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PSM 1 Doubts w.r.t SG 2021, considered going through SG 2017, but confused more

Last post 05:42 pm May 5, 2022 by Ian Mitchell
5 replies
12:00 pm June 2, 2021

Who is accountable/Responsible for monitoring progress on Product Goal ? In SG 2017 -> PO, in SG 2020 -> Scrum team is responsible for all product related activities

Who is accountable/Responsible for monitoring progress on Sprint Goal ? In SG 2017 -> Dev Team, in SG 2020 -> Developers most likely . Scrum is responsible for crafting Sprint Goal. 

Who is responsible for creating Sprint Plan ? Is it developers or entire Scrum Team ? There are inconsistencies

a) The resulting plan is collaborative effort of entire Scrum Team. 

b) Developers are accountable for creating plan for the sprint, Sprint Backlog


07:29 pm June 2, 2021

Who is accountable/Responsible for monitoring progress on Product Goal ?

The concept of the Product goal was introduced in the 2020 guide as something for the whole Scrum Team to focus on and plan against.

Who is responsible for creating Sprint Plan ? Is it developers or entire Scrum Team ? There are inconsistencies

a) The resulting plan is collaborative effort of entire Scrum Team. 

b) Developers are accountable for creating plan for the sprint, Sprint Backlog

Why do you think it is inconsistent for a team to collaborate on something for which particular members are accountable? This happens all the time in Scrum.


08:17 pm June 2, 2021

All of this is my opinion and interpretation.  I am interested to hear others input. 

Product Goal

In the 2020 version, section that explains the Product Owner role, this statement is found (emphasis by me)

The Product Owner is also accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes:

  • Developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal;

  • Creating and clearly communicating Product Backlog items;

  • Ordering Product Backlog items; and,

  • Ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood.

The Product Owner may do the above work or may delegate the responsibility to others. Regardless, the Product Owner remains accountable.

If the Product Owner is accountable for developing and explicitly communicating the goal, doesn't it make sense that they are also accountable for maintaining and monitoring progress towards that goal?  Why would it become someone else's responsibility? There is some shared responsibility with the entire Scrum Team as all of the work that is done by the team is for advancing towards that goal. So accountable is Product Owner, responsible is Scrum Team.

Sprint Goal

In the 2020 version, section that describing Sprint Planning has this statement:

The Product Owner proposes how the product could increase its value and utility in the current Sprint. The whole Scrum Team then collaborates to define a Sprint Goal that communicates why the Sprint is valuable to stakeholders. 

The section describing the Daily Scrum has these statements:

The purpose of the Daily Scrum is to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary, adjusting the upcoming planned work.

The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for the Developers of the Scrum Team.

...as long as their Daily Scrum focuses on progress toward the Sprint Goal and produces an actionable plan for the next day of work. 

The section describing the Sprint Backlog states:

The Sprint Goal is the single objective for the Sprint. Although the Sprint Goal is a commitment by the Developers, it provides flexibility in terms of the exact work needed to achieve it. The Sprint Goal also creates coherence and focus, encouraging the Scrum Team to work together rather than on separate initiatives.

These statements lead me to believe that the Scrum Team crafts a Sprint Goal together to help everyone focus on the reason for a Sprint.  Since the Sprint is the time that the Developers do the work to build, they are accountable for monitoring their progress towards satisfying that goal.  But since the Product Owner and Scrum Master have responsibilities to the Developers in helping them be most effective, there is also an aspect of accountability.  The Daily Scrum is used by the Developers to monitor their progress and adapt their work towards successful completion of the Sprint Goal.

So accountable are Developers, responsible is Scrum Team.

Sprint Plan

The 2020 version has these statements in the section that describes Sprint Planning

Sprint Planning initiates the Sprint by laying out the work to be performed for the Sprint. This resulting plan is created by the collaborative work of the entire Scrum Team.

Sprint Planning addresses the following topics:

Topic One: Why is this Sprint valuable?

The Product Owner proposes how the product could increase its value and utility in the current Sprint. The whole Scrum Team then collaborates to define a Sprint Goal that communicates why the Sprint is valuable to stakeholders. 

Topic Two: What can be Done this Sprint?

Through discussion with the Product Owner, the Developers select items from the Product Backlog to include in the current Sprint. 

Topic Three: How will the chosen work get done?

For each selected Product Backlog item, the Developers plan the work necessary to create an Increment that meets the Definition of Done. 

The section describing the Sprint Backlog states:

The Sprint Backlog is composed of the Sprint Goal (why), the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint (what), as well as an actionable plan for delivering the Increment (how).

The Scrum Team collaborates to identify the reason and purpose of the Sprint which leads to the crafting of the Sprint Goal.  The Development team then picks the Product Backlog items that will be included in the Sprint Backlog. Each item selected for the Sprint Backlog will then have plan created to show how the work will be done. The activities to satisfy the plan is done by the Developers since they are the ones that do the work on the items in the Sprint Backlog. 

So accountable is Developers, responsible is Scrum Team

 


10:24 am June 3, 2021

Ian Mitchell &

Daniel Wilhite

Thanks for the clarification. Really appreciate. 


08:04 am May 5, 2022

Who is responsible for monitoring progress toward high-level goals? Is it the product owner or the Scrum team?

I think the answer is Scum team


05:42 pm May 5, 2022

What kind of input do you believe the Scrum Master and Developers ought to provide?


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