Principle number three of the Agile Manifesto says, “Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale”. Delivering working product (software, hardware, services, etc.) is the measurement in an Agile Transformation, where business value becomes a reality. Customers, internal or external, respond value by buying our product, not buying it, or giving us feedback on what they would like to see us do different.
Doctors and Lawyers often refer to what they do as Practicing Medicine or Practicing Law. This represents the fact that despite their years of training and experience they will still be confronted with new and unique challenges that they couldn’t have prepared in advance to deal with. Scrum and Agile professionals are dealing with a similar situation. Scrum and Agile talk about suggested courses of action but the exact combination of actions is often a judgement call based on experience and context. Scrum Training talks about a set number of ceremonies, roles, etc. but the exact way to put those elements together is left to the unique situation.
We are seeing a trend in our classes and coaching engagements. We walk in “off the street” and immediately pinpoint the people problems. Clients repeatedly ask “How do you know that?” “Who is giving you this information?” They are dumbfounded when we say “Nobody did. We picked up on it right away.” “What is the secret to being a great scrummaster?”