Jul 12, 2019
What does it mean to be done in
Scrum? This is something that gets overlooked frequently. The Scrum
guide says that the heart of Scrum is a sprint — a
timebox of one month or less, during which a done, useable, and
potentially releasable product increment is created. So for
something to be done means it’s either in production or it’s ready
to go to production without any further work. And especially with
new Scrum teams, this can be a major hurdle. It can seem like too
much to ask.
Joining Dan Naumann today
is AgileThought colleague
and return guest, Sam Falco! Sam is an Agile Coach and
Certified Scrum Professional with
an extensive background leading Agile development teams. And today
they’re highlighting exactly what it means to be ‘done in Scrum,’
why you should care about the definition of ‘done,’ how to go about
shaping your team’s definition of ‘done,’ how to reach ‘done,’ and
what you can do as a new Scrum team to overcome the hurdle of what
‘done’ is.
Key Takeaways
What does it mean to be done in
Scrum?
- According to the Scrum guide,
it means: during a sprint a useable and potentially releasable
product increment is created (meaning it is either in production or
ready to go to production without any further work)
- This definition of ‘done’
applies to the increment you’re creating each sprint
- Everything has to be
working and
working together
What can you do as a new Scrum
team to overcome the hurdle of what ‘done’ is?
- Make sure your items are broken
down small enough
- Make sure an increment is
doable
- Remember that it’s better to
deliver a small piece of value than a bunch of stories or backlog
items that are not ready
How to reach ‘done’:
- Work together toward a common
increment
- Build a strong enough sprint
goal that is aimed at creating a solid product
increment
- Do integration
testing
- “If it hurts to release, do it
more often”
- Consider: what can you do to
automate it and make it easier to release?
- If, as a team, you feel your
sprint is too short, consider the possibility that you’re perhaps
trying to do too much
- Identify undone work in the
increment
- Use the retrospective to
frequently inspect your team’s definition of ‘done’
Sam’s tips for how to go about
shaping your Scrum team’s definition of ‘done’:
- The team should create it with
the product owner
- Brainstorm as a team by
considering the question: what does it mean to get work into
production?
- Align with your company’s
developmental standards if they exist
- There has to be a common
definition that everyone agrees to and adheres to
Why should someone care about
the definition of ‘done’?
- Builds trust between business
and IT
- Helps the team manage batch
sizes by helping them to determine what they can do in a
sprint
- Helps the Scrum team be clear
to the business about what they’re going to receive
- Helps you minimize technical
debt
- Continual attention to
technical excellence enhances agility
Key takeaways around the concept
of ‘done’:
- Start with what you know that
you need to do to get to ‘done’
- Don’t obsess about having the
perfect definition of ‘done’ (especially if you’re a beginning
team)
- Make sure that you have useful
guidelines that will help you communicate what is
‘done’
- Remember that this can
eliminate the cost of technical debt and make your organization
more nimble
Mentioned in this Episode:
The Nexus Scaling Framework
Agile Coaches’
Corner Ep.33: “Nimble
Facilitation with Rebecca Sutherns, PhD”
Nimble: A Coaching Guide for
Responsive Facilitation, by Rebecca Sutherns
Sam Falco’s Book Pick:
The Enterprise and
Scrum, by Ken
Schwaber
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