Unconventional Team Structure
One of my teams has an unconventional structure that does not really exist in scrum. We have a PO, SM, Team Lead, Solutions Architect lead and Dev Team. I know that is not the usual Agile team dynamic, therefore, the roles tend to get gray regarding the roles and responsibilities. As the basics of scrum goes we should have a PO, SM and Dev's. As of current the Team lead and Solutions Architect are in our scrum ceremonies. However, I feel that their roles are more managerial roles as they do not do much work in the sprints. They do occasional have a few backlog items but they are seldom and revolve around planning. The team feels the same way and that those two role should be more of stakeholders and external to the team. We see the Team Lead and Solutions Architect as an SME' resources when we need to plan things out and verify facts in regards to project work.
Has anyone had a similar experience? If so how did your team navigate it?
We see the Team Lead and Solutions Architect as an SME' resources when we need to plan things out and verify facts in regards to project work.
I dare say you're right. A Scrum Team should have all the skills to implement work to a Done standard, but there's nothing to stop team members from consulting with others. Collaboration does not mean dependency.
Once that is recognized, you might then have events through which team members inspect and adapt their own progress, and not the ceremonies you refer to.
Hi, John, maybe my message will still be useful for you.
In my opinion, you have a development team that includes the Team Lead, Solutions architect and anyone else that is not a SM or PO. As long as those other roles contribute to the product increment - they are a part of the development team. How much time they spend, are they dedicated to the team or not - this is the mastery of effective people usage.