Self-Organizing Teams

Quick reference

• 00:03 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
• 00:05 I'm shifting directions now and focusing on the details of how to conduct and
• 00:10 manage some of the activities that are associated with an Agile Scrum Project.
• 00:15 To get started, let's dig deeper into the leadership roles
• 00:20 within the Agile Scrum Self-organizing team.
• 00:24 One of the leadership roles is that of Scrum Master.
• 00:27 First let me clarify, the Scrum Master is not the project leader.
• 00:32 However, the Scrum Master does perform some of the traditional project manager
• 00:36 responsibilities.
• 00:37 The Scrum Master chairs the Scrum team meetings.
• 00:39 The Scrum Master also is responsible for working the road block column
• 00:43 on the Scrum Board, which is a key element of busting barriers and risk management.
• 00:48 Also the Scrum Master maintains the Scrum Board and
• 00:51 Burn-down Chart, which are key communication and status reporting tools.
• 00:56 However, there are a number of typical project management duties
• 00:59 that the Scrum Master does not do.
• 01:01 One of the most obvious is that the Scrum Master does not create and
• 01:05 maintain an integrated project plan.
• 01:07 Nor does the Scrum Master work with stakeholders to define and
• 01:11 manage the project requirements.
• 01:13 The Scrum Master is the subject master expert on the Agile Scrum Methodology.
• 01:18 And, therefore, spends a significant amount of time and effort facilitating and
• 01:23 coaching both the Scrum team and stakeholders throughout the organization.
• 01:29 Now let's consider the leadership role of the Product Owner.
• 01:32 First, the Product Owner is not the project manager.
• 01:35 However, the Product Owner is responsible for
• 01:38 some of the activities that are normally the responsibility of a project manager.
• 01:42 They're responsible for interacting with stakeholders to clarify needs and
• 01:46 expectations.
• 01:47 And they convert them into project requirements.
• 01:50 Also they're providing the quality control function of reviewing the results of
• 01:54 each story to make sure that it's been completed fully and satisfactorily.
• 01:59 However, the Product Owner is not responsible for
• 02:01 some of the typical project management work.
• 02:04 For instance, they're not responsible for creating and
• 02:06 maintaining a project plan and the accompanying baselines.
• 02:10 They do not review and
• 02:11 approve the technical approach of how the work will be done.
• 02:15 And they do not chair the Scrum team meetings, either for planning or
• 02:19 execution.
• 02:20 However, they typically do chair, or
• 02:22 at least lead the reviewer portion of the Sprint demo meeting.
• 02:26 The Product Owner's focus is on requirements.
• 02:29 They manage the list of requirements, the expected level of performance, and
• 02:33 review and approve the project results.
• 02:35 But they do not run the project work that executes the project activities.
• 02:41 So if the Scrum Master and Product Owner are not in charge of what the team does
• 02:45 and how they do it, then who is?
• 02:47 The Self-organizing project Scrum team.
• 02:50 Now we need to be careful here.
• 02:52 Even on the Scrum team, there's not one overall leader.
• 02:56 Everyone is considered equal.
• 02:58 Obviously some people will have more experience than others or
• 03:01 will have different education or work experience background.
• 03:04 But there are no hierarchical positions on the Scrum team.
• 03:08 The team organizes and reorganizes itself in whatever manner
• 03:12 it collectively believes is best suited to complete the work of the project.
• 03:16 That includes creating the project plan, which means identifying and
• 03:19 estimating all the activities that must be accomplished to complete the stories.
• 03:23 That also means identifying and resolving risks and issues.
• 03:27 At least, they resolve the ones that are within the control of the team.
• 03:30 The ones outside their control are listed as roadblocks and
• 03:33 the Scrum Master takes care of those.
• 03:35 It also means assigning themselves to tasks and
• 03:38 activities in a manner that they believe will lead to project success.
• 03:43 This may mean working as individuals, as pairs, or as a large group, or
• 03:48 any combination.
• 03:50 The key here is that the entire team is responsible for the entire Sprint Backlog.
• 03:55 They determine the best way to do the work, and then get it done.
• 03:59 No one can use the excuse, well that's not my job.
• 04:03 If it didn't happen and a team member could have done it, it was their job.
• 04:07 The team decides, who will do what and when.
• 04:09 And if a person is struggling, others come alongside and help them.
• 04:14 Some people thrive in this type of environment.
• 04:17 They love the freedom to just do what needs to be done without constantly asking
• 04:21 for permission or worrying about stepping on someone else's toes.
• 04:26 Other people hate this type of environment.
• 04:28 They want to know what they need to do and
• 04:31 when it must be done so they can plan their work efficiently.
• 04:35 The uncertainty leaves them confused, frustrated, and stressed out.
• 04:39 The Self-organizing team is a key component of almost
• 04:44 all Agile Methodologies, including Scrum.
• 04:48 This principle allows each person to do what they do best and
• 04:51 work together to find a solution.
• 04:53 No one is slotted into a role and stuck there.

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