We started this Scrum foundation series explaining we see four underlying concepts of the Scrum framework. In the past series of mails we covered the three pillars of Empiricism, the Scrum Values, and Self-Management.
A self-managing team is taking decisions about who does what, when, and how. This ensures the team can move forward without unnecessary waiting time. If we want to improve on that, and to support the team taking ownership, having the needed skills within the team is another step.
👉 Cross-functional, meaning the team internally has all skills needed to successfully complete their goals.
Growing cross-functionality = growing skills = raising mastery = higher motivation = higher effectivity.
During each of the Scrum Events, and throughout the Sprint itself, the Scrum Team should have all necessary skills in order to reach its objectives.
Let’s have a look at the Sprint Review.
Reminder: the objective of the Sprint Review is to inspect the outcome of the Sprint determine future adaptations, to inspect progress towards the Product Goal, and to adapt the Product Backlog. What is the current status of our product? What is the next best thing to add, change, or remove to raise its value?
Next to skills for being an awesome team player such as listening, speaking up, giving and receiving feedback, etc. what is expected more specifically for the Sprint Review?
Without even trying to being exhaustive, here are a skills / experiences I would expect the team to use:
- Eager to learn: how are stakeholders using our product? What do they like? What do they want to see improved? How do they evaluate our product against the competitors? Hundreds of questions stakeholders can help the team with.
- Listening: what is the meaning behind the words of the stakeholders? Hear more than the words, understand the real message.
- Asking powerful questions: this goes together with eagerness to learn. Probe the stakeholders present to know more about their reasoning, their challenges, the market they operate in.
- Focus: keep the eye on the target. What do we want to achieve in this session? What is our Product vision and Product Goal?
- Understanding Value: what does value mean to your users? Is it being faster? Or delivering higher quality to their clients? Or ... What does value mean to your organisation? Is it faster learning? Or ...
These are just a few examples of skills that are put in action during a Sprint Review.
☝️ It is not a matter of who in the team has the skills, as long as together the team has the skills needed.
Summary:
Cross-functional is about having all skills within the team to create value each Sprint.
In order to accomplish the purpose of the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team needs specific skills that have to do with evaluating progress and understanding of customers and markets.
Prompt:
Together with your Scrum Team, evaluate which skill improvements the team would benefit from to make your Sprint Review events more effective.
I hope you find value in these short posts and if you are looking for more clarifications, feel free to take contact.
If you want to take a deeper dive into the core concepts we are covering in this blog series, then surely check out our Professional Scrum MasterY workshop. We have some scheduled in the coming period.
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