The Scrum 3x3

I've published a new and improved version of this article on LinkedIn. Click here.

I've been developing software professionally for over 20 years, and project methodology has been a perennial problem in the industry. In the mid-90s it seemed like a new methodology was being devised every other week, and none of them seemed to deliver what was promised. I think I came to the implicit conclusion that software project management was an intractable problem.

If you had told me back then that a new methodology would soon come along that would be adopted by perhaps 80% of commercial companies, with many people reporting great success, I would scarcely have believed it. Yet that is exactly what has happened with Scrum.

Let me admit up front that I am a fan of Scrum, and I want to discuss it in future posts. Now, I'm not really interested in the Quest for the One True Scrum, and nor do I want to participate in the Scrum Wars. But I thought I should at least share what I believe Scrum to be.

Essentially, to be doing Scrum you need to have the following 3x3 -

• 3 Roles - Scrum Master, Product Owner, Team Member
• 3 Meetings - Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review/Retrospectivve
• 3 Artifacts - Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Burndown Chart

The whole process is well captured in this image -

And that's it. If you are doing anything less than this, I would suggest that your methodology is "Scrum-like" but not Scrum. If you are doing anything more, good for you.

Why this blog?

I thought it might be helpful to explain the purpose of this blog. I started it for three reasons -

1. I agree with Scott Hanselman that software professionals should have a public blog, a place where they share ideas, opinions and lessons learnt. Software development is difficult, and will be even more so if we don't share our knowledge.
2. I've recently commenced a Master of Business in IT Management, and this will be a place where I can reflect on what I've been learning.
3. I wanted to fill a bit of a gap in the knowledgesphere. There is plenty of information online about software project management, but very little about managing software developers. Indeed, the only other blog I'm aware of in this space is Rands in Repose (and a good read it is, too). Hopefully I can encourage a bit more discussion in this space.

More on Motivation

Click here for a new and improved version of this article.

Have you seen the animated video called Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us? If not, you should check it out now. The video is a summary of a book by the same name by Daniel H. Pink. His thoroughly researched thesis is that extrinsic motivators (the proverbial carrot and stick) are not effective when applied to jobs requiring intelligence and creativity - jobs like software development. Pink proposes that intrinsic motivators are much more effective in these instances, and he identifies three - autonomy, mastery and purpose.

There was a big "a-ha" moment when I first encountered this idea. Looking back over a long career in software, it is plain to me that the most ineffective managers have been those who relied most strongly on an authoritarian "punishments and rewards" approach. The same experience suggests that Pink's three intrinsic motivators are spot-on with regards to software developers.

I've previously discussed the idea of purpose at work. In future posts I'll examine autonomy and mastery, and how these ideas can be applied to create a great environment for software development.

Key Leadership Tasks

Leadership is a complicated idea, and defies over-simplification. Still, the following four pronged model is as good a description of the strategic leadership task as I have seen -

1. Establishing the organisational Core (mission, vision, values)
2. Aligning organisational structure/culture with the Core
3. Managing power constructively
4. Stewarding renewal

This model was devised by Ken Dovey, from the School of Systems, Management and Leadership at UTS. In future posts I'll reflect on how I see these ideas playing out in software development groups.

Purpose and Motivation at Work

What drives your staff? What motivates them to turn up each day? Some will say it's all about the paycheck. This is undoubtedly true in many cases - yet it is not satisfactory for anyone involved. You will never get the best from your team if it is only about the money. And, by definition, your people will not be enjoying their jobs much either! It follows that finding better motivations for work will be good for you, and good for your staff as well.

Mourkogiannis (2007) identifies four "moral traditions" that potentially give purpose to individuals and organisations. These are discovery, excellence, altruism and heroism. I'll discuss each in turn.

Discovery

This is the desire to have new ideas, think new thoughts, and learn new things. This drive is often found in those doing research at university, or plugging away in cutting edge start-ups.

Excellence

This is the desire to create products of the highest quality possible. Think of Steve Jobs and Apple. This drive can be found in any organisation - alas, it is all too rare.

Altruism

This is the desire to better the human race. It often drives those that work for NGOs and other charity organisations. It's a little harder to tap into for those of us in commercial organisations.

Heroism

This is the desire to be the "very best" at what you do. It differs from excellence is that the focus is on your own ability rather than what you are producing. A potentially dangerous drive that can border on narcicism, yet I believe it can be legitimate with an appropriate amount of humility.

As managers, we want to try and tap into these higher motivators, so that our team are not simply turning up to collect their paycheck. Does a team member lean toward any of these drives? If so, what can you do to support and nurture this inclination?

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Mourkogiannis, N 2007, 'Purpose: The starting point of great leadership', Leader To Leader, 2007, 44, p. 27

Good to Great (Jim Collins)

Good to Great is a mega-bestselling business book by Jim Collins. His thesis is that there are several identifiable characteristics common to "great" companies - by which he means companies that greatly exceed market average returns over a period of 15 years. Collins identified the following lessons from these "great" companies -

1. Level 5 Leaders - appoint leaders who blend personal humility with strong professional will
2. First Who...Then What - focus on getting the right people on the bus, then figured out where to drive
3. Confront the Brutal Facts (yet never lose faith) - Be excruciatingly honest about your current position, but keep believing you will prevail
4. The Hedgehog Concept - focus on doing one thing very well
5. A Culture of Discipline - be disciplined in everything
6. Technology Accelerators - use technology to accelerate change, rather than igniting it

Collins attempts to show these lessons have been empiracally derived from the data. I don't think he quite makes his case, and I certainly don't believe this is the magic formula to success that Collins claims. But the concepts are generally sound, imo, and are illustrated by interesting case studies. It's a useful book that will prompt many to re-examine their leadership style and strategy.

Open The Front Door

This is a helpful little management technique you can use when you want to change behaviour. It's called "Open The Front Door", which is a mnemonic device for the four step process - "Observe Think Feel Desire".

The first step is to state what you have Observed. For example, "I saw you slam the door."

Next step is to describe what the observation made you Think, that is, what conclusions you drew. For example, "I thought you must be angry with me".

Third step is to state how this makes you Feel. For example, "This made me feel sad and hurt, and a bit angry myself."

The final step is to state what you Desire, what you want to happen. For example, "I want us to be friends again."

It's a simple tool, but surprisingly effective in practice. Here's what you might say to a staff member who is on the Internet too much -

"Hi Jenny, I've observed that whenever I walk past your desk, you always seem to be on Facebook. This makes me think that you either don't have enough work to do, or you have work that you don't want to do. I feel frustrated by this because there is a lot to be done, and everyone else in the team is working really hard. What I desire is for you to be fully productive during work hours. How can we achieve this?"

You don't have to use the exact keywords, of course - equivalent words are just as good, and might suit your style better. Some people might think such an approach is too confrontational, but I've used this technique a number of times, and found that it really helps open up effective communication. Give it a go...