style="font-size:15px;"> 20 20. psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-15936-00621 21. www.researchgate.net/figure/14-Effectiveness-of-different-modes-of-communication_fig8_27296733
22 22. The Scrum authors refer to it as a framework, but Scrum perfectly fits the definition of methodology as a “body of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline” (Merriam-Webster). A methodology can be extended, just as a framework can.
23 23. www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-12/osu-ics121614.php
24 24. ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=electricalpub
25 25. www.inc.com/glenn-leibowitz/yale-psychologists-introverts-are-better-than-extroverts-at-performing-this-essential-leadership-skill.html
26 26. expand.openviewpartners.com/former-slack-cmo-bill-macaitis-on-how-slack-uses-slack-868ffb495b71
27 27. www.nirandfar.com/slack-use/
28 28. slashdot.org/story/363608
29 29. techcrunch.com/2018/10/17/open-offices-have-driven-panasonic-to-make-horse-blinders-for-humans/
30 30. www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2697466/Do-not-disturb-Being-interrupted-just-60-seconds-concentrating-completely-wipe-short-term-memory.html
31 31. medium.com/serious-scrum/time-spent-in-scrum-meetings-75e38b08d8
32 32. blog.doist.com/asynchronous-communication/
2 Specific Problems
The first thing that the Agile 2 team did was discuss the state of Agile today; in other words, we conducted a kind of retrospective. We are a global team of 15, spanning time zones from California to Vietnam, so we could not assemble in person or even remotely at the same time. We had to find another way. We had one-on-one discussions, which were documented and shared in written form, and then we collaborated to develop a set of “key ideas,” which were ideas expressed by at least two Agile 2 team members. Many of these key ideas were problems with the state of Agile. Others were insights: realizations about why something did not work or what is needed to make things work better.
Let's look at some of the problems that we found with Agile today and at some insights about them.
Leadership Is Complex, Nuanced, Multifaceted, and Necessary
In the Agile community, the term leadership in the context of a team is often thought of in terms of the Scrum Master role, which is defined by the Scrum framework. There is also the Scrum Product Owner, who provides leadership with regard to the product vision and its feature set; and Scrum team members are expected to apply individual leadership when collaborating and organizing their collective work. Let's consider the Scrum Master role, which is the primary leadership role defined by Scrum pertaining to the work process of a development team.
The Scrum Guide's definition of the Scrum Master role has changed greatly over the years. In early 2007 the Scrum Guide said1 that
the Scrum Master “is responsible for the Scrum process, for teaching it to everyone involved in the project, for implementing it so it fits within an organization's culture and still delivers the expected benefits, and for ensuring that everyone follows its rules and practices.”
In other words, back then, the authors of the Scrum Guide, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, viewed the Scrum Master as mainly a master of ceremonies. The part about “implementing it so it fits within an organization's culture” is pretty ambiguous, but it sounds like it pertains to tailoring Scrum in some way.
Then in March 2007 they added three responsibilities to the role, which we paraphrase here:
The ScrumMaster needs to know what tasks have been completed, what tasks have started, and any new tasks that have been discovered, and so on.
The ScrumMaster needs to surface dependencies and blockers that are impediments to the Scrum team. These need to be prioritized and tracked.
The ScrumMaster may notice personal problems or conflicts within the Scrum that need resolution. These need to be clarified by the ScrumMaster and be resolved by dialogue within the team, or the ScrumMaster may need help from management.
This adds some pretty specific process responsibilities, akin to task management, which is strange, because Agilists usually prefer stories over tasks. The reason is that a story is generally considered to be something that is defined in terms of its desired outcome, whereas a task is a prescriptive statement of what to do and therefore how to achieve the outcome. It is not that Agile teams never work on tasks, but if something can be expressed in terms of a desired outcome, that is preferred.
Then in 2009 they added (emphasis added here) the following:
The ScrumMaster is a facilitative team leader … . He must: Ensure that the team is fully functional and productive; Enable close cooperation across all roles and functions; Remove barriers; Shield the team from external interferences; and Ensure that the process is followed…
Then in 2010 they changed the role to be as follows:
