Brewing Agile

Scrum’s DNA consists of empiricism and self-organization. These ‘strings’ represent respectively the ‘process’ and the ‘people’ aspect of Scrum. The empirical process as implemented by Scrum is increasingly replacing the old, traditional predictive management approach. What is more difficult to grasp is that the benefits realized through Scrum largely depend not on the rules, but on the interactions and collaboration of the people employing Scrum. Shifting the balance towards the people aspect of Scrum and therefore restoring the people-process balance is one of the major future challenges for the Scrum movement.

At the heart of Gunther’s view is that Scrum, actually, is more about behavior than it is about process. Values drive behavior. Scrum thrives on five values: commitment, focus, openness, respect and courage. As behavior also mirrors underlying values, Scrum is also expressed through these values. The Scrum Values are the compass to as well as the barometer of a Scrum adoption.

Although these values were not invented as a part of Scrum, and are not exclusive to Scrum, they do give direction to the work, behavior and actions in Scrum. In a Scrum context, our decisions, the steps we take, the way we play the game, the practices we include and the activities we undertake within Scrum should all re-enforce these values, not diminish or undermine them. That however requires understanding these values, and the associated behaviors, in a context of...Scrum, which means to understand them against the background of the combination of people+complexity+empiricism.

Gunther does not aspire preaching or even teaching values. In this interactive workshop, he collaboratively invites people to look at the Scrum framework through the lens of the Scrum Values in a context of Scrum. Gunther helps participants grasp how the Scrum Values can help them look beyond the rules of Scrum and enrich their view on the Scrum framework.

Scrum’s DNA is empiricism and self-organization and Scrum promotes simplicity, clear accountability and peer collaboration to deal with unpredictability and formulate answers to complex problems. These foundational aspects of Scrum were not at the core of many enterprises when enlarging their organizational and work structures. The main challenge of many organizations wanting to apply Scrum in the large lies not in fitting Scrum into the existing structures, although this is what typically happens. The real challenge is to revise the existing structures via a bottom-up understanding, implementation and growth of Scrum. Because “Scrum is only used effectively if organizations re-think the structures around it”.

At the heart of Gunther’s view on Scrum ‘in the large’ is the gradual transformation of an organization towards a networked structure of what he calls ‘Product Hubs’. A Product Hub is a mini-organization acting as a start-up within the overarching organization. It is optimally organized for a product (not for functional specializations) as ‘product’ is the vehicle to deliver value. Because such a product (or service) is managed with Scrum, in this first module of the SPC Scrum in the Large the focus is on “Multi-team Scrum”, and what is needed to get there. Without any additional scaling frameworks. Just...Scrum.

Gunther does not aspire teaching how to scale Scrum or introduce a new scaling framework. In this interactive workshop, he collaboratively explores with the participants the principles that apply when the need arises to maintain a product with more people than can conveniently work as one team, i.e. move to a “Multi-Team Scrum” setup. Gunther helps the participants grasp how the rules of the Scrum framework don’t change and why no additions are needed when having to work with multiple teams (on the same product).

In this workshop, attendees will...

• Learn about workflows and how they can be used to minimize risk
• Understand the importance of workflow design and how they drive behaviors
• Practice designing a workflow that truly models the process items go through as they transform from an option to a (potential) asset
• Strategize about how to avoid common flow killers without sacrificing visibility
• Measure four key flow metrics to answer key questions like “How long from here?”

Specifically, you will learn how to:

• Build a productive remote or hybrid workspace
• Improve communication and avoid misunderstandings
• Reduce the meetings you need; improve the meetings you have
• Find connection and create that sense of togetherness online

You will walk away with:

• Access to workshop slides and videos
• Handouts & guides for team agreements, remote meetings, feedback, etc.
• Book, podcast & tool recommendations
• New ideas from fellow experts

Through a series of exercises, participants will engage in user research, problem definition, solution ideation, prioritization, and experimentation. They will also explore strategies for fostering collaboration and alignment within cross-functional teams. This workshop aims to provide an opportunity to strengthen product management skills and gain practical insights to drive impactful product outcomes.

This workshop aims to provide an opportunity to strengthen product management skills and gain practical insights to drive impactful product outcomes.