Scrum Master Challenges & Solutions

Problem Statement for Estimation.

In this real life Case Study "To Estimate or Not To Estimate" five Agile Coaches provides helpful tips to a Scrum Master that is coaching a newly formed Scrum Team. The Scrum Team has been estimating their work with hours using traditional estimation techniques. The Team is frustrated with how long it takes to estimate and they are unable to accurately predict when their work will be finished. Together we will explore when to estimate and when to avoid estimating. We will discuss hours estimates versus point estimates keeping in mind that the work must be ready for the Team to estimate it, that the Team must be able to easily understand what it means to be done, and that if the work is all the same size and predictable then we don't need to estimate it. In this section we will cover optimism bias, planning fallacy, and relative sizing techniques to help your Team improve estimation accuracy. Good estimation techniques can lead to time savings, more predictable outcomes, and more attainable customer commitments.

Problem Statement for the Constant Sprint Rollover.

As a Scrum Master a situation you'll often encounter with your teams is that of the "Sprint Rollover" where your team is carrying over points from the previous Sprint over to this one because they were not able to complete the previous Sprint. Is this a good practice? And how should you as a Scrum Master think about "Sprint Rollovers"? We discuss multiple angles to this issue, including potential root causes of why "Sprint Rollovers" happen and address things you can do as the team's Scrum Master or Agile Coach in such a situation.

Problem Statement for Overemphasis on Reporting.

What happens when your management starts to emphasize on reporting and pulls up the team's various reports - Burndown, Velocity and starts to compare one team with another. What are some potential concerns with management being so data driven and focused on reporting? And what do you as a Scrum Master or Agile Coach need to keep in mind with regards to your team's performance reports?

Problem Statement for Scrum Team not working together.

A common occurrence in Scrum is that of Scrum teams following the Scrum Events & Artifacts but still not being able to see the kind of performance improvements that good Scrum teams see - performance increases of 200-400% or more. Why is that? In this video watch expert Agile Coaches & Trainers break down the possible Scrum anti-patterns your team may have fallen into. Don't miss this one!

Does your Scrum Team have a Product Owner that doesn't regularly show up for Scrum Events? When can attendence be a problem and what are some possible solutions?

Is your Scrum Team constantly being stretched beyond what they are capable of achieving each Sprint? When can stretch goals be a potential problem and what are some of the possible solutions?