“The emergent process and work must be visible to those performing the work as well as those receiving the work.” (Scrum Guide)
Cambridge Dictionary gives “work” two relevant meanings:
- “an activity, such as a job, that a person uses physical or mental effort to do, usually for money”
- “the material used by someone at work, or what they produce”
Most teams read that sentence as “show the activities.” Boards, statuses, burndowns, daily updates. Nice. Also insufficient.
Scrum might feel sneaky here: “the work” is not just what people are doing. It’s also what gets created as a result of effort. The product reality. The thing that can be used, tested, sold, supported, loved… or rejected.
In Scrum, that “produced work” has a name: the Increment.
If stakeholders can’t use and understand the real Increment, you don’t have transparency. You have storytelling with Jira garnish.
Practical test (no meetings required):
- Ask a stakeholder: “What can a user do today that they couldn’t do last Sprint?”
- Ask a Developer: “Which items meet our Definition of Done right now?”
If answers differ, “the work” isn’t visible. It’s interpreted.
3 moves to make “the work” real, fast:
- Make Done binary. “Done except…” is unfinished work wearing a suit.
- Make the Increment checkable without a guided tour (link, environment, try-out script; whatever fits).
- Put “what changed for a user” in plain language next to the Sprint Goal.
Now the spicy part: if only the activity is visible, everyone can stay busy and nobody has to face whether value actually landed.
So: is your work visible as a result… or only as effort?
Drop a comment: what’s your team’s most common “it’s basically done” excuse—and what does it cost you?
I hope you find value in these short articles and if you are looking for more clarifications, feel free to make contact.
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Wishing you an inspiring read and a wonderful journey.
Scrum on!
