Scrum is founded on empirical process control, and transparency is one of the three pillars.
During each of the Scrum Events, and throughout the Sprint itself, the Scrum Team and the stakeholders need transparency so there is a common understanding.
Transparency as such is way more than bringing “visibility”. It is about reaching ”a common understanding”.
PS. Remember from earlier posts: I will repeat the above few lines in the coming blog posts: repeating = learning. ;-)
Now, let’s take the Daily Scrum.
Common understanding about what?
- About the progress towards the Sprint Goal. Where are we now? What is the next best thing we'd better take up today to bring us closer to our goal? If there is only one item we can still take up, which one would bring us closest to our goal? How are we going to collaborate today? ...
Again quite some questions that can help bringing more transparency, more common understanding.
But common understanding amongst who?
Amongst the Developers. These are the people who develop; not just software - anything. Marketing brochures, a promo video, test results, consumer insight data, .... They need to have that common understanding and agreement how to move forward in the coming 24 hours.
Summary:
At the end of your Daily Scrum, do your Developers have a common understanding about their progress towards the Sprint Goal?
Prompt:
Have a conversation with your team about
- What does Transparency mean to you and your team?
- And how do you and your team use the Daily Scrum to raise Transparency?
I hope you find value in these short posts and if you are looking for more clarifications, feel free to take contact.
PS. Next week we'll discuss Transparency and the Sprint Review.
If you want to take a deeper dive into the core concepts we are covering in this blog series, then surely check out our Professional Scrum MasterY workshop. We have some scheduled in the coming period.
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