INSEPECTION
INSPECTION:
Scrum users must frequently inspect Scrum artifacts and progress toward a Sprint Goal to detect undesirable variances. Their inspection should not be so frequent that inspection gets in the way of the work. Inspections are most beneficial when diligently performed by skilled inspectors at the point of work.
The scrum guide has the above paragraph. To me this is written quite poorly. So it says “scrum users” I assume this means the all members of the scrum team.
“Inspections are most beneficial when diligently performed by skilled inspectors at the point of work. ” This seems counter to the team should be cross functional with out any titles. So what is a skilled inspector. Is this some sort of outside auditor which is not part of the scrum team , if it is part of the scrum team than having a specialist seems to be anti-scrum.
Going further into the scrum guide as it talks about the development team. “They are self organizing. No one tells the development team how to turn product backlog into increments” For this to stay true the inspector must be part of the development team since the inspector can find things that must have immediate action taken (i.e. how to turn product backlog into increment).. So if this is true than a contradiction exists where the scrum guide states “Scrum recognize not titles for the development team, regardless of work being done by the team.” So what is this inspector. Is it a 4th piece of scrum along with product owner, scrum master, and development team ?
If this is just part of the team why the use of "skilled inspector" I do not see skilled development team, skilled scrum master, skilled product owner.
The scrum guide has the above paragraph. To me this is written quite poorly. So it says “scrum users” I assume this means the all members of the scrum team.
I would agree with that. Although, some things (like the Product Backlog) may be inspected by other stakeholders from outside the Scrum Team (for example, at the Sprint Review). The Scrum Team should be inspecting all of the artifacts that they are producing during the Sprint to make sure they are aligned with the Sprint Goal and raising any concerns with meeting the Sprint Goal early to be able to change the plan.
This seems counter to the team should be cross functional with out any titles.
The fact that some people are more appropriate to review certain artifacts is not at odds with the fact that the team is cross-functional and without any title.
The idea that a team is cross-functional simply means that the Scrum Team consists of people with all of the skills needed to deliver work. It does not mean that everyone has all of the skills. Some level of specialization is OK. It's a good idea to try to cross-train, but it's not feasible to expect everyone to be equally good at all things.
The idea that the team is without titles is about people having Senior or Manager titles. All members of the Development Team should have equal weight. You don't want "senior" team members or "managers" imposing their will in a command-and-control function on the team.
But neither of these are about expertise. In software development, for example, people have different skill sets. Someone may be making changes to the user interface of a system, but you may want to make sure that the person with the best knowledge of user interface development reviews (inspects) the change and offers constructive feedback on it. If you cross-train, many people will be able to do the work. But some people will still be more specialized and more appropriate to provide feedback on certain artifacts.
So what is this inspector. Is it a 4th piece of scrum along with product owner, scrum master, and development team ?
The inspector is not a full-time role for a person. It's not even a half-time role. Different people on the Scrum Team are asked to be inspectors of various artifacts to make sure that they are correct and achieving the proper outcomes. The Scrum Master may be asked in inspect changes in the way the team works to make sure it's consistent with the principles of agile development and Scrum.
The Product Owner may be asked to inspect Product Backlog Items that the stakeholders or the team wish to add. The Development Team may be asked to inspect Product Backlog Items to ensure they contain sufficient and clear information to turn into a deliverable. One member of the Development Team may ask another member of the Development Team to inspect work to ensure its correctness.
If this is just part of the team why the use of "skilled inspector" I do not see skilled development team, skilled scrum master, skilled product owner.
Members of the Development Team, Scrum Master, and Product Owner should have the sufficient skills to perform their function. That is - they should be skilled to do the work that is required to deliver the product. Because of this, we don't need to qualify them with the need for them to have appropriate skills. However, not all people on the Scrum Team will have the skills to perform an adequate inspection of the work. It's important that the right people with the right skills perform the inspection, otherwise the act of inspection will not add value.