Scrum Problems: It’s the attitude of the people that makes a major difference in the success or failure of Scrum
Filed Under Issues, Problems, Scrum | Posted on May 17, 2010
Scrum is touted as the answer to a number of problems with software project management, being projected as a solution that will help reduce the number of failed software project implementation, bring the involvement in the team in the project to a much higher degree, and ensure that even when requirements keep on changing, these can be handled. However, over a period of time, it has also become clear that there are significant issues that can cause Scrum projects to become inefficient, or to fail. One of these factors that can cause severe problems to Scrum projects is the issue where a team is just not ready or cooperative. Let us discuss this factor in greater detail.
- Keep in mind that if the organization is having problems related to its people, Scrum cannot change things, and it would be foolish to expect Scrum to suddenly set things set right. In fact, given that Scrum depends on a team that is much empowered, if the team is not ready, it could cause even more problems. This could be where people in the organization are attuned to be more aggressive or the policies encourage confrontations.
- When you have people who have been senior for some time, it could be very much that they consider themselves to be more skilled than others, and you will also find a portion of them willing to express this opinion to the point that even such issues such as the Daily Scrum meeting becoming tense due to this attitude. Many of these people also are more difficult to change, and in the past, we have had several issues in being able to convince some of these people to come to the Daily Scrum meetings and follow all the rules
- People who are working in Scrum projects need to be convinced that this project methodology will work. Training plays a good role in being able to convince most people that Scrum projects do work, and the increased public perception of Scrum also plays a significant role. However, there will always be people who are somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of having to report progress on a daily basis and will resist, either through direct opposition, or through subtle acts that can cause more tension, or atleast increase the efforts that a Scrum Master needs to make to get them convinced and following the rules
- Then you have people who have seen a number of different methodologies along with eager adherents and proponents, and in their eyes, Scrum is a new fad that is being followed by the organization, and it will also pass. They are not particularly eager to learn anything new, and even attend the training without really trying to learn from the training. They can cause significant problems since they have done the training, but their inaction can slow down the entire team when the Scrum project is ongoing.
One advantage of Scrum is that it brings such tensions to the surface, which allows the ScrumMaster and others to try and isolate such feelings and work towards resolving them.
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