Team Synchronization

The Daily Standup is one major part of keeping a team self-organized while at the same time one of the most misunderstood pieces. The team meets and then gives one another updates about whatever it is they’re working on. These meetings can be misunderstood because this might seem like it would leave the team to end up with no one giving direction to the meeting. However, the urge to find the leader in these meetings need to be resisted. The first few times the teams work using a meeting like this they might have a rough start. They may start distracted and take longer to get focused on getting done what needs to be done. As time passes though, the teams will quickly transition into a team that can quickly change into a hard-working and focused atmosphere.

The team needs to be given time to make this transition. During meetings, everyone in the meeting should try to stand for the duration of the meeting. This is to help keep the team focused and try to cut down on the time the meeting takes. Sitting down during a meeting might encourage the team to stray off target and end up taking longer than is really needed. Conversations should also only be started by the developers. The product owner and scrum master can be involved in these discussions and answer questions, but should strive to have the developers be the ones to bring up each conversation piece. The teams should also try to allot time to each question based on the size of the team. For example, a mid-sized team may only allow 45 seconds for each individual’s question.

Leaders are looked to because they are seen as what keeps the team moving forward. This isn’t always what everything is about. Sometimes keeping the team from moving backward is just as important as pushing the team forward. The scrum master should keep this in mind and try to manage obstacles that the team might encounter. Some obstacles will prevent the team from moving forward, but at the same time there are obstacles that will push the team backwards. The team should also be able to work in a shared work space. This can be difficult in some work environments as many offices work within a cubicle heavy environment.

There are many obstacles that will be faced with an agile team. The scrum master should be knowledgeable about these different obstacles and know how to assess them best with the team in mind. The team needs to be focused on their delivery and the scrum master should remember this and not try to control the team. The team should be able to control itself and function even better for it.

Sources:

"Agile at Work: Driving Productive Agile Meetings." www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Agile-Work-Driving-Productive-Agile-Meetings/175075-2.html. Accessed 19 Nov. 2017

Image Provided By:

http://www.agileadvice.com/