Which of the Scrum values is most demonstrated when a team completes a task?

Scrum is a very popular and well-known framework for agile software development. A few years ago the Scrum added 5 values to the framework that each member of the team uses to guide his decision making. Not a lot of people know and understand these values, but they are critical to the successful implementation of scrum, deserving elaboration for the meaning of them here.

The Scrum Values

So what are the Scrum values? The diagram below depicts the 5 values:

(Source: Scrum.org – Scrum Value Poster)

Courage

The Scrum Team members have the courage to do the right thing and work on tough problems. The team members support each other in doing the right thing and in taking informed risks so that we may learn and improve along our path to greatness including:

• Admitting that nobody is perfect
• Delivering undone versions of product
• Sharing all possible information to help the team and the organization
• Admitting there are no perfect requirement capturing and facing fast changes is the reality

Focus

Everyone focuses on the work of the Sprint and the goals of the Scrum Team. When we are dealing with complexity and unpredictability, focus is essential in order to get anything meaningful done. Because we focus on only a few things at a time, we deliver the most valuable items sooner. The Scrum framework includes elements that help promote focus.

• The team should focus on having a “Done Increment” at least by the end of every Sprint.
• Each scrum role has a distinct accountability which helps individuals know what to focus on as their priority. That ultimately contributes to team outcomes.
• The scrum team focuses on a Sprint Goal to guide the team in what to deliver
• The product backlog is a prioritized order, and that creates focus on what is most important thing to do next.
• Time-boxed sprint events create a sense of urgency and help us focus on the purpose of the event.
• The Scrum events and artifacts help create focus on inspecting progress and new information, so the team can adapt at frequent enough intervals.

Commitment

Scrum team members must be committed to success and be willing to create realistic goals and stick to them. Every scrum role commit to the success of the team, not just caring about our individual achievements, that creates an environment of trust, productive problem solving, and high team standards by:

• The Product Owner demonstrates commitment by making the best decisions to optimize the value of the product, not simply trying to please every stakeholder.
• The Scrum Master demonstrates commitment by upholding the Scrum Framework, which means we don’t extend the Sprint or other time-boxes under pressure to get to “Done.”
• The Scrum Master demonstrates commitment by removing impediments that the Scrum Team cannot resolve themselves, rather than tolerating the status quo in the organization.
• The Development Team demonstrates commitment by creating an Increment that meets their definition of “Done,” not something that is almost done.

Respect

As self-organizing teams, we cannot do without respect for each other, so that we will cultivate an engaged, productive, and humane environment for all. The Scrum framework includes elements that help promote respect.

• The entire Scrum Team attends Sprint Planning, the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective. This promotes respect for each role, the accountabilities, and diverse perspectives.
• The Development Team is cross-functional, which means as a whole it has all of the skills necessary to deliver a “Done” product Increment. This promotes respect for everyone’s experiences, skills, and ideas.  This also promotes learning and growth.
• The Sprint Backlog is owned by the Development Team. Since they are the ones doing the work, they decide how much they can do in a Sprint and how to do the work.  This demonstrates respect for their knowledge and skills, as well as a respect for working at a sustainable pace.
• By only reviewing “Done” product in a Sprint Review, we bring transparency to our true progress. This demonstrates respect for our stakeholders.
• A Product Owner seeks input from, collaborates with, and sets realistic expectations for stakeholders. This is another demonstration of respect for stakeholders.
• The Scrum Master’s focus is on the health of the Scrum Team and the effective use of Scrum. Having a role that focuses on teaching, facilitating, and coaching demonstrates a respect for people and teams and their capacity for growth.
• Scrum’s focus on delivering value shows respect to our organization by not spending money on low value features or things that may never be used.
• Having a potentially releasable Increment by the end of the Sprint shows respect to our organization by not forcing more investment to realize value. It gives the organization the flexibility to make investment decisions.

Openness

The empiricism of Scrum requires transparency, openness by making known the arrangement of our work, our progress, our learning and our problems. The team should open to collaborate across disciplines and skills, to collaborate with stakeholders and the wider environment, to share feedback and learn from one another. The Scrum framework includes elements that help promote openness.

• Limiting a Sprint to 30 days or less promotes an openness to changing direction base on new information.
• The Sprint Goal is fixed and provides guidance, but the plan for meeting the Sprint Goal is open to change based on what the Development Team is learning.
• A transparent Product Backlog demonstrates openness with our stakeholders about what is planned for the product (and what is not planned) and what is likely to be next.
• The Sprint Retrospective’s focus on continuous improvement of our team’s interactions, processes, and tools invites an openness to feedback, reflection, and changing how we work.
• The Sprint Review demonstrates openness to sharing progress with our stakeholders, as well as openness to feedback and collaboration with them.

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Scrum (n): A framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value.

The Scrum consists of collections of values and principles, which we will be glancing at in this article. This scrum framework helps teams work together to deliver the most valuable products.

Scrum Values

Scrum is straightforward and is based on the principle of taking potential actions in a given situation based on what is known. It has rules that serve as guidelines for the teams to utilize Scrum to the fullest. Still, there are additions of values in the guide, so let’s know the significance of these values and their usage of these values. According to Scrum Guide, there are five values: Courage, Focus, Commitment, Respect, and Openness. 

The general line is that successful Scrum relies on the whole team signifying specific values based on the context. Without connections made on these values, the Scrum team can’t make their outcome sustainable and productive.

Courage and Respect are significant aspects. As well as you require the ‘courage’ to face challenging problems, it would help if you respected’ your team members to construct good bonding. And these two can be values most demonstrated when a team tries to create valuable outcomes for the users. However, ‘focus’ can be the value shown when a team sets the goal of delivering the most critical feature before proceeding to the next. Moreover, it reminisces about the team’s ‘commitment’ when it accomplishes the correct value through the suitable feature. 

To an Agile team’s success, the above are all significant. But, first, the team must feel safe enough and exhibit ‘openness’ to present their thoughts and try new things to help the whole team proceed in the right direction.

So, in a nutshell, all the values need to be demonstrated as much as possible for the team to be successful with Scrum.

Let’s have a good burst with all these values.

Commitment

The commitment here is fundamental. Commitment is all about bringing the best version at any given moment. It would help if you were committed to doing your best job for the team, precisely the way to commit in Scrum. It is not about the precise outcome since it is usually uncertain and unpredictable under challenging situations. However, commitment is an essential Scrum character trait that drives the team. The team members are committed to their team and team cooperation. They pledge to achieve the best possible outcome and be determined to produce their best every day. The team is determined to reach what they call the Sprint Goal. They pledge to operate as professionals and be committed to achieving excellence.

Focus

Scrum’s diverse yet balanced roles let the team focus on their strengths in terms of specialization, skills, and expertise. The overarching goals (Product Goal & Sprint Goal) and objectives provide focus as a team and demand them to collaborate and develop their understanding and capabilities. The time-boxing nature of Scrum encourages participants to concentrate on what is essential now without being distracted by worries about what may not be necessary. For example, the daily Scrum allows participants to focus on their Sprint Goal. Daily Scrum allows people collaboratively to concentrate on the actions required to make the fastest possible progress towards reaching the Sprint Goal.

Openness

The empirical nature of Scrum demands transparency to make decisions based on what is known rather than assumptions. So inherently, openness is needed. The team members need to be open and transparent about their progress, work, learnings, and issues and are willing to collaborate with stakeholders. This helps in making decisions that maximize value and minimizes risk. In addition, the team needs to be open to changes as complex environments are bound to change unexpectedly, abruptly, and often.

Respect

The Scrum ecosystem is about respecting one another for their expertise and backgrounds. The Scrum team must respect each other’s capabilities, skills, and knowledge. At the core of it, they should respect Scrum’s rules – time-boxing of events, the purpose of the events, etc. 

Courage

The Scrum team must display the courage to make the right decisions, even if it is unpopular. The team members should display the courage to challenge their team members to hold themselves accountable in case of undesirable activities. Then, courage to share all potential details that might help the team and the organization. For empiricism to happen in a complex environment, the team members should embrace the courage to bring the correct information to the table. 

Concluding thoughts

The Scrum Values are an integral part of the Scrum Team’s success. When the Scrum Team embraces the Scrum Values in its day-to-day activities, behaviours and decision-making, the probability of the team’s effectiveness will always be higher.