Skip to main content

Working with my team on working agreements

Last post 01:28 pm June 26, 2023 by Daniel Wilhite
3 replies
01:30 pm June 25, 2023

My team would really like to create a team contract in which we establish agreements on how we interact with each other and how we approach specific tasks as a team. Do you have any experience with a methodology that can help us shape this with the team? I briefly considered using the 1-2-4-all method, but upon reflection, it didn't seem quite suitable. What are your thoughts?

Best regards,

John


06:45 am June 26, 2023

Two words stand out, contract and methodology. What problem is the team trying to solve with such prescriptions?

 


09:39 am June 26, 2023

There is ais nothing wrong with contracts and methodologies, even within a framework of the Scrum guide(which is NOT a methodology).

 

  But to answer actual question it is necessary to know WHAT contract you want to sign(job contracts for team members? Internal contract with code of conduct? Else?) and what you mean by "methodology"(the various methods of communication between people in Scrum usually called techniques, but why do you need any technique to sign contract-people don't sign voluntarally)  


01:28 pm June 26, 2023

While team contracts are not mentioned in the Scrum Guide, I still don't like the wording.  The word contract makes things seem very formal and there is usually someone that has a responsibility of maintaining and determining adherence to them (i.e. lawyers, judges, and even police).  Team agreements are less formal and lend to a group of professionals holding each other accountable. 

In the past when I had a team bring up the topic, the way I facilitated was just a plain old conversation where the people involved discussed things and came to agreement.  I reminded them before we started that not everyone can have their way so that it will be necessary for everyone to take the "I don't like it but will support it" approach. 


By posting on our forums you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.

Please note that the first and last name from your Scrum.org member profile will be displayed next to any topic or comment you post on the forums. For privacy concerns, we cannot allow you to post email addresses. All user-submitted content on our Forums may be subject to deletion if it is found to be in violation of our Terms of Use. Scrum.org does not endorse user-submitted content or the content of links to any third-party websites.

Terms of Use

Scrum.org may, at its discretion, remove any post that it deems unsuitable for these forums. Unsuitable post content includes, but is not limited to, Scrum.org Professional-level assessment questions and answers, profanity, insults, racism or sexually explicit content. Using our forum as a platform for the marketing and solicitation of products or services is also prohibited. Forum members who post content deemed unsuitable by Scrum.org may have their access revoked at any time, without warning. Scrum.org may, but is not obliged to, monitor submissions.