– Sometimes? It seems like always. I even have the impression that as Scrum Masters we are only collectors of other people’s ideas and solutions. Are we competent enough to know better than specialists what is a good solution in their area of expertise?
Today I would like to show you an idea that was once brought up by Paweł Płoneczka, experienced developer (Pawel, again — thank you!).
A common problem of a Scrum Team is poor feedback and little stakeholder involvement during the Sprint Review. There are many reasons for this issue, but the most common is the inability to show stakeholders what changes have occurred in the product. How are they supposed to appreciate a product if not even the team that creates it recognizes them and is able to show them?
The Scrum Team should try to present their Sprint increment as if it was the best job they have ever done:
- with pride
- as an impressive display of their skills and effort
- it should reflect the deep commitment into the product
- it should remain in the viewers memory for a long time
- it should be a small, directed show.
How to do it? A director is needed.
When planning, the team should think about who will be the director, who will be the master of the ceremony, who will prepare the script. Such a person has to have in mind the context of the Review when starting the work on a given functionality. During the Sprint, the content is collected (screenshots, data, ideas, photos), which is then used to create the Review presentation. You can also add to the Definition of Done something like “The team is ready to present the effects of work in an attractive way”.
Such preparation allows the team from the beginning to think of work in the context of showing the results to stakeholders, including the most important ones — the users. The show should be prepared in a way to make the viewers want to use new functionalities.
Additionally, it solves the recurring problem of “How to show bugs?”. It is simple — show the product before and after fixing. This is nothing of key importance, as it does not bring new value, but it is worth showing to maintain the transparency of the product.
What will be the results? I have already checked several times:
- Stakeholders, seeing the team’s commitment and the work put into the product presentation, almost immediately engage in the meeting.
- The product begins to change for the better.
- The dialogue between the team and the business is created.
- Eventually, trust and understanding increase.
Simple? It’s worth it.