The Scrum team commits to what they will complete each sprint. They also commit to how the work will be ‘done’ and to meet the Definition of Done.

The Team commits to doing whatever is collectively necessary in order to meet their goals. The wider organisation also commits to support the scrum team and to respect the values of Agile.

Respect

This is perhaps one of the important values in Agile… And sadly one that I often observe is not followed! The Product Owner gets to dictate what work gets done and in what sequence – And it’s the responsibility of the Scrum team to respect those decisions. However The Product Owner must trust and respect the team to decide how they will accomplish this and respect the team when they push back or if they believe the Product Owner is encouraging them to overcommit. The Scrum Master should be aware that they are not management but the servant leader responsible for ensuring that the Scrum team is able to run at maximum efficiency and to coach stakeholders, Product Owner and the Scrum team on all things agile!

At Althris Project Management Training we have some tool and Agile games to help get the team focused on these values. For further reading I suggest you look to see what Ken Schwaber says about the Scrum Framework for software development.