failure Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Kaisa Martiskainen: Product Owner collaboration, and the importance of building relationships in Scrum

In this episode of the podcast, Kaisa shares her experience as a rotating scrum master at the start of her journey. She was eager to be a good scrum master and saw every problem as an impediment she had to remove, which led her to act as a messenger between the Product Owner and the team. Also because the team was not comfortable with the Product Owner’s communication style. Kaisa provides some tips for handling such situations, such as pausing and asking questions instead of immediately rescuing the team, and asking who is in the best position to solve the issue when the team asks for help. She emphasizes that in many cases, the scrum master is not the best person to solve the issues the team is facing.

Kaisa also suggests building a relationship between the team and the Product Owner, such as by organizing a happy hour. She highlights the anti-pattern of communicating only asynchronously and recommends the use of synchronous communication methods to build better relationships within the team.

The inspiring story of how a failing hospital turned things around with Agile and Lean

Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story – How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.

About Kaisa Martiskainen

Kaisa is an Agile coach working for a large multinational software company. Originally from Finland, her thirst for learning new things and passion for languages led her to live in Sweden, and Scotland before settling in Montreal, Canada. She is an avid Redditor who spends her free time reading, knitting, investing and playing with her two daughters.

You can link with Kaisa Martiskainen on LinkedIn.

Rayyan Karim: From Command and Control to Agile, a difficult transition for a delivery manager

In this episode, Rayyan shares his experience of working with a team at a consulting firm who were using a project management approach with a command and control style. Despite being able to deliver in just 10 days, there was a “delivery manager” who was hindering the team by trying to dictate their actions and decisions. Rayyan shares how he had to focus on “man-marking” the delivery manager and helping them understand the change of identity required in an Agile environment. Rayyan emphasizes the importance of training and not being afraid of disagreement when implementing Agile.

In this episode, we refer to Statistical Process Control, and Shewart’s work on that topic.

The inspiring story of how a failing hospital turned things around with Agile and Lean

About Rayyan Karim

Rayyan is and Agile Coach & Trainer and the founder of Design Your Future with presence in the UK and the UAE. Rayyan is known for supporting leading executives of FTSE100 and NASDAQ corporations to create transformational results quickly.

You can link with Rayyan Karim on LinkedIn and connect with Rayyan Karim on Twitter.

Manuele Piastra: Fighting Against Your Team, The Danger of Blindly Implementing Scrum

In this episode, Manuele discusses his experience working with a mobile team in a scrum environment. He points out that while scrum is a great methodology because it provides structure, teams may sometimes just go through the motions. As time goes by, teams may begin to drop aspects of scrum, leading to the loss of the entire process.

Manuele identifies two ANTI-PATTERNS in which the leadership hires a scrum master without explaining the importance of Agile or Scrum to the team, and in which scrum or agile are superimposed on something else without that thing going away. Manuele failed to recognize the context of the team and was given specific goals to put the team on the path of scrum, leading to a fight between him and the team. He offers some tips for addressing this situation, including stopping the show and having an honest conversation with the team and stakeholders. Finally, he suggests doing personal reflection to determine if you are the right fit for the team.

The inspiring story of how a failing hospital turned things around with Agile and Lean

About Manuele Piastra

Manuele Piastra moved to London in 2014, which was a life-changing experience for him. He gained access to more sources of learning, worked in fast-paced companies with complex technology stacks and ambitious goals, and developed open-mindedness, patience, and autonomy.

You can link with Manuele Piastra on LinkedIn and connect with Manuele Piastra on Twitter.

Cynthia Kracmer: The need for Scrum Masters to adapt to the reality they meet, and not force Scrum on Agile teams

In this episode, Cynthia shared her experience as a training lead for an insurance company. When she started, she quickly realized that the team was not ready and that there were people with different levels of knowledge. The team was struggling with late deliveries and a lack of communication between the Product Owner and the developer. Cynthia recognized that the team needed a Scrum Master, and she reached out to the Product Owner to suggest this. Cynthia also emphasized the importance of identifying client needs and suggesting what might be missing. She believes that in large organizations, it’s often best to jump in and help, remain open-minded, explore other frameworks, and focus on what is valuable for the company and the team.

Cynthia also discussed the importance of recognizing that every team and every client is different. She suggested looking beyond Agile and exploring other methods that might be interesting. Cynthia’s tips for success include understanding client needs, being open-minded, and exploring other frameworks. She emphasized the importance of focusing on value and finding what works best for each unique situation. Cynthia’s story highlights the need for effective communication, collaboration, and adaptability to ensure the success of a project.

The inspiring story of how a failing hospital turned things around with Agile and Lean

About Cynthia Kracmer

Cynthia Kracmer is a Business Transformation & Human Capital Managing Consultant passionate about creating innovative, stimulating and ‘healthy’ organizations for people. She is Agile agnostic, and has worked as a Scrum master, agile coach and agile transformation lead in the Life Sciences area. She loves singing, traveling (she’s been to 63 countries), cycling and running.

Connect with Cynthia Kracmer on LinkedIn.

Johannes Lindman: Failing Safely, Tips for Successfully Implementing Extreme Programming in a Team Environment

In this podcast episode, Johannes shares his experience with extreme programming and test-driven development. Johannes recounts his experience working with a team where he assumed a lot of things about their needs and desires. He quickly realized that his eagerness to bring his own value to the table was getting in the way of the team’s success. Johannes learned that it is essential to listen and watch the team and to ensure that they are asking for help rather than assuming that he knew what they needed. He advises that it is essential to slow down, be humble, and not be pushy.

Johannes also shares several tips for helping teams to fail safely, turning up the volume on transparency, and showing small failures. He notes that it is important to reflect on what is happening and to determine if the possible failure is catastrophic or not. If it is not catastrophic, then it is best to let it go and be patient for the right moment.

The inspiring story of how a failing hospital turned things around with Agile and Lean

About Johannes Lindman

Despite many years of experience Johannes still learns new things every day in order to stay relevant. This aligns with his curiosity on life and people.

You can link with Johannes Lindman on LinkedIn.