Which of the Scrum values do you think is the most important?
Which of the Scrum values do you think is the most important?
This question is asked very often during job interviews, I am curious about your answer. Thank you.
"Which would you say is most clearly lacking in this company?"
I think diminishing one of the Scrum Values will affects the others anyway, so I don't feel like there is just one to choose. All are the key.
Hey Mary, good to see you on the Scrum forum!
I'd definitely echo the above sentiments that the Values, like all elements of Scrum, are required as a minimum to be successful.
If I were asking this sort of a question for interview purposes, I'd probably be more just trying to ascertain where you have seen the most value from your own experience as a coach and SM, and would be turned off if you tried to answer it too directly.
It's cool to say "They are all important, but I've found success in X scenario when focussing on Y, because it's what the team needed at the time"
The example, not the choice of value, is the thing I'd be looking for.
I'd answer pretty much like @Ian. I don't think any one value is more important than any of the others. However, if one is missing or neglected, it could become the most important at that point in time.
Want a scientific answer?
In Psychology they have the 'Big Five Personality Traits.' The assertion is that every attempt to evaluate personality falls into one of those five categories.
The Big Five Personality Traits
The Big Five are:
- Extroversion
- Agreeableness
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Anxiousness
Of the big five personality traits, the one that has the highest correlation with personal success and advancement is conscientiousness. People who are conscientious but unintelligent tend to do far better in life than people who are extremely intelligent but have low conscientiousness.
The Importance of Conscientiousness
The literature on the importance of conscientiousness is clear and unambiguous.
Of the five Scrum values, I'd say commitment is most closely related to contentiousness.
So from a scientific standpoint, the commitment is the most important Scrum value.
[Big 5 image from Wikipedia Commons. Used under the image's share-alike license.]