Anti-patterns of a Scrum Master : Step-By-Step Process

• 1.Definition of Scrum Anti Patterns
• 2.Scrum Anti Patterns During Sprint Planning Meeting
• 3.Scrum Anti Patterns During Daily Scrum
• 4.Scrum Anti Patterns During Sprint Review
• 5.Scrum Anti Patterns During Sprint Retrospective
• 6.Scrum Master Anti Patterns
• 7.Sprint Anti-patterns of the Stakeholders
• 8.Sprint Anti Patterns of the Line Managers
• 9.Product Owner Anti Patterns
• 10.Sprint Anti-patterns of the Scrum Team
• 11.Conclusion

Definition of Scrum Anti Patterns

Scrum is a framework developed to meet goals of product development and optimization. However, a scrum anti pattern takes far froma goal. Though it is frequently expressed, it remains be inefficient. It is seen to hamper efficiency during the scrum ceremonies and affect the leaders and managers like Scrum Masters and Product Owners.

Scrum Anti Patterns During Sprint Planning Meeting

Unrefined Product Backlog

Product Owners practice a mentioned pattern. Their job is to analyse and prioritize a backlog. Rather than completing those, if product owner shows up in a sprint planning meeting for the plans, they are wasting time.

Missing Key Stakeholders

Planning and assigning a tasks is possible after discussion with the stakeholders. Else, focusing on the multiple tasks, ignoring errors and improvements, and the tight schedule of a team members will depreciate success of future sprints and current efficiency.

Weak Definition of aDone And/or Ready

Not setting clarity on Definition of Done and Ready creates clutter. There is a no provision to segregate efforts, thus are holding productivity.

Scrum Anti Patterns During Daily Scrum

The daily scrum is the 15-minute event to discuss a progress and the day’s activities. Disturbances or an anti-patterns in daily scrum are:

Outside Noise

The intervention of the outside parties, for instance, stakeholders, without a knowledge of history and present causes irrelevant arguments. Impractical approaches create the problems for the scrum team, decreasing their efficiency. Some other possible noises are include team members’ interruption, latecomers, and background noise or an environmental disturbances.

Heavily Discussing Work

Meetings do not serve purpose of daily scrum or change direction to a various topic of interest, causing incompetence. The important thing is not discussed and members are not well for prepared for discussion, thus wasting a everyone’s time.

Ongoing Problems

Incompatibility among the team members develops due to a lack of the communication and trust. Such problems are affect communication for important topics of project as well.

Skipping Altogether

It is important to have a schedule, time, and meeting place and stick to topic. It reduces complication and members’ unwillingness to join meeting, especially when they find discussion productive and useful.

Lack of Preparation

Every member must respect time and know what they need to present or inform seniors. It reduces the time wastage. Making a rule to prepare short notes on a production quantity and problems are faced can assist.

Scrum Anti Patterns During the Sprint Review

Sprint is a period decided for completion of target work involving the development or optimization. The sprint review is meeting or ceremony to inspect work performed and accordingly decide about the further requirements. The anti-patterns observed in a sprint review are:

Lack of Attendance

The probable cause of the less attendance is presenting improper and messed up information without direct conclusion. Some other causes are no main changes in a presentation, leading to no room for discussion, suggestions, and recommendations. Presentation style plays major role in increasing the members’ interest and attendance.

Unfinished Business

Gathering the people to show unfinished work causes negative impression and wastes time. Consecutive the meetings where Definition of Done isn’t fulfilled may result in the lack of attendance.

Scrum Anti Patterns During the Sprint Retrospective

It involves the looking back into the past methods and accomplishments to increase the efficacy in future actions and projects.

Getting Personal

Bringing out a personal ill feelings and disaffection while reflecting on faced problems can never lead to anything productive. Trust and respect are some of significant scrum values that must be followed during sprint retrospective.

Rushing or Skipping Retro

Senior members should introduce an importance of retrospective sessions based on members, companies, and project interests to signify the importance of meeting. Taking it as formality will decrease benefits reaped from discussion.

No Actions Taken

Discussing problems and finding a way out is half of solution to problem. The application of solution is a second half. Lack of applying the actions can be due to the multiple reasons like impractical solutions which only sound right and are not be practical, or lack of understanding or remembering solution. Additionally, an approach to implement solution isn’t devised, making implementation complex and incomprehensible.

Snitching

It refers to the leaking information to an external organizations or individuals. Apart from the breaking NDA, it violates a scrum values of trust. It is reflected in lack of sharing the information with and among scrum members.

Lack of Openness

Speaking and listening the presentation styles discourage engagement. To make every meeting successful, interactive sessions are the responsibility of the senior leaders, presenters, and each member.

Scrum Master Anti Patterns

Scrum masters are responsible for the guiding and assisting the team with their expertise. However, they, can leave a track and exhibit scrum anti patterns.

Wearing Multiple Hats

If scrum masters take up a multiple duties, which include adding up new work, their actions show an inefficiency. It is generally seen in the waterfall work pattern where scrum masters have to be handle former and new tasks.

Avoiding Conflict

It is a general practice to avoid the conflicts to ensure stability among the multiple people involved. In such cases, external help from the psychologists is suggested to find the cordial methods to solve problems.

Too Much Freedom

Scrum is finished by values of independence and self-organization, which enables the freedom to choose their team and work. However, guidance and role as coach from a Scrum Master should not deviate. should ensure a proper actions and proceedings of the team.

Competition as Motivation

Scrum masters are should understand how to use competition positively as a motivation. It may involved a promoting the members to compete for the better results and creating stress which should be encouraged through a bonuses and promotions.

Lack of Experience

The experience and expertise of scrum master are crucial to lead scrum. Poor guidance and lack of knowledge on how to carry on actions will result in inefficiency of members and actions.

Product Owner Anti Patterns

Inaccessible PO

It may or may not be due to product owner. Whatever reason, it results in a lack of direction for a team. However, reasons can be multiple, like Project Owners having to the multitask or multiple team members having to act as a project owner.

Poor Backlog Management

Backlogs need extra time and effort. Wrong and outdated backlogs are the significant scrum anti-patterns that result in waste of time.

Unreflective PO

Not learning from the mistakes is common practice among population. Doing the same in the post of a Product Owner poses harmful consequences to a product, members, stakeholders, and organization.

Sprint Anti-patterns of the Stakeholders

Though not part of a scrum team, a stakeholder is important personality who can show the anti-patterns and affect the sprint further, leading to imperfect productivity.

Emergency Work

Incorporating additional work as the feature or function needs the scrum team’s hard work. Additionally, it might cause a workers to begin from scratch, leaving their current focus.

Pitching developers

Scrum members are allotted a work based on Product Owner’s work and Scrum Master’s plan. Direct contact between the developers and stakeholders is unprofessional and adds to a burden and confusion.

Everything’s a Bug

The case may arise when stakeholders try to sneak in a task as a bug. Increasing speed of delivery through it by changing priorities results in a confusion.

Sprint Anti Patterns of the Line Managers

Connecting the management with employees, ensuring a proper completion of targets by an employees, and managing their work. Their anti-patterns concerning sprint are:

All Hands to the Pumps W/O Scrum

Working on urgent task while leaving a scrum can be directed by a line managers. However, it indicates going against a scrum rules. The lack of faith in scrum can pose a negative results.

Reassigning Team Members

Temporary reassigning may utilize a best of each member. But constant activity can not be a fruitful. Owing to trust and coordination among team, the best result is be yielded. The endeavor require time and continuity in a working together. Moreover, change most often might not match the choice of team members when volunteering is must in a scrum.

Special Forces

It is performed if special task is assigned to a specific member or complete team. Being a violation of a scrum principles, it also indicates a lack of awareness and knowledge in a leader or managers.

Sprint Anti-patterns of the Scrum Team

Comprising all members, the scrum team may collectively show the anti-patterns discussed as follows –

Not Having a Sprint Goal

Random prioritization and assignment of work will always give a below-average results. Until sequence is followed, there is always chance to miss something. Relation and continuity improved a focus on process and results.

Not Delivering a Sprint Goal

Sprint goals derive from a scrum teams. It is acceptable to miss sprint goals due to the logical reasons and maximum efforts to avoid them. Else, it shows ruthless and inefficient behavior of team. Scrum leaders focus on solving problem through a decision-making and strategy to follow scrum and reach goal. Thus, accomplishing main goal is the reason behind action and to get results for the stakeholders and customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

Scrum anti patterns result from the improper knowledge and belief in a scrum principles. It not only invalidates works and results but also obstructs competence. A few common anti-patterns based on positions and scrum framework are discussed to avoid same.