Team Building Plan in Scrum Projects

Developing the Team Building Plan in Scrum

The Dynamics of a Team and how to promote co-operation and Teamwork amongst the Team members is a hot topic. This is particularly due to the fact that there is a move to replace the old, hierarchical structures with Teams. This is being observed throughout the Business and not simply in IT. While discussing Team-Building from a Scrum point of view, what applies to the Scrum team applies for other Teams within the Organisation. The mark of a successful Team Building Plan is the constant improvement of the Team’s Work and outputs as the Team progresses.

At the Outset: Initiating the Project

When a Scrum Project is Formed, it is possible that none of the Team members have actually Worked together previously. At this stage they are a Team in name only. Time is required to develop the social relationships that will make it possible for Team members to co-operate and Collaborate. The Scrum Master has the duty for sourcing and Developing the Team. They are responsible for putting together a Team Building Plan. The Scrum Master is assisted in this Task, both by the Product Owner and by the Development Team themselves. The Team Building Plan is drafted at the start of the Project, when the Team members are being selected and on-boarded.

The Challenges of Building a Great Scrum Team

Team-building is always a challenge. Scrum projects are no different in this respect. While some characteristics of Scrum support the concept of a Team, like the ability to Self-Organise, other aspects make the Scrum Master’s Job more challenging. Here are a few circumstances:-.

  • ‘Small Team Size’. The perfect Scrum Team averages around 6-7 members. This suggests that character clashes are highly likely.
  • ‘No Clear Line Of Command’. For Scrum Team members who are used to Working on Conventional Projects with a Project Manager and a Project Plan, the Scrum framework is complicated and they might have issues changing.
  • ‘No Fixed Roles’. A Scrum Team member is known as a “Developer”. They are expected to perform various Tasks that would Traditionally have required individual role-players, such as Testers or analysts. This can be unsettling for a Team member who has previously had a specific Job description within the Organisation.

The Challenges of Building Any Team.

The psychology and Dynamics of Teams has been studied thoroughly, generally utilizing sports Teams as a basis for research. Scrum itself was explained as a successful Team Model based on rugby in 198. This was detailed by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka in their article “The New Product Development Game”.

Among the most widely-cited research study findings was from Bruce Tuckman. Bruce Tuckman studied Teams in the US Navy and released his outcomes in 1965. He identified 4 Stages of Maturity in Teams, particularly “Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing”. This Model is followed closely by the majority of Scrum Practitioners.

When the Team is formed (and the Team Building Plan is being prepared), they are in the “Forming” stage. At this stage they are a set of people with no affiliations with anybody else in the Team. As they start Working together, conflicts will arise. This is the “Storming” phase, and is uncomfortable for most people, especially those who try and avoid conflict. It is a necessary stage to establish relationships. Only then does the Team progress to a genuinely Functional Team – the “Norming” Team. Depending on the length of the Project, the number of Iterations and most of all, the Team Dynamics, the “Performing” Team develops. This is a high-performance Team that will Work at full capacity and high Velocity, delivering a Quality Product. The Scrum Master can explain this Maturity Model to the Team on Formation.

Our Favourite Agile Books

We found these books great for finding out more information on Agile Scrum:

Team Building Plan: Team Development

Another extremely useful Model to use was developed by Dr Meredith Belbin. He specified 9 separate characters to be discovered in a Team. This classification can be used as an additional Team-Building exercise at Initiation; it helps introduce each Team member to the others, defines their personality in relation to the Project. It is also a Voyage of Self-Discovery for the Team members.

When “Team Building” is mentioned, people automatically assume some event, conducted away from the office. While it might be a great idea to stage one or two of these events during the Project, if it is put to the vote and the Team agrees, much of the practice of Scrum subtly Develops the Team spirit, starting with the definition of Goals and Values, and enhanced by Scrum “Ceremonies”, or Meetings, which have a particular routine to them. The Team members often work in pairs, for instance, if Test-Driven-Development is being used. There are also gamification practices and techniques used in the Ceremonies, such as “Planning Poker” in Sprint Planning. These help in Team Building by encouraging group participation and likewise help the Team to discover more about each other.

This is where the Scrum Master’s Role is critical, as he is the steward of Scrum Knowledge and Practices, and by making certain that the Team complies with them, produces a Framework for Collaborative Development.

What Needs to be Included in the Team Building Plan?

Firstly, a location should be specified to house the team. Preferably, everybody must be co-located, including the Product Owner, for the duration of the Project. The equipping of the space ought to also be specified. The room/space must have area for whiteboards and noticeboards to be utilized in Meetings and to display reports, such as the Sprint Backlog and the Burndown Chart.

A roster of Meetings to be held must likewise be prepared, specifying for how long the Meetings will be and approximately when they ought to be held, according to Scrum practice. For instance, the Daily Stand-up Meeting must be held at the exact same time each day for a maximum of 15 minutes. While this might appear like an administrative Task, each Team member is required to report on what they did yesterday and what they have Planned for today (presuming an early morning Meeting). This fosters Team structure through frequent Communication. It likewise creates certainty because the Meeting is held daily at the exact same time.

Team Development

The Scrum Master is selected to run interference when Stakeholders interfere in or otherwise hinder the Team’s development. They need to make this clear to both the Team and the Stakeholders, that they will do this, and how any mediation process should be requested.

The Scrum Master must be able to evaluate how the Team will Develop and what interventions they will need to do to speed up the Team’s development. They can utilize their judgement based upon previous Scrums. The Scrum Master must likewise have the ability to identify what will be required to bring reticent Team members out of their shells and moderate over-aggressive behaviour manifested by others.

They will do this as a Coach and Facilitator, or a “Servant-Leader” as specified as the essential Management behaviour preferred in a Scrum Master, and ought to never ever be an autocrat. Throughout the Agile Project, they will be required to modify and Refine the Plan. As an excellent Scrum Master, they must be able to Work themselves out of a task, to the point where the Team can carry out without their intervention.

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