scrum with freshers team
If team has all freshers who don't know much about product, cannot estimate, code and need some guidance on technical issues, coding etc then how can we get correct estimates from them?
For fresher task A is 8 hrs and for tech lead it is 2 hrs so estimates are dependent on who is executing it , right ?
if all estimates for story and tasks are submitted by team lead for a freshers team , then is is good practice ?
Who is accountable for failure or carry-on for unfinished, pending task which are not done ? scrum says it is team but if team has 10 members , then is PO asking that particular individual , why this task is not done ? OR team lead who track the status OR to scrummaster ?
there should be one single point of contact for higher management or PO to whom they can ask about pending tasks, and need clarification, they cannot ask each team member why his task is pending , right ?
so one person should be accountable right for entire team ? who is that person ? SM or PO ?
who represents team to higher management ? SM ?
Who is supreme in authority ? SM or PO ? can PO asks for clarification about pending task which are not done ?
When scrum says team , is it entire team or individual who is responsible for that task should be asked for clarification ?
please help me on this. i am confused on accountability because when scrum says team , for top management is should single person to whom management can catch and held responsible for failure
Hi Sandeep,
I would suggest doing the following (I 've tried it in the past when I found myself in a similar position):
1) Print a copy of the Scrum Guide for each member in the scrum team (Devs + PO + SM). Read the guide and understand it.
2) Play the ball point game; more info here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rva3wRvpS_4 and here: http://dpwhelan.com/blog/uncategorized/learning-scrum-through-the-ball-…
3) Read the scrum guide again.
4) If there is an experienced SM in your organisation ask him for assistance.
Have fun :-)
I will add into Nikolaos list -
5. Ask everyone to attend a workshop on Scrum, including your senior management.
6. Your team may need training session on estimation, technical stuff etc. required for delivering the project, please plan them.
You desperately need an experienced Scrum Master.
BTW you are not new to this problem.
Regards
Sanjay
Sandeep,
I will add my own responses to the good suggestions already posted:
If team has all freshers who don't know much about product, cannot estimate, code and need some guidance on technical issues, coding etc then how can we get correct estimates from them?
What is a correct estimate? An accurate estimate? Your organization needs to understand that estimates are simply "best guesses". Have the entire team participate in estimation. If the estimates provided are way off in hindsight, have the team discuss the reasons why, and what they can do to improve their "guesses".
The more they estimate, and become familiar with the work they are estimating, the better their estimates will become. You are NOT trying to get things perfect out of the box. As an aside, there is no such thing as a perfect estimate, so stop pursuing something that does not exist.
For fresher task A is 8 hrs and for tech lead it is 2 hrs so estimates are dependent on who is executing it , right ?
No. Estimates need to be provided around the size of the task/story, not as duration of time based on who might work on it. You have no guarantee that the person who provided the estimate will be the one working on it.
Think of a boulder that needs to be moved from location A to location B. One person may have a crane, another may have a pickup truck, and a third may only have a push cart. All three individuals may accomplish the task through different durations, but the size of the boulder doesn’t change in any of the three scenarios. Estimate the boulder and the effort needed to move it, not how long it will take to move it.
if all estimates for story and tasks are submitted by team lead for a freshers team , then is is good practice ?
It is a terrible practice. Estimates should always be provided by those doing the work, not by others, regardless of how familiar they are with the work. How can estimates provided by a single individual result in correct estimates (your term), when they are not doing the actual work?
Who is accountable for failure or carry-on for unfinished, pending task which are not done ? scrum says it is team but if team has 10 members , then is PO asking that particular individual , why this task is not done ? OR team lead who track the status OR to scrummaster ?
The team is responsible. The entire team is accountable for the work that they accept each sprint. Keep in mind, it is about completing the work accepted, regardless of who on the team does it. In Scrum, there is no outside visibility into individual tasks or progress, only story progress and team productivity towards completion.
there should be one single point of contact for higher management or PO to whom they can ask about pending tasks, and need clarification, they cannot ask each team member why his task is pending , right ?
The Scrum Master must do everything possible to protect the team from outside interference so that they can attend to the sprint work. The PO and other stakeholders should have access to Burndown charts to gauge sprint progress and health, and can attend daily stand-up meetings as a “fly on the wall” to listen to team sprint discussions, but this comes down to a matter of trust. Scrum is about trusting the team to get the work done that they accepted.
There is no micromanagement of tasks or mid-sprint status reporting in Scrum. These are wasteful and destructive practices.
so one person should be accountable right for entire team ? who is that person ? SM or PO ? who represents team to higher management ? SM ?
The team is accountable for the work they accept. The Scrum Master can present team impediments and observations to upper management. The Product Owner can represent the sprint work and business value delivered to upper management.
i am confused on accountability because when scrum says team , for top management is should single person to whom management can catch and held responsible for failure
There is no “single neck to choke” in Scrum. There is also no blame in Scrum. If for whatever reason the team is not able to accomplish what they set out to do, the team needs to evaluate what happened and discuss what can be done to prevent it from happening in the future. It is about continuous improvement, not who can be punished for not delivering.
You have much to learn about Scrum, and I highly advise you to pursue any and all advice on these boards to help with your Agile journey. Good luck!