Top 3 things to consider when launching a new Scrum Team

Top 3 Items to consider while launching a new Scrum Team

I hear questions on the best time to launch a scrum team and if one should have everything in place before launching a new Scrum team etc.?. I am sharing my experiences on what to focus on when introducing a new team, as there is no universal template to have everything checked in before launching a Scrum Team. Scrum works best in complex ecosystems, and there is no best method here. Let’s think we formed a Team with the Product Owner, Developers, and Scrum Master.

Establishing Scrum Team Norms

In my experience, I recognized that there is no perfect moment to launch a team. One can launch from where they are right now and stay focussed on small incremental changes to become better.

An experienced Scrum master is vital for developing a new team to changeover from the present ways of working by instituting solid foundations like co-creating purpose of the team, how they support each other when the going gets tough, how they wish to communicate when to schedule scrum events, how to live scrum values.

Teams would have anxiety, confusion, and fear while shifting to Scrum ways of working. The Scrum Master helps steer the team from unconscious competencies to conscious competencies through training, facilitation, and mentoring.

Creating Definition of Done (DoD)

This is one of the most neglected things by many Scrum teams that contribute to mechanical scrum.

If Scrum is to be cut down to one description, it is a readiness to deliver potentially releasable product increment by adhering to DoD at the end of each sprint.

Again, an experienced Scrum Master helps facilitate the aspirational DoD and what one can start with. So that everyone developing the product has a shared understanding of what done means. The way a team reinvents itself depends on the DoD, as it helps establish built-in quality and collaboration.

Expressing Product Backlog

Building the product right adhering to DoD doesn’t guarantee that the team is building the right product. The product owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of developers. When teams are new to Scrum, the Scrum master must invest time with the product owner discussing ordering the product backlog, expressing the product backlog items, making the backlog visible to all stakeholders, estimating the product backlog, etc.

In my learning, allowing a focus on the above 3 areas helped me as a Scrum master to launch a new team. We trust and give space for a baby to learn from falling. Likewise, new Scrum teams need similar support from the Organization to become a better version of themselves through inspection and adaptation.

Do share your experiences in the comments.