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Scrum Master Feedback/coaching tip Daily

Last post 06:27 am August 30, 2019 by Niels Dimmers
6 replies
07:13 am August 26, 2019

Hello,

I'm helping a team at the moment and I one of team member is always showing up late for the Daily Scrum. It's like he feels that is presence is not needed.

After having a chat with another srcum master I can't really find the best approach to resolve this "problem"

Which one would you chose?

- Talk directly to the person and ask to be present without fail

- Ask to the team (eg during a retro) what value they will achieve by having all team memebers present @ the daily scrum.

- Do nothing and let the team manage the issue

 

Thanks a lot for for your help Guys !

 


01:24 pm August 26, 2019

Has anyone else on the team raised this as an issue or concern? Can you notice any impact on the team's performance if one person is consistently late (or absent) from the Daily Scrum?

For now, I would recommend favoring option three - don't do anything and let the team manage the issue. However, there may be opportunities to guide the team depending on the effects being observed.


01:38 pm August 26, 2019

Does the team have a working agreement? That can help set the desired norms and help the team be more comfortable with feedback and confrontation when it's agreed upon up front. 

In addition, if coaching the team to confront this team member then techniques like 'non-violent communication' can be valuable. 

Example - 

Observation... When we see you coming to the Daily Scrum late

Feeling... It makes us feel like like our time is not valued

Need... Because we are trying to stay to a time-box and late arrivals can be disruptive

Requests... Are you willing to make more of an effort to arrive on time? 


02:21 pm August 26, 2019

It's like he feels that is presence is not needed.

Is he genuinely a team member? If so, what is the impact of his tardiness on the team, and is he aware of it?


03:34 pm August 26, 2019

Do nothing and let the team manage the issue

That is my recommendation based on your statement and here is the reason for my choice. No where in your statement do you say that it is causing a problem for the Development Team. 

It's like he feels that is presence is not needed.

It appears to be your observation but as Scrum Master you are not actively involved in the Daily Scrum.  Have you actually talked to him and validated this assumption?  Might it be that he is always late because of the timing of the Daily Scrum and his commute? 

A Scrum Master does a lot of observing but be cautious about taking actions based on assumptions.  Validate your assumptions before attempting to fix something that isn't there. 


09:26 pm August 26, 2019

Do the Development Team understand the reasons for having a Daily Scrum?

Do those reasons match what is written in the Scrum Guide?

Do the Development Team feel the Daily Scrum is achieving its intended purpose?

 

Often there is some other dysfunction when team members miss the Daily Scrum and it goes unchallenged.

Some example dysfunctions that might cause this:

  • a team that don't work together and don't see a need to collaborate
  • a Product Backlog that is so incoherent that the team don't have a meaningful goal to focus on
  • a lack of accountability or feedback, so that progress towards goals is met with indifference
  • a fear of scrutiny, such that a developer finds it more comfortable to be absent

There are of course, many other potential causes.

You might want to explore this with the team. Maybe there's a bigger problem you need to help solve.


06:27 am August 30, 2019

Direct feedback always works better than putting him on the spot during a retrospective. Don't blame & shame him, because that might cost you your goodwill with the team.

Make him aware why the daily scrum is necessary and why he should be there. If it really is an issue you could try setting the daily scrum to a later time, but that has its disadvantages as well.


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